Cross Language

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”
Lao Tzu

Cross Language

I was watching game seven of the World Series. It was the Astros vs the Dodgers. One of the announcers, an ex-player, said that the starting pitcher had to “stay inside of his body”.

I was in the wings at a dance concert watching a friend perform. When the piece was over, to hearty applause, I asked how did it go? She was disgusted with herself and said, “I couldn’t feel the floor”.

I once watched a half-time interview with Kobe Bryant. When quizzed by the side-line reporter, he said, “I’m trying to get my legs under me”.

Professionals who perform at a high level say funny things! Obviously the floor is right there, Kobe is running around and shooting and the pitcher didn’t float away; at least that I could see.

It is the same thing being said in very different worlds.

Knowing this it helps to understand some of the goofy language in other areas. “The answer is within you” says the guru. “Find your center” says everyone. “Be grounded” is another one that gets flipped around.

It is a paradox! We believe that we must practice our technique in order to perform well. When it is time to perform, we must be focused deeply on our technique. We have to stay inside of our body when pitching in the World Series.

Method actors, those who dive deep within themselves to perform a character are doing the same thing. They are actively generating within to manifest an outward showing. Losing that connection, that constant internal percolation, will cause the actor to be lost in the role.

Professional speakers without their speeches are fun to watch. I’m thinking lawyers, politicians and Obama. They too have an internal process that you can see in action. Watch their long pauses as they carefully choose their words. Would that I could be so careful when writing a blog or teaching a class.

Your life, wanting deeper and richer experiences, needs for you to pay attention to how you are living. See? There goes that language again! It can sound strange and mystical and like nonsense. If you can imagine the sports player when performing at the highest level needing to stay within his body, then you can do the same.

By extension, the need to keep the internal cooking while we reach outside of ourselves, this explains why the Buddhist chants “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” and the dancer counts to eight over and over and why the Apostle Paul said, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all”.

The spiritual, the athlete, the artist are all reaching out for a connection but must sustain their focus internally. Summed up: pay attention to what you are doing!