Playing in the Zone: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports [Paperback]

Andrew Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 1998

Our ancient ancestors believed that sports were a gift of the gods—that they were potent rituals, which, if performed correctly, would placate unseen powers, honor departed heroes, or improve the harvests. Today, sports still speak to deep yearnings, imaginings, and the irreducible need people feel to resonate with themselves and their world. But the hidden meaning, or "secret life," that lies at the heart of sports and gives them their force and magic goes largely unnoticed. The old baseball hand Wes Westrum once said, "Baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand"—and the same could be said for sports in general.

In Playing in the Zone, Andrew Cooper explores this inner dimension of sports, drawing on mythology, the history of religion, his observations on popular culture, and a wonderful array of stories and anecdotes about the world's most accomplished athletes.

The author—a clinical psychologist and longtime Zen student—compares the intense focus of the mind that is often required in spiritual practice with the experience of "playing in the zone"—that quality of mind where the most remarkable athletic feats seem to occur effortlessly. He explores the "dark side" of sports, its brutality and violence, showing how it can also provide fertile ground for self-awareness and self-transformation. Particularly insightful is the author's discussion of how the heightened drama of sports offers a powerful vehicle for the expression of mythic imagery and symbols in popular culture.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's so easy to be enthralled by the razzle-dazzle outward physicality of our games that we tend to miss their metaphysical inner underpinnings. It's this spiritual dimension--sport's "secret life"--that so attracts Cooper; his exploration results in a penetrating meditation.

Using former journeyman catcher Wes Westrum's observation--"Baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand"--Cooper aims to initiate the many into that realm of the few. His is an extended riff into the whys and hows of the ways "we become so absorbed in the task at hand that the self is forgotten and experience is displayed in its primal power and pristine clarity." Drawing on both Eastern and Western philosophies and religions, he dives into questions of why we play the games we do, how they reflect our myths, and how through inspiration, belief, and focus athletes such as Ali, Dr. J., and Joe DiMaggio rise to new levels, reaching, quite literally, states of grace. Cooper's treatise may be short, but it is rich and it is winning. It answers questions. Even better, its answers inspire more questions. --Jeff Silverman

Review

"As participants and spectators of sports, many of us are aware of those epiphanies in which a sporting activity or event seems to go beyond the basic play-by-play to a higher dimension or spiritual level. In these experiences, everything comes together in a flow, and the activity itself takes on a religious or mythic experience. Andrew Cooper's Playing in the Zone is a wonderful exploration of this secret life of sports.

"Without attempting to be systematic and comprehensive to its subject, Cooper's essay admiringly brings together many sources from psychology, religion, philosophy, and sports to investigate the higher attractions of sports for both those who play and those who watch. Sports is a sphere similar to myth, according to Cooper, in which meanings and connections are established between our everyday life and a deeper dimension where "the self is forgotten and experience is displayed in its primal power and pristine clarity."

"Playing in the Zone is most entertaining in bringing together descriptions offered by professional athletes such as Bill Russell, Billie Jean King, and Pelé of their playing experiences. But Cooper also synthesizes an astonishing array of psychological and historical research into the playing of sports, and successfully demonstrates that most criticism of sports is not aimed at the inner essence of sports but at the surrounding society of which it is part. Playing in the Zone goes a long way towards a deeper comprehension of the diverse meanings of sports, and hopefully will inspire more explorations into this under-researched dimension of our lives."—Michael Emerson, Independent Publisher



"A great book! Playing in the Zone is full of creative insights and unexpected discoveries, reminding us that athletics are spiritual as well as physical."—Bill Bradley, former U.S. senator and inductee in the Basketball Hall of Fame

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (April 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570621519
• ISBN-13: 978-1570621512
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer for mind-body integration, September 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Playing in the Zone: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports (Paperback)

I picked up Playing in the Zone expecting a Inner Game knockoff, but sat down to read the introduction anyway. When I looked up I had finished three chapters. The author involves the reader from the start by, first eloquently explaining what he believes sport to be, then builds on that base to develop a model for sport appreciation. He uses anecdotes sparingly, but with purpose. Quotes are used for impact and add insight to the text. They did not appear to be included as an afterthought. This book is not about playing in the Zone of any specific sport, but rather seeking "mindlessness," or "flow" through any sport as the individual defines it.

Cooper sees sport as a theater in which players and spectators participate in their own drama. He writes, "In the theater of sport, the totality of our nature is given dramatic form. Sport displays the range of our experience in all its multiplicity, conflict, and contradiction. Human experience cannot be reduced to a single purpose or principle, and so neither can sport. In sport, as in life, appreciating complexity is a source of endless delight."

My only complaint is that the book seemed to end rather abruptly. Perhaps a summery or wrapping-up chapter would have eased the transition to completion. But for the insight it bestowes and the model it presents, Playing in the Zone is certainly worth the read.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you only have time to read one book, don't pick this one, August 23, 2001

By 

Rachel Whelton "r301" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playing in the Zone: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports (Paperback)

Playing in the Zone : Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports by Andrew Cooper is a mediocre book about an excellent topic. Throughout the book I kept wondering whether Mr. Cooper was worthy of his topic. He identifies the zone and justifies its worthiness. His notes on his zen experiences are unexpectedly insightful. But overall he appears to be on the outside of his topic, looking in. His book may prepare you better to be a spectator than to maximize your personal zone activites. This book is good for folks who are not quite true believers in the title I guess. But for those of us looking for advanced classes, we might as well keep on looking because Mr. Cooper offers very little beyond the basics. If he writes another book to expand on his further studies of the zone, I would be willing to give the first couple chapters a try.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Playing in the Zone, January 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Playing in the Zone: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports (Paperback)

Maybe the best thing you can say about a book is that you can't hold on to it. That has certainly been my experience with this one. Each time I buy a new copy for myself, I remember a friend or relative or writing student who I know must have it. And not just jocks and fans. I sent a copy to my baseball-loving step dad and got a call raving about it from my sports-hating, arts-loving mom. As in much of the best nonfiction writing, by delving deeply into a particular subject the author hits upon themes and insights that are universal. Cooper's appreciation of athletic craft also tells much about spiritual experience, the mythic mind, the nature of the self, and other matters of primary concern. This is not a how-to, inner game, or Zen-of-sports book. It is an exploration of meaning in something so near at hand that we take it for granted. You'll be surprised at what you find.