The freedom not to be controlled by strong emotions is called nirvana in Buddhist terms. To reach that enlightened state, Buddhists use rigorous meditation training. So it seemed that Buddhism had something to teach me regarding my mental goals and playing my best game on the tennis court.
I learned to meditate like a professional tennis player, waiting for my millisecond time when I had to return my opponent’s 110 mph serve. The clarity, concentration and efficiency of the movement required to hit that tennis ball was a powerful meditation and one that required my mind to be in an optimal state of consciousness to achieve it. Then I learned the mental trick of resetting.
your mind has a way of instantly clicking into the present moment with complete clarity and readiness. Whether you’re facing a 120mph tennis ball, about to attend a big meeting or somehow seeing a potential partner for the first time, the nerves, anxiety and excitement need to be managed, so you can perform at your best.
From a sports psychology perspective, performing at your best means bringing your full talents, concentration and sensitivity to the moment. A smooth expression of these qualities is called being in the zone where an athlete performs his skills effortlessly, with everything working together perfectly for him.
I later discovered that going with the flow in spiritual terms or even the Zen idea of performing tasks without the mind is very similar to what athletes describe as being in the zone. The key to entering the zone is to bring your attention completely to the present moment. That’s hard when you’re just sitting quietly in a quiet room, but it’s even harder when you’re trying to win a tennis match with thousands of people watching and emotions and energy running high.
The key to the mental reset and bringing your attention fully into the present moment is the focus object. In tennis I learned the ritual of examining and adjusting the strings between the tips of my racket. Focusing on the strings immediately gave me an anchor to focus my attention on the present moment, let go of the last point, and worry about the score.
In meditation, your anchor point for your attention is often breathing or repeating a mantra or even physical sensations. Mindfulness practices usually involve focusing your attention on your senses by hyper-notifying what you are looking at, hearing, smelling, etc. Coming to your senses is a great reset focus object and has worked for Buddhists for thousands of years. practitioners.
In formal mindfulness meditation training, we sit in a quiet place and practice over and over again bringing our attention back to our object of focus to develop clarity, focus, concentration, and the natural byproduct of deep calm and contentment. Mindfulness meditation is essentially a constant reset, returning attention to the standard of being completely calm and focused. This level of meditation programs ourselves to bring calm and clarity to our default minds.
It’s hard to say that if you focus on the present moment, you won’t be able to hold back all the strong emotions and stress. Part of mindfulness is opening and allowing strong emotions and accommodating them in a calm way. By allowing and accepting these emotions by staying focused on something neutral, such as our focus object, the emotions will pass quickly and we can remain calm even in the midst of turmoil.
I always looked at my strings between points to focus and calm myself before starting the next point. Now I focus on my breathing and posture to center myself and get into a calm, aware state. Whether I sit in meditation or walk around on my breathing and my posture, I anchor my attention in the present centered mind.
So it’s easy to show up fully in the present moment with your best game, your beaming full presence, and your undivided attention. When you find yourself not paying attention to what is happening around you, simply reset and bring your attention back to the present moment.
Written by Chad Foreman
Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
Meditation retreats on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
Breathwork to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and
The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.
Try this guided mindfulness meditation