The Zone

Many athletes use breathing to get there- others through long-term practice or a natural shift can simply be there in an instant. Once in this “zone” you have transcended your ego self- and have dropped into what is called many things, including Enlightenment, Infinity, Buddha Nature, and/or God Nature.

But you cannot have the goal to be in the Zone. Oh no. If you try to be the Buddha, you'll never get there, because: you already are the Buddha.

While being the Zone, this is where the projections of the mind are no longer experienced, where the body no longer feels, you move beyond both to become your true nature- who you truly are. This is why sport is so nourishing--as essential as food--for it has the potential to change your reality and bring you home- if only for an instant while running down the street.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Though sports, if you pay attention and not miss the lessons, you can be powerful beyond measure. You can access and express the connection of everyone, and everything that exists- including the mountains, the skis, the streets, the bike and the water.

Or... sports can be nothing at all.





Ski to Live
www.kristenulmer.com

Your life as a movie...

A little bird is flying in the forest. Suddenly he sees a great fire below, raging out of control. "My home!" he cries, and flies to the lake to gather a beak full of water. Flying back to the fire, he drops his little bundle of water onto the inferno, then races back to the lake. Over and over he repeats the gesture until he becomes so exhausted, he falls into the fire and dies.

Is this a beautiful story or a sad story for you?

I used to be a professional Big Mountain skier- basically I jumped off cliffs and skied you-fall-you-die exposures around the world for cameras. Now I facilitate the intersection of sport, adventure and Infinite wisdom in clinics called Ski to Live and in private sessions. In sports- we have exhilarating moments, sure, flying around our own forest, yet like the bird we also struggle- through injury, through disappointment, through aging, for our entire lives. I know as I get older and nurse my ski injuries, my new goal as an athlete is to get worse at my sport every year, yet be ok with it. I continue pouring beakfuls of water on such fires, daily.

What if this story were made into a movie? Most of us love sad movies, eh? They're familiar. They move us, comfort us, make the struggle of being a human being seem more touching. Perhaps if we see this story as a sad movie, it won't seem sad, it'll seem beautiful. Graceful. Like a kitten struggling for it's first breath. Like an athlete struggling to learn some hard lessons.

I love the hard lessons, maybe more than the easy lessons. I love fighting the fire. That’s why I prefer vacations that help me explore my own existence. The challenges and sadness of life make me feel the most alive and curious.

That's a movie worth watching...