MK: You’ve written many books. What can authentic ‘war writing’ offer readers, both the troops and the civilians?
RBM: Warriors have been writing about wars since the invention of words, as the first wars were recorded in the Bible. Saints, sages, generals, heroes and even villains have recorded their chronicles and memoirs. But the books and stories passed on by real warriors, and not just some historian, give us the depth of feeling and emotion that can help us understand what war was like on the battlefields.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]If someone truly reads with their heart, they can’t help but feel the human waste and suffering that all wars have caused for the entire world.[/su_pullquote]
It’s not about the glorification of war and battle, but about the spiritual, physical and emotional toll these wars took on humankind. To write about real war is to educate people about seeking more peaceful solutions. If someone truly reads with their heart, they can’t help but feel the human waste and suffering that all wars have caused for the entire world.
There are never any real winners—both sides lose and suffer casualties. There are no victories, with pain for everyone involved. When veterans share their memoirs or war poetry, and even fictional accounts of war, it’s my hope and prayer that they also share their pain as well. This isn’t about entertainment, but about spiritual and emotional education.
Seek goodness and love
MK: Your latest book, Alchemy of a Warrior’s Heart, is powerful! What’s the message you desire to share with readers?
RBM: Again and again, my message is always about seeking goodness and love and, in doing so, sharing and giving the same energy to the world. My newest book is about my lifelong search for meaning, but it focuses on the last decade of my life.
I take the reader through four trips to India, several major heart attacks, miracles, supernatural events and two near-death-experiences. It’s about meeting yogis in the mountains of India and battling disease, death and pain. But in the end, it’s about finding and giving love and service, and forgiving our enemies.
MK: You’re involved with active veteran ministry. I’ve learned a lot from your journey as a shepherd to veterans. How does veteran ministry fulfill your life, and how does it touch other souls?
RBM: I’ve been all across the U.S. and even overseas, helping veterans from various wars. It matters not which war they were in, or even whose side they fought for. In the end, it’s about helping warriors heal and find peace.
I found, early on, that I couldn’t be everything and everywhere for so many people in need, so I’ve expanded my reach by recruiting chaplains and ministers from across the world to help shepherd this warrior tribe. There’s more than enough work to be done, and I’m always looking to expand my network.
This is why I’m here at this stage of my life, and this is my purpose. I feel I’m doing what I was born to do.
Unfolding projects
MK: What are the unfolding spiritual projects in your life?
RBM: I’m looking to expand my Spiritual Warrior Ministries overseas in this coming year, and to teach more of what I’ve learned to others who are doing this work, so it’ll live on after I’m long gone. I’m also writing a book of spiritual advice for both the military and civilian communities. I want to take the many lessons I’ve learned about life and share them.
MK: Like you, I went to India after war. What did you find while you were there?
RBM: I took four trips to India, and spent a total of 12 and half months there. Some of that time was spent at an ashram at a guru’s feet, sitting around a campfire at night and early in the morning, meditating and learning from his shared wisdom.
I think that in the end, I realized that all great spiritual journeys are really inside us. The truth and guru we’re seeking are already within us if we look deeper into ourselves. Meditation is the highway that takes us there, and you don’t need to be in India or in a cave to find peace and love and GOD. It’s truly an inside game!
Thank you for asking me these questions. I could’ve written a book while answering them, but chose to make this a shortened summary so you could fit it into your article. Blessings and peace and love to all.
MK: Well, Rev. Bill, let’s create a book of 100 questions regarding your views and experiences related to veteran spirituality. You’re a true warrior both in and out of war.
Thank you for your writings, and know that you’ve touched my life and many other lives. I thank the phenom artist Tom Shelford for the formal introduction, in the less-than-formal terrain of veteran readjustment.
Last words
Veteran spirituality is not limited to warfare, yet it may find itself in a war zone like Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. William “Rev. Bill” McDonald has truly found a way to contemplate, meditate and pursue social action for the care of veteran souls. Why? Because Rev. Bill and I, and many others, believe that ‘Vet souls matter’.
What can we learn from Rev. Bill? That veteran spirituality can be found in garrison life at a stateside military post or military base. It can happen in war. It can be found on a hardship tour of duty in Korea. It can be found in a soup kitchen, or at a veterans’ service office. It can also be found on a ship, afloat in calm waters.
Twenty-one-gun salutes are heard in veteran spirituality, as well as the gentle sound of small swinging flags for forgotten veterans. Veteran spirituality honours the souls of veterans whose lives were lost at home as a result of suicide. For 22 is not just a number, it is a sacred reality to be always remembered. Twenty-two veteran suicides every day is a reality that needs to be contemplated daily by all veterans and civilians. This is the essence of veteran spirituality.
Veteran spirituality is not limited to military chapels, yet a prayer with a chaplain might be that jolt of awareness that sparks the soul. Veteran spirituality is not focused on the troop alone, but is a shared experience with loved ones and others. Civilians are also part of the veteran spirituality experience. Civilian souls matter, as do the souls of veterans.
The ultimate experience involves the connecting of veteran and civilian souls to promote a healthy spiritual journey for all. This communalizes the collective and individual soul-work being done by the veteran. Amen.
This article is part of a weekly column exploring spiritual transformation for veterans. To read the previous article in the series, visit WHY WE SERVED?: A band of callings (and friends)»
[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Mike Kim Veteran: Mike is a psychoanalyst, an Iraq War vet, an ex-friar monk, a war trauma care provider and a doctoral researcher at the Teachers College of Columbia University. Find him on his website (www.mikekimveteran.com), on Twitter, on Instagram and on Facebook at Warrior Wellness and Lifeworlds.
image 1 Pixabay 2 pxhere 3 Pixabay 4 Pixabay 5 all other images courtesy of Bill McDonald
