Do Mid/High-Intensity Cardio Exercises Have Consciousness Raising Abilities?

[Marcell Kovacs]

The episode where @Leo Gura mentions the marathon monks recently came into my mind and I started wondering whether some of these high-intensity cardiovascular exercises, such as running have any spiritual purification/consciousness raising attributes to them.

I have a long-distance running practice that serves as a way of maintaining my fitness level that I do 3-4 times a week, however I can't help but notice the after effects of arriving home from a run. I would often times sit down to listen to some music straight after finishing my session and notice that my skin feels very alive/fresh and also that my body is free of any toxic/pent up emotions for roughly 1 to 3 hours. Obviously, we all know this phenomenon very well as the "runner's high". My experiences after a high intensity long distance running session are very similar to how I feel after finishing my meditation practice, however I'm back into full ego-mode much earlier than with running. Out of the non-psychedelic consciousness raising techniques I'm practicing at the moment only shamanic breathing comes close to this feeling of completeness in my body after finishing the session itself, which is a very powerful tool in itself that I owe a lot to.

Also, it's interesting to note that running itself was one of the core principles of the marathon monks' method of raising their level of consciousness/attaining enlightenment alongside meditation, which leads me to believe that there's probably some validity to think that it's definitely a highly beneficial technique.

While I'm aware that running (or any high-intensity cardiovascular training exercise as a matter of fact) are mainly beneficial and related to the domain of fitness and shouldn't be used as a crutch in hopes of achieving higher levels of consciousness, I can't help but wonder if there's some overlapping with spirituality as well.

Also, are there any consciousness raising/emotional healing practices/exercises that are related to fitness as well from a Yellow or Turquoise perspective? I'm aware that we have Hatha Yoga as an answer to that question, which is mainly a Green exercise, however as I understand, it's not very effective for the outcomes/results we are striving for here. There are quote a few known techniques mentioned here and in Leo's videos, which are obviously life transforming, however I wonder why none of them are physical.

[Vinnie]

You bet your bottom f!cking dollar. I even had a borderline psychic awakening on one occasion a couple years back. It goes deep. Overlooked by everyone. Too much to talk about. 

 

[who chit]

I'm not familiar with the yellow,turquoise stuff but Brazilian Jiu Jitsu could be a consideration. There's an old saying that "you die on the mats everyday",and this is true in the egoic sense. I've engaged in different types of physical training and exercise for years and found,as far as learning about ego,tendencies,fears etc. goes, BJJ is an effective,ongoing and continuous "self journey" in it's own right. 

It seems you may be associating "states", with a rise in consciousness,which is not the case. A state is always temporary and doesn't do much for raising and stabilizing in a higher state of consciousness. You feel good for awhile, but did you gain any insight,revelations or realizations that would raise consciousness to a higher, stabilized level. Stabilized, means you've stabilized in that higher level and there's no reverting back to a previous way of perceiving the world. You "see the world" through different eye's so to speak. A rise in consciousness always brings about a change in perception. They're inner-connected. 



 

Edited November 14, 2018 by who chit

[Nahm]

@Marcell Kovacs Amen!!! ?

[Vinnie]

I think this business of injecting Spiral Dynamics into every discussion is silly, especially when it comes to Consciousness. People are getting carried away by it, lacking common sense. @who chit  I have to respectfully disagree with your distinction between evanescent states and a permanent shift in Consciousness. The experience I posted above left a lasting impression on myself and its changed my relationship, hence perception, to the fundamentals of life and energy. My behavior's changed in relationship to the Sun namely. I think you might of misinterpreted the post. I think @Marcell Kovacs  was talking about induced altered states of Consciousness from pushing yourself to breaking point, whether's you've construed this with the delicate game of learning about your ego through the mirror of others. I respect that because I've failed miserably in life when it comes socialization. I avoid it because I can't hack it when I notice the downright, serpentine deviance in myself. Apples and oranges I suppose. Again, in terms of temporary versus permanent states of Consciousness... I've taken a couple of elevators now and neither were drug induced. The spell of time leading up to those experiences were incredibly intense for me and changed my trajectory to this day. If you escalate quickly enough, you stumble onto an elevator. The escalator goes down though and the moment you stop, it's taking you back to ground level. Don't stop .

[who chit]

@Vinnie Apologies.I hadn't read your sun worship post yet. That's certainly what I would call a transcendent experience,and they can have a transforming effect on ones state of consciousness. Looks like that's what happened in your case. Good deal.

I gave the BJJ suggestion as he was asking about an athletic ,rather than spiritual based way to help raise consciousness. But I certainly may have misinterpreted the question.
There's no doubt intense states can result in extraordinary experiences and raise consciousness for a time, but ime, they only last so long and then there's the return to what was there previous to that.

Through spiritual practices over the years,entering deep samadhis and such, I had many indescribable metaphysical and mystical experiences that are  too unbelievable to talk about. I would certainly call bullshit myself, if I hadn't experienced them. I have indeed, to this day, not talked about them to anyone. I consider them divine and a bit personal to speak about. After most of these instances,my consciousness and perception did shift into what one would call a higher state anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. And then the gradual return back to previous state. A few times I mistook them for awakening, until the real awakening occurred. This brought about a permanent shift in consciousness and perception and the experiences ended. Deep states,or any state for that matter don't really mean anything to me anymore. So I'm speaking from that place.

Edited November 15, 2018 by who chit

[Marcell Kovacs]

I feel like this thread is a bit underrated.