Spirituality In Sport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Spirituality In Sport - Essay Example We take for granted our present identity, the one that our surroundings (parents, family) have given us. But the quest for spirituality helps us discover our true identity and instills hope and faith in us (Russel, 2006). The Divine path unites us with our true identity after we decide to delve in the realm of spirituality. All religions are based on spirituality and no matter how modern we may get, we always want to know our religion’s teachings for matters of our interest, though we might not abide by the religious teachings. These matters can be our passions like music and sports. It is interesting to find out what religion has to say about sports and if there is any linkage between spirituality and sports. Something which is spiritual, touches us deeply from within, gives us peace and motivation to go on. All the successful athletes went for their passion because they found contentment and peace in the sport of their choice. It is difficult to perceive a relationship betwe en sports and spirituality (though it exists for sure), because violence, aggression and anger is seen in sportsmen while they are battling to win the game. As per a renowned psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (who happens to be a chess player as well), sports let us be in a state of ‘flow’. This is an active state where a sportsman is just focused on the game and does not heed his surroundings. This flow state is an active state because both our mental and physical energies are devoted to just one thing: the game. Also, we are so engrossed in sports that during playing, all our worldly worries seem to drift away and we find an escape from daily tensions and stress. Other activities such as watching television are passive because they do not require one to be directly involved and concentrate solely on one thing (Taylor, 2002, Spring). Athletes drift into a passionate trance, where they relax and find serenity as sports soothe the nerves, no matter how strenuous they might be. Flow is very much similar to the dharana state of yoga which literally means concentration. The similarity is justified; because sports require 100% concentration otherwise one slipping can make you lose. Once in a state of flow, there are chances that it might deepen and the sportsman moves into a state very much similar to dhiyana (meditation state of yoga) and all of a sudden, the player’s performance improves so much that he can turn the game around. But in dhyana (referred to as the Zone by sportsmen), everything slows down so that the player is better able to think and then charge at the opponents. The zone is a transient phase and only the most professional and expert sportsmen are able to fall in it and give their best shot (Taylor, 2002, Spring). Sometimes, extraordinary and phenomenal things tend to happen that leave a mark in the minds of the spectators who are totally awed after experiencing a great feat, when players are in the state of dhyana; for ins tance runners feel as if they are airborne, light and highly energized during ‘tipping’ (dhyana-like state). Some sportsmen also claim that during such a phase, they can see through their bodies. These are psychic experiences and the players manage to give commendable performance during them; but there are chances that a lot of people will question the validity of these experiences. But only a genuine sportsman can verify whether these experiences are really spiritual or make-believe. After dhyana, sportsmen sometimes enter into samadhi (state of union with the divine), where they feel extremely elated: hence we can conclude that sports are a spiritual practice as it corresponds to the three states of yoga dharana, dhyana and samadhi (Taylor, 2002,

Feminist criticism of Erin Brokovich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Feminist criticism of Erin Brokovich - Essay Example ance of the woman, Erin Brockovich, whose reliance on her sex appeal lands her in a mess until she finds her mission as a legal assistant espousing the cause of a small community ravaged by pollution from PG&E’s plant. The film is considered one of the most progressive movies of recent decades. However, despite much ado about its being a feminist film, it also resorts to the objectification of woman for male viewing pleasure. Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three, is on a losing streak that leads to a dismissed lawsuit against a rich doctor. She had hoped to cash in on the lawsuit but loses on it because of her brash and indecorous outbursts in court. Playing on her lawyer’s sense of guilt, she succeeds in browbeating him to employ her. The highlight of her past has been a reign as Miss Wichita. She has remained blinded by the easy, cheap triumphs her beauty got her. Married and divorced twice, she struggles to raise her three children. Without a man to lean on or even a job to support her, life has seemed headed for disaster. She wears tight, short, cleavage-enhancing costumes that indicate her crass, low-class taste. Her trashy clothes and earthy manners are abrasive to co-workers, as illustrated by the dialogue between her employer and herself. They gradually learn to tolerate her when she begins to investigate a suspicious case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. She discovers that residents in the area are being poisoned by toxic hexavalent chromium that the company is dumping and that the company is trying quietly to buy out the contaminated land. She perseveres, to find herself in the middle of one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history. Julia Roberts portrays a fiercely independent modern American woman with gusto, pathos and humour. Other characters are secondary, and her constant presence and indomitable spirit relegate even the facts of the real-life case to the background. The film avoids standard