The Home of Steven Barnes
Author, Teacher, Screenwriter


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Obama Plays the Mindful Long Game

Whether or not Obama has a formal meditation, he does have ritual: every morning he plays basketball. Images of his play suggest that he enters an intense, focused flow state, and physical flow is one of the most powerful states of mind available to the secular mind--"runner's high" is an aspect of this, and it propagates outward to other mental and emotional activities. I think it is his "mindfulness" practice, or at least one aspect of it: strategy, tactics, teamwork, balance, grace under pressure--a sport can be a form of yoga, just as martial arts or formal asana can lead to deep quiet and revelation. Attended to seriously, life itself presents all the lessons we need to grow. And sport, as coaches tell players a thousand times a day, is a metaphor for life.



www.realherosjourney.com
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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