The Modern Art of War Chapter 1: Laying Plans for Your Mind
“The art of observing the mind is of vital importance to the Self.”
That is how Sun Tzu opens Chapter 1. Not a word about armies. Not a mention of enemies. Just: pay attention to your mind. It matters.
In Hunter Liguore’s The Modern Art of War, this first chapter is called “Laying Plans.” And it is the foundation for everything that follows. Before you charge into battle with your thoughts, you need a plan. Otherwise you are just another person who tried meditation for three days and gave up.
Making a Real Commitment
Sun Tzu says this path is “a matter of life and death, a road to either safety or ruin.” That sounds intense. But think about it. When your mind is at war with itself, constantly judging, worrying, overthinking, it drains everything. Your energy. Your relationships. Your ability to just enjoy a cup of coffee without mentally replaying yesterday’s argument.
The commitment Sun Tzu asks for is serious. You have to actually want this. Half-hearted attempts will get half-hearted results. And the disquieted mind knows exactly how to pull you back to old habits. It is very good at its job.
But here is the reassuring part. You are not starting as a foot soldier. In Sun Tzu’s framework, you start as the General. You are already in command of your journey. Your daily life and pursuits are in your capable hands. You just need to actually take the wheel.
The Five Principles
Sun Tzu lays out five principles for the student on this path. Think of them as your operating system for mind mastery:
1. The Moral Law (The Way)
This is about reconnecting with your Higher Self, that small soft voice within. Your intuition. It is designed to teach you how to let go of fear. And your disquieted mind WILL create resistance. It will try to make you avoid practice, flee from quiet, stay busy. Your inner awareness is pure and all-knowing. It exists unimpacted by your thoughts or emotions. The work is letting it become your natural state instead of being ruled by imbalanced emotions.
2. Heaven (Yin, Higher Self)
Awareness comes from keeping your conscious-awareness in balance during daily activity. Recognize that a quiet mind is your natural state and give it space. You know that feeling when you just “knew” to take a different route to work and later found out there was a huge delay? That is Intuitive-Knowing. Imagine having that available all the time.
3. Earth (Yang, the Ego)
Your ego, your Lower Consciousness, will NOT want to give up control. It will feel unsafe. It might even feel like heading toward death. But Sun Tzu says if you persevere, the result is eternal life for the united Self. The ego will undergo many obstacles, some small and some that challenge your sense of safety. Be dedicated anyway.
4. The Commander (The One Who Sees)
This is the part of you that witnesses the battle and guides both minds (intuitive and ego) toward harmony. When this commander is in charge, it brings wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. Not harsh strictness. More like the gentle discipline of a good teacher.
5. Method and Discipline
These are your tools for bringing balance to your senses and desires. The more you practice, the more experienced you become with these strategies. Sun Tzu’s approach is methodical because she anticipates how students can fail and builds in ways to bypass failure.
The Seven Hard Questions
Before you start, Sun Tzu wants you to really think about what you are getting into. Here are the questions to ask yourself:
- Which is stronger right now, your intuitive mind or your thinking mind?
- Which one is more likely to succeed?
- Which side is more balanced when obstacles arise?
- Where is discipline strongest?
- Which side is better trained?
- Which side stays unchanged when rewards or penalties show up?
Be honest. If you are just beginning, your material mind is probably running the show. It is caught up in daily operations whenever difficulty arises. But that can change. And knowing where you stand right now is the first step to changing it.
The point is not to feel bad about your answers. It is to forecast your own path. Can you see victory? Does the assessment deter you or encourage you?
Your Only Enemy Is Within
Here is a big idea from this chapter. All warfare of the disquieted mind is based on deception. Your Lower Self will try to deceive your Higher Self. It sounds dramatic, but it is incredibly practical.
Think about when you started a new habit. A gym routine, a journal, eating better. You were excited at first. Then the body and mind found “more exciting things to do.” Netflix. Snacks. Scrolling. That is the deception. Not some external enemy. Just your own mind tricking you into staying comfortable.
Sun Tzu’s strategy for dealing with this? Don’t fight directly. When practicing observation of the mind, seem effortless about it. When your forces are near, make the enemy thoughts believe you are far away. Basically, trick your own mind into stillness. Don’t announce “I AM NOW MEDITATING.” Just be still. Let it happen without striving.
And if you fail? Do not punish yourself. Sun Tzu says: “Do not shun your emotions, such as anger, but sit with it, so that you can understand it, conquer it, and move on.”
Your emotions are not the enemy. They are clouds passing through. Acknowledge them and let them go.
The Practical Exercise
Here is something you can actually do right now. Liguore includes an exercise from the book that is beautifully simple:
Draw two columns on a piece of paper. In the first column, list your known obstacles. The things you already know will get in the way of working on your mind. In the second column, write a possible solution.
For example:
| Obstacle | Solution |
|---|---|
| Too busy with work | Practice awareness during work tasks |
| Get bored quickly | Start with 5 minutes, build slowly |
| Family demands all my time | Use daily activities as practice |
| Scroll phone when stressed | Notice the urge, pause, choose again |
The point is not to eliminate obstacles. It is to acknowledge them and plan around them. Like a General surveying the terrain before a battle.
Notice something important here. There are no “real” obstacles, only your perception that they exist. If you feel you want to lose weight and can’t stick to a diet, the obstacle is not the diet. It is the “you” who believes your current state needs fixing. When you stop seesawing between “good me” and “bad me,” you free yourself to simply make choices in each moment without judgment.
You are the General. You are in charge. Take it one thought at a time.
Finding Your Inner Teacher
The last lesson in this chapter reframes a famous saying. “When the student is ready, a teacher will appear.” Most people read that and start looking for an external guru. A podcast host. A life coach. A spiritual retreat.
But Sun Tzu says the teacher is already inside you. Your intuition. Your Intuitive-Knowing. It has been there the whole time, hidden in plain sight, actively working on your behalf. You just need to trust it.
So don’t put off the work. Start with your next decision. Right now. Which side is responding, the intuitive mind or the habitual one? Over time, you will start to see which one is gaining control. And that awareness itself is progress.
What You Can Do Today
- Write down your known obstacles and possible solutions (the two-column exercise)
- Pick one area where you know you will face resistance this week
- Practice noticing which “self” is making your decisions today, the reactive one or the aware one
- Don’t force anything. Be curious, not commanding
Sun Tzu’s promise: “The student who makes many calculations before the battle is fought will win out over the disquieted mind.”
Plan first. Then begin.
This post is part of a retelling series on “The Modern Art of War: Sun Tzu’s Hidden Path to Peace and Wholeness” by Hunter Liguore (ISBN: 978-1-78678-845-0).