Dreamrunning

Are you running? Most of us are -- running through the days of our lives. Trying to catch up. Trying to stay ahead of the freight train of change and additional concerns and responsibilities that seems to be bearing down on us from behind.

The state of mind we get into when we rush is similar to that of the jogger or distance runner. How much farther to go? I don't know whether I can make it! When will this be over? Years ago I made up a series of mind games to keep from getting bored and stressed during long runs. To keep myself entertained I constructed a series of temporary alternate reality states or dreams. I found that practicing these mind games took away the stress of running and left my mind and body refreshed and harmonized. In a book I wrote about the subject titled What’s the Rush? I called the practice "dreamrunning," and the 30 or so mental constructions which I came up with I called "recipes for the sole."

The three recipes I include below give an idea of how to change running into the experience of “being run ”— that is, the sensation that you’re not the one doing the running but rather the activity is being done through you. You are the vessel, the instrument, but the effort is not yours, so the activity becomes “effortless.”

BreathPull Imagine that it's not your will or muscles, but your inhaling that is pulling you forward.

TowRope Pretend there is an invisible rope attached to your chest, that is gently pulling you forward.

Giant Hand Imagine a giant hand resting against your back, gently pushing you along.

Once you understand the principle of “being run” behind these mind-games, you can use it in other forms of recipes than running — i.e., biking, swimming, walking. You can also make up your own recipes. (Other good ones are Treadmill, where you imagine that the ground is moving under you, and you are running in place, and Frames, where you’re in a movie, and moving through each successive frame of movie film.)

In fact, you don’t have to be exercising to use the notion of "being run" to take the stress out of whatever you’re doing. In the very midst of all the hurry and change involved in working and living, it’s possible to practice a version of the recipes to achieve and maintain a balance between control and surrender, between "making things happen" and "letting things happen." You can become a dreamrunner at spots in a busy day. This mental shift can carry over into the day and leave you feeling supported and energized, calm amidst the storm.

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Need coaching in slowing down to the speed of life? Visit www.myjimballard.com

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