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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume X, Number 10 October 2007

Welcome to the one hundred and sixth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"In Response to 'The Secret'
Part III"
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

"The Secret" is a 2006 film, a DVD and a book that features as it's primary thesis a principal identified as "The Law of Attraction". The Law of Attraction states that "...people's feelings and thoughts attract real events in the world into their lives." The book and movie/DVD, has achieved relatively wide-spread media attention that includes on-air discussions by celebrities such as Oprah and Larry King. In addition to the more public dialogues, critiques and criticism that have occurred several readers of this newsletter have also offered comments and questions about "The Secret" and it's underlying principal. "John", a young Bull Riding athlete whose training, and comments, have been featured in earlier newsletter articles is one of the persons who have offered questions . After reading last months article, which began to address the concept, John stated that the newsletter "...made me think..." and that he was eager to read more about it in the October newsletter. This edition of the newsletter will continue my response to John.

John, I urge you to read and answer all of the "15 Questions for Secret-Givers and Secret-Disciples" written by Thom Rutledge. Here are a two of Thom's questions that I have modified to address events that have occurred during your own attempts to realize even greater success in the rodeo arena:

"In the DVD of The Secret, one scenario shows us that a man being afraid that his bicycle will be stolen will actually cause his bicycle to be stolen with his fear-based thoughts." John, does this mean that when you have been injured while competing that your thoughts actually caused or increased our chances of sustaining injury?
Do you believe that you alone are "...ultimately responsible for..." the Bull Riding related injuries that have happened to you?

The Secret, and films like "What the Bleep do we Know?" are important because they encourage us to begin to think and talk about the relationship between our thoughts and what we call reality. The Secret is however an oversimplified and flawed approach to what is a very complex and sophisticated relationship. The Law of Attraction is potentially dangerous because it fails to point out that our thoughts effect reality most directly when they prompt us to take action and when they are designed to energize our discipline, commitment, will-power and motivation.

Do you believe that all you have to do to be more successful is "Ask", "Believe" and "Receive" or do you believe that you have to work for what you get? If you believe that there are "no free lunches" and people have to put energy in to get rewards out then drop me an email or give me a toll-free call at: (888) 625-2743 and I'll begin to tell you how you can more effectively work for your rewards.

The winner of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period is Lisa Zwicker and Jeremy Myers.

Lisa and Jeremy have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on October 2nd to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume X, Number 11 November 2007

Welcome to the one hundred and seventh issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"Preventing Problems Before they Occur - An Audio Introduction"
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

This month's newsletter is in the form of a nineteen minute mp3 file that you can listen to on-line or download and listen to on your mp3 player or iPod. The file contains an interview that introduces the idea of mental training and preparation as a means of preventing psychological performance problems before they occur. I am sure that you will find it interesting and informative. You may listen to the interview on your computer by right clicking on the link below and selecting the "Open" or "Open in another window" options. Downloading the files is just as easy. Here are a few suggestions for downloading and saving the interview as an audio file:

Please create a folder on your desk top and name the folders "Mind Games Interview".
Then right click on the file below and choose "Save Target As" and save the file to the folder that you have created.
If the "File Type" drop down box does not indicate ".mp3", it is very helpful if you add ".mp3" to the end of the file as you save it or change the file type to mp3 using the drop down tab .
Once you have the files in your desktop folder you can easily play it back on your computer or burn it to CD or transfer it to your iPod or MP3 Player to listen to .

Please send me an email with any comments that you would like to make or questions that you have once you have successfully downloaded and listened to the interview.

http://www.drrelax.com/Intro/OneTrack1.mp3

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Doug Montgomery and Polly Johnson.

Doug and Polly have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on December 1st to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume X, Number 12 December 2007

Welcome to the one hundred and eighth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"The Sports Edge - A Video Demonstration"
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

A demonstration of the Mental Rehearsal Technique pioneered in the '70's by the author is presented in a video produced by the University of Nevada, Reno in the late '80's. The files contains a 21 minute demonstration of a very basic Volleyball players Custom Mental Rehearsal. The video has historic and practical value. It is draft in the since that it is a first effort to transform the video to a format that is easily shared on the World-Wide-Web. The files can be viewed in three segments of four files each or all twelve can be opened and played back-to-back. Go to: http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge.htm and download the first four, or as many segments as you would like to view. The first four clips have grainy segments of Olympic competition and much clearer segments that demonstrate the Initiating Ritual that gets the process of relaxation and Mental Rehearsal started. The December 2007 segment is made up of the following clips:

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg1.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg2.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg3.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg4.wmv

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Wayne Greenhalgh and Abigail Johnson.

Wayne and Abigail have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on February 21st to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 1 January 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and ninth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"The Sports Edge - A Video Demonstration"
Part II
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

A demonstration of the Mental Rehearsal Technique pioneered in the '70's by the author is presented in a video produced by the University of Nevada, Reno in the late '80's. The files contains a 21 minute demonstration of a very basic Volleyball players Custom Mental Rehearsal. The video has historic and practical value. It is draft in the since that it is a first effort to transform the video to a format that is easily shared on the World-Wide-Web. The files can be viewed in three segments of four files each or all twelve can be opened and played back-to-back. Go to: http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge.htm and download the first four, or as many segments as you would like to view. This months segment continues the Initiating Ritual and begins the transition to Standard Image I, the Beach Scene. The January 2008 segment is made up of the following clips:

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg5.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg6.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg7.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg8.wmv

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Colleen Burke and Alex Herrnsdorf.

Colleen and Alex have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on February 21st to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 2 February 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and tenth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"The Sports Edge - A Video Demonstration"
Part III
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

A demonstration of the Mental Rehearsal Technique pioneered in the '70's by the author is presented in a video produced by the University of Nevada, Reno in the late '80's. The files contains a 21 minute demonstration of a very basic Volleyball players Custom Mental Rehearsal. The video has historic and practical value. It is draft in the since that it is a first effort to transform the video to a format that is easily shared on the World-Wide-Web. The files can be viewed in three segments of four files each or all twelve can be opened and played back-to-back. Go to: http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge.htm and download the second four, or as many segments as you would like to view. This months clips contain the transition to the Custom Volleyball Guided Image/Mental Rehearsal and the formal ending of the first mental exercise with the count down. The February 2008 segment is made up of the following clips:

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg9.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg10.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg11.wmv

http://www.drrelax.com/SportsEdge/SprtEg12.wmv

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Laura Emerson and Ali Cimen.

Laura and Ali have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on February 21st to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 3 March 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and eleventh issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"March Madness and Process Thinking"
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

In an earlier article "Outcome Thinking" was defined as a style of thinking, prior to a competition, that is negative or dysfunctional thinking that tends to produce negative or dysfunctional results. This style of thinking was contrasted with functional or positive thinking which tends to produce positive results. Sport Psychologist Dr. Don Greene has suggested that there are three styles of thinking that competitors can experience in stressful situations:

Negative Outcome Thinking - Focusing your thoughts on avoiding mistakes, making mistakes, or other negative outcomes. Allowing your self-talk to center on poor results and their consequences before the competition begins. In general the greater the stress on outcome or the importance of the event, the easier it is to go into negative outcome thinking: When negative outcome thoughts predominate your self-talk the results can easily become catastrophic.

Outcome Thinking - Allowing your self-talk to center on winning or other desirable results. Putting pressure on your self by thinking such thoughts as "I've got to make this free throw," or "We have to stop them from making a first down." When you allow your thoughts to focus on outcome you create a barrier to thinking about the immediate task at hand and put even greater pressure on yourself.

Process Thinking - Thinking about the functional process or technique and strategy of what you need to do in order to perform well. Process thinking is placing your focus on and filling your self-talk with powerful words or brief phrases about how to play well. You should fill your head with affirmations that outline the process of playing well such as "I take a deep, belly breath and visualize my perfect free throw before I take it," or "I explode into action at the snap of the ball and 'swim' to the ball carrier."

Almost every year as I watch my seasonal fix of collegiate basketball, during the NCAA Tournament, I am often struck by how often the winners of games, and the athletes who play in them, are those who appear to practice process thinking. For example, diving on the floor and out of bounds to attempt to control a loose ball even though your team is 30 points ahead. Often the team that finishes second has players whose facial expressions and/or body language suggest that they are thinking outcome thoughts such as "Why jump on the floor for the ball? The game is over anyway! or "I've got to make this free throw!"

I suggest that as you watch the games you also look for tell tale signs of what you feel to be "Outcome" and "Process Thinking". It would be of interest to me if your observations match the results in any way.

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Daren Ure and Roberta Brecheen.

Roberta and Daren have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on April 2nd to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 4 April 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and twelfth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"Hypnosis: A Tool that Enhances Healing & Recovery"
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

Almost every athlete sustains or plays with injury at some point in their career. Often the rate and degree of healing and recovery realized is directly related to the level of success a competitor can achieve. Given this reality those techniques that enhance healing and speed recovery should be of interest to all athletes at all levels. Hypnosis is one of those techniques and a proven tool that can be used to speed healing and accelerate recovery for both athlete and non-athlete alike. Although hypnosis was recognized as a legitimate medical procedure by the American Medical Association as early as 1958 it has only been within the last decade or so that it has begun to achieve a broader base of acceptance by the general public. In medicine today hypnosis is most often categorized as a Complementary or Alternative Therapy. In an effort to encourage understanding and expand acceptance, and in anticipation of the next article, I suggest that you review the following articles:

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.08/01-hypnosis.html

http://www.rd.com/healthy-living/health/healing-with-hypnosis/article12619.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypnosis/SA00084

http://www.ibshypnosis.com/hypnosisabout.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,867432,00.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4087/is_200401/ai_n9400126

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PainManagement/PainManagement/tb/6523

Next months newsletter will begin to explore how you can use hypnosis to help you heal and recovery more effectively.

Are you recovering from injury now and just can't wait for next months article for help? If so email me and I will tell you how you can begin to use hypnosis to get better, quicker.

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Sherry Foco and E.J. McCormick.

Sherry and E.J. have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on May 4th to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 5 May 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and thirteenth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"Hypnosis: A Tool that Enhances Healing & Recovery"
Part II
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

The concept of discomfort control though visualization techniques was discussed in this newsletter in June of 2007. Go here: http://www.drrelax.com/ezine12.htm#102 to read the first of a two-part article on discomfort control. A review of these articles will illustrate how hypnosis, in the form of Mental Rehearsal and Relaxation techniques, can be used to control discomfort. To help illustrate how hypnosis might be used to enhance and speed healing and recovery I would like to present the following scenario once again:

You're out running at twilight one early summer evening. In the fading light you accidentally step into a hole and severely sprain your right ankle. As you lay on the ground in pain in the fading light you remember to apply the mental skills you learned to limit discomfort. You call a friend on your cell phone to come to your location and give you a ride to a nearby Urgent Care facility. Once there you are relieved to learn that your ankle is not fractured. You are told to elevate your leg and apply cold as often as you can over the next twenty-four hours to reduce and limit the swelling. You are also instructed to apply heat, to help carry damaged tissue away and speed healing, after the first twenty-four hour period or as soon as the swelling stabilizes or subsides. To maximize the effects of the cold application you decide to use hypnotic techniques because it is impractical to keep your foot and ankle in ice water for as long, or as often, as was recommended. Click here to listen to an mp3 sample of how to get the physical effects of cold even when you can not apply ice packs or submerge your foot and ankle in cold water for extended periods of time. Left click and choose "Save Target as..." to download the mp3 file to your hard disk.

The next article will illustrate how hypnotic techniques might be used to maximize the effects of heat on your injury.

Are you recovering from injury now and just can't wait for next months article for help? If so email me and I will tell you how you can begin to use hypnosis to get better, quicker.

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Adam Mills and Bobby Hunt.

Adam and Bobby have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on June 25th to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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Sierra Center for Peak Perfromance

FROM BRAIN TO MUSCLE WITHOUT ANY TUSSLE
The On-Line E-Newsletter of the Sierra Center for Peak Performance
Volume XI, Number 6 June 2008

Welcome to the one hundred and fourteenth issue of the free Newsletter of Applied Sport Psychology.

PLAYING MIND GAMES THAT HELP YOU WIN:
"Hypnosis: A Tool that Enhances Healing & Recovery"
Part III
by Gary A. Beale, Ph.D.

In the last article in the series dedicated to the use of Hypnosis and Hypnotic Techniques to enhance healing and recovery you learned how internally generated cold could be used to help reduce swelling. In this article you will learn how Hypnosis and Hypnotic Techniques might be used to encourage and enhance blood flow to an injured right ankle. Here is the scenario once again:

You're out running at twilight one early summer evening. In the fading light you accidentally step into a hole and severely sprain your right ankle. As you lay on the ground in pain in the fading light you remember to apply the mental skills you learned to limit discomfort. You call a friend on your cell phone to come to your location and give you a ride to a nearby Urgent Care facility. Once there you are relieved to learn that your ankle is not fractured. You are told to elevate your leg and apply cold as often as you can over the next twenty-four hours to reduce and limit the swelling. You are also instructed to apply heat, to help carry damaged tissue away and speed healing, after the first twenty-four hour period or as soon as the swelling stabilizes or subsides. To maximize the effects of the cold application you decide to use hypnotic techniques because it is impractical to keep your foot and ankle in ice water for as long, or as often, as was recommended. After twenty-four hours of treatment with cold and the use of the Mountain Cabin Scene for an Injured Right Ankle the swelling stops and stabilizes. It is now time to apply heat. Click here to listen to an mp3 (Jungle Scene for an Injured Right Ankle) sample of how to get the physical effects of heat even when you can not apply warm packs, heating pads or submerge your foot and ankle in warm water for extended periods of time (or as often as is recommended.) Left click and choose "Save Target as..." to download the mp3 file to your hard disk.

Are you recovering from injury now and considering using Complementary Medicine Techniques to aid your recover? If so email me and I will tell you how you can begin to use hypnosis to get better, faster.

The winners of the drawing for the free Personalized Subliminal CD for this time period are Nerine Loock and Nick Pocius.

Nerine and Nick have until midnight, Hawaii Time, on June 25th to claim the free Personalized Subliminal CD.

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