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Why do some people get so drawn to extreme sports?
Like sky diving, BASE jumping, rock climbing, extreme skiing, car racing and bike racing.
There seems to be a certain maniacal compulsion to return to an activity where you may quite possibly get hurt.
At the cellular level, your body must experience the possibility of extreme danger or even death, but your mind is psyched to go through with it anyway.
Or when you are compelled to have a life-or-death experience as in military combat or a street fight.
I heard a former street fighter once describe his street-fighting compulsion as spiritual.
After a fight, he knew he was not his body. He felt it.
He knew that his body was just a vessel of the Spirit, the Light within that shines through the body.
When the Light withdraws, the body is gone, like a lightbulb without electric current.
When there is a real possibility of losing your body, you realize that you are not your body.
Not only the body.
When the body is gone, the Light does not disappear, even though it may be invisible to physical sight.
Your Self shows up more brilliantly in extreme moments.
I am not trying to suggest that you put yourself in those dangerous straits.
But this insight provides the knowledge to who and what we are.
Shamans induce such states of self-knowledge by other methods. However, it may be too dangerous to attempt without guidance.
Thankfully, we can orchestrate something a little milder.
Not dangerous but challenging enough that your mental resolve must win over the weakness of the body (Warning: Proper Training and Guidance is Still Advisable):
Jumping into the ocean in the winter (or an ice bath).
Running a marathon (with training).
Fasting on water for more than 36 hours.
Going on a vision quest in nature (as in hiking the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail).
Climbing the Kilimanjaro or the Everest.
You come away with a deeper understanding of your Self - the knowledge of what life is – of Consciousness that is present even after the physical experience of life.
Such an experience is what many Ancient Masters had had. Self-Realization.
On this note, Happy Holiday Season to You and Your Loved Ones!
Notable Happenings:
1. Yoga. Please join me for a 60-Minute Yoga class ths Sunday on Zoom. Info Below.
2. Rejuvenation Breathwork at Sunset - January 8th, 2022. Info Below.
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