Global Shift – From Sports to Spirituality

While enjoying a hot cup of brown tea from the Meiji Shrine this morning I couldn’t help but ponder something. This idea came out of nowhere and seemed to weigh on my mind insisting to be recognized and to have the attention that it so deserves placed upon it. So here it is…

What if there were a global shift in priorities from sports to spiritual awakening!?

Can you imagine!!! Sports or Spirituality? If you couldn’t have both (and you can’t), which would you consciously choose?

The truth of the matter is that people everywhere are force-fed a number of distractions every day. Most blindly trot along with the herd without the slightest real thought of their own. Sports, politics, religions, and celebrity gossip are currently among the top of the list of things that provide mass distraction. These things serve to cause separation among the people of the world and to increase the ego all while providing the illusion/delusion of togetherness and teamwork. Remember, where there is ego, there is the absence of spirit. Indeed these topics cause a sense of separateness within the world, each country, each state, each city, and even within some households. They cause us to disassociate from one another, dislike and even hate each other. Whatever happened to the idea of “united we stand?” This tactic of divide and conquer has been used for thousands of years and still continues to be effective because the ego continues to fall for it. But the truth remains that all of these things, in their own way, are merely forms of distraction and illusion. They keep people from focusing on the things that have actual importance and value in life. They keep the truth shrouded in mystery when it doesn’t have to be. I see them at this moment as the primary barriers to worldwide spiritual awakening.

While each of these topics could have its own article, I would like to focus on sports for this particular topic at this moment. While writing this article I was reminded that it was Super Bowl time, funny as I had forgotten all about this as I do not have television, nor do I follow any sports. You’ve got to love synchronicity.

It’s common to go into a local supermarket and hear the staff and patrons carrying on about this team or that team, and this player being better than that one. The last time I observed this I stopped for a moment and just listened. It was the only thing these people could find to talk about with one another. They struggle and ultimately fail to have anything else to say to each other. Have people really lost their ability to interact with one other to such a degree that they need sports in order to generate a topic of mutual interest? If so, things are really off track, wouldn’t you agree? I certainly don’t have a problem striking up meaningful conversation with someone, but admittedly, when the conversation turns to superficial things like sports I lose interest immediately. I just see no need to engage in a conversation and doesn’t offer any sense of vibrational uplifting value. Could you imagine if people spoke of meaningful things around the water cooler? What if sports bars turned their focus to meaningful interactions – and beer? 😉 What if their televisions played programs of Eckhart Tolle, Osho, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, or other spiritual leaders with the conversation over a couple of brews being far more significant than cheering for someone to run down a field or throw a ball through a metal ring? Wouldn’t it be amazing to see true spiritual leaders being held in high regard for the value they offer instead of people worshiping sports athletes and so-called celebrities, paying them tens of millions of dollars to provide entertaining distractions – and the worst type of role models for our children and our selves?

Here’s an important question – Why is it that so many men are capable of remembering and becoming emotionally invested in knowing all of the names, stats, injuries, and more of the players on many sports teams, yet they cannot for the life of them remember their own wedding anniversary!? And why is it that this has become acceptable? Think about what exactly this says! A man can recall every stat of every player on multiple teams, yet he cannot bring himself to remember the anniversary of the day he entered into a union with the single-most special person who is supposed to mean more to him than anyone else in the world. He cannot remember his anniversary but does he ever forget the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Olympics? No, no he doesn’t. Does this say that he cares more about sports than his beloved wife? I think the answer is frighteningly obvious. I think the old joke of a sexy wife walking in front of the television completely undressed vying for attention during a sporting event, only to have her husband unable to notice her while motioning for her to move out-of-the-way because he can’t see the game, says it all. It’s funny and very sad) because it’s true. Not a very positive representation of a mature adult man or a healthy loving relationship is it?

But, to be completely fair, it’s no longer just the men. Many women are now following this unfortunate pattern of distraction and ego-strengthening through competitive sports as well. The world needs these strong women to direct their focus in a far more mindful manner, if they are to help lead the world into survival and avoid extinction. people need to kick the drama addiction. The rollercoaster ride of winning and being elated with losing and being pissed at the world is the addiction of sports fans. They love the drama. This form of drama serves to feed the ego and keep one’s vibration in a state of flux so no personal power can be achieved. First its up and then its down, then its up again or did it sink even lower? These emotional and energetic extremes are like a drug that gets the ego hooked. Doesn’t it reveal the truth when people are able to remember so many things that have absolutely no value in life yet there is no more room in their memory to recall the things that actually do matter? Isn’t it sad that a supposedly superior species such as human beings can have so much potential yet actively choose to throw it away for pointless distractions and a mindless existence?

It’s important to remember that any form of competitive sport strengthens the ego, it’s a simple fact, there’s no way around it. Any competitive sport that pits one person against another for any form of dominance breeds separation and egotism. That’s not to say that they don’t offer other forms of value, but their primary existence is merely that of entertainment and ego-strengthening. Entertainment is used as a form of escapism, it takes people farther away from being able to live consciously in the here and now. It causes them to waste their life and not even realize it. The same goes for the Dungeons and Dragons of sports – creating a fantasy league. Grown adults pretending to make teams of their dream players. Ummmm? It allows people time to escape their real life and immerse themselves in a distraction but in doing so, they waste precious time on pointless non-sense. This keeps your mind from focusing on anything real, anything meaningful, and it prevents your spiritual evolution.

Instead of people screaming at their television sets, getting severely pissed off over their team losing, creating “fantasy” leagues, overturning vehicles, rioting and looting, or getting into fights or even killing one another over a sporting event; wouldn’t it be incredible to engage in activities that brought everyone closer together and compassionately worked to care for the well-being of the planet? This shift from activities that cause human separation into those that generate human connection would allow the human species to fully awaken. Imagine this… Instead of people being pulled away from one another and falsely led to believe that they are different from or better than another; what if they engaged in things that allowed them to see the truth? The truth that everyone is connected, we are all one, we are all the same. That people are supposed to love and care for one another. Imagine if the world’s masses escaped the illusion of political parties and governments? What if they escaped the illusion of one religious belief system being the only right way? What if they lost interest in mind-numbing drivel that is known as celebrity gossip? And what if people were able to shift all of that passion, raw emotion, energy, and mental power that is given away so willingly to competitive sports and directed it toward living in harmony with all others? I wish right now that each of you reading this will take a moment and envision this in your mind. Please make the effort to do it. Just imagine what this amazing world could be like and how we could manifest our potential.

At some point there must be a shift in our awareness away from these meaningless, ego-strengthening, distractions back to the things in life that truly matter. Yes, I said “must.” There is no question about it and no time to waste with fluffy encouragement. We must reclaim an understanding for things that add value to our lives and the lives of others. We need to shift the focus of our priorities to those aspects of life that consciously improve our lives, our connection to one another, and a sense of peace and harmony throughout the world. We must shift our focus from sports to spirituality. From ego to essence. Just imagine if people took all the passion, interest, emotion and money that they give to sports and they were able to invest it all into a worldwide spiritual awakening. It would be enough to substantially change the world.

The numbers here are so significant that if this shift from sports for spiritual awakening were to take place it would act as a catalyst catapulting nearly the entire world population into spiritual evolution. It would be the equivalent to a worldwide spiritual tsunami of awakening! A massive wave sweeping the entire world, bathing its inhabitants in the glow of enlightenment. Imagine if right now, suddenly, everyone in the world shifted their interest from sports to spiritual awakening!

Can you imagine the world we could create if we could shift our focus from these mindless distractions and place all that energy toward personal improvement, spiritual evolution, and a sense of worldwide connection and harmony? Imagine filling stadiums with people, packing every seat, as a way to come together and share heart opening, mentally stimulating ideas that enhanced our lives and bring people closer together. What if we were able to shift the multi-billion dollar sports industry into a multi-billion dollar movement for spiritual awakening? imagine if every person around the globe placed their focus on awakening instead of sports? Violence would cease, greed would transform into giving, compassion would flourish, empires and egos would topple, awakening and well-being would become contagious infecting nearly everyone, hearts would open and connect like never before, the world would heal and happiness would reign.

Okay, so I suppose that was a thought worthy of some recognition and attention, huh? Now it must be brought into reality. Are we ready? If so, turn off the damn TV and kiss your beautiful wife! I mean really kiss her, like you actually mean it. When was the last time you did that? Get off the couch and get into your life. Open your heart to others and talk about things that truly matter. Listen to the guidance of your heart and no longer accept the brainwashing. It’s time for us to stop fearing one another and begin embracing each other and treating each other like the family that we truly are. Are you with me? I hope so because I can’t do it alone. Even so, I won’t stop trying.