You know, in dog racing, the dogs run after a mechanical bunny. In road racing for humans, the race provides pace bunnies. These are people designated to finish the race in a certain time. If you chase the bunny, you will finish the race in that time.
Have you heard of the Hound of Heaven, a poem by Francis Thompson (1890)? The hound of heaven is God chasing the human soul because God loves the soul. Feel now what it would be like to have the love of God chase after your soul. To chase the bunny is to feel the Hound of Heaven.
I ran a half marathon yesterday. I chased the 2:10 bunny. My soul, my Self, chased my small ego self. And in the process, I became a spiritual phenomenon. Just a breath of air, running at the edge of my consciousness and physical capability.
To run a 2:10 marathon is within my physical capability but at the edge of the envelope. I’d have to exert myself, to focus and not give up. Through uphills and downhills, I had to focus on that bunny. A race provides the environment for me to go beyond my small self. In training, my state of mind is different. In training, I have to self-motivate and listen to excuses. In the race, I am focused on the bunny without much additional thought. This focus is living in the now. This focus is silent meditation. This focus is yoga. To chase the bunny is to be nothing but a spiritual phenomenon, to be pure consciousness without any of the normal ego chatter.
To be without your small self is to be immersed in spiritual love. It is to be chased by the Hound of Heaven and to find that in-between state of mind called nothingness.
Ultra Monk's Essays 