The Zone

What do people want most in the world? What is the most sought-after goal? From the moment we awaken to the moment we close our eyes at night, what is it we seek every minute of the day?

We want to feel good. The primary motivation behind every action we take is the desire to feel happy. Even when we’re focused on moving away from pain and fear, we are, in effect, moving toward feeling good - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

What Do They Get from Opera?

As a kid, I often asked myself, “Why do people engage in life-endangering activities like sky-diving, car racing and mountain climbing?” And I wondered, “Why do people choose dangerous jobs like being a firefighter, cop or ambulance driver? I was also confounded by the large amounts of money and time people spend going to the opera, rock concerts and sports events. The budding writer in me asked, “What do all these activities have in common? What’s the compelling force driving people to invest most of their precious free time, or whole lives, in these pursuits? What, in heaven’s name, are people looking for?”

A Rush Is a Rush Is a Rush!

At one point in my teens, I saw the light. It’s so obvious really. We want to feel! We want to feel something. On some level we all know that life is about feeling. If we don’t feel life we miss life. And, of course, the most popular choice is to feel good. Whatever way we choose to get ourselves to feel the end goal is the same: to experience the good side of life - as fully and powerfully as possible! We want to feel really alive and happy. Some people call it Joy. Some Pleasure. Some Rush, Electricity, Juice, Fire or Passion! (Booze did that for me --- for a while, but at the end I was just "zoning out.")

The Pursuit of “The Zone”

If you listen to the language of the street throughout the world you’ll hear what’s on the minds of most folks. There’s one prevailing theme running through most peoples’ conversations. They’re talking about their desire to feel good. And they want to find the quickest, easiest way to feel good. I call this the pursuit of “The Zone.” The Zone is the place of feeling good. It goes by many names. On a roll. In the flow. In a groove. Steamin’ Jivin’ Clickin’ Rockin’ or Cookin’. Many different names, one essence, one feeling.

What is The Zone?

Being in The Zone is when everything goes right! You feel great! You’re on top of the world. Somehow you're magically in the right place at the right time and everything is working out just like you want. To be in the flow is to be dialed into your natural state of clarity, presence and personal power. It’s being free of tension, worry and draining emotions. It’s living with a sense of ease, vitality and deep inner calm.

The Zone is an altered state of consciousness - a state of perfect focus, peace and high performance. When you’re in The Zone you are your true self. You regain your natural intuitive ability to be where you need to be to get what you want. You don’t have to effort when you’re on a roll. Everything just seems to fall into place by itself. You feel expanded, bigger than life. Often you revel in the exhilarating sensation of being outside your body, controlling what’s happening to you from a broader point of view.

A Space of Magic and Marvels

In major Zone adventures, your consciousness moves outside the limited physical universe. When this happens, you’re no longer bound by the physical laws of time and space. You can stretch - and contract - time and space to your desire, just as sports stars who make the impossible catch or dancers who fly effortlessly across the stage. You seem to have all the time you need to do what you need to do. Life is fun when you’re cookin’. You feel serenely emboldened. Life becomes a game that you enjoy playing.

Jocks and Ballerinas Share a Secret

What do top professional athletes, dancers, salespeople and detectives have in common? They have refined the pursuit of The Zone down to an art! They all appreciate the value of developing a reliable way to enter The Golden Magic Zone. They know that finding a personal portal to The Flow is the key to producing consistent peak performance. They also know that it takes diligent practice and involves pain to accomplish.

A Wellspring of Creativity

In The Zone you achieve your goals quickly because you’re tapped into your natural spiritual power. You focus on a wish and it manifests almost instantly. You do the right thing immediately without second-guessing yourself. You generate boundless energy for your job, relationships and creative pursuits. You’re able to relax whenever you want and simply delight in the beauty and wonder of the Now Moment. Being consistently in the groove, you miraculously transform your life into a journey full of abundance and success.

A Mystical Place

In major Zone encounters, you tap into your innate telepathic abilities. You communicate without words. You read other peoples’ intentions before they’re expressed. You often know what your partner is going to say before he or she utters a word. The self-talk that is always critical is no longer there to diminish you. You feel as if you can do anything-and you do. You’re in the present moment. Your mind is clear. You have a sense of inner knowing that cannot be learned from a book, but is only known by accessing it directly.

Your Natural State

Such spaces are often seen as mystical, religious states. In reality, being in The Zone is just you being more you being in the right place at the right time in your natural state. Recognize, cultivate and relish the times when you enter The Zone. The more consciously you acknowledge, appreciate and savor the Flow, the more accustomed you become to your natural state of feeling good! The more you vibrate with the joy of aliveness, the more you will attract people and circumstances that perpetuate your stay in The Zone.

Alright, let's ask the question again... What is THE TRUE ZONE??

The TRUE ZONE is what is achieved by the continuous practice of the 12 Steps in all of Life, the Awakened Spirit of Self, the "Fit Spiritual Condition" referred to on BigBook page 85.

I have shared my Great Dream with groups and individuals many times over the years.. For a person who at the end hated everyone and everything, myself most of all, my Great Dream is to be able to love as completely as I once hated if even for a moment. Sure, sometimes I can feel my love of program, my love of "Charlie" my HP, sometimes even Him loving me, and sometimes even you loving me ... But The Greatest Rush of All is when I can feel Me Loving You!!!! That, my friends, is getting Zoned In!!!

Love and Peace, Barefoot

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ABC Page 60 -- Barefoot's Recovery Pages

Index of A.A. History Pages on Barefoot's World

As in so many things, especially with we alcoholics, our History is our Greatest Asset!.. We each arrived at the doors of A.A. with an intensive and lengthy "History of Things That Do Not Work" .. Today, In A.A. and In Recovery, Our History has added an intensive and lengthy "History of Things That DO Work!!" and We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it!!

KEEP COMING BACK!

ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Barefoot's World

On the Web December, 2006
in the Spirit of Cooperation

Three mighty important things, Pardn'r, LOVE And PEACE and SOBRIETY