|
|
|
|
|
Michael Murphy has been one of the pioneers of body-mind science and the expansion of consciousness movement. In an interview in 1992, he talks about athletes and their spiritual experiences being close to what yogis would determine as siddhis or charisms in Christianity. Michael Murphy weaves together and brings on a common footing religion, science and psychology in his book "The future of the body: Explorations into the further Evolution of Human Nature" (Jeremy P. Tarcher, Los Angeles) Michael Murphy was the key figure for the creation of the Esalen institute in 1962. Today still it is recognized as one of the leading institutes for transformational consciousness and "alternative" therapists and researchers. He wrote many other books such as Golf in the Kingdom, Jacob Atabet, An End to Ordinary history, In the Zone (w. Rhea White) as well as The Future of the Body. To talk about special experiences is still today viewed as "crazy", "spaced out", "flaky", "waco" etc. but yet the reality is that many of us are working and training many sweaty hours in gyms and outdoors, not just to win or loose weight. There is some exilharation to be gained, a sense of loosing oneself and a joy that no other activity can bring. In an interview about these extraordinary experiences, Michael Murphy says: One of the interesting things about extraordinary functioning is that these experiences often happen to athletes, who for the most part, don't seek them, or who don't expect them, and often don't have a language to describe them. Their coaches and teammates don't have a language either. In 1972, John Brodie, who used to play quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, read my book "Golf in the Kingdom", and was so taken by it that he brought me to the 49ers training camp to see about doing the same kind of book for football. We sat around talking to professional football players, some of whom were a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than me. One player had very remarkable metanormal experiences. The next day,I asked him to talk about these experiences. He said, "What things?" "You know, the things we talked about yesterday when we were all having beers together." He said, "You and Brodie just got me going. I think I just had an extra beer." At that moment I said to myself, "Boy, this is repression at work." During the ten days I was there this player ambivalently came up to me and started engaging me in talk. I realized the experiences he had did not fit his theory of who he was, but that a deeper part of himself was curious. It was a defining experience for me. The Esalen Sports Center has given dozens and dozens of seminars for sports people, and I have talked to many sports people about these expereinces. It's impressive because of the honesty with which athletes talk about this material. There is an intensity in some athletic practice that turns it into a kind of "yoga", triggering all sorts of metanormal experiences-not only extraordinary kinesthesis, or somatic awareness. Some distance runners, for example, claim that during intense runs they apparently see glimpses of their own insides. This is the traditional "animan siddhi", one of the eight powers referred to in yoga sutras. I talk about this in my book, Jacob Atabat, the idea that we have extraordinary powers to sense our own physical condition. Sport demands a lot of sacrifice and tremendous training from very committed athletes stretching the mind and the soul, as well as the body. It expands all dimensions of human nature, and willynilly, becomes a sort of yoga, and has the power to evoke these experiences. A lot of these experiences, such as ecstatic walking sound very much like what a lot of sprinters call tipping, which often happens in 200 and 400 meter runs. When they have this tremendous sensation, they feel as if they are starting to rise as they run. This experience is recorded with regularity. I remember Lee Evans, who held the world record in the 400 meter for 25 years, set in Mexico city in 1968. As he talked about "tipping", It sounded very much like the roman Catholic Charism called "ecstatic walking". In his research, Michael Murphy found that the catholic Church has unlike any other tradition collected and documented metanormal experiences in its so-called "canonization proceedings" to compare evidence of "sainthood". In Eastern religions, these powers are seen as a result of contemplative life and are only a stepping stone on the way to total oneness with the supreme consciousness. In fact they are considered as an obstacle to enlightenment. In summary, the efforts of a serious athlete are no less than an ascetic trying to achieve oneness with God. In fact both might help each other, where spiritualists need to work more with their body and athletes need to direct more of their efforts to achieve oneness rather than strength alone. In the ancient olympic disciplines in Greece both were considered unseparable. A good athlete=good human being. Today, the best place to combine these two is maybe Tai-chi, where bodily disciplines are combined with breath-control and a mental attitude is cultivated that has oneness of body, mind and spirit as the goal. Its success will depend on a good teacher and a good student. There is a saying... "If the disciple is ready, the teacher will appear..."
Home/about SSAC/programs 2001/spiritual warrior/Young SW/quest center/latest news/service/SSAConsulting/our team/links/registration/forum |
