A State of Being
Being one with the game and trusting intuition.
As we walk, we walk together as one. May we picture success and achieve it together. This is the house hard-work is built upon and it only invites expectation: Aspiration is the result of imagination.
Owner-ship is shared
“The next big thing to truly shape the landscape of sport is spirituality”
A spiritual leader in sport is someone that help guides our athletes to not only be better sportsmen, but to be better, more spiritually connected Beings. We are all spiritual beings driven by a physical body with which the spirit wishes to express itself at all times. Leaving ego at the front door.
Many of us, including athletes, have lost a sense of intuition. In order to succeed and push boundaries, we need to shift our paradigm starting with the breaking of habits that hold us back. We need to connect to ourselves, to the roots we have embedded deeply within our world.
The animal instinct has truly taken over where we no longer access situations with ‘reflect and respond’ instead we have replaced it with ‘Fight or Flight’ that itself is an adopted method of dealing with things and should stop.
Perception is being able to see things from a different point of view. Picture a ruck in Rugby where one opposition halfback knows what his opposite is trying to do for their next phase of play, and being there before it plays out. We have situations in every day life where we should just step back and see it from someone else’s shoes.
Atonement, is being able to let go of negative ideas or things that have happened and quickly moving on from a mistake being made. Some of the best athletes in the world hold this trait. For Example NFL player Tom Brady at the ripe age of 42 is under constant pressure to make passes to his receiver’s, and when he is unable to, he has no choice to get back up and move on to the next play. There are countless examples that can be used, like a baseball pitcher being hit for a home-run, but then striking out the rest of the team. He/she is able to move on and quickly.
“The Master sees things as they are, without trying to control them. She lets them go their own way, and resides at the center of the circle.” — Tao Te Ching, Chapter 29
As much as the great All Black Richie McCaw puts his body in places that leave him bruised and beaten, he is able to remain level headed and at the center of the circle. He does not react high or low he is neutral throughout his matches. He stays in the ‘blue’ a calming technique used by the All Blacks belief. Doesn’t matter how much time is left on the clock, having a collective belief that you will get the job done. They train themselves at this level of intensity so when that time does arise, they know exactly what needs to be done. Believing in the unseen, they are able to draw strength from a larger form of reality.
There is an Icelandic phrase often interpreted differently “Inn Saei” translated as “To see within”. To do this, an athlete is required to be in complete harmony with the frequencies (energy) that surround us all. This is not to say losses on the track or field won’t happen, but as long as they are consciously aware that they can happen, will give them every opportunity to right wrongs and raise their level awareness and connection within.
Breathe is so important, even the type of breath, the length of breath we take in can determine what type of life we lead. Drawing focus on our breathing can transport us through meditation. A technique Wim Hof, an athlete in his own right, relies on deeply. Wim Has complete control over his state of mind, especially as he immerses himself into freezing cold water. He prepares by entering into conscious hyper ventilation, a practice he swears by. His control of breath is able to send signals to his brain to over ride his ego. Ego is that voice telling him ‘NO Wim this is too cold’.
Visualisation is something we can all do, from pre-empting a carpark at the mall, to asking for a sign out in the universe. But for athletes, visualisation is essential. This is where countless hours of training are put to the side to allow for visualisation techniques. For Example, Roger Federer is able to place his thoughts into a positive pattern prior and during very match. Visualising his perfect serve, over and over again. When I picture tennis, it’s Roger that pops to mind; he is so in-sync that you cannot tell the difference between ‘Dancer and the Dance’ because they’re simply one.
Collective Desire, is of no importance if action is not take. Desire, through visualisation, brings out imagination, sparking ideas and bringing them into reality. Opportunity is all around us, we must utilise it through connection to the inner world with meditation and visualisation in order to evolve to our fullest potential.
Bring dreams to life, let out greatness that lies within, from here we may aspire to inspire like all sporting greats.