Topic: mental attitude

[Old Meister]

You know what I really like about your posts Zeek? You always leave us wanting and being promised more, lol.

[zeek mullins]

Can anyone in the dfw area help me build a small "zeek mullins" web site?

[UKLN5245]

 

[zeek mullins]

So, over many years, the seekers began to understand how the mind worked to create each individuals reality. They developed a way of thinking, a concept, that allowed them to perceive any happening in a way that was beneficial to them (level 2 stuff). Using this new way of thinking, they became very good at creating success in the material world. A few of them noticed something else.

1)   No matter how much material success they accomplished, they still suffered negative emotions and actions when they did not get what they wanted. And the more material success they accumulated, the more the found themselves suffering over trying to keep it.
2)   There seemed to be a small percentage of people who achieved material success while remaining peaceful and happy. No matter what the situation was, this small percentage of people were able to remain calm and focused. These were the ultra successful people, and material success seemed to seek them out.

What did these ultra successful people know (keep in mind that they may not have been aware that they knew) that those in #1 above did not. There seemed to be something beyond the world of the mind, a mysterious state. This small group of seekers began to explore this mysterious realm. This small group became known as “mystics”. This was the beginning of level 3.

Threshold:
This Is really level two stuff, but it points directly at the existence of level three.

Have you ever noticed when you start “losing it”?

You are crusing along, playing well and having fun. Nothing seems to bother you. Blocking well, shooting well, passing well. Playing your "normal" game. Then something changes. Something happens that causes you to get out of “normal”. Maybe some slop gets in on you, the other team gets hot on you, someone says something you don’t like….something happens that is not what you wanted to happen. Your focus changes. Next thing you know, your game goes south, you stop having fun, and you probably lose a match you should have won. The point at which this happens is called your threshold.

Keeping in mind all my previous “stuff”, lets take a look at exactly what threshold is, what happens when we approach our threshold, and why it can be so different, for the same situation, from one person to another.

First lets revisit “normal”. Remember Master Chungs “you think you are better than you are”. He was trying to get me to realize what my “normal” was. It is imperitive that you establish and accept what your “normal” is. Then you can begin to improve it and raise it to a higher level through practice and experience. Remember that “thinking you are better than you are” is one of the biggest deterrents to getting better.

What is you threshold

Our threshold is the point at which we cease processing information with our conscious mind. When we reach this point, we switch to “automatic response “ mode. When this happens, our unconscious mind, our “genie”, takes over. At this point, we are reacting automatically to the situation at hand based on the programming in our computer. As we have learned, this programming was “written” based on previous life experiences. There are many possible ways we could have learned to respond. A few of these are – anger, retreat, fighting, arguing, yelling, smoking, crying, sex, aggression, becoming serene, losing focus, focusing better, exercise, drinking, drugs and hundreds more. If we tried one of these responses in a similar situation, and the result was a reduction in suffering, “genie” thinks it is an appropriate response. Remember that “genies” sole purpose is to keep you safe from danger and suffering. Since you have stopped sending conscious instructions, due to going over your threshold, “genie” searches for the strongest response it can find and proceeds to initiate it. Depending on what your programs are for this situation, you may get a positive reaction, and you may get a negative one. The main thing to understand is that once you go over your threshold this all happens outside of your conscious awareness.

Next:
Human beings are what scientist have called “open systems”

[zeek mullins]

Human beings are what scientist have called “open systems”

A “closed” system is something that does not have the ability to react to its environment. A rock is an example of a closed system. When a rock is exposed to wind, rain, vibration, or any other outside force, it becomes less than it was before. Eventually, over time, the rock ceases to exist in the form of a rock. If you hit a rock with a hammer, it discentagrates into many smaller rocks. It cannot handle the energy of the hammer strike and remain in its present form. Bill Harris describes this as going into chaos, and then reorganizing at a different level. The point is that the rock has no ability to reorganize at a higher level...

An “open system”, on the other hand, has the ability to react to its environment. An open system receives energy from its environment, but is able to absorb this energy because it has the ability to release other energy back to the environment. A tree receives the same energy as the rock, but does not cease to exist because it is able to export energy back in to the environment in the form of heat, carbon monoxide, bending in the wind, growth etc. If you cut a limb off of a tree, it has the ability to grow another. And the new limb is almost always stronger than the one that is lost! (this is important) This new limb has the ability to withstand more from the environment than the one that was lost. It can be said that the new limb has reorganized, “evolved”, at a higher level. The new limb has a higher threshold!

Humans are the ultimate “open system”. We are constantly receiving input, energy, from our environment thru our senses. Sound, light, taste, smell, feel. (these are actually all forms of vibration. And all our senses are actually forms of touch. We “touch” light with our eyes, “touch” sound with our ears etc.) This input is coming at us every second of every day, in massive amounts, from every direction. Our mind (super computer, genie) processes this information based on the programming it has received from previous life experiences. It then sends directions to the body to export energy (called entropy) back in to the environment in the form of heat, waste, emotion, action and many other forms.

As long as the input coming in to our system does not exceed our computers ability to export entropy back in to the environment, we are happy, peaceful, having fun. But we all have a level, once again based on our programming from past life experiences, at which the input coming at us exceeds our computers ability to export entropy back in to the environment. When this happens, we begin to experience the emotion of being overwhelmed. We unconsciously switch to automatic response mode. Our focus changes from positive, what we want, to negative, what we want to avoid (to much input). As we know, this can causes all fun to cease and we begin to suffer negative emotions and actions. Genie begins searching for ways to export the excess input back in to the environment. Getting mad, yelling, taking offense and thousands of other negative actions are ways we may have learned to do this. There are also positive ways to do this. Refocusing, becoming calm etc.

I hope this is not to confusing. The threshold concept is a way of thinking that explains what happens to us when we experience dysfunctional actions and feelings. It also explains why successful people don’t!

Please don’t be afraid to email me questions at johnbinc07@gmail.com. If I use them, I will not put your name on them, and they will help me to better understand how to teach this stuff.

So, the obvious solution to a low threshold is to learn a way to raise our threshold to be able to handle more input from the environment.

Next: Chaos and reorganization

[zeek mullins]

Try this
The next time you are watching a video of a big match, instead of watching the action on the table, try to see if you can figure out how the top players are thinking. Pay attention to how they react to the eb and flow of the game. Do they let an unwanted outcome carry over to the next ball (do they get down on themselves, or do they use unwanted outcomes to help them refocus)? Do they let distractions affect their game (or do they seem to be able to remain normal in spite of them)? How do they react when they win? If they do lose, pay attention to how they handle that. See if you can become them mentally. Try to put yourself into the situation, into their minds

Try to figure out how "in the moment" (concept of time) and "let whatever happens be ok" fits in to their way of thinking.

[zeek mullins]

Seems i have fizzled out on this deal. should i continue?

[Old Meister]

You haven't fizzled at all and thank you for everything you have shared so far. You know, when I'm getting ready for a bigger tournament I look over the stuff you gave us and find very useful things to keep in mind. Maybe you should set yourself up in an "Ask Zeek" thread. Anyone who has a computer can watch video on how to do shots but that only takes them so far. I think the stuff you know and teach is every bit as important as all of that. You could help a lot of wannabes, who have talent, reach their potential. You have something really important to share, don't stop,,,

[BillV]

I agree you should continue. It was nice meeting you a couple of weeks ago in Houston. I never stopped playing long enough to have that discussion I asked for. Hope you make it back down in the future.

Anyway, more on subject, I recently decided to try and apply some of this to my own practice sessions. I had previously tried practicing the mind set but that didn't work very well. The difference was this time I was not just trying to imagine what it would be like to let what happens be ok in a match, I tried just letting things be ok with my practice shots. I made more progress in about an hour with my shot (in practice) than I've made in the past year.

Lets see how that translates into competition. 

[zeek mullins]

you and sm did a number on us. arrrrggg. much work to do. we'll have another opportunity, looking forward to talking with you. John

[jkhFoos]

BillV, So true. I would think " I can do this (pass or shot or whatever), so repeat".  Now I think " I can do this, so change it"-& observe. Usually It's nuance (stance, grip, weight shift).  Makes practice more productive & fun.

[JoeyDMaio]

Seems i have fizzled out on this deal. should i continue?

Y E S

This thread is the main reason I still come on this forum, so yes please go on, and thanks for all you already gave us :-)

[BillV]

Zeek, no one shoud have to deal with all the slop I sent your way that match. It was like you would catch enough of the ball that it would rocket off the side wall and pinball into the goal. I was real happy with my 5 bar that game though and Sam blocked real well.

Bill

[zeek mullins]

Master Chung Wisdom:
If not happy with what getting, have two choices. Change what doing  -or-  change how thinking about what doing.

[zeek mullins]

Bill
Stuff happens. It evens out over the long run. Definatly puts a test on your LWHBOK though.