MASOCHISTIC SURRENDER

“There is an overwhelming desire at moments to escape personality,
to revel in the action of forces that have no respect for ego,
to let the tides flow, even though they flow over us.”
— William James —

Masochism is defined as ” deriving sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused”…it is generally considered a social taboo and labeled as a psychiatric disorder by the mental health community…but as yet there has not been a satisfactory explanation for this behavior.

Interestingly, spirituality and masochism have significant similarities and differences …both are concerned with the surrender of the self or ego… and both are faced with the realization that it tends only to occur with a very painful defeat and loss of the controlling self…the masochist identifies with a dominant and controlling partner who hopefully can bring about the much desired surrender,,, they agree on a plan of submissive role playing which can include humiliation,bondage,and inflicted pain…in time the masochist may surrender the ego and enter into a state of ecstasy similar to spiritual transcendence…however at that point the similarities to a spiritual surrender ends.

Spiritual surrender is not a planned event but a spontaneous gift… it is a surrender to a higher intelligence which brings about a permanent change in the personality free from dependency and with a sense of dignity.

Masochism is another important illustration of our persistent need to find some solution to our problematic and controlling ego…  the time has come for us to accept masochism as an integral part of the human dilemma in seeking liberation from the ego…in addition, recognize that masochism offers an important contribution to the field of surrender psychology.

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ECSTATIC FLOW

Source: Creative Flow

Daniel Golemon,author of “Emotional Intelligence” refers to an artist, an athlete, and a surgeon who are completely engrossed in some aspect of their work. Each experiences a. kind of ecstasy, a state described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as flow. Goleman defines flow and discusses what brings it about. Perhaps you can think of times in your life when you hove been completely engrossed in an activity and were excited as much about the process OS the end result.

A composer describes those moments when his work is at its best:

“You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I’ve experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching in a state of awe and wonderment. And it just flows out by itself.”

His description is remarkably similar to those of hundreds of diverse men and women-rock climbers, chess champions, surgeons, basketball players, engineers, managers, even filing clerks- when they tell of a time they outdid themselves in some favored activity. The state they describe is called “flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the University of Chicago psychologist who has collected such accounts of peak performance during two decades of research. Athletes know this state of grace as “the zone,” where excellence becomes effortless, crowds and competitors disappearing into a blissful, steady absorption in the moment. Diane Roffe-Steinrotter, who captured a gold medal in skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics, said after she finished her turn at skiracing that she remembered nothing about it but being immersed in relaxation: “I felt like a waterfall.” …

Flow represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performance and learning. In flow the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. Yet flow (or a milder microflow) is an experience almost everyone enters from time to time, particularly when performing at their peak or stretching beyond their former limits. …

That experience is a glorious one: the hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture. Because flow feels so good, it is intrinsically rewarding. It is a state in which people become utterly absorbed in what they are doing, paying undivided attention to the task, their awareness merged with their actions. Indeed, it interrupts flow to reflect too much on what is happening-the very thought “I’m doing this wonderfully” can break the feeling of flow. Attention becomes so focused that people are aware only of the narrow range of perception related to the immediate task, losing track of time and space. A surgeon, for example, recalled a challenging operation during which he was in flow; when he completed the surgery he noticed some rubble on the floor of the operating room and asked what had happened. He was amazed to hear that while he was so intent on the surgery part of the ceiling had caved in-he hadn’t noticed at all. …

FLOW OF ENDORPHINS

Source: Endorphins

Endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which function to transmit electrical signals within the nervous system. At least 20 types of endorphins have been demonstrated in humans. Endorphins can be found in the pituitary gland, in other parts of the brain, or distributed throughout the nervous system.

Stress and pain are the two most common factors leading to the release of endorphins. Endorphins interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain and act similarly to drugs such as morphine and codeine. In contrast to the opiate drugs, however, activation of the opiate receptors by the body’s endorphins does not lead to addiction or dependence.

In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins have been suggested as modulators of the so-called “runner’s high” that athletes achieve with prolonged exercise. While the role of endorphins and other compounds as potential triggers of this euphoric response has been debated extensively by doctors and scientists, it is at least known that the body does produce endorphins in response to prolonged, continuous exercise.

Endorphin release varies among individuals. This means that two people who exercise at the same level or suffer the same degree of pain will not necessarily produce similar levels of endorphins. Certain foods, such as chocolate or chili peppers, can also lead to enhanced secretion of endorphins. In the case of chili peppers, the spicier the pepper, the more endorphins are secreted. The release of endorphins upon ingestion of chocolate likely explains the comforting feelings that many people associate with this food and the craving for chocolate in times of stress.

Even if you don’t participate in strenuous athletics, you can also try various activities to increase your body’s endorphin levels. Studies of acupuncture and massage therapy have shown that both of these techniques can stimulate endorphin secretion. Sex is also a potent trigger for endorphin release. Finally, the practice of meditation can increase the amount of endorphins released in your body.

PASSIONATE SURFING

Source: Soul Surfing

We don’t know what goes on in the brain of a surfer when he’s riding the wave,but we do know that one of the most common mystical experiences a surfer has is a feeling of oneness with the ocean. And while we don’t know what goes on in the brain of a surfer while he’s riding the wave, we do know what goes on in the brain of people who are meditating.

Surfing has more high-risk variables than other sports. Breaks change, swell directions alter the shape of the wave, the size of the swell varies and wind direction affects everything. Surfing has more moving parts than and because of that it requires the same laser pinpoint focused concentration to ride a wave as it does to meditate.

Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg found that the right parietal lobe — the part of the brain that allows us to orientate ourselves in space — stops accepting information in and stops putting information out during moments of intense concentration. Because it’s the part of the brain that helps us separate self from other, when this portion of the brain is shut down, if you demand an answer from it and say ‘Where am I right now?’ it has no other option but to tell you that at this particular moment, you’re one with everything. Everyone is hardwired for this experience, so it’s not just surfers.

Sitting out on the water is being able to connect with that primordial rhythm in a wild and ever-changing, extraordinary dance. We’re dancing with something that’s very alive, that’s in this moment, and that as human beings we can’t control.” Not only does surfing “vibrate us to a higher frequency, but it’s also a character builder, teaching us about fear, commitment, impermanence, finding harmony with others and falling down and getting back up again.

Whether it’s a mystical experience or simply a serious adrenaline rush, there’s something about paddling out into a monstrous wall of water, popping up to one’s feet and then gliding down the front of a wave. At first the wave controls you; but once you’re on it, it’s more like you’re working together. Think of it as an intimate partnership with nature that can be thrilling, relaxing and healing.

ECSTATIC SELF-FORGETFULNESS

“In self-forgetfulness, one draws closer to God.” ~Henry David Thoreau

“Man is a thinking reed but his great works are done when he is not calculating and thinking. “Childlikeness” has to be restored with long years of training in the art of self-forgetfulness. When this is attained, man thinks yet he does not think. He thinks like the showers coming down from the sky; he thinks like the waves rolling on the ocean; he thinks like the stars illuminating the nightly heavens; he thinks like the green foliage shooting forth in the relaxing spring breeze. Indeed, he is the showers, the ocean, the stars, the foliage” ~D.T. Suzuki

Flow is a state of self-forgetfulness, the opposite of rumination and worry: instead of being lost in nervous preoccupation, people in flow are so absorbed in the task at hand that they lose all self-consciousness, dropping the small preoccupations—health, bills, even doing well—of daily life. In this sense moments of flow are egoless. Paradoxically, people in flow exhibit a masterly control of what they are doing, their responses perfectly attuned to the changing demands of the task. And although people perform at their peak while in flow, they are unconcerned with how they are doing, with thought of success or failure—the sheer pleasure of the act itself is what motivates them.

“Billy Elliot” is a movie about a boy of about ten years old from a poor Irish family who learns how to dance. He practices incessantly, on the roof, in the alleys, everywhere in his small Irish village. His teacher suggests that he apply for a scholarship at a distinguished arts academy. The most poignant scene in the movie shows him auditioning for the scholarship. In front of a long desk of five stolid judges, the music is turned on and everyone waits for Billy Elliot to dance. At first his nervousness betrays him and he’s uncertain of his steps. But he slowly gives way to the rhythm that he hears. In minutes, Billy Elliot is leaping across the floor, doing the most fantastic numbers. After the audition, amazed by Billy’s prowess, one of the judges asks the boy the question, “What is it that you enjoy about dancing?” And his response: “I disappear. I forget myself completely.”

ECSTATIC FLOW

Source: Creative Flow

Motivation and emotion are intrinsically bound to our ability to be creative and absorbed in our work. In this selection, Daniel Golemon,author of “Emotional Intelligence” refers to an artist, an athlete, and a surgeon who are completely engrossed in some aspect of their work. Each experiences a. kind of ecstasy, a state described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as flow. Goleman defines flow and discusses what brings it about. Perhaps you can think of times in your life when you hove been completely engrossed in an activity and were excited as much about the process OS the end result.

A composer describes those moments when his work is at its best:

“You yourself are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I’ve experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching in a state of awe and wonderment. And it just flows out by itself.”

His description is remarkably similar to those of hundreds of diverse men and women-rock climbers, chess champions, surgeons, basketball players, engineers, managers, even filing clerks- when they tell of a time they outdid themselves in some favored activity. The state they describe is called “flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the University of Chicago psychologist who has collected such accounts of peak performance during two decades of research. Athletes know this state of grace as “the zone,” where excellence becomes effortless, crowds and competitors disappearing into a blissful, steady absorption in the moment. Diane Roffe-Steinrotter, who captured a gold medal in skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics, said after she finished her turn at skiracing that she remembered nothing about it but being immersed in relaxation: “I felt like a waterfall.” …

Flow represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performance and learning. In flow the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. Yet flow (or a milder microflow) is an experience almost everyone enters from time to time, particularly when performing at their peak or stretching beyond their former limits. …

That experience is a glorious one: the hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture. Because flow feels so good, it is intrinsically rewarding. It is a state in which people become utterly absorbed in what they are doing, paying undivided attention to the task, their awareness merged with their actions. Indeed, it interrupts flow to reflect too much on what is happening-the very thought “I’m doing this wonderfully” can break the feeling of flow. Attention becomes so focused that people are aware only of the narrow range of perception related to the immediate task, losing track of time and space. A surgeon, for example, recalled a challenging operation during which he was in flow; when he completed the surgery he noticed some rubble on the floor of the operating room and asked what had happened. He was amazed to hear that while he was so intent on the surgery part of the ceiling had caved in-he hadn’t noticed at all. …