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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 4, 2018 - 10:22pm PT
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So to get the discussion back on course:
One of the challenges of 'modern' life is to make that first step out of Beta state up into Alpha. There are various ways to do this worth knowing, including how you walk and how you look, that I will discuss later.
However one of the simplest methods is called the Breath to Heart sequence. There are all sorts of physical and emotional distractions that can bring you down, as a quick inventory of sensations and emotions reveals. So the old saying is, "take a deep breath." That's a good start:
1. So take a deep full breath and hold it, hold it, hold it ...
2. As you continue to hold it, the urge becomes strong to release the breath and take another one. Concentrate all your attention on that urge
3. As the urge to breathe becomes stronger, take all the other sensations and emotions that have been distracting you and push them into that urge to breathe
4. You will reach a point where you can sense your heart pounding. At that point release the breath ... and with it release all those other distracting sensations and emotions from your body
You may want to repeat this a few times if appropriate ... This is also a good way to launch into a meditation session ...or a challenging climb
Incidentally it is worthwhile to realize that breathing through your nose is a carefully designed feature of your body to keep the O2/CO2 balance during strenuous exercise. There is sometimes a strong urge to start breathing through your mouth, which turns out to be a mistake. The problem is not getting enough air/oxygen, but keeping that balance. Young Apache runners used to train by running up a hill and back while holding a mouth full of water, which they would spit out at the end of the run to prove they had been breathing only through their nose. One reason for doing this is so you aren't blowing away the water in your body. But the main reason is to maintain the proper oxygen partial pressure balance. I first learned about this from Royal Robbins on one of our early climbs together, hiking up to the base of the Jensen's Ridge on Symmetry Spire in the Tetons.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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It has been my experience that climbers in general become quite experienced with a multitube of mind levels and brain functions intuitively or even out of necessity without being exposed to some system of jargon.
And it isn't special, it's just what we do.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 4, 2018 - 10:48pm PT
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Yep. That's why I'm chatting here rather than a zillion other online venues.
I think of climbing as a moving meditation.
What good is meditation if you can't move in it? Once you reach a state of serene awareness, you should be able to move in it, walk, create, dance, climb ...
I think that's something very special in today's world.
And if your mental discipline practice can help you maintain focus on the appropriate band of awareness for the activity, then you are 'in the zone'
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Heal...
Special perhaps to someone who is unfamiliar with these things. But I also think that attitude that one is doing something special can be a trap. Especially when it is not really difficult with the correct motivation.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 4, 2018 - 11:28pm PT
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So this touches on a couple of other topics: harmonics and entrainment.
Harmonics is a term from music and sound that also applies to radio waves, electrical transmission, and etheric waves. In music these are overtones at a higher pitch than the original tone, such as the fundamental vibration frequency of a violin string. These are positive integer multiples of the frequency of the original wave.
So accepting the concept that levels of awareness have a specific frequency associated them, and that certain levels of awareness at a particular etheric frequency are more appropriate for a particular activity such as climbing a jam crack ... then that implies that if you are able to maintain the mental discipline of holding to that frequency, then you will be able to climb much more efficiently. Plus there is an opportunity to further tune that to a higher harmonic and dramatically again enhance your ability to perform that activity. Through a disciplined focus you maintain that mental frequency and add your creative energy to it and the fact that you are operating on an optimum frequency also means that your energy is utilized much more efficiently.
Entrainment is a related term having to do with how you may be able to climb much better in the company of a partner who is much more expert than you. The way it works in music is that if you have two violins near each other, and you play a tone on one, the second violin will begin resonating on that same tone. The same is true with etheric vibrations. If you are climbing with a highly energetic and confident partner, the enthusiasm and confidence 'rubs off on you' and you surprise yourself in how much you outdo your usual performance level. Rupert Sheldrake calls this morphic resonance and is very interested in seeing how this applies to rock climbing. This entrainment or morphic resonance tends to permeate the close knit climbing community and when someone makes a breakthrough in skill and confidence, that tends to propagate throughout the community.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 4, 2018 - 11:41pm PT
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Special perhaps to someone who is unfamiliar with these things. But I also think that attitude that one is doing something special can be a trap. Especially when it is not really difficult with the correct motivation.
We are talking about two things in parallel here. True that rock climbing may seem comfortably familiar to a skilled climber, while seeming incredible to a Kansas farmer. It has a lot to do with what you are familiar with, and that can be associated if you wish to think of it this way as good vibrations for rock climbing. You could probably take that hard working fit farmer and teach him to climb pretty quickly, if he catches your enthusiasm.
And yes, there is a trap, and the temptation of that trap is called ego stroking...which is a very unenlightened state of being that seems to infest some aspects of the climbing community.
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Dear God....."What Is "MIND"?" Part 2. I miss the days of OUCH.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2018 - 08:10pm PT
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Our body/brain/mind/awareness system represents an awesome refinement of complex balanced systems engineering that is highly specialized for long distance wilderness operations. Urban living tampers with this system and as with any complex system, tampering with it introduces a while series of unanticipated unfortunate side effects.
One common factor tending to entrap modern people in the Beta Level 'World of the Flesh' is our way of walking and looking...'heel pounding' and 'tunnel vision'.
The remedy is to practice 'fox walking' and 'wide angle vision'...which in combination tend to pop your level of awareness right out of the very limiting Beta level of awareness and up into one of the Alpha levels of awareness.
Heel Pounding
The usual way of urban walking is to put one foot out in front of the other and tilt forward so the entire weight of the body lands forcefully on the heel. Then body weight rotates forward over that foot and repeats 'heel pounding' on the next foot.
This method of walking is unnatural for the way the complex systems of our bodies are designed and introduces a whole series of problems:
Dropping the full weight of the body down on the heel with the skeleton rigid, sends a shock resonating up and down the spine between the foot and the skull.
This repetitive physical shock tends to reduce awareness.
The shock tends to induce migraine headaches.
The shocks accumulate to cause spine and joint problems.
This method of walking on level ground makes little or no use of the major muscles in the body designed for travel, resulting in flabby buttocks....which thus become better adapted for car seats and couches...
One of the major features of the human body designed for long distance running is the Achilles Tendon, a spring designed to cushion the shock of the foot against the ground and to conserve energy for springing forward on the next step. This tends to weaken when not exercised and makes it particularly vulnerable to injury under the unusual stresses of rock and ice climbing. This does create a major business opportunity for expensive heel cushioning running shoes, which of course further encourages weakening the incredibly efficient design of the human foot. There are several large and very successful companies that would rather you don't know about this.
When a person accustomed to this 'heel pounding' method of walking or running leaves the level ground of floors, sidewalks and prepared trails, then full attention has to be given to where the next foot is going to fall on the uneven terrain. This artificially induced safety requirement substantially reduces situational awareness into 'tunnel vision'.
Experienced trackers can quickly identify urban vs native peoples by the presence or absence of these heel dents (along with several other factors visible in the tracks) ... which dents in softer ground make tracking much easier ...
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2018 - 08:46pm PT
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Fox Walking
Yes, walking barefoot does tend to encourage a more natural gait.
So whatever footwear you do or don't wear depending upon conditions and the amount of broken glass or ocotillo spines on the ground, you can with a little practice adopt a more natural gait that is easier on your body and requires less focused attention.
So as before, you put one foot out in front of the other ... duh ... however don't just let your body weight fall forward and slam down on the heel. Use the muscles of your hind leg to lower your weight straight down until the forward foot just touches the ground. Now you are using those major muscles as they are designed to move just this way.
So as the foot comes down, you first touch the ground with the outside of your foot, rotate down to the ball of the foot and then the heel. Only after you have confirmed a secure stance for the foot, do you move your weight forward onto it. Your weight tends to stay balanced on the hind foot most of the time. This also allows you to stand straighter and breath deeper. If you have to stop or dodge suddenly, you can do so without having to slam off your committed forward momentum.
Now you don't have to focus at the ground right where your next foot is going, as your forward foot can feel out whether there is a secure foot placement, and shift a bit to a more secure stance when needed.
This can seem a little awkward at first, and somewhat slower, but quickly becomes a natural way of moving and picking up speed. This is even a way to run with less effort over long distances...the efficiencies add up as you are using your body the way it is designed to move. On soft or rugged terrain, the efficiencies multiply as you gain skill at it. And you are less prone to foot and ankle injuries due to a misstep.
This is particularly useful or even critical at night or any time you can't see well... or especially when you want to have your attention not just focused on the ground in front of you, but all around and above you ... rock fall anyone?...
If you want to watch how the native people move who are used to running tirelessly all day, watch the movies "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Just think about trying to keep up all day with one of those little African Bushmen...
And if you are more worried about speed than awareness ... well did you ever try to chase a Tarahumara?
I do recommend the book "Born to Run"
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2018 - 09:15pm PT
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Wide Angle Vision
So one aspect of the Beta Level of Awareness is a narrow visual focus or 'tunnel vision' as is carefully taught to urban peoples from a very young age. The teacher no longer has to prompt students to not look out the window, as the classrooms are being built with no windows. Focus on the teacher, on the TV, on the cell phone, on the lane you are driving. So many things in urban society require focused attention.
This translates in rock climbing to just the trail ahead or the route ahead or even just the next move or the next piece or how much slack is in the rope. This tunnel vision is especially dangerous in the mountains where hazards can suddenly appear from any direction.
However our visual system has another mode of operation, which is wide angle vision. The clarity of focus is not as great, but the field of view goes all the way from one side to the other and up and down. If you forget the point of focus and just let your attention expand across that entire field of view, there are a couple of interesting things that happen.
One is that we can pick up on the tiniest of motions, the twitch of a squirrel's tail, a mouse under a leaf, a pecking bird, the quiet release of a falling rock high overhead! ...
The second thing is that you will no longer be stuck in the Beta level of awareness, but will move up into one of the Alpha bands ... and your performance will improve at everything you attempt.
If you fox walk down the trail in wide angle vision, you are guaranteed to see a lot more in nature than if you just pound down the trail to the climb and then back to the car ... lots more fun in life ...
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2018 - 10:26pm PT
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Sounds like you were moving very well with quiet safe thoughts
Yes, if you look at a deer's foot, there is a hard rim and a soft inner pad. The rim sort of digs into the soil and the pad is very sensitive to vibration.
I have sat up on a hill and watched deer move away from a stalking hunter a quarter mile away, long before they could see him.
I was once stalking up close to a large buck in Fort Belvoir, when it suddenly took off, leaving me wondering where I made a mistake. A little while later a hunter came along and didn't notice me until he actually stepped on my back. LOL
And the deer do normally bed down where they can see anyone approaching and slip away. The deer have their territory all mapped out with many tricky ways to misdirect pursuers
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WBraun
climber
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Some guy on this forum resurrected an old thread and posted in it "How did I ever miss this"
All while we walk/drive down the path and miss an infinite number of things around us at every second.
And simultaneously make arrogant statements there is nothing beyond what we can measure or see with our puny little selves.
The conscious level of awareness of the living entity is always very limited and given on a need to know basis according to time and circumstance.
The foolish arrogant gross materialists can never gain complete knowledge independently without the higher authorities that they so constantly, arrogantly and blindly dismiss ......
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2018 - 11:07am PT
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Yes ...
From science magazine Wonderpedia:
Every second, 11 million sensations crackle along these brain pathways ... The brain is confronted with an alarming array of images, sounds and smells which it rigorously filters down until it is left with a manageable list of around 40. Thus 40 sensations per second make up what we perceive as reality.
Our 'reality' which seems so real is constructed every second from 40 snapshots of information ('sensations') from a potential 11 million. The other 10,900,060 are absorbed by our subconscious mind while we remain consciously oblivious of their existence. Quantum physics explores the hidden realms beyond our 'seen' and has demolished the material, solid, clockwork model of reality pedaled for so long by mainstream science.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Seriously, I quit using my brain decades ago. Too slow and constricting.
Store memories elsewhere, such as hands, out to the right, and in places such as office, etc.
Ideally get rid of various memory tricks and recreate all knowledge in the present.
Can't fit inside of head anymore either. Walk down a street and feel the fronts of the buildings, sidewalk, curb, lamposts, other people moving in 3 dimensions. Feel the traffic. Operating a body from outside is way more comfortable.
People get all excited about this concept but it is no big deal.
Fact is, we are all doing it. Some have just been sold the bullshite that we are nothing more than bio-chemical-bio-electric reactions going off inside a meat organ. Hysterical! It's fooking hard work being stuck inside a brain. But obviously if you work real hard you can do it.
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No God
Mountain climber
MT
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@WBRAUN. I'm tired of you calling everyone stoopid. Show some respect. We get it, you're religulous. Calling people arrogant for needing justification for their beliefs makes you look ignorant. The ultimate arrogance is yours, assuming you have all the answers to life and death because some mythical book told you so. How is it that you know that there is anything that binds all life together, and survives after death? How does one know the unknowable and unproven? Why does anyone believe in a soul? Just for comfort, I think. Why would anyone believe in something that both defies logic and has no proof?
I think it's hilarious when religious people call atheists arrogant for "knowing everything". We know what can be proven and seen. Religion claims to have all the answers to life, death, morality, etc. Which leads to the question, which religion is the right one? You can see where this is going. Personally, I don't believe in a soul, god, or other magical stuff. We've evolved from single cell organisms. We hang for 75 years and then die like a blade of grass. You're like a damn broken record. Give it up.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Cascade Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2018 - 02:27pm PT
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Agent Smith, you are barking up the wrong thread here ... there are others catering to your heavily protected perspective that the Matrix is real
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Very sensible rant. WB is so positive he is gone around and come in the back door of being very negative and not helpful. Everyone everywhere is wrong all the time. "No God" speaks for a perfectly valid group of believers.
But tell me this:
How can you prove to me that I am NOT an immortal soul?
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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How can you prove to me that I am NOT an immortal soul?
Tell me what Helen of Troy was thinking when Hector died.
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