The first two Olympic Moments I remember were Bob Beamon’s long jump at the Mexico City Olympics and Lasse Viren’s 10K run at the Munich Olympics. Beamon excelled so far beyond the world record (8.90 M) that it seemed unbelievable, as though, for a moment, he had defied gravity. It would take 23 years before his record was matched. Viren had fallen earlier in the race and lost touch with the lead group. He quickly picked himself up, rejoined the group at the front led by Bedford and went ahead to win the race with a sensational time. His win seemed to defy the rules of plausibility.

The Beijing Olympic Moment was the 4X100 relay with Jason Lezak, who came from behind the French, Alain Bernad, the World and Olympic champion to win the race for the American team and give Michael Phelps that Gold as one of his eight.

What makes an Olympic moment? Why was Viren’s 10K a source of inspiration for so many? What is it about Lezak’s finish of the 4X100 freestyle, and about Phelps’ finish of the Men’s 100M Butterfly and his Eight Gold medals in Beijing that will inspire youngsters for generations?

Olympic moments are about much more than victory. More than a peak performance. Olympic Moments redefine our perception of reality and of what is possible. They instruct us about the human capacity to transcend limitations. To defy the rules. To even defy the laws of gravity.

Why are these moments formative into the collective human story? We love the drama. We love heroes. But there is something else. Olympic Moments of physical and athletic greatness let us intuit that which is beyond - the greater, transcended nature of life. They offer us a glimpse into a ‘perfect’ and ‘supreme’ realm. They confirm a latent knowing that beyond our physicality there is something unbeatable, eternal. Olympic Moments show us that at the edge of the human capacity, where the improbable and the impossible are suspended for a short moment, life can be touched by the miraculous. That on a special occasion, with hard work, training, sweat and tears you may be helped by something greater. That you may also be sustained and delivered beyond, to reach the unattainable and unimaginable, and touch the immortal essence of life.

Once you find this moment in the Olympics, you may find it again nearby, in simple things. Perhaps even inside you.
© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Aug.20.2008 :: America, Inspiration :: 1 Comment »

The impulse to look at the stars and to study the universe - this ancient quest to unlock these mysteries is ultimately a deep curiosity about life and its origin and about us, humans. “Man and woman are made in the image of God”. Hence the idea, that to study the human we study the universe.

I am reminded of this impulse, watching Roy Gould and Curtis Wong presenting the World Wide Telescope project at TED. They ask, “How will our view of ourselves change with this holistic view of astronomy? We may be tiny but we are truly wonderfully significant.”

This WWT holographic journey reveals what we each discovered the first time we ever looked at the night sky. The dots of light are surrounded by great darkness. Darkness envelops and encapsulates light. Light is the part of the universe that was released into the manifested realm, where energy potential was transformed and expressed into action. This is the smaller part, 5 or 10 percent of the universe. The other 90 percent is dark energy in waiting. As are we humans. We are surrounded by potential, waiting to be realized.

How do we participate in this act? How do we help the universe transform the potential into the actual? In what way do we humans help co-create the emancipation of dark energy to be realized in the evolution of the universe?

New learning, new connections and conversations, new ideas, growth and innovation transform dark energy (potential) into light.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: May.24.2008 :: Evolution, Inspiration :: No Comments »

Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight is an amazing testimony about the Left and Right Brain hemispheres, about a scientific passion to serve, about recover-ability driven by the human spirit and about “Who are We?”
The miracle of Taylor’s story is first in how she was able to stay totally curious in a middle of a stroke episode, revealing that her fascination with brain function is so deep that it was not erased at the onset of the trauma. The second miracle is how she was propelled into recovery by the insights she now shares.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Mar.17.2008 :: Inspiration, Storytelling :: No Comments »

This story by Ben Dunlap tells of a Passionate Life that will move you to tears. It’s the power of his irresistible inspiration about courage and greatness that Dunlap communicates so evocatively. It is the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, that there is an insatiable curiosity and a desire to learn, and an irrepressible need to know and grow, and the inextinguishable drive to live each day as if it is your last.
Let’s tell such rousing stories. Let’s create more stories to be told.
© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Feb.26.2008 :: Inspiration, Storytelling :: No Comments »

Here is a beautiful greeting sent by my friend Barbara Marx Hubbard:

Chad Barr - Aviv's Blog implementer :: Dec.24.2007 :: Inspiration :: No Comments »

How about hugging with a Lion?

Chad Barr - Aviv's Blog implementer :: Dec.24.2007 :: Inspiration :: No Comments »

Here is a brilliant graphic facilitator at work.

Chad Barr - Aviv's Blog implementer :: Dec.24.2007 :: Inspiration :: No Comments »

Do you feel your life is chaotic? Look at the herding of cats message. It will bring you a smile.

Chad Barr - Aviv's Blog implementer :: Dec.24.2007 :: Inspiration :: No Comments »

We love beauty. It is a gift from the Gods. Beauty does something special to the human spirit. Here is a beautiful Song Of Creation from Dana Lynne Anderson sent to me by Tom Atlee.

And Zeitgeist; the Spirit of the Times from Ginger Gilmour:

Chad Barr - Aviv's Blog implementer :: Dec.24.2007 :: Inspiration :: No Comments »