NY TIMES: Transcendence-Race Inspired by Sri Chinmoy

The New York Times blog today featured runners in a multi-day race inspired by my Guru Sri Chinmoy who believed that sports can be a powerful means of unlocking personal capacity. Over the years, Sri Chinmoy and his students have organized countless running races and triathlons, including a 3,100 mile race and this week's Self-Trancendence Six and Ten Day Races where ultra-distance runners can clock over 90 miles a day, generally averaging 50 to 70 miles every 24 hours. Props to my friend Viddyut Ballmer, a violinist I perform with in the Bay Area, who is running sixth among men in the Six Day Race.

I am personally not built for the ultra-distance format; running around a loop was never my cup of tea. Still, I did engage the concept of 'Trancendence' daily but my explorations were in expanding the physical scale, size and scope of projects and programs. In particular, I applied Sri Chinmoy's teachings to creating and organizing the world largest relay run for peace (now named World Harmony Run), in my work for clients at my public relations firm, and in my own music with friends like Viddyut. And I wrote about expanding personal capacity in this prior post.

The idea that we can achieve unbelieveable results if we simply believe it and do it is fundamental to many belief systems, including The Law of Attraction and The Secret, both of which reinorce a belief system that Sri Chinmoy enabled in me and for which I'm profoundly grateful.

And I admire all the 80 or so runners - many of my friends actually - who are out there to experience, know and live the Infinite and unlimited Bliss called Transcendence. Sri Chinmoy's Spirit and Joy are living through the experience of these runners who remind us that everything is possible if we simply go forward and believe in infinite possibilities.

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