Title inspired by Billy Joel
I cheered a family member for the Sunday, November 2nd, New York Marathon,
a 26.2- mile race across the 5 boroughs of this uneven (cobble stones are hard on the feet)
City. She trained for 5 months, running half-marathons, meeting her road-running buddy as they increased their distance. One morning at 6 a.m., they ran 20 miles in the rain. I observed their purpose, determination and true grit. Many of us have a sense of how grueling the preparation and completion is for the athletes, respecting and admiring this effort.
It is said that the last six miles of this race are torturous as the participant pushes way past comfort and any kind of security, into a resilient reserve where the mind takes over the trained body bringing the aching runner over the finish line to awaiting fanfare and applause.
It is Neale Donald Walsch who says: “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” I think we can apply this maxim to working out and marathon running AS WELL AS our
internal-emotional self, you know, that self who gets our attention when we get angry, impatient, critical, hold grudges and grief. Get the gist?
During one of my early-morning workouts last week, I thought about my reasons for wanting to stay fit: health, energy levels, stamina, flexibility and vanity. Our body houses the spirit, and so we need this physical frame to get us around in our daily activities.
Moreover, our body does not exist by itself. It is integrally connected to our mind and spirit. When we align our MIND and BODY and SPIRIT, we create robust health on all levels of our being, where systems flow unimpeded by impediments and blocks (Linda Marsanico Ph.D., unpublished manuscript, 2014). Dan Siegel M.D. at his Mindsight Institute https://www.mindsightinstitute.com has conducted research to find that meditation positively affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Medical science is paying attention and finding ways to document changes in the multidimensional human body.
It has been suggested that human life can be extended to 125 healthy years (LifeExtension®). Of course our way of being, living and eating will be different in order to sustain this expansion. We will be using our ‘internal technology’ to create health on all levels of our being (Gregg Braden, “Awakening to Zero Point” “Walking Between the Worlds. The Science of Compassion,” Radio Bookstore Press, 1993 and 1997 respectively).
We can create an analogous regimen to staying in physical shape with an emotional workout plan. Nelson Mandela said that when he was afraid, he acted boldly, pushing through fear. I can tell you from personal experience that acting confidently takes me through the emotive discomfort, eventually bringing me to an exciting adventure on my daily path. (Is this like hitting the wall in running?)
What is this esoteric-sounding regimen, which completes the picture of our total health? Overall, it involves growing self-love and this involves our emotions. Taking care of our physical body together with our mind and spirit demonstrates self-love. Much flows from this achievement. Let’s remember that the spiritual journey is all about us. And, it includes all levels of our being.
I will be writing more specifics about this as we go…….
Speak to you on November 24th
Linda
