The Mind - What An Amazing Universe

You are what you think;

The experts say we barely use 10% of our minds. I wouldn't be so sure about that or very proud of it either. What an unexplored area of the body. How many other functions does it do that we are not aware of. What about the mind as a muscle, athletes, Businessmen, people of all types are looking into many areas of training - the mind. The latest research shows that the old fallacy of loosing mental powers doesn't have to happen with age. Now they say you can still build new neurons even into what we call old age. It's also discovered that by using the mind just like a muscle we can make it stronger. There are several ways in sports, education and life; using imagery (even before we called it that in high school the coach would say just think of clearing the bar and you will do it.) relaxation (just relax when you fall skiing and you will get hurt less) and mental clarity exercises is new we think yet it is ancient. There are other ways to strengthen the mind as well; reading, is great, not just the paper, bad news does not qualify. Something that challenges you, something new and difficult like Einstien said: "Imagination is greater than intelegence." Some do cross word puzzles (that works your mind in three demensions), learn a new language, play music or learn to play an instrument.

These are all very powerful ways to increas the minds capabilities. Stop watching so much TV, I call mindless meditation, well it is and mindless is what you get. So as long as we work on the body and mind, we will get the best of both worlds. We will look into all the parts of holistic training which includes; mind, body, nutrition and spirit.

Lets start with the understanding of the brain. It's the bio-computer of the body. It's the organ that controls all the bodily functions, systems, muscles, organs, glands, speech, immune system, imagination, thoughts etc. Well according to many of the experts it controls more than we are conscious of that's for sure. That may be a highly debatable fact but let's let that go for another conversation.

So where do we start to fully use this most incredible computer for improvement in health, performance, ultimatley life and Happiness. We need need to learn how to use it, it just makes sense. However, it takes training practice, observation and understanding, to be able to use it with control. Some people can just do anything, others of us need to try them a few hundred times before we get it. It's also critical to have someone that can really teach you tools to be able to get control of it yourself. Well even the word control is another debatable concept but it will do for now. Tools, time, teachers, thinking, transcendence are all needed to get to the point where we can harness the power of the mind. Some say let go of control, others say get control, it depends if you think that it is releveant or others that think it's irrelevent.

Mind training for athletic competition and excellence is not a new concept; In my opinion the first principles are attitude and heart. Athletic endeavor is a way to tap into the most deepest parts of our unknown mind and bodies. This can be a great learning experience, or awakening depending on your wording, but unfortunately we got lost on the way to the park. We made winning more important than health, cooperation, friendship, heck peace of mind or just plain fun. We take ourselves way too seriously sometimes in sports. We need to look at the attitude with which we approach the sport or life as they are one and the same. Do we love to compete for competition or do w