Golf_ The Mind Game - Marlin M. Mackenzie [67]
Number—How many images are there? Are they separate? Superimposed? Are they side by side or vertically arranged?
Audition (Hearing)
Volume—How loud is the sound? Is it normal? Above or below normal?
Duration—Does the sound persist, or is it intermittent?
Pitch—Are the sounds high or low pitched? Is the pitch higher or lower than normal?
Tone—Are the sounds thin? Full? Rich? Grating? Harsh? Pleasant? Resonant?
Melody—Is the sound harmonious? Discordant? A monotone?
Tempo—Is the beat fast or slow?
Rhythm—Is the beat syncopated of even-cadenced?
Location—Where is the source of the sound located? At a particular point within your body? Outside your body? Where, specifically, is the source of the sound located outside your body?
Direction—In what direction does the sound flow? Does it flow from inside out? Outside in? Upward? Downward? Is the sound stereophonic or do you hear it from only one direction?
Background—Are there background noises? If so, ask the above questions.
Kinesthesia (Feeling)
It’s important to distinguish the feelings that signify an emotional state as contrasted with the feelings of skillful movement performance. Movement can be more or less skillful depending on the nature of the emotional state. Each of the categories below applies to both skillful performance and emotional states.
Location—Where, specifically, in your body do you feel the sensations? Does the feeling remain in one place or does it spread? Is the feeling localized, diffused, or the same throughout your body? Is there a difference in feelings on each side of your body? Is there a difference in feelings in the upper half as contrasted with the lower half of your body?
Duration—Do the feelings persist, or are they intermittent?
Characterization—How would you describe the quality of the feelings? Warm/cold? Relaxed/tense? Heavy/light? Extended/contracted? Even/pulsating? Strong/weak?
Movement—How would you describe the nature of your movements? Strong/weak? Coordinated/disjointed? Gentle/ballistic? Smooth/jerky? Flexible/limited? Relaxed/tense? Slow/quick? Balanced/unbalanced?
Intensity—How strong are the sensations? What is the degree of strength, power, balance, relaxation, flexibility, smoothness, warmth, lightness, coordination, in relation to normal?
Sensory-Awareness Exercises
Few people process visual, auditory, and kinesthetic information equally well. Most of us are strong in the use of one or two sensory systems and weak in others. The exercises that follow are designed to strengthen your weaker senses. Most of the exercises can be done at any time, anywhere—while on the practice tee, riding to work, listening to a boring lecture, showering, cutting the grass, or waiting for the duffers ahead to clear out of range.
These exercises are merely examples of a few ways to improve your sensory awareness; use your ingenuity to create others.
Cross-over Training
Cross-over Training is a series of exercises that make use of the natural, inborn, synesthesia “wiring” in your brain and nervous system. They capitalize on the strength of your most sensitive sensory channel as a way to build up your sensitivity in other channels.
Cross Over from Hearing to Other Channels
Hear a bird sing and make a picture of a bird in your mind. Hear an automobile horn and feel the vibrations of the horn in some part of your body. In your mind hear the click of a past approach shot and feel the swing that put the ball within a tap-in distance of the cup.
Cross Over from Feeling to Other Channels
When you feel anger, see a color. Convert a painful feeling into the sound “Ouch!” While feeling the actual swing of your putter, generate in your mind’s eye an image of a ball leaving the putter head, rolling toward the cup, and going into the hole.
Cross Over