{"id":2092,"date":"2012-02-05T09:18:22","date_gmt":"2012-02-05T14:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=2092"},"modified":"2012-02-05T09:18:22","modified_gmt":"2012-02-05T14:18:22","slug":"super-bowl-sunday-the-most-epic-day-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/02\/super-bowl-sunday-the-most-epic-day-in-america.html","title":{"rendered":"Super Bowl Sunday: “The Most Epic Day in America”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Today is Super Bowl Sunday, nearly a Holiday, and according to the Morgan Freeman’s reassuring voice over on a VISA commercial, “The most epic day in America.” That’s a commercial, yet I think he is right. Today is epic and we have a deep unmet need for the epic in our lives.<\/p>\n

We lack heroes, reality, drama, and play in our lives. For many, football provides a connection outside of the challenges of the mundane. Sports are one of the few live venues we can consume. The outcomes are uncertain. The games have rules, but unlike reality tv shows they are not scripted, crafted, and, I think, phony. There is genuine competition and this speaks to us.<\/p>\n

I think we are starved for heroes. Who can we turn to? Our politicians? Please. While the 110 million Americans watching the game tonight will not be playing, we will enjoy it vicariously thanks to mirror neurons.<\/p>\n

And this particular game brings plenty of drama. The overlooked younger brother of the game’s most talented player playing in the house his brother built. The three-time Super Bowl champion seeking his fourth ring (and, by the way, the nemesis of the older brother). It’s Eli Manning versus Tom Brady, The New York Giants versus the New England Patriots, Tom Coughlin versus Bill Belichick.<\/p>\n

It’s the underdog versus the established hero — David versus Goliath. It’s a rematch of four years ago when the Giants despoiled the Patriots perfect season by beating them in shocking, unlikely fashion in the Super Bowl. It’s a rematch; a chance for Brady to avenge this loss.<\/p>\n

And then there is the personal drama of the Patriots. This season is dedicated to the memory of Myra Kraft, wife of Robert Kraft, who died early this season. The “MHK” emblem on their jerseys is a testament to her. Patriots Football Weekly declared the AFC Championship game victory over the Ravens, “Myra-culous.” When Robert Kraft overspent $173 million dollars for the Patriots in 1992, Myra thought Robert had lost his business acumen. Today the Patriots are worth $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n

As the juggernaut of the modern era, they are Goliath. News from the front lines suggests the Giants are the overwhelming local favorite. I imagine in part because the Patriots are the “bad guys” and the Giants, who just barely made the playoffs are the “good guys” — the underdogs. I think they are rooting for Peyton’s younger brother and agains this nemesis, Tom Brady.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned yesterday<\/a>, I will endeavor to watch with great interest and without hope. I will enjoy this spectacle as play and relish the unfolding impermanence. We can be mindful of a football game when we not only give it our attention, but watch without craving or aversion. Good luck with that! We will have the opportunity to watch the arising of desire and aversion and when they show up, if we can be mindful, we can give them a kiss on the cheek and let them go.<\/p>\n

Enjoy yourself tonight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, nearly a Holiday, and according to the Morgan Freeman’s reassuring voice over on a VISA commercial, “The most epic day in America.” That’s a commercial, yet I think he is right. Today is epic and we have a deep unmet need for the epic in our lives. We lack heroes,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,14],"tags":[378,376,382,381,373,374,379,380,371,375,377],"class_list":["post-2092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddha-101","category-media","category-recommended","tag-bill-belichick","tag-eli-manning","tag-mindfulnesss-2","tag-myra-kraft","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-giants","tag-peyton-manning","tag-robert-kraft","tag-super-bowl","tag-tom-brady","tag-tom-coughlin"],"yoast_head":"\nSuper Bowl Sunday: "The Most Epic Day in America" - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/02\/super-bowl-sunday-the-most-epic-day-in-america.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Super Bowl Sunday: "The Most Epic Day in America" - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is Super Bowl Sunday, nearly a Holiday, and according to the Morgan Freeman’s reassuring voice over on a VISA commercial, “The most epic day in America.” That’s a commercial, yet I think he is right. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2092"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2095,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions\/2095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}