The difference is when someone uses those techniques to program you the way they want to program you, and when you teach someone else how to develop and use those techniques to program themselves to accomplish what they wish to accomplish.
The first can be done under extreme and unusual circumstances, usually with damage to the individual, and with the chance of break-down or failure.
The second requires a good deal of time -- calendar time -- slow learning and gentle repetition combined with normal everyday practice and life, and generally starts to kick in fairly quickly and accelerates over years. It does require maintenance. It is susceptible to failure or back-sliding.
Almost all sports are played in the mind first. Mental rehearsal is a major factor.
I have seen it work and produce stunning results. The book "In the Zone" noted below will tell you many, many stories, many of which you will recognize and resonate with.
There is no reason this can't or shouldn't be taught to any reasonably intelligent, attentive and active individual in any performance discipline (athletics, music, et al) in late high school and early college.Here are some books that will help you understand:
The Achievement Zone, Shane Murphy, Ph.D., GP. Putnam's Sons, New York 1996. [Written by the chief sport psychologist for the US Olympic Committee from ’87 to ’94.]
Body Mind Mastery: Creating Success in Sport and Life, Dan Millman, New World Library, Novato, California, 1999. [Millman is a former world champion on the trampoline, a Hall of Fame gymnast, a coach and a university professor. This is a revision of his earlier book
The Inner Athlete.]
The Break-Out Principle, Herbert Benson, M.D. and William Proctor, Scribner, New York 2003. [How to activate your accessible biomechanical “trigger” to power up creativity, insight, stress-reduction, and top-notch performance, by the author of The Relaxation Response.]
Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology, Rainer Martens, Ph.D., Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1997. [A high-level academic textbook for coaches.]
Coaching Mental Excellence: It Does Matter Whether You Win Or Lose, Ralph Vernacchia, Rick McGuire, and David Cook, Warde Publishers, Portola Valley, CA 1996. [Written for coaches by three of the nation's top coaching educators, performance consultants, and sports psychologists, this book is an outgrowth of a top-level national meeting to develop an applied sports psychology curriculum for a national coaching education program.]
Coaching for Performance: A Practical Guide to Growing Your Own Skills, John Whitmore, Pfeiffer and Company, 1994. [The author is the co-founder of The Inner Game Ltd., one company among many that have taken the lessons from winning athletes into the world of business.]
Coaching The Mental Game: Leadership Philosophies and Strategies for Peak Performance in Sports – And Everyday Life, Harvey A. Dorfman, Taylor Trade Publishing (Rowman & Littlefield), New York 2003.
Competitive Fire: Insights into developing the warrior mentality of sports champions, Michael Clarkson, Human Kinetics, 1999.
Creative Visualization: How To Use Imagery and Imagination for Self-Improvement, Ronald Shone, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, 1988.
Embracing Your Potential, Terry Orlick, PhD., Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1998. [A former gymnast and coach, the author is one of the best in the field of mental training for excellence and has worked with thousands of Canadian and American Olympic and professional teams and athletes.]
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, M. Csikszentmihalyi, Harper & Row, New York, 1990. [The flow theory is a major component in performance enhancement and is a wellspring for many applications. See also his sequel
The Evolving Self.]
Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances, Susan A. Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL 1999.
The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature, Michael Murphy, Jeremy Tarcher, Los Angeles, 1992. [An overview of the research into
metanormal human capacities by the co-author of
In The Zone.]
God and the Evolving Universe: The Next Step in Personal Evolution, by James Redfield, Michael Murphy and Sylvia Timbers, Tarcher/Putnam, New York 2002. [A profound book with a stunning premise, something more than just its thorough yet simple review of the wisdoms of sages, mystics and scientists, it is an exploration of the range of extraordinary capabilities available to the human body/mind/spirit, and it is a call to personal action. Redfield is the author of The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight and The Celestine Vision. Murphy, the founder of the Esalen Institute, is the author of
In the Zone (with Rhea Murphy),
The Future of the Body, and The Life We are Given (with George Leonard). Timbers has been involved in consciousness studies and training for 20 years and a multimedia producer of projects focused on psychological and spiritual development. The book also contains a 66-page guide to the literature of
transformative practice and a 28-page series of simple suggested practices that will deepen anyone's abilities in personal development of body/mind/spirit unity.]
Golf in the Kingdom, Michael Murphy, Penguin Arkana, New York 1972. [One of the best sports psychology books written, even if you do not play golf. To be enjoyed with a wee bit of your favorite dram and perhaps a little bagpipe music.]
The Inner Athlete: Realizing Your Fullest Potential, Dan Millman, Stillpoint Publishing, Walpole, NH, 1994. [Updated as
Body Mind Mastery.]
The Inner Game of Golf (revised edition), W. Timothy Gallwey, Random House, 1998. [One of a series of Inner Game books...]
Inner Sports: Mental Skills for Peak Performance (audio cassettes), Lydia Ievleva, PhD., Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1997 [These tapes contain several outstanding guided visualization exercises for relaxation, peak performance recall, and recovery from injury.]
In Pursuit of Excellence: How To Win in Sport and Life Through Mental Training, (book & audio cassettes),Terry Orlick, PhD., Human Kinetics, 1997.
In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to the Green Berets, Richard Strozzi Heckler, North Atlantic Books, 1992. [Heckler is a champion athlete, a somatic psychologist, an executive coach, and more. Aikido may be the best mind-body training experience going.]
In The Zone: Transcendent Experience in Sports, Michael Murphy and Rhea White, Penguin/Arkana, 1995. [Originally published as
The Psychic Side of Sports, this is one of the earliest and best books on this subject and is a great source for descriptions by athletes of what it's like to be "in the zone". The bibliography in this book alone is great reading and is worth the effort to find a copy.]
The Mental Athlete, Kay Porter & Judy Foster, Ballantine Books, 1986.
The New Toughness Training for Sports: Mental, Emotional and Physical Conditioning from One of the World's Premier Sports Psychologists, James E. Loehr, Ed.D., Dutton Books, New York 1994. See also Toughness Training for Llfe, by the same author, Plume/Penguin, NY 1994. [Both of these books are outstanding. Loehr works with professional athletes in golf, tennis and other sports and runs the LGE Saddlebrook Sport Science Center in Florida.]
On The Sweet Spot: Stalking The Effortless Present, Dr. Richard Keefe, Simon & Schuster, Boston 2003. [The author is a sports psychologist with the PGA, one of the few I’ve read who incorporated neuroscience research (in this case by Roland Perlmutter, M.D.).]
100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Steve Chandler, HighBridge audio, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The One-Minute Meditator: Relieving Stress and Finding Meaning in Everyday Life, David Nichol, MD. and Bill Birchard, Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA 2001. [As good a book on meditation and stress as you will find.]
Performance Success: Performing Your Best Under Pressure, Don Greene, Ph.D., Routledge, NY 2002. [See also
Audition Success: An Olympic Sports Psychologist Teaches Performing Artists How To Win, by the same author in 2001. See his web site
http://www.dongreene.com for a thorough self-assessment.]
The Power of Mindful Learning, Ellen Langer, PhD., Addison-Wesley Publishing, Reading, MA 1995. [Ought to be required reading for all teachers and coaches.] [Mindfulness is what it is all about.]
Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All In Your Head, Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., Great Ocean Publishers, Arlington, VA 1995. [The author is a nationally- recognized neuropsychologist and educator. This is a fascinating, very readable and important book on neuroscience, educational kinesiology and the brain/body connection as it affects us in learning, in performance, at work, and in society. It explains several basic BrainGym exercises, very simple techniques anyone can use to enhance their lives in innumerable ways.]
Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business and Life, Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch, Random House/Bantam, New York, 1992. [The marriage of the centuries-old precepts of Taoism with the best of modern sports psychology, this book offers surprising insights even after you've read all the rest. One author is a master in dance, tai chi and Taoism; the other is an accomplished sports psychologist and business consultant. The book is loaded with sample visualizations, affirmations, exercises and "trigger" phrases.]
Think Like Tiger: An Analysis of Tiger Woods' Mental Game, by John Indrisano, G. P. Putnam and Sons, New York, 2002. [Although the book doesn't describe how to achieve these things, the mental skills of Tiger Woods are based on Zen Buddhist meditation, staying in the present, maintaining a balanced calmness with intense focusing/intention capability, and autosuggestion through hypnosis.]
Thresholds of the Mind: How HoloSync Audio Technology Can Change Your Life, by Bill Harris, Centrepointe Press, Beaverton, OR 2002. [The explanation of the science behind the use of audio tones to drive brain waves and create mental states for learning, creativity and more… , to balance right and left brain, and to provide very deep meditation and its benefits). This amazing system is highly recommended and is available through
http://www.centrepointe.com.]
The Trained Mind: Total Concentration, Time-Life Books, 1988.
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Hyperion, NY 1994.
Zen Golf: Mastering The Mental Game, Joseph Parent, Ph.D., Doubleday, New York 2002. [The author is a psychologist, an instructor in Buddhist philosophy and stress reduction, and a noted PGA Tour instructor.]
by semper occultus » Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:32 pm 
