Three Subconscious mind Exercises

This blog speaks of a old saying that "A wise man and a fool appear alike until either one of them  begin to speak"  Why even express yourself in something, which others don't understand and  which may be so controversial to have readers view your teachings as PoppyPoop.  (Gosh I wrote a lot in this blog, re-reading it I ask..what should I delete ???)

Last Month, while watching Ryan Bester, Canada's best Lawn bowler, on streaming Australia Bowls at  the World Bowls 2012,  in Australia.; I saw  the smooth flow from Conscious to subconscious actions in his bowl delivery.

(update july 2014, Ryan will be bowling in the Comm'w'th Games 2014 this week in Scotland)

This young man has done what I had taken over the last 40 years of personal learning in several sports for me to develop. And even today I have  far from having it at perfection..  With great teacher like the french instinctive traditional archer,Jean Marie Coche, and his book "La discipline du tir a l'arc instinctif souple", I have learn  to relax during the action, and let the subconscious do the sport.

  I believed in the development of these abilities, "to be in the Zone" and if not for the recent video of Tiger Wood on the subject in Youtube, I would have just continue to work on it myself.  This smooth flow of mind from conscious to subconscious, creates what some people will call an out-of-body experience.

  Recently Golf Digest (Updated March/2016) has a 18 great mental tips from golf greats and one was by Tony Jacklin who said " When I am in this state, everything is pure, vividly clear. I'm in a cocoon of concentration"

Another golfer , Mark Calcavecchia said it another way in that article. "When I'm in a zone, I don't think about the shot or the wind or the distance or the gallery or anything; I just pull a club and swing."

Likewise, Al Geiberger said  "A great round of golf is a lot like a terrible round. You drift into a zone, and it is hard to get out of it."

 This Zone is when the  Conscious mind release control to the subconscious, and you stand back and watch as you are performing the actions.  The actions and results is best defined as " total in the zone" because you have learn  it is possible to give total control to the subconscious.  Your subconscious mind can easily remember how you do that action and can reproduce those price and well developed actions.

Whether, in  Lawn bowl delivery, Archery shooting an arrow or what ever.  If we think about what we want to do we lose it..  Because the subconscious mind requires you to not think about your action you must learn to think about nothing for that few microseconds.


 A half century ago. when  I was just 18 and  starting photography at a N.S. newspaper office, my mentor told me, how he had gone up the Mount Kennedy (a mountain in Canada renamed for John F Kennedy ) with a team of American National Geographic photographers.  There, he was told by US Photographers that he could not be there on a Canadian mountain. Of course, when the National Geographic magazine was published  later that year, there was not a single photo showing his presence in the group..

 He had told them. " No American is going to tell me I can not climb and photograph on a Canadian Mountain" So as a young man of 30, he went with the group and  received no credit as no photos printed show him as being  there.' .  Why this story ?

He always said..  "I did it because I could"  And  most important "You are remembered not by what others say (or photograph) you have done. but what you know in your heart you did". a good mentor with sound advice.  Validation is not important if you know yourself how valuable your actions have been.

Also he would say "Knowledge is free so give it free.. pass on to others"    He taught me to share knowledge and be proud of  what I know, even if others may disagree as to it value, or even to it  actually a obtainable power..

         In my first sport, Archery, I was shooting beer bottle caps at 30 feet off the wire fence.. Just turn and shoot instinctive.. Trick shots , yes a bit , but skill use of the subconscious mind in a split second of action.  If I had taken the time to aim I would never have been able to do it.  Just that quick action of turning and shooting... no thinking... just doing.   You can do the same in Bowls and Ryan Bester shows this in his delivery and shots.
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Without saying too much more but with these three exercises,  listed below, which allows the Commanding of the Subconscious; you can  apply it in your  personal Sport.  Again to some,  I will seem to be an idiot, but to others I can be a teacher.

 But if the reader learns to. Know what is the difference in Instinctive and Visualization as it applies to the Perfection of their sport; I feel honoured to have  you as a reader who  will incorporate the ideas into your sport. Another tool in your toolbox of endurance, confidence, and another great bowl delivered.

Like a neuro-computer, our mind works on our thoughts and commands. But like a computer with a operating system a lot of what happens in our life are controlled by a subconscious part of the mind.

 Daily, in driving a car we Brake to a stop without thought or do many tasks instinctive. We live our lives with the subconscious doing for us. The subconscious mind is always busy , But never do we allow it a total control, and so it is hard to later develop it as part of our sport.  Maybe, it is now time in our personal sport development, to engage, and develop, this aspect of mental control. Let things happen and be less of a control freak as we watch our self giving more control to the subconscious mind. ( And see the difference it makes in our performance).


In sports, a lot of actions happens so fast only the subconscious has the ability to control how we react and then produce the final wanted result.  If a baseball player in throwing the ball and is losing his balance, what would happen if he was to think.. "I am not properly balanced and must throw to the left because I am falling as I throw"?  All of these thoughts, our conscious mind interference with our actions,  would result in the pitched ball being badly thrown as we lose the time to adjust his throw... The subconscious mind  can feels the off balance action in his throw,  and  also knows to achieve the  needed actual wanted  to result in the adjustment of the action and force of the throw of the baseball.
                       - - - - - - -  OK Down to actual exercises - - - - - -

The three exercise given here will
  1 - show the presence of Subconscious control,
 2 - How to give over control to the Subconscious,  and
 3 -  communicate with the subconscious our expectation in our  performance.(feedback)

        Two problems happen in Lawn Bowls which don't happen in other sports.  First, lawn Bowls, it is not  a fast "physical action" sport, and therefore, because of this long action period, we do not allow the automatic subconscious  to take control of our delivery. We believe we can best  control and direction our actions.  Not True !!

       Secondly , where in other sports, if the athletic want to improve, they will develop muscles or  buy special equipment (golf or archery),  in Lawn Bowls we improve by changes that we will incorporate into our next bowl, in our next  competition, etc. We study and learn from the analysis of our errors after the game or competition.. However, every time  that we  improve our bowls technique this way; do we develop the control by the conscious or do we let the subconscious learn the control of it.  If we,  say, change our line of delivery on that next delivery, we become a little more fixed (consciously) and  we continue to maintain that control of this action until the end  in our delivery routine.

Yesterday ( update 2023) I was talking to an international athletic who has been at Internationals for several years who was having problems with their performance. The subconscious was miss informed because of the bright sunshine. Our eyes adjust to the bright sunlight and the subconscious had not yet adjust it method of distance judgement, All that was required was to think “Bright Sunlight” before transfer of control to the active subconscious and allow it to make the adjustment. Of course, it required three or four occurrence of this pre-action thought to establish that all future action at this time required that adjustment. If the individual was using pre-visualization to identify the distance the subconscious would automatically adjust as pre-visualization is repeated until you know the proper distance.

Using the subconscious is `thinking  'I want my bowls to finish there', and thoughts like  'The Bowl seems to be affected by the fall of the green at the head.'. These thoughts are input to the subconscious mind. And then, we let it happen with the confidence of  'I can do it'. This is  a transfer of control from us controlling the action to the subconscious.  .Hopefully, knowing when the subconscious is involved and asking more of the subconscious will open to you new avenues of  success and perfection.

 Tiger Wood's coach in talking about Visualization in Tiger' Perfection  ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1mSMDoVqcg) said

 "The athletic in the Peak Performance Zone,, is really in a heighten state of awareness., an absorbed focus. There is an element of Relaxation Response, that goes on in there. And they are always in the Here and the Now, with a clear uncluttered mind.  Just absorbed in the moment."  and most important.. "Letting the performance happen rather than thinking or helping the performance to happen"


Exercise 1 Feeling  the presence of the subconscious mind.
       This exercise is not for results.. it is to notice and feel when,  in your performance,  the subconscious  mind. is engaged.  Once we feel  the subconscious mind taking  control and know of its presence, and we know  that feeling, then  we can  work to activate  (or deactivate) the control transfer  during our bowls delivery.

 The knowledge of knowing the subconscious is active, can be every time to improving your sport. Your coach can not roll your bowl. Only you. likewise, your conscious thought and action can not roll your bowl.. only your subconscious.  Let it happen..  You know how to do it.. let the mind do it.

    If in catching a ball, you did not know the hand could be used to catch a thrown ball, you would do like a lot of kids and catch it between your arms and your stomach. Today, you know to raise your arm  and catch the ball between your fingers...  The following exercise will show you a "feeling" or "awareness" of the subconscious mind being active.

     EXERCISE     As with a regular Bowls practice, go on the green with 4 bowl (or even 8 bowls of the same near weight and size) and place them close to the mat.  You will be reaching down quickly to pick them  up,  bowl by bowl, and rolling them one after the other. So, place them as near the front of the mat as is good for your style of delivery.
       Because you are going to roll 4 (or 8) bowls very quickly up the green. Your exercise has three parts.  1 - Position yourself (always the same) on the mat,   2 - Roll the bowl, and quickly pick up anther bowl and roll it.  and 3 - Feel something was missing.  All this is done without concern where the previous bowl has stop.(  Same line, same object or point of draw). 

This exercise will identify the short time that the subconscious is controlling your delivery.

       Principle here is.. The subconscious always take control from a "a start point of your delivery" (Thus a normal , same position on the mat, start is important for this exercise) .You will reach and pick up a bowl and place yourself on the mat at that same start position, and if your do a grip or extended arm type preparation this is ok..do it. but don't waste time planning or line aiming..  The subconscious mind will always take control from a known point of transfer  (of control of conscious mind) and preform it task each time.

   RESULTS   For all the bowls,  you have rolled the bowl along a line and then forgot about it,.. reach down and got another and position your self and  roll it immediately without concern for the previous bowl.. All of this for all 4 (or 8 bowls)  You don't think about style, form or weight,  just rolled  the bowls.

Did you notice, that somewhere during the exercise and your delivery, you did not know the bowl was rolling.  You realize that you had done your delivery when you saw the bowl in front of you.

 And this was because you were now thinking  "I got to get another bowl"  This absence of thought time is the time identified as the subconscious mind's control or presence. We call this the Zone or a period of "Empty Thought".

             This exercise  works now to show you the Zone, because you probably never have rolled 4 or 8 bowls fast like that... and the subconscious mind does not have any routine to remember.  so when you decide to "Get Another Bowl",  the subconscious mind immediately returns control to your conscious mind.. Also, in your normal routine of delivery and watching it roll, you do  not see the subconscious presence, but here  you have that  feeling that you need to watch the bowl until it stops. (Another routine interrupted by this exercise and which shows the subconscious mind receiving confusing information  and does not like be interrupted or tricked.

 These two feelings identify the subconscious mind's presence.  "absence of thought period" and "Interruption Annoyance" Looking for a photo this book arrived in my search. Never read it but seems interesting. "In The Zone Training by Clinical and Sport Psychologist, Dr. Ray Mulry,"

           Up until now your routine (conscious and subconscious) has finished with the results of the roll.  The "Blackout period" was ended when your subconscious mind has given back control to you..

The annoyance is caused because you are unaware that  your subconscious takes other inputs like the  results, what you expected when after the bowl has stopped, your analysis of error, and decision of what to do to fix it.  All these inputs of information are part of the subconscious work of preparing for the next routine.

In your future bowls delivery, before the transfer of control to the subconscious you will now know  the big need to communicate your expectation and  changes in delivery, ( Not consciously do it but decide to do it and and  wait and watch them happen from  this thought to the subconscious.)
 
        Now do the exercise again returning up green.. This time identifying where the bowl were on the green and when you feel the return to your conscious mind. Try to place the bowl a little farther from you by sort of letting the subconscious keep control longer.(This becomes your future objective)

 Do not change your speed of getting the next bowl.. Just think and do each bowl the same as before but identify the bowls position on the green when you saw it rolling. You have now seen the subconscious mind presence in the previous 4 (or 8) bowls; and you can now  maybe see the ability to extend it presence further into the non thinking part of your delivery..
  Tigar Wood talks about this absence of mind being so long he does not remember doing the swing or shot.  "I know I was there, but I don t remember doing the shot "

Exercise 2... Creating the Absence of  Mind.

 In the photo, the rider is allowing the horses to do the work while directing them where they want them to go...However, you know the horses know what to do because they have done it a thousand times before..

    To be able to roll bowls with the subconscious, we must be able to project our mind into this Absence of presence and we sort of transfer control to subconscious.  Our conscious mind want to say..I can do this,,let me  do it, But like the horseman, we must give instruction and  then let it happen.
.  Getting your mind busy..(like that quick roll did) and with this  busy thinking of something; you will allows the subconscious to be in charge.  In the previous exercise we were occupied with getting the next bowl but you need something less destructive to your routine of delivery..

It is important to note that there are Visual and Auditive individuals So some individuals (visual) will find this easlier than others (auditive) individuals. In the video of Tiger Wood, he said he had trouble visualizing and  his coach had him use his hands for the thought of visualizing the movement. Maybe Tiger Wood is not a visual individual and this was his method.

                So in this exercise you are going to try to create a period of absence of thought  by thinking, maybe concentrating,  on the spot on the green where you want the bowl to stop.."There There There" is your thoughts.

 This will  trigger the subconscious mind to take control, especially if you are ahead of the routine of delivery. ( Of course,  remember the same "transfer of control" point in your delivery routine) This point is always after you have done everything else..( position yourself on mat, bias checked and thoughts of weight that is  needed). Always giving the subconscious mind the control of your actions before the actual delivery..(or at some point.. maybe during the back swing). The photo from Ehow.com shows about the point where you regain control of your delivery consciously.

     . "There, There,there"   It is only during delivery that it is necessary for the subconscious to  be active.   This exercise is to  be able to switch conscious to subconscious when you want.. or have confidence that the subconscious is now doing the delivery. Confidence  that the bowl will arrive "there, there" and confidence that control has been transfer to you subconscious..   Strange but it happens, You will be so occupied with your thoughts of "there, there, there" that suddenly  you will see the bowl on the green,(at some point in it roll to the head) and know that you have returned from the subconscious mind's control.  This feeling of  "not being present for a microsecond", is all that is needed.

 What has happen ??.

  Before rolling the bowl..or during the start of delivery.. forget the delivery and push your mind ahead toward the spot on the green where you expect it will stop or half ways to the head if you are doing a imaginary roll in your imagination  of your bowl  rolling to that sport. ..Concentration, on the imaginary bowl going  to the head and the position where you want the bowl to stop. (If you want to develop this ability, you will feel your mind returning to your delivery but you must again push it to to that position on the green and then to the head)   The difference of this "Green to the head thought "  is that the thought  is your memory of the bowl as you have seen it roll so many times before, into the head. You have seen it many times, so it has a very real movement in your mind.. a memory of  the same having happen many times before to the bowl.

Later you  can work on  having a  full ability to  visualize the action of the bowl all the way from your hand to the head position. This visual image does not see the bowl rolling at it greens speed but forgets time and only thinks about the action. (It is fast but it is complete).  But always from  before the delivery you do your transfer of control (to the subconscious) and work  your thought to  be more concern with  seeing the position near the jack where the bowl  finished it  rolling.
    The subconscious know how to do this...let it do it...Confidence in your ability to allow it to do it automatically or instinctive.

Did you by chance notice the grouping of your bowls in the above exercise. were you surprised that it was such a tight group..(it probably was)  If they were not in a tight group you were not stabilizing your stance on the mat starting from a point of control to the subconscious or you were fighting with the results wanted as to the purpose of the exercise.

Exercise 3.   .Moving Bowls with thought.

I know that seems stupid..but when I decided to shoot a Petanque takeout shot completely blindm it seem stupid. (In Petanque, the french bowl to Jack game, we throw the ball 18 to 20 feet to hit the counting ball)  Throwing a metal ball with your eyes closed is crazy.  But I knew I could do it because I just let it happen.  (Subconsciously)Think about it.. mind know how to do it and the ball is quite big.. And of course there was nothing to see, except the ball being thrown thought the air in my mind.  It happen..no not every time but it was just me practicing deeper control by the subconscious. NOT EXPECTING TO DO IT.
(Photo Petanque Ball hitting and removing a target ball)

Likewise, with a blind student it is possible to make them use their thought because they bowl their bowl in their mind... They do not see, (if totally blind) the green or bowl.

This exercise is not a feeling to be aware of.. but is just an exercise to prove to yourself how the mind (subconscious) will know what to do from your thought to it.  Yes you communicate to your subconscious mind what you expect in your delivery and final shot position.  And you let it happen.

    Take 4 bowls and a jack..  Place the jack at a distance which you like (natural distance probably)  Roll a bowl to that distance.  Now depending upon if your bowl is short or long (I hope it is not on the jack) you are going to simple add on or take off with a thought to do so... Yes a thought to the subconscious.  "I am too short, add on maybe 12 inches"
 .
  Adding on... If you were short and want to just pass your bowl... Think "Unnnnnhhhhhh" like a grunt or forceful sound. as your roll your bowl. and see (in your mind) the previous bowl on the green and this bowl is just a little pass it.
Do this for each of the three bowls left after the first bowl is delivered and try to put each bowl as just a little farther than the previous bowl.  Try this for a few ends and believe in yourself... you can do it.

 If your was long and you  wanted to be in front of that first bowl..  Think "Woooohhhaaaa" like telling a horse to stop. while thinking of the bowl (in your mind) as if it is placing  your new bowl just in front of  the first or your last bowl...Do this for all three bowls each should be just a bit shorter than the one before. If you want to advance this exercise think of the actual inches you want between bowls.  Yes you can do it that way..

As this was originally written in December , our Canadian Winter;  I realized that in Canada we did not have the ability to go out to the green; and therefore, I  was with the hope some Australian bowlers would try the exercise and report back to my twitter or comment here their experience.

 Fellow Canadians, you' will have to wait until next summer and remember these exercise unless you have an indoor winter bowls program at your club or area. These exercises work and with further effort on the exercises; you will  become aware of commanding the sub conscious mind

The next blog,  and last in this group will show how the subconscious mind can make mistakes and be misleading and you must not allow yourself to be caught up believing everything that it shows you.. As this is posted on Christmas Eve I guess it is my presence to Lawn Bowls and you a follower or blog readers.. Hope you have time to try these exercises before the next and last blog in this group.

If you do not think I am a total idiot and you have tried this... my reason  for this long blog has been completed... If not,  your opinion of me as an idiot does not matter because I have and will always be able to do this. (transfer to and from the zone). If one day you can go  to the green and bowl blind and feel these results; I am very happy to have had you as a student.