Zen Body Being by Peter Ralston, (08) Mind and Perception, Notes

Post date: Jun 15, 2016 12:14:56 PM

Zen Body Being by Peter Ralston

(08) Mind and Perception

• 1. “It is our less conscious thoughts and our less conscious actions that largely mold our lives.” -- Samuel Butler.

  2. Changing the Mind. Actively train the mind like the body. Whenever the body is trained, the mind is also trained. In investigations, take note that every improvement begins in the mind. The simplest form of the mind being involved in improvement is the formation of daily habits like doing breathing exercises or practicing Tai Chi first thing in the morning. Grasping the movement principles will profoundly improve performance. Look deeper into perception. Perception is always a crucial factor in any activity. Yet it is often overlooked in most disciplines. Put first hand experience into the simple daily actions.

  3. Noticing Perception. Always continue to notice the overlooked details of experience. Sight, sound and feeling -- without perception there would be nothing for the mind to act upon. These are the only links the mind has to the body and environment. The key to any effort lies in the ability to perceive and act in relationship to these perceptions. Deepening awareness of the perception process can improve the ability to perceive.

  4. Observe and Experiment. Begin by simply paying attention. The brain gathers ahead of action to coordinate the body’s activity to match the environment. Noticing the obvious helps to identify any breakdowns in the process or gain new insights that might improve performance. It affords the opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary precision with which the human body works, more specifically how the mind governs body functions.

  5. Flashlight Exercise. Find a dark place with slightly irregular terrain. Experiment where to flash the light to best navigate the terrain.

  6. “Perceive with the whole body, not just the eyes and reason. The body is an awareness and it should be treated impeccable.” -- Carlos Castaneda

  7. Perception and Response. Before action comes perception, interpretation and decision. Interpretation can distort perception. If action is required immediately, action must be reflexive, which can be programmed in the brain with much repetition, However this lacks the spontaneous adaptability. Skill and grace require real intelligence, which is far superior to brute force; but in matters physical, uninhibited brute force is still superior to abstract intellect. Emotional reaction and intellectual deliberation interfere with true direct perception. Simply paying attention to and understanding how perception is processed and how decisions are made for action will help the learning of new and more effective ways to do it. Changing mind states, increasing feeling awareness, will have the most significant effect on the ability to respond. To increase response time and clarity, eliminate the unnecessary: emotional response and mental baggage. The moment that needs to be experienced is now, this very moment. Adding dimensions that have no bearing on the present will replace the immediately appropriate distinctions that should be made.

  8. Internal Dialogue Exercise. Sit quietly and attempt to have no thoughts. As thoughts arise, note how you talk to yourself. Even an attempt is made to stop it, the dialogue continues to arise. Concentrate on what will come next. See if you are able to able to get what it is before you say it. Grasp what you are thinking before it becomes a sentence in your head. A thought is conceived before it becomes a sentence to the self. Once mastered, try having a thought without a sentence. Little by little, seek to eliminate the intellect, the desire to ‘think’ it out. The closer we are to the reaction the more immediate it becomes and the more accurate actions will be in harmony with what is happening. The intellect must be used differently, like making a thought without thinking a sentence. The medium of physical intelligence is reality itself.

  9. Controlling the mind. The brain has many habits. The mind has lots of baggage and the emotional self is full of reactivity, which all add up to a tremendous potential for distorting perception. These are all filters from reality. Real eyes realize real lies. These filters distort perception and slow response time. How do we change this?

     1. Start with the basics. Feel the whole body. Relax the whole body. Breathe. This opens us up and gives us the ability to respond. Be neutral and balanced in both mind and body. This is the most capable state to respond to what has not yet occurred.

     2. The calm relaxed state is something we want at all times. Throughout any activity, and when we are at rest. Both mind and body should be aligned to this relaxed state when any action is taken.

     3. The most effective relation in any given task is to follow the five principles, relaxing and feeling the whole body. Calming and opening the mind is always the best platform from which to take action. Cultivate a non-thinking state. In this state, past experience will still clamor to muddle interpretation of the present. Train to recognize and bypass them. Learn not to engage in these reactions. Let them go. By learning to understand and ‘control’ the mind, this habit can be changed. Take control of the controllables. Be empty and discard that which is not useful. Be empty with no demanding thoughts to interfere with attention on this moment.

  10. Easier Done than Said. Every time a negative thought enters the mind stop it. Rechannel the mind to other thoughts or focus on the present. By doing this, the emotional/intellectual reactivity is bypassed, allowing a more immediate and clear response to the moment. This practice can be used to stay on purpose and produce more appropriate actions to the task at hand. In times of action, the intellect should be demoted to ‘cheerleader,’ support and encourage our purpose for playing. Let the deeper mind be in charge. Feel. Turning every perception into a feeling allows the body and mind to relate to these perceptions far more directly and immediately.

• • 1. “It is not healthy to be thinking all the time. Thinking is intended for acquiring knowledge or applying it. It is not essential for living.”--Ernest Wood

• 11. Turning Perception Into Feeling. How we relate to what we perceive is all important to our success. Perception is the receiving of information of some form. When moving, cues are taken from sight and sound, but actual improvement will be generated from a sense of feeling. No matter the task, if in tune with its feeling and presence, actions can match the feeling more accurately. Both perception and action speak the same language. Actions and impulses are as reflective as possible, without distortion or delay. Calming the mind and being in the present is stilling the water for better reflection. Perception dictates action and therefore skill--following, joining, leading and complementing the movement. Relate constantly to what is occurring. As the action unfolds, responses direct toward the appropriate goals. Eventually, the feeling seems to move the body with very little mental processing. The mind directs the flow of action rather than deciding what move to take. Mastering one’s disposition is underrated.

  12. The Creative Aspect of Mind and Perspective. Principles such as relaxing, grounding, and being calm can only occur by creating the body-mind states that activate them. An appropriate mind-body state creates alignment physically, physiologically and psychologically to produce effortlessly effective results. Following and joining are other mind-body states we want to produce when relating to or working with another. First hand experience is the only way to grasp things on a deeper more personal level.

• • 1. The key to exercises involving imagery is that we must convince our mind that they are real. We must feel things as if they are actually happening.

    2. Eventually we find the feeling with no imagery at all. Diligent practice will make real and lasting change.. Image practice can be done almost anywhere at any time.

    3. By creating an appropriate feeling image or directing feeling awareness to be in line with a principle we become ‘able.’ Don’t be shy, create.

    4. “The mystery is not ‘how’ the world is, but ‘that’ it is.”

1. Mind, Perception and Relationship. Using the mind to change the body’s condition and more consciously direct its movement is highly effective. Alignment to the principles is only possible by adopting the mind states that are necessary to bring such alignment into existence. Becoming conscious of perceptions allows possibilities where there were none. Mind and perception can be changed to allow the body’s performance and ability to interact far more effectively.