One of the most important aspects of flow reality is its underlying and causal temporal dimension – that dimension being the moment-to-moment temporal dimension of flowing presence. All of the components and conditions of flow reality - its selflessness, its timelessness, its effortlessness and richness, can be attributed to the unifying temporal condition of moment-to-moment flowing presence. It is the co-creation of flowing presence, either by choice or by chance, that is causal to these different conditions that are so noticeable when you are in the zone. Each condition is a characteristic of non-dual flowing presence, so the simplest explanation of how to get in the zone on purpose is to get in the flowing present on purpose.

What seems to be showing up in the athletic world are some major differences between Tier 1, conventional coaching and Tier 2, integral coaching, with the most obvious difference being that Tier 1 coaching stops at the zone, while Tier 2 coaching starts at the zone. That difference tells a deeper story involving the emergence of a new stage of coaching and competitive consciousness in which flow reality is consciously coached and consciously practiced by athletes.

In his book Everything Belongs, author Richard Rohr writes about the edges and the essence of life; about the circumference and the center, and how we live our lives at the edges, on the circumference of life’s true essence which is love, unity, fullness, wholeness – the same things you experience when you are in the zone.

Through my own experience with playing tennis in the zone, I have found a deeper meaning to sport that goes far beyond the notion of peak performance. Peak performance is always a part of the equation, but more than peak performance, it’s the state of unity with the game that becomes the essence of the practice.

We’ve all been told about the importance of body-mind unification to the peak performance experience, but what we haven’t been told is how the body and the mind are actually unified, much less how that unification process works to create a higher level of performance. So while body-mind unification is critical to peak performance, their still remains an equally critical question:  how do you do it? How do you unify your body and your mind?

Once I started teaching tennis players how to get in the zone, my job turned from boringly redundant to fresh and exciting. Every day has brought something new. Every day has been an experience of creative advance into novelty and greater wholeness. That’s what I get to do for a job. I teach people to become more whole through playing tennis in the zone.