Posts Tagged ‘The Silent Pulse’
WHY BATTING .400 CONSISTENTLY IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WILL BE LIKE BREAKING THE 4-MINUTE MILE. AFTER ONE BATTER DOES IT, OTHERS WILL FOLLOW.
Posted on: June 13, 2015
In sports, there is such a thing as a self-limiting belief. But beliefs can also work in a positive way, like placebos in medicine, authorizing athletes to achieve what they are already capable of achieving. The classic example is Roger Bannister, the first human to break the four-minute mile. As soon as he broke that mental barrier to human capability, other runners began doing it. The fact that no one had run a mile faster than four minutes had become a self-limiting belief that no one could do so. After Bannister proved such a feat was possible, many other runners accomplished it. Their beliefs, not their bodies, had held them back.
In his book The Silent Pulse, George Leonard refers to the process as “positive physical transformation” — dealing with the power of, what he calls “intentionality.” This is often identified as the “placebo effect” — an effect that is derived not from the potion but from the process, which is one of authorization. Roger Bannister was capable of breaking the 4-minute mile, as were many others, and when Bannister finally broke it, that was an “authorization” for others to do the same. This is the “power of intentionality.” The following is a quote from George Leonard’s book: “Now that the mile is run in less than 3 minutes and 50 seconds and weight lifters can clear and jerk more than 560 pounds, these feats are not called supernatural. But if you had told a sports expert of the year 1878 that such performances were humanly possible, he would have thought you quite mad. In recent years, as a matter of fact, a fifty-year-old man has bested the time of the 1908 Olympic marathon champion. Now it’s true that some of this fantastic improvement can be attributed to technology, better selection, training methods, nutrition, and vitamins. But the same kind of technology has been applied to racehorses — with no such improvement in performance.”
A baseball player planning to join the Mets AAA team told me that he expected to hit .300 in the farm club. I asked him: If he could hit three out of ten pitches, why couldn’t he hit four out of ten? Who was stopping him from hitting .400? He looked at me thoughtfully and replied, “Nobody.” He realized how his expectations had been limited to conventional beliefs.
Beliefs can work like placebos in medicine, authorizing athletes to achieve what they are already capable of achieving. The classic example is Roger Bannister, the first human to break the four-minute mile. As soon as he broke that mental barrier to human capability, other runners began doing so. The fact that no one had run a mile faster than four minutes had become a self-limiting belief that no one could do so. After Bannister proved such a feat was possible, many other persons accomplished it. Their beliefs, not their bodies, had held them back. In his book The Silent Pulse, George Leonard refers to the process as “positive physical transformation” — dealing with the power of, what he calls “intentionality.” This is often identified as the “placebo effect” — an effect that is derived not from the potion but from the process, which is one of authorization. Roger Bannister was capable of breaking the 4-minute mile, as were many other runners, and when Bannister finally broke it, that was an “authorization” for others to do the same. This is the “power of intentionality.” The following is a quote from George Leonard’s book:
“Now that the mile is run in less than 3 minutes and 50 seconds and weight lifters can clear and jerk more than 560 pounds, these feats are not called supernatural. But if you had told a sports expert of the year 1878 that such performances were humanly possible, he would have thought you quite mad. In recent years, as a matter of fact, a fifty-year-old man has bested the time of the 1908 Olympic marathon champion. Now it’s true that some of this fantastic improvement can be attributed to technology, better selection, training methods, nutrition, and vitamins. But the same kind of technology has been applied to racehorses — with no such improvement in performance.”
As soon as someone kicks a 70-yard field goal, others will follow.
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Much has been written about the placebo effect as related to the field of health, but it can also apply to the field of sports performance. For example, let’s assume you are a member of a men’s college basketball team and since your days in Junior College you’ve had difficulty making free throws, even though you have the skill level to make them. And one day you and your coach decide to produce a 3 ½ minute highlight video of you accompanied by a music sound track with lyrics that have a special meaning, and in the video you see yourself constantly shooting and making every free throw. You watch the video over and over and over again and just before competing, you listen to only the music track and the images on your video are recreated in your mind. (This is called “image transference.”) Based on my experience, if you have the skill level to make free throws and are unencumbered with personal and team-related issues in your life, by watching your video and BELIEVING that watching your video will improve your free throw shooting percentage, it will. Same applies to making 3-point shots.
According to George Leonard in his book “The Silent Pulse” the placebo effect “works best when both the patient (athlete) and healer (coach) are convinced of the power of the treatment (the video). The healer (coach) simply authorizes the patient (athlete) to do what he or she is already easily capable of: that is to control even the most esoteric bodily functions, to grow or destroy tissues, to produce sickness or health” (making free throws or 3-point shots.)
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A lawsuit recently filed in federal court in Des Moines claims Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Brett Bros. Sports International Inc. has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus. According to the lawsuit, the company has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain.
So the question arises: Is there any validity to the claim made by the lawsuit. From my perspective I would say: No.
By way of background, we’ve all heard and read about the “Placebo Effect” and there is a basis for this type of psychological achievement. In his book, “The Silent Pulse,” George Leonard refers to this process as “positive physical transformation” dealing with the power of, what he calls, “Intentionality.” This is often identified as the placebo effect, an effect that is derived not from the potion but from the process, which is one of “authorization” (And by the way, there’s also a “Nocebo effect” which is a negative physical transformation. That is, when expectations are negative – or low – the authorization has the opposite effect.)
With the placebo effect, in matters of health, the physician simply authorizes the patients to do what they are already capable of doing…themselves. And the greater the perception of the physician, or trainer, or the coach, the more powerful the potion.
In Norman Cousin’s book, “Head First” it’s pretty clearly documented how the power of our beliefs impacts our bodies. For example, Mr. Cousins refers to a study conducted in England where 411 cancer patients were given chemotherapy tablets and told that one of the effects of the pill was that their hair would fall out. Thirty percent of the patients were given sugar pills, and their hair fell out.
Depak Chopra is a medical doctor who was educated in Boston and has practiced Endocrinology since 1971. He is former Chief of Staff of New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts and has written some excellent books on the subject of the relationship of the mind to health. Dr. Chopra has written: “What a patient believes can be the deciding factor in his or her disease…everything the physician does (including the most advanced surgery or the most powerful drugs) is secondary. A great deal of credit goes to the art of medicine which should go to the art of belief.”
Today, at the Harvard Medical School, there is extensive research being conducted regarding the power of the placebo under the watchful eye of its director, Ted Kaptchuk, who recently returned from Asia after studying Chinese medicine for a number of years.
So what does all this mean as related to the lawsuit against George Brett? Simply put, it means that your beliefs have a powerful effect on your life, and your health, and that individuals purchasing one of Brett’s necklaces or bracelets will find it highly beneficial if they are having severe pain and BELIEVE that it will be highly beneficial. From my perspective, the individual (or individuals) who filed the lawsuit were probably not in as great pain and were more than likely dubious from the outset as to whether or not the necklaces and bracelets worked, and because of that belief, they didn’t. There’s a high correlation between the severity of the pain (and the person authorizing the treatment) and the effectiveness of the product. So I’m sure in the coming months Brett’s attorneys will find many witnesses who swear to the effectiveness of the necklaces and bracelets. Why? Because they had a strong belief (even before purchasing them) that they would work. That, coupled with the fact they were experiencing great pain.
Mind Over Sports 