Running the Spiritual Path: A Runner's Guide to Breathing, Meditating, and Exploring the Prayerful Dimension of the Sport - Softcover

Joslin, Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312308868 ISBN 13: 9780312308865

Verlag: St. Martin's Griffin, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

Running the Spiritual Path is Roger D. Joslin's compelling and inspiring guide to making running a spiritual sport.

Imagine achieving physical fitness and spiritual growth simultaneously. Roger Joslin's step by step program is an engaging exploration of his conviction that spiritual well being is as likely to happen while running along the trails of a favorite park as it is within the more traditional settings of neighborhood churches, synagogues, or mosques. Through awareness, chants and visualization, and through attention to the most evident aspects of the present moment--the weather, pain, or breathing--the simple run can become the basis for a profound spiritual practice.

In Running the Spiritual Path Roger D. Joslin combines the insights gathered from thirty years of running, with a personal spiritual journey that is guiding him to the priesthood. While drawing from and exhibiting an abiding respect for the traditions and sacred practices of the world's great religions, the author describes a heretofore-unexplored method of sacred running, of bringing meditation and a prayerful communion to the running trail.

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Roger D. Joslin is a native Texan. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1973 and obtained an MA in Government from the University of Texas in 1976 and later studied international relations at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. Joslin also studied at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, and is now an Episcopal priest. An avid runner most of his adult life, Joslin has devoted much of the last decade exploring and writing about the link between the spiritual quest and the world of running. He is the author of Running the Spiritual Path.

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"If you're great at lacing up your running shoes, but you can't fold yourself into lotus position, here's the guide to finding a spiritual connection to your favorite physical activity."
- Times-Picayune, New Orleans

"While drawing from and exhibiting an abiding respect for the traditions of the world's great religions, the author describes a heretofore unexplored method of sacred running, of bringing meditation and a prayerful communion to the running trail."
- The New Times

"In this refreshingly cogent and practical work, Joslin reveals the many ways in which a regular run can be turned into a lively and enriching encounter with the Divine."
- Spirituality & Health

"A splendid, new, outside-the-box contribution. . . . At the deepest level, what Joslin has offered us is far more that just an excellent handbook. It is a record of a soul in progress---progress toward integration and harmony."
- The Episcopal New Yorker

"Joslin recounts his profound experiences on reverent runs and offers readers suggestions on how to infuse spiritual growth into their jogs through running mantras, stretches as prayer posters, and more. Incorporate some of his suggestions on your next outing and you'll say I've come this far by faith."
- Heart and Soul magazine

"Joslin inspires us to bring intention and purpose to any activity we do regularly, seeking communion with God whether we are cooking, cleaning the house, or commuting. In other words, you don't have to be a runner to get guidance from this practical book."
- Spirituality and Health

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Running the Spiritual Path

A Runner's Guide to Breathing, Meditating, and Exploring the Prayerful Dimension of the Sport

By Roger D. Joslin

St. Martin's Press

Copyright © 2003 Roger D. Joslin
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-312-30886-5

Contents

Title Page, 
Copyright Notice, 
Dedication, 
Acknowledgments, 
Epigraph, 
Preface, 
Introduction, 
1. Intentions and Preparations, 
2. Emptying the Mind, 
3. Running Revelations, 
4. Running with Awareness, 
5. Breath and Chant: Aids to Mindfulness, 
6. Running with the Imagination, 
7. A Sense of Place, 
8. Phases and Stages, 
9. The Joy of the Ill-Fitting Shoe, 
10. Running in a Pure Land, 
11. Ritual, Sacraments, Ordinary and Extraordinary, 
12. Godspeed, 
13. Physical, Spiritual, Mind and Body, 
14. Running as a Pilgrimage, 
Bibliography, 
Copyright, 

CHAPTER 1

intentions and preparations

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

1 COR. 9:26

If you walk toward Him, He comes to you running.

MAHAMMAD

It is possible to begin a meditation run simply by stepping onto the pavement and putting one foot in front of the other. In fact, the simplicity of this is one of the great joys of running. No elaborate gear, accessories, or training are required. One can simply step into the run and see what unfolds.

However, a clear declaration of the intention can give the runner a sense of purpose that increases the possibility of fulfilling the objective of sensing the sacred. There are many good reasons for running. Hopes of achieving physical fitness, releasing stress, or enhancing one's appearance motivate most of the runners you see on a city's tracks and trails. These goals, as well as the thrill of competition or just a simple appreciation of the joy of movement, are all worthy. However, running meditation is a practice with a singular purpose and many side benefits.

It is very likely, since you have undertaken the task of reading this book, that you have felt some sense of the sacred when running. The connection may have appeared to happen accidentally, without any desire or action on your part. This kind of experience often emerges at a time of need, whether or not we are aware of the need. We find ourselves reaching out for help in all directions. Our call for assistance, perhaps in the form of a prayer, but perhaps not, is answered as we find within ourselves the presence of the Divine. This realization of God's closeness is always a matter of grace. However, we have to be ready to receive that grace. We can take steps to prepare ourselves to recognize that grace awaits us. In preparing for a run, we can ready our mind and body to be receptive to a power that is always present.

Preparation for a Run

For many people, it may be useful to sit quietly in meditation before beginning a run. Personally, when I am eager to begin running, I find it difficult to sit still. At the end of a workday, having spent many hours behind a desk, I crave movement. I have realized that I can find God in that movement as easily as I can find him in stillness. However, if your schedule and temperament allow it, you might try to first solidify a connection with the Divine through silence and stillness before beginning the run. Generally, when engaged in sitting meditation, I will sit for a minimum of twenty minutes. That length of time is not necessary here. A shorter period, about five to ten minutes of silence, should allow you to move into the run fully prepared.

If you do not choose to sit in silence before a run, do allow a few moments for recollection. Focus your attention on your breathing for a minute or two. You might ask God to make his presence known to you on the run. In some way, make the purpose of the run known to both your mind and body. Simply stating to yourself that the run is intended to bring you in touch with the Transcendent can be helpful. Along the way you will undoubtedly lose touch with your goal, but a firm declaration of your intention before beginning the run will make it easier to find your way back to your objective.

The Sufi al-Sarraj speaks of the preparation and attitude that are essential before entering a state of prayer. When elevating running to a form of prayer, the same kind of preparation should take place. Al-Sarraj advises us to enter into a state of meditation and recollection, free from thoughts of anything but God alone. He advises that those who enter into prayer with this kind of recollection will find that the state remains even after they have ceased to pray and lasts from prayer time to prayer time. This is what the meditative runner strives to achieve as well, a continuation of the state of recollection from one run to the next. The frame of mind stretches from before and after each run, each an intentional conversation with God, until the peace is continuous.

If you stretch before a run, treat each stretching position as a prayer posture. The Islamic practice of prayerful kneeling and bowing toward Mecca is similar to a runner's stretch. Christians often kneel in prayer. In both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, mudras, or elaborate hand and arm positions, play an important role in bringing the body into alliance with the mind and spirit while meditating. Central to the many disciplines of yoga is the harmony and health of the whole person. Within the yoga of postures, or asanas, the focus given during each movement and holding of a pose can almost be described as sacramental. This intent not only allows for the fullest physiological benefits from the asanas, but also makes the practice one of mindfulness. Imagine that, in addition to stretching your muscles, you are stretching your spirit and giving it the flexibility it needs to engage the Transcendent. Each stretching exercise is transformed into a pose of prayer.

A Beginning Exercise

Prepare mindfully for the run. Dress slowly, methodically, as if you were a devout priest and your running clothes were sacred vestments. Pay special attention as you put on your socks and shoes, lacing your shoes carefully. Just as a priest uses his hands to prepare the sacrament, your feet will be the contact point between your body and the sacred earth. Hold on to an awareness of that fact.

If you begin by stretching, focus all your attention on each muscle being stretched. Just before you begin to run, say a silent prayer, asking for God to be present on your run and to aid you in your effort to be present to the Divine.

The first quarter of the run: Start out running slowly, focusing on breathing. When extraneous thoughts arise, acknowledge them, and then simply return to the breath.

The second quarter of the run: Shift your attention to your feet. Be aware of the contact between the soles of your feet and the earth. Listen to the sound of your foot striking the various surfaces you encounter. Hear the differences in the sounds that gravel, sand, concrete, and asphalt make beneath your feet. Step lightly on the earth. Be aware that you are running along the surface of a spherical planet. When thoughts arise, let them go and return to an awareness of the interaction between your feet and the ground.

The third quarter of the run: Practice the Mother Teresa Run. Look kindly in the eyes of every person you meet. Whether or not your gaze is returned, offer them a slight smile and a silent...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: St. Martin's Griffin
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0312308868
• ISBN 13: 9780312308865
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 276
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar