Run and smile, smile and run

_Mike Spino:_ If higher states of consciousness are possible when running, will this always result in superlative performances? Can there be a poor performance and a gain in the life quest? If so, how can this be recognised?⁹

Sri Chinmoy: It is not guaranteed that if one is in a high state of consciousness, one will perform extremely well. Sixteen thousand runners ran in this year's New York Marathon. I do not want to brag, but I do not think that ten or eleven thousand of them had a higher consciousness than the poor runner in me; but they still defeated me. So capacity is of paramount importance. But along with capacity, if one can invoke a higher consciousness, then one is likely to do very well. Again, we have to know that an increase in capacity comes quite often not only from regular training but also from the descent of Grace, which is part and parcel of a higher consciousness.

RS 9-12. Mike Spino was formerly a track coach at the University of Georgia and at Esalen Institute in California. He is the author of a number of books on running, including Beyond Jogging and The Zen of Running, and has offered new techniques of concentration, meditation and visualisation to help athletes attain their potential.↩

From:Sri Chinmoy,Run and smile, smile and run, Agni Press, 2000
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/rs

_Mike Spino:_ If higher states of consciousness are possible when running, will this always result in superlative performances? Can there be a poor performance and a gain in the life quest? If so, how can this be recognised?9

_Mike Spino:_ If higher states of consciousness are possible when running, will this always result in superlative performances? Can there be a poor performance and a gain in the life quest? If so, how can this be recognised?⁹