You are already complete. In this podcast, Eckhart addresses participants

concerns, an athlete wants to know if competition is incompatible with

leading an awakened life. Eckhart explains that one can have the desire to win,

but when winning becomes the key to one sense of identity, that's a pitfall of

the ego. A man asks what to do because his presence practice has grown so deeply,

he no longer relates to his family. He says he loves them but doesn't want to be

around them. Another person asks for advice on how to snap out of incessant

thinking. Eckhart says if we're totally absorbed in thinking, then we've lost the

present moment. Eckhart reminds everyone that even though we have problems,

part of the solution is to realize in our deepest essence, we are already

complete. Here's the written question. I've been a competitive athlete all of my

life. Before games, I would get fired up and definitely want to win. Has my

competitive nature always been entirely my ego? And if not, what's the role of

competition in the awakened life? Should we not strive to compete in anything at all?

Okay, good question. That reminds me of a story of a Zen Master. He was watching an

archery competition and one of the competitors who was really a master in

archery was not doing very well and this Zen Master was watching and they asked

him what's happening to him why isn't he doing very well today? And the Zen Master

said his desire to win drains him off power. His desire to win drains him off

power. Now that's interesting. Wouldn't once I've thought that his desire to win

would empower him that of course that would be ego, his desire to win. His

desire to win means there is a focus on the outcome. There's a mental focus on

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