Mystic Groove

A "peak experience" is when a person experiences himself (or herself) being rather than becoming.  The individual's ego vanishes and one is a feeling of perfection in and around.

In kyaking, this state is called "the Flow."  I have experienced it directly with pen and ink and paint.  Occassionally while skateboarding and even more often while hiking and climbing.  There is something about the great outdoors that smoothes the shift away from being self-preoccupied to simply being.  But even more than in nature, the most beautiful peak experiences are shared with friends--where the joy and play of conversation, a dance really, takes you to a different state.  You really do experience yourself being rather than becoming.  The interesting paradox is that you virtually forget about yourself and there is simply "us."

Step into the Gap

Stepping in the Gap that is "I"




There is a _vast_





gulf



between how we perceive ourselves

and









how others perceive us.

Discovering this gap is tremendously unsettling at first,

You may well feel disillusioned,

but this breaking of the illusion,

this dis-illusionment,

is

ultimately liberating.



The problem isn't that there is some absolute and

fundamental "you" that can be pinned down

where you confidently say

"aha, _this_ is who I am!"



No, the challenge lies in knowing yourself,

to appreciate this inter-subjective

interconnected world and dynamic reality we live in,

to appreciate a little more how you're perceived,

and to consciously choose the size of the "gap" that is



tolerable.



Because the fact is, we easily decieve ourselves,

and there is a social and cultural "I" as much as there is

an inner, personal experience of "I."

Both are equally important

and more imporantly,

equally real,

sometimes overlapping

but never

exactly

the same.



So don't mind the gap.



Step into the reality of  your own personal

Grand


Canyon.
~ John