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Spirit News Blog - Transcendence
An article about a world record set by Ashrita Furman for balancing the longest pole on your chin.
Aspendos – what magic and charm are to be found in that name! Fifty kilometres east of Antalya, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, lies this masterpiece of the ancient world. In AD 162, out of the granite bedrock, the Roman architect Zeno crafted an amphitheatre which could seat 12,000 spectators – a perfect acoustic and visual shell. From tiers of ascending marble seats, people could watch dramas, pageants and heroic athletic feats.
World's largest drum in Nepal
Nepal is celebrating after the historic peace accord between the government and rebel Maoists that ends 11 years of civil war. Different programs were held across the country including rallies. Friday's programme in the capital Kathmandu was a continuation of the celebrations, but it had significant value.
A gigantic drum, dubbed the world peace drum, was beaten to send peace messages across the world. Thousands of spectators enjoyed the beating with the hope that peace will prevail in this land forever.
One Earth - 26000km - 2 years - 1 runner
Jesper Olsen is the first person to have successfully completed the unique feat of running around the world. Beginning on the 1st of January, 2004, from the Greenwich time meridian in London; Jesper successfully circumnavigated the world finishing nearly 2 years later in October 2005, in London. During his epic run of 26,000 Km Jesper kept a detailed log and even participated in local ultra distance runners. His extraordinary experiences have now been produced into a book. It is an epic tale of self transcendence and inspiration to others - World Run
Jesper Olsen is now preparing for World Run 2 which could be over 40,000 Km
Ashrita Furman breaking a new Guiness record for crawling .
Ashrita crawled on his hands and knees as fast as he could to cover a mile in 24 minutes and 32 seconds, beating the previous Guinness record of 29 minutes and 27 seconds. Ashrita's latest record was watched by some enthusiastic children who were pleased to see someone crawling as fast as they could. Ashrita is a meditation student of Sri Chinmoy. He says his meditation training enables him to be flexible in taking on new challenges. He sets records to show others that we all have unlimited potential if we can harness the power of the spirit.
Photo by Jowan Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries
More on record
Over the weekend of 16th and 17th September various heavy weights including a giant pumpkin and a plane were lifted by weightlifter and spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy who is 75 years old lifts to inspire others that age need not be a barrier to achievement. Chinmoy also says the strength for his extraordinary lifts comes from his inner life of prayer and meditation. Asked about his message Sri Chinmoy says:
"Never give up! Never give up! Physical fitness is of paramount importance. There is no age limit when we live in the heart and when we try to be of prayerful and soulful service to God in the heart of humanity."
- Sri Chinmoy
World record breaker gets inspiration for 119th record.
Ashirta Furman, of Queens, N.Y., established a record for running a mile on tin pots earlier that afternoon, with a time of 18 minutes and 26 seconds. The pots were held against his shoes by hand-held strings. A stipulation of the record was that the tin pots musn't fall off.
The record was set at POWNAL Green Mountain Race Track on Friday 8th September. After setting and submitting a record it usually takes about 6 weeks for it to be ratified by Guiness.
Furman credits his study of meditation, under the tutelage of Sri Chinmoy, for his ability to break so many records.
"It's all in fun, but there's a serious side because there's physical conditioning and a lot of mental focus required," he said. "You really have to focus deep within yourself. I really have to use the training I got from meditation to be very one-pointed and not allow other distractions to stop me."
Many people take an interest in spirituality because of a feeling that "there has to be more to life than our ordinary every day experiences" It is when we start seeking for a deeper meaning and understanding of life that we become drawn to meditation and spirituality.
Spirituality in essence is a journey of self discovery, we can also use the term "self transcendence". Self Transcendence is our effort and aspiration to go beyond our ordinary ego bound self and grow into a more fulfilling, divine consciousness.