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 performance.. When we are learning the basis of Lawn Bowling, and developing the muscle movements we are instructing our muscles with conscious thoughts.

 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 used in sports. Walking involves many instinctive actions as we keep our balance while lifting the foot and walking forward. Body functions like breathing and coughing or chocking reactions are instinctive.Yes, we can force a cough when asked by the doctor. 

Also Instinctive action are our "Danger Reaction", Like putting on the brakes of the car, that seem to happen before we realized the danger arrived; and there are 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. In a Petanque training session I show my student that the mind collected a memory of a previous "Result Vision" and showed it as the Result of a previous good shot; because the eye which  in capturing images at 1/60 second was not able to show the actual result image of his Petanque shot.

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". It 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" " The point of this section of the blog was that the subconscious had seen the shot hit a 2 inch target at 6 or 7 meters, and was able to see the precision of the hit being on the right side of the "cochon" and therefore used a memory of a previous actual hits  that Alex had in his "Muscle Memory" data.  The subconscious had shown Alex where his "cochon" had gone had it actually been there. I had tricked the mind by removing the "Cochon" when Alex was not looking. Imagine the problem if the mind had not shown something to Alex.

We also see photo from the 2016 World Bowls Pairs Finals where both leads bowlers ( Angela Boyd and Laura Daniel) each have different methods of "Distance Projection  or "Projection Visualization" and how  once their communication with the subconscious is finished and they have found the correct distance; they let "Muscle Memory" roll their bowl to the jack as they seem to look away and then quickly look back toward the jack after their bowl roll.

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 Tiger Wood and his experience with "Void of Thought"

Result Visualization was seeing the image of what the result of the performance would be if properly executed. A basketball player shooting at the hoop from a fair distance will do all his Pre-shot  thoughts but as his shot is executed he allows the subconscious mind to perform the shot. He may be standing still or changing his balance but he is not making any (conscious) correction. As mention, we see Angela Boyd and Laura Daniel in their Lawn Bowl competition use a Projection Visualization.    The same would be for the baseball player throwing to home plate to catch a runner going home; or a table tennis putting a slam shot.  Just happens because you thought to do it.  Or, 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 32 meters). The same learned performance as the Bowls athletic having stopped taking a point of reference,on the green or behind the jack, and simply now see his delivery line of the bowl's roll to the jack.

Projection Visualization is seeing the video action of a memory and watching it to the end. If it was a memory of a jack at 25 meters your view of that memory would stop at 25 meters and if you were to be playing a jack of 27 meters; it wouldn"t  feel right as you know it did not arrive. Yes, with practice you can feel the memory have ended and your action does not see the bowl as yet arriveing at the jack. Action then required by Conscious mind is to get another memory of a longer distance and do another "Projection visualization" in preparation for that bowl roll.

You have certqainly told someone about a car accident you had  or seen and in great detail you see the memoryl and explain in words 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 not 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.

  He see if a bowl is blocking that roll and may even "Walk the mat" to get around it. To see how close you must pass that bowl is "Result Visualization" discussed in the previous blog. You see your bowl with a space between it and the block and after telling the Subconscious mind forgot about it. (If you were doing conscious adjustment you 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 which Tiger Wood says 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)

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.