Visualization As Creative and Instructive Part 2

 Level 3 - Mental Perfection

The difference between Conscious and Subconscious mind activities is about instruction to the muscles and instinctive muscle action as a performance.. When we are learning the basis of Lawn Bowling, and developing the muscle movements we are instructing our muscles with conscious thoughts.

 The first "Image Visualization" a new Lawn Bowler develops is his "Bowl Bias Image". In the first year of training he is using some object (foot of  his skip or mark on back ditch) for his delivery line. But by the end of his first season, he begins to see a image of the actual path the bowl will take to the jack because of the delivery weight he has chosen and the bowl's Bias. (If he has not changed his bowl and it's bias several times)

A blog written in December 2012 about "Three Subconscious mind Eercises" is a good step into the working toward Visualization. Although the blog is long you can learn to have confidence in your Subconscious mind's ability and your Cognitive ability to control it.

 The more you work your ability to use the subconscious without it doing actions you don't have control over; the  developing a Visualization will become easlier each new time you exercise it. 

To tell a story as you remember the event is to relive the actual event memory and describe it to the listener. You see it. That is Visualization.  You do visualization several time a day from remembering where you left an object to remember something you say or read. Now your next step is to be passive about your action of using those memory (or visions) and develop the mental muscle to exercise your cognitive ability to build them into "Muscle Memory" in your sport action or performance.

What Are Cognitive Abilities? - HappyNeuron Pro

 However, many of our body actions during an average day are not Conscious actions but Instinctive actions. Beside these brain actions we have cognitive abilities which are a major part we used in our sports as we grow our performance. Walking did not occur in a few seconds. It involved many instinctive actions which we developed as "Muscle Memories" so as to keep our balance while lifting the foot and moving our balance forward. Body functions like breathing and coughing or chocking reactions are also Suvival instinctive actions. Yes, we can force a cough when asked by the doctor which is a conscious instruction but when a cough is needed it is instinctive. 

Also we work to develop "Instinctive" action as we grow our "Danger Reactions" subconscious mind muscle (thinking), Like putting on the brakes of the car, that seem to happen before we realized the danger arrived; and yet there are still many tricks our Mind performs to give us the information we need to survive. For example, we have heard of having extreme power in time of danger or need or quick reactions to prevent damage during a fall.

In the comments of the above mention blog we find the following question comment and reply. A suggestion of Visualization all the time from the pickup your bowl until several seconds later when you leave the mat.

Anonymous Febuary 11, 2023 10:45 am

"From now on I am going to ask question comments as they arise.. What do you think about turning around and picking up your bowl as soon as you know.. often as soon as your bowl leaves your hands."

Love BowlsFebruary 12, 2023 at 1:46 AM

A good club coach will have told you early in your bowls that to each sport (bowls including) there are three activites to be completed before the action is finished. "Preparation", "Action" and "Results" (feedback) Preparation starts the first day as your coaching and training which introduce you to what you can do. Even years later the "Pre-delivery routine" is always a routine being modified to give a better bowl and result. The "Action" is the delivery both physical and mental of which this blog speaks about the final mental control. This mental control is as difficult as weight control or line and as your "Pre-delivery routine" continues to improve so also does all aspects of that "Action" (physical and Mental) The third, I would say is the most important because to improve the other two you must see, analysis and understand all the information that is returned to you as the bowl rolls up the green, stops and tells you the secrets of your greens, opponent, yourself as well as errors, needs and expectation.
So to ask about picking up the bowl as if everything is done when only one third is done means you will grow an old man on club social greens rolling for the fun. To be a good bowler means every bowl must be a teacher in all three areas of bowls. Don't hurry as there is a lot between picking up a bowl and returning from the mat. Even learning from others mistakes or successes

All athletics from Golf to Table Tennis have Muscle Memory performance because we eventually stop instructing the muscles what to do and allow the muscles which  now has an instinctive ability of how  to perform that action.

When we stop thinking (conscious thought) and give control to the Subconscious mind; we often speak of being in a "void of thought" because the conscious mind was shut off as instructions by our "Muscle memory" was performs. In the above mention Blog we see reference to  a Tiger Wood Youtube video  and his explaining the experience with his "Void of Thought" 

In reading the very long blog of October 2024 called "Talking to the subconscious Mind 2/3) we see at the end of this blog  that  Alex, who was preparing for his International Competition in Europe go looking for his  petanque "cochon" which the mind had showed him as having been hit by his takeout shot and had send it flying. The blog reads "The reason that Alex went off to the left to locate his "cochon" which he saw fly after his shot was that the subconscious had seen the take-out shot would had hit the "cochon" and needed data to give Alex " 

In 2006 in a Petanque training session for Alex in preparing to go international, I show him that the subconscious mind had collected many memories of  "Result Vision" (mention in part 1): and the subconscious mind may at times  actually show us  these "Results of a previous good shot"which replaces what we did not actually see. This is because the eye in capturing images at 1/60 of a second and may not be able to show the actual "Result Vision". 

 Because of the short time between a Petanque  take-out" shot being thrown and the shooter seeing the result (which is less than a second), the subconscious mind  may sometimes shows us a memory from a previous practice it has stored. This is what happen in Alex's "Result Visualization" or image of his Take-out shot having hit a hidden "Cochon".

 The subconscious had shown Alex where his "cochon" had gone had it actually been there. I had tricked his mind by removing the "Cochon" when Alex was not looking. Imagine how you would feel and the problem which we experience  if the mind had not shown an image of the flying "cochon or something similar to Alex.

As for Lawn Bowls (the reader's real interest) in the blog of the  photo left, from the 2016 World Bowls Pairs Finals we have both of the female leads ( Angela Boyd and Laura Daniel) each have different methods of using a type of Visualization which is a "Distance Projection  or "Projection Visualization". We see in them as many Lawn Bowls athletics an arm movement which indicates they are viewing a memory of a previous delivery. Also we see how once they have the proper feeling of distance they then allow their communication with the subconscious to switch into the "Zone" and let "Muscle Memory" roll their bowl to the jack. Because they are in this "Void" and  they seem to look away while doing their delivery and then quickly look back, they are in that "Void".

As mention, we see Angela Boyd and Laura Daniel in their Lawn Bowl Final of a International competition use a "Projection Visualization" to know the distance to the "Jack".    The same would be for the baseball player throwing to home plate in an attempt to catch a runner going home; or a table tennis player putting spin on a slam shot.  Just happens because they allowed their "Muscle Memory to do it.  Or, as you say, "you visualized it happening".

Like with your computer or Iphone where you have a collection of photo in memory, the athletic also has a collection of memories of previous successful performances. As you would choose the photo to be seen on the screen with a simple touch; we, the athletic, can also can choose the memory of previous deliveries to be remembered and use it to evaluate our jack distance before we do our bowl roll and "Muscle Memory" performance.

Projection Visualization is seeing a memory of a previous bowl roll to the jack and using it for your delivery. Why use this memory? First, Result Visualization is seeing the result of this memory and allowing it to happen. But the calculation of distance is difficult for our eyes. As an athletic perfects his delivery he began having a feeling for his distance which can vary by 10 meters (about 100 feet) in Lawn Bowls. (21 meter to 31 meters). 

This is the same "Next step in learned performance" where the Bowls athletic  in getting his delivery line has now stopped taking a point of reference and simply now see his delivery line of the bowl's roll to the jack. Likewise, the "Delivery Weight" feeling of distance is the eye trying to "Guess" the distance but also the athletic is wasting a bowl or two to delivery and be wrong about the distance and perform a better bowl roll.

Projection Visualization is seeing the remembered video action of a memory and watching it to the end. If it was a memory of a previous roll to a jack at 25 meters your view of that memory would stop at 25 meters ; it wouldn"t  feel right as you were  playing a jack of 27 meters. Projection Visualization  starts with knowing it did not arrive in your image memory.

 Yes, with practice you can feel the memory have ended and your action does not see the bowl as yet arriving at the jack. So you teach yourself and the Conscious mind  to get another memory of a longer distance and do another "Projection visualization". When you feel and see the image all the ways to the jack you let your "Muscle Memory" do the bowl roll.

This is usually on the first bowl to a jack instead of wasting a bad distance roll and correcting that next delivery. In some of the other blogs you will see reference to a "tool box" of tricks to allow you to put a little distance  on a bowl roll. This  "Projection Visualization" is a faster way toward feeling the distance. Yes, after a while it becomes part of your delivery routine because it is the "you see it" before the "you do it" part of your Muscle Memory.

 

You have certainly told someone about a car accident you had  or seen and in great detail from memory. And you actually see the memory in great detail and explain in words everything you see in that memory as you explain what happen. In the same manner you can see the bowl roll of a memory up the green toward the jack and feel a feeling of that memory not being far enough. (because it is not the right memory)

 Remember the eye can not judge distance accurately because of false reference it receives. A big building or club house behind the jack makes it seem closer and an open field of 2nd bowling green behind the jack will make it seem farther. Projection of memory and feeling the wrong distance is a skilll developed with practice. You will feel the distance is right and switch to "Muscle Memory".

  If you see that a bowl is blocking and that your bowl roll will not get around that bowl your "Muscle Memory may even "Walk the mat" to get you into a better position for your bowl to get around it. 'Result Visualization" is to see how close you must pass that bowl which was discussed in the previous blog. You see your bowl with a space between it and the block and feeling all is ok you are now telling the Subconscious mind forgot about it. (If you were doing conscious adjustment you would lift your foot as you moved on the mat and would go back to changing your line of delivery that little bit)

In the same way, a basketball player may think about his common error of hitting the left of the rim of the basket because he is moving to his right as he shoots, the thought is only a "Result Visualization" of what to do or not to do.  The actual shot is done in a void of though. In the video of Tiger Wood, he says his void or Muscle Memory occur when he swings. "Between my back swing and seeing the ball in flight up the fairway, I have no idea or thought what happen" (Check out the Video on youtube of Tiger's Mental game ) I  put it here a 2 nd time because you probably passed over it earlier. It is important and from the best athletic who would  tell you.. learn to be in the "Zen Moment" of your performance.

Above, I tricked the Subconscious to reveal it's ability to retreive memories and present them as real "Result Visualization". Another blog of interest is the March 2025 blog of "Communication with the Subconscious 3/3" which shows "Tags" and "Tells" which are tools of showing the subconscious and how various athletics are communicating with the subconscious. 

Of interest is this blog and similar blogs which showed an high volume of reads immediately when posted.