The Zone

Meditation isn't the " be all and end all" in Dhamma practice. There is another mental space that is also as productive of mental and personal change. I call it "The Zone".  The Zone is the space where you are exerting yourself physically to the point where the internal chatter stops, that constant and unending internal dialogue about what you do and don't like, the incessant thinking. The Zone is where that stops. And it stops in The Zone because you are so busy trying to breathe, sweat and stopping your heart from bursting that you stop thinking.

The temporary stopping of the internal chatter is actually very pleasant. I have always found it quite the relief. The Zone gives your mind a rest, the body is working your arse to a new space, your mind is off taking a break. There are problems, issues and strategies that are simply not resolvable with the rational thinking mind. This is what The Zone is for. I actually sorted out and then ended my relationship with my father whilst climbing the Cathedral Range. The exertion instilled a knowledge that something had to give. Likewise with walking The Great South West Walk, the time alone and the exertion of carrying a heavy pack enabled a great deal of the mental chatter to cease. The Zone is a pure state. It is a state of pure mental stillness. When the mind has had its down time it often returns with a different perspective on things.  And this is where its value lies. The purity of The Zone, the results gained from it and the fact that there are no negative results from it are what makes it so essential to us as Tantrics. The Zone is the perfect fusion of the mental and the physical.