Lawn Bowls, with the long distance of the "Jack", offers to the Lawn Bowl athletic's and their interest in the instinctive aspects of their developed performance: the opportunity to wisely use "Memory data" collected and stored by our subconscious mind. With shorter distance to the target (Petanque, Bocce) the subconscious mind can judge the distance without the need to calculate it by 'Memory Projection" Always w0hen we have "Focus" (our mind totally spent on what we are doing) the subconscious mind is collecting and storing everything.
When you analysis your performance or make a correction these thoughts become "Memory data" which can be retrieved later by the subconscious and added to your performance. Many times without us being aware that our instinctive "Muscle Memory" has added something. Because "Muscle Memory" is the total source of the instinctive action often a thought (during focus) adds small changes to the performance.. Very often when we are performing our sport we leave the conscious and it's controlling instructions to muscles and relay uniquely on the instinctive (subconscious) action.
We identify these ("Memory data") as subconscious collection of thoughts or images and they can be used in our performance. In Lawn Bowls because the jack can be up to 30 meters from the delivery mat (long jack) the focus on the "Delivery roll to the jack" is of major importance. The subconscious mind will calculate the jack distance by watching the roll and add that data to the delivery of the first bowl. Photo Alam Baittie, Summerset National's Single Final.
The subconscious mind is a lot like a young child who wants to please their parents. With good intentions the child does what it know is needed to be done and often is looking toward the results it will produce. Likewise, the instinctive mind (subconscious) is adding a type of distance calculation during the "Jack roll". Often we hear a club coach tell their students that if your bowl delivery is done within 30 seconds of the jack roll, you will often find that it will usually stop near the jack.
All thought you do in your analysis of a recently delivery become "Memory data". If you tell yourself that you lost your balance and the lawn bowl just delivered was forced off the delivery line; the subconscious mind will use this thought and make the correction, or attempt to make the correction. Why say "attempt" ? Because without being told what caused you to lose your balance the subconscious mind does not know the corrective action. Your thoughts must be more than just disappointment with your delivery.
Here is where the story become like the seperation of reality and a ghost story. The first thought we have is always toward reality. We want to make instructions to our muscles as an analysis our need to correct our balance (in this example) and using the "conscious mind" we turn toward giving instructions; which we believe will affect our performance. But we can only do so much when we try to be in "total control". Now, we are doing our delivery instinctive and conscious action take forever to be included in our instinctive delivery. Communications with the subconscious mind must be done in the final moment before the delivery is performed by our "Muscle Memory".
With the conscious mind we think and tell the muscles what to do and because we are always questioning ourselves or our performance; we find ourself making suggestion or critizism of the just completed performance. Thinking something like "Maybe I should do this" or "No that did not work" is not instructions to the subconscious. These thoughts become the reason why "Muscle Memory" works if we have linked the next delivery to them.
The Ghost side of this story is like you telling your secretary how to do a certain job and after verifying she (he) understands; you walk away to leave them to do it and wait for the result. The instinctive performance of the "Subconscious mind" is similar. "I saw what you tried to do and even heard your thoughts as you analysis the result" your subconscious would say if you could hear your brain working. But instead of being confidence that "Muscle Memory" can do it; we are forced to telling the muscles what to do (conscious instructions). We must work and practice to link thee thoughts of analysis to the subconscious (instinctive) performance of "Muscle Memory". When we do make that connection we will be surprised to see the real changes.
Why ? Because like the secretary who will make mistakes at first, or like your physical practice which lead to your now doing a good performance, these thoughts will need several repeated communications with the subconscious to have any efforts or to get done correctly. But unless you let the "Spirit" of that "Ghost" of a "Muscle Memory" performance take its own courses you will always be doing a conscious instructions to the muscles. Unlike a dictator without confidence in the subconscious, or as the above example, confidence in the secretary doing it right you are consciously telling the muscles what to change. If we are always making the same mistakes of not letting the subconscious make the change; your attempt to correct this mistake in performance will seen like forever to fix.
I speak of "Ghost of Performance" because if you have arrived at the state of doing your delivery instinctive by the subconscious mind; then you know of that "void of thought" that has occured when the subconscious mind is active. You feel a "return to reality" and watch the delivery and the result. If you have confidence in your secretary you expect the best and likewise confidence in your "Muscle Memory" also applies. We are control freaks and especially in sports where performance is everything we try to do right. But why paid for furniture and office space for a secretary if you don't accept the work produced. Likewise, the subconscious was following all your efforts to correct that problem (of balance in this example) and now you must walk away from being in control and let the "Muscle Memory" do the action and check the result.
Now the big problem is communication. With the secretary it is verbal and even technicial (if you teach her to use a marco for the general layout of the job) and likewise it is the same with the "Subconscious" or instinctive aspect of your performance. Learning to communicate with the subconscious mind is as hard as good communication in an office environment. If you have emotions when you tell the secretary of the mistakes the result will not be as good as good quite communication. Also with the subconscious mind this smooth quite chat is important. Be angry about the result and upset with your performance and the subconscious is totally confused as to what to do. Smooth and precise facts and you can change the "Muscle Memory or the instinctive action of your performance. But like you practice your delivery for months you must also practice your "Muscle Memory" communication. In other blogs we will find discussion of "Tags" and "Tells" which are small thoughts or images which allow us to progress with this communication and it's result.
In the above text I used two images. Office secretary and ghost of performance because we all listen (or read) with opinions. Office secretary we see a job to be done and results which give a pay, while Ghost we may not believe they exist or have any influence in our life. Where we are now going in your sport performance is the same. Your belief in yourself and your ability to perform and then that something of a ghost or part of our mind which we often don't see. If you saw a ghost a few times you would believe they exist as I am sure you have felt that "void of thought" several times during your delivery after which you returned to reality from an instinctive delivery.
Look at (open it in size) the stock photo of office work from the photo site of www.gettyimages.ca and for a few seconds read the emotions or interaction of the two people. The women alone is probably the boss walking away and allow the secretary to do the work or the other is analysis the work as presented.
If you are to communicate with your subconscious mind and make changes to your "Muscle Memories" you must use this same strategy. If you want to know the result of not respecting your "Ghost of Performance" or instinctive performance then look at the two video of Petanque great Dylan Rocher and see the different of 2020 and 2024 as he attempt to change his excellence performance without knowing (or respecting) the mental force of the "Muscle Memory". He is still the greatest Petanque player of our era but like all of us he is attempting to add something to his style.
His 2020 take-out shot was a quick steady one arm swing movement. Bang the shot was a success and even his "Carreau" or "hit and stay" was well executed, then and now; but he is in a multi action pre-preparation routine which looks like a confidence building performance. Take time to look at the blog of "Subconscious mind in Petanque" and the videos because your voyage from this point on in sharing your success with a ghost which needs to be told how to perform for you.
If you have not thought about changing something and at the present time you are only reading; all is good but like driving a car we learn the basic and then we are certified as knowing the rules and our Routine. So also as we change and improve our Delivery routine we move more to that perfect performance. Lawn Bowls like golf is a unique opportunity because by looking to countries like Australia, South Africa and Great Britain we have a lot of great athletics to learn and improve from their examples.
If you learn to communicate with the subconscious mind and correctly communicate what you wanted it to do; you will be surprised what you can do with your bowl. Strange but true how it works, but the hardest thing is like changing a job which also changes your daily routine of sleep and work. If you start to communicate with the subconscious or instinctive aspect of your performance and expect changes to "Muscle Memory" you will find it hard to go back to the old way. Photo (Right) Dylan Rocher Youtube of Shooting competition
First we must understand that the subconscious mind is always aware of what is happening and if asked it will use what it has seen previously in your game. In the above suggested blog I mention how the subconscious mind in a dream took data of the local coffee shop and put into my dream the shaking of the sugar sack as I was dreaming of making a coffee. It had seen that action many times as I went to the local coffee shop several times a day.
There are many things we do in our delivery of the bowl and we are not really taking note but the subconscious mind is seeing it and collecting that data. As an example, you have just rolled the jack up the rink and as it was spotted, you turned and picked up your bowl so as to be ready to bowl. What was the last thing important action that the subconscious mind watched? No not the jack roll, which was missed as you turned for your bowl. Now you are going to roll to the jack but what distance is it? Yes, you can look at all the different calculations for the distance. How far out is the mat. How far beyond the "Hog line"? How far from the back boards?,
Well it took time for the jack to roll and that time depending on the distance and if you were watching the subconscious has these data memories for future use and can be recalled. Your "Muscle Memory" can used this roll-delay and "measured time" as distance because you were watching the jack roll it's distance. Yes you also did some thoughts to give a distance in your (vocal) thoughts ("28 meters or Half way from hogline to back ditch") and if you are visual you glanced at the back board as a sort of confirmation of distance the jack is in front.
So the subconscious either has the right distance from experience and other information (the jack roll now) or what ever method, (unless you will guess) and the "Muscle memory performance will do a good delivery but not a good distance. By watching, and seeing the distance you can now allow the subconscious learn that distance and feel the delay of rolling jack can be used to improve your bowl's delivery to the jack. Yes, there are things which seem of little important but is the jack roll more important then the skip standing there waiting to center the jack.
Today, as I work to cleanup this blog the AI introduction of Microsoft has suggested the following to me. (probably gathered some informations from other sites on the same topic)
"Muscle memory is a fascinating aspect of our brain's ability to learn and perform tasks without conscious thought. It's like having a built-in autopilot for repetitive actions, such as typing, playing an instrument, or even riding a bike. However, subconscious interruptions can sometimes disrupt this smooth flow.
These interruptions can be caused by various factors, such as stress, fatigue, or distractions. When your brain is preoccupied with other thoughts or emotions, it can interfere with the automatic processes that muscle memory relies on. This can lead to mistakes or a temporary loss of proficiency in the task you're performing.
To minimize these interruptions, it's essential to practice mindfulness and focus on the present moment. Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and regular breaks can help reduce stress and improve concentration. Additionally, ensuring you get enough rest and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can also contribute to better muscle memory performance."
A blind bowler with his coach or instructor is told the distance when it is being centered by the game assistance who reads it from the "Distance Markers" on the side of the green. However, he does not do the calculation of how much the mat has been brought forward of the "Mat Line"; this is told once to the blind bowler who then make his own calculations. Photo right is Randy Fred Gold Medallist in the 2012 Canadian Blind Bowls in Kitchener Ontario. Tom Williams the coach or blind bowler assistance (back to us) is evaluating the delivery.
Also I have seen an assistance with a new student said "1, 2,3,and ended with "NOW" as the jack stopped. This is sort of like the thinking action of the conscious mind building "Memory Data" which the subconscious mind will collect. Also, later when the assistance was sure his blind bowler was calculating the "Jack Roll Time" he would just say "NOW" when the jack had stopped. In the same manner your conscious thoughts build instructions to the subconscious and eventually the subconscious does it automaticly. (like the Blind bowler has shown the assistance that they are now measuring the distance)
So if you were busy walking and picking up the bowl while the jack was rolling; you must realize that in doing so you can not teach this to the "Muscle Memory because you did not think (a thought) to collect this information. It is important to realize your thoughts (conscious evaluation) should be careful selected because they are included in the subconscious developing of "Muscle Memory".
These actions which should be part of your "Post Delivery Routine" (after your bowl has left your hand); and if done properly they will force the subconscious to notice and collect that data. But a problem with communicating with the subconscious is that there are both visual and auditive individuals. Where the Visual individual sees the Jack roll; the coaches must suggest something different to Auditive individuals. He may suggest that by remembering a song during the jack roll; the subconscious is a timing the roll and measuring the jack distance as it rolls and stops. Yes, a song has a memory data duration and after the subconscious has been taught to use the time for it calculation it no longer is heard by the bowler.
Myself I am visual and because I have watch my bowl roll to the jack and "Memory Data" was collected; now I can see in my "mind's eye" my bowl as rolls to the jack. This "Memory Retieval" as I prepare for my delivery (Pre-Delivery routine). is what we will se happen in the videos of these two great athletics.
If in seeing my "Memory data" of the distance; my mental image has not arrived at the jack but stopped short then I will change and get the right "memory"; until I feel " Now do the delivery" because the subconscious has that distance. With practice and looking for that "Approval Feeling" of thecorrect data having been view ( or though); you just know that it is ok to do the "Muscle Memory" performance.
Now how do you force the subconscious start watching the jack roll and calculate the distance. A "Tag" is an action which is different and the subconscious notice it and the reason for it. You start tomorrow to watch the jack roll and if auditive you hear the jack roll time like a song which you think sung or hum; your song become a tape measure of the distance. A trick or "Tag" but the same as feeling the length of time you cook that egg to get it as you like it. Eventually you won't need the "Tag" as the subconscious will continue to collect the data and use it in your First bowl delivery "Muscle Memory" performance.
Some athletics actually do a retrieval of this memory to improve their calculation of the jack distance while others only do such a calculation in siturations. If you close your eyes and recall this memory you can actually feel how you have remember the length of time. For those new students, who don't collect this data, will find their coaches saying "Have your bowl in your hands because if within 30 seconds of rolling the jack you complete your delivery; your "Muscle Memory" will use the feeling of the jack roll for your delivery weight and distance to create a "jack touching" delivery.
Here in the suggest video we have ans example of world class athletics communicating with their subconscious during "Pre-Delivery" and using "Memory Retrevial" to allow the instinctive part of her performance to do a perfect "Muscle Memory" actions. I am using the 2016 World bowls Finals of Womens pairs which was in Christchurch NZ and maybe I am wrong on my read of the "Tell" (a sign of subconscious communication) during the Delivery Routine; but these are great athletics (in photo right) and are fine examples of "Talking to the Subconscious Mind".
In the video, you will hear the announcer's comment on the very long "Delivery Routine" of Angela Boyd. (If you watch a few end of play). But Angela in her routine, although long, has various parts of her communication with the subconscious; and is well beyond where some of us never to go or develop. Her rocking and swing of delivery arm is similar to the Youtube Petanque video of Mark Wildeboer as he does a Petanque shooting "Takeout" shot. His "Tell" is him conscious mind judging his distance by a previsualization of the acturate distance to the target ball. (His toe tapping, is a "tell" of a mental evaluation and judgement of the distance to the target)
The use of the word "Talk" in the title is intentional as we too often think of "talk" as words spoken and surprisingly we even think and heard words. A child in its first years hears sounds and sees images and process everything very fast until they began to talk. Then as the child learns words, the images and memories are lost and replaced by thinking in words.
With the subconscious mind, the words are an enemy to "Muscle Memory" because it is thought (conscious instructions); and if we are thinking it, we are actually giving instructions to the muscles on what we want to do. So alway remember that thinking an action does allow for instinctive (subconscious) communication but actually converts the mind back to receiving a conscious actions and instructions to the muscles.
When we "talk" to the subconscious mind we use images and like a computer going into a file and getting that picture or other information, the subconscious mind can recall and use these images to do for us what we may want done with the next delivery. Yes, we do remember in images or thoughts which are memories of previous actions but by thinking about our next action (conscious) we have stopped the subconscious mind. The two minds are each developing and processing a memory images or thought differently We want to learn that what we previous saw happen now allows for us to use the collected memories to judge the distance to the jack.
Above we have the New Zealand Angela Boyd in the 2016 World Bowls Women's Pairs final doing her first delivery of the match. This match of December 11th Women`s Pairs Finals of World Bowls (Streaming); can still be watched. We see Angela go to the mat and after what the video announcer describes as "Half a dozen motion of the arm then look down at her feet, look back up and now delivery". A "Delivery routine" which includes subconscious evaluation of the jack distance before the release. Although the Wales Pairs Lead, Laura Daniels has a faster "Delivery Routine"; you can see her "Tag" and "Tell" with her finger tapping the bowl a couple of times.
So the next time you are on the green and as lead or in "Single" game and throw the jack up the rink to be centered try this exercise which can be added to your Delivery Routine. As you are standing on the mat with your bowl ready to deliver; recall that memory of the jack as it rolled up the green. This is a mental "Tag" for the subconscious mind telling it to remember the roll for to know the distance.
While writing this blog I was surprise to discovered that my 100,000th reader had passed. Blog stats here to the right and to those who have been following my blogs for the past 10 years or more please know of my appreciation of your readership. As I cleanup several of the older blogs, if you leave a comment of your interest I can expand those blogs or even if more selective; I will try to address it in an e-mail.
In the above video (if you watched it) we see both leads with "Tells". as their "Tags" inform the subconscious of the expection action. (judge the distance) However, with a mental tag is used like the exercise with the "Jack roll" tag; it may not be possible for an observator watching to see any body movement which would be a "Tell". However, when we included a "tag" the subconscious mind see the body movement as an action becomes a part of the "Delivery Routine". With the "Tag" as part of the bowler delivery routine it is talking to the subsconscious.
First, you must see the roll all the way until it stops. which is a memory collected when you watched it. You did watch it closely, I hope else it is not a Memory which can be used constructively. Now if you do it again a second time it is a mental part of your delivery. Your subconscious mind can judge the distance to the jack by being instructed to use this "Memory Data". If you were to bounce your bowl in your hand as your remember that jack roll so the subconscious would know the distance; your actions would be a "Tell" to an participant that you are doing a mental communication.
With this "Tag" or mental action added to your delivery you will be surprise to find that you have bowled right to the jack. (if your line was right) and after the "Tag" you have allowed the subconscious to do the delivery and you feel your "Void" of thought. If you were thinking, do this, or don't do that, when you were doing your delivery, then the subconscious was not give the chance to perform "Muscle Memory" and "Memory retrieval" and bowl to the exact distance of the jack.
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