I was talking with a guy recently about how he might do his sport better.
Let’s call him “Steve” so as not to shame him.
He’s a runner and loving the park run scene and the improvements he’s seeing.
Steve wanted to know how he might get even more of an advantage over his personal bests and his rivals,
And so we started talking about the whole mental aspect of sport.
I can tell you for sure, being around a labour ward for the last few days -
Sport isn’t the only thing that benefits from a solid mental foundation.
You will find challenge and intensity of life every where you look.
I know recently I’ve been talking about how to combat stress and struggle -
But the Ishayas’ Ascension meditation is incredibly powerful if you’re looking at the other end of the spectrum:
How to be better.
How to handle intensity with style - rather than cracking under pressure.
Resilience, you might say.
Resilience that leads to your personal form of success, whatever that may be for you.
What I mean by this or having a solid mental foundation is the ability to:
- Focus on certain thoughts while ignoring others - Keep a level of clarity and awareness, not only of thoughts and emotions but of your senses and your body - Stay positive in that you focus on what is good and what you can do and what you do have rather than the opposite - Remain anchored in presence and awareness in this moment in time - even while you might be planning for the future or learning from the past
Overall -
To control your mind and not let it control you.
When you develop the ability to do the above things -
(And they are just skills that can be taught and practiced)
Every single part of your life benefits.
Like when you pull one leg of a chair, the whole thing shifts.
Even if you want to run faster, you find a side effect of having better relationships.
If you want to focus more and ignore fear and doubt (say in the outdoors),
And your work life gets easier and more productive because you combat stress and overwhelm so much simpler.
Even if you want to turn down the volume on your busy head to get a better nights sleep,
You find you’re a much more enjoyable person to be around - you’re laughing a lot more, shrugging things off.
So I taught this fellow Ascension meditation and he LOVES it.
He calls it his “secret weapon” because no one else in his running club has something like it.
I keep encouraging “Steve” to let me come and do a talk to his club,
But he’s not interested in sharing.
He wants it all for himself.
Which is a bit selfish isn’t it?
I think so.
I’ll keep working on him, but until then, head this way to find out what the fuss is about:
https://arjunaishaya.leadpages.co/sane-fb/ Go well! Arjuna
PS.
The fuss is all about the mind and you getting mastery over it.
Not being like a monkey on a chain, pulled this way and that by events and circumstances.
It’s about finding freedom and true independence -
Not to mention such enjoyable levels of rest, calm, focus, contentment and clarity I really don’t have words for.
Life is short, indeed.
Make the most of your one.