Great Athletes......Mental, Spiritual gurus

[Erock]

I'm sitting here watching Roger Federer absolutely demolish Andy Roddick in the Australian open semi-final. I'm a big tennis fan, but only because I'm a serious tennis player, and I can relate to what I see. Is Federer more skilled than Roddick? Yes he is, but much more importantly, I think he knows how to-whether consciously or not-raise his consciousness level. Many athletes call this "playing in the zone," and for most of them, it is a rare occurence.

This is the case in all sports, and the greatest athletes, the ones that perform their best at just the right time, seem to be able to do it almost willfully. I think I'm better at this then most of the tennis players I play against locally, and I have had moments of absolute brilliance, but I have never been able to maintain this state, and it is still quite rare. During those moments, I definately feel more aware, more connected, as if I'm not even really controlling what is going on. I'm not happy when I hit a great shot, nor mad when I miss an easy put away.

I feel fortunate to even have had glimpses of this state, and I'm wondering if anybody here has any advice or resources on finding it more often, and even, dare I say it, maintaining it consistently. Would meditation help?

Thanks a ton
Erock

[dor]

sports is one the areas where visualization techniques are quite advanced and remakrably effective....read the book 'flow' and some of the 'inner game' books (the inner game of tennis)
Flow (psychology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[Erock]

Hey thanks for the reply. Where do you think flow fits in the realm of spirituality and consciousness? Do you raise your awareness, beecome more unconscious? Anybody got any input on this?