Thoughts on the topic

[Dr. Strangelove]

I've been lurking around here for a little while now. I just recently started shooting some steel events and I'm really enjoying myself. Most of all, I am fascinated by what I have been reading here.

I've been using attention and error games in normal life. I've noticed that my mind is getting sharper and I am doing less floating through my daily activities, and I'm now more aware of everything I am doing, which is a great thing.

First of all, thank you. I really feel like I'm actually on a good track to improving myself as a person right now and I'm really enjoying it. I'm now finding myself looking forward to challenges that come up so I can take advantage and improve the way I approach things.

I find myself so focused driving home from a match that I get a sort of buzz. It's something I can usually only get from racing. (Actually I've noticed a lot of similarities between shooting a stage and putting together a good lap on a racetrack.) Now I am applying what you guys are talking about to just about anything: swinging a golf club or playing a friendly game of tennis with a friend.

Can you guys recommended any further reading, or thought exercises on the subject? I want to explore this some more.

[StraightUp_OG]

Zen in the Art of Archery

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090

Anything from D.T Suzuki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._T._Suzuki

Maku mozo

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/attention_all_06.html

Can't forget Brian's Book!

http://www.brianenos.com/store/books.html

I am sure more will follow but I thought I would start with the obligatory reading.

Good luck on your journey.

Edited March 23, 2011 by StraightUp_OG

[benos]

I've been lurking around here for a little while now. I just recently started shooting some steel events and I'm really enjoying myself. Most of all, I am fascinated by what I have been reading here.

I've been using attention and error games in normal life. I've noticed that my mind is getting sharper and I am doing less floating through my daily activities, and I'm now more aware of everything I am doing, which is a great thing.

First of all, thank you. I really feel like I'm actually on a good track to improving myself as a person right now and I'm really enjoying it. I'm now finding myself looking forward to challenges that come up so I can take advantage and improve the way I approach things.

I find myself so focused driving home from a match that I get a sort of buzz. It's something I can usually only get from racing. (Actually I've noticed a lot of similarities between shooting a stage and putting together a good lap on a racetrack.) Now I am applying what you guys are talking about to just about anything: swinging a golf club or playing a friendly game of tennis with a friend.

Can you guys recommended any further reading, or thought exercises on the subject? I want to explore this some more.

Good stuff! And I love your member name.

[Tangram]

• The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
  
• I use an earlier version about walking meditation. A Guide to Walking Meditation, published by FOR in 1985 I suspect it is no longer in print. Powells in Portland a possible source...
  
• Zen Flesh Zen Bones, Zen stories, compiled by Reps and Senzaki
  
• When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron read for the nuggets
  
• Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
  
• Unzenny but stories I live with Everyday Sacred by Bender
  
• The walking books and Mindfulness for beginners are starting practice books. Pema's book is an aha.
  

Edited March 27, 2011 by Tangram

[Dr. Strangelove]

My copy of 'Practical Shooting' showed up yesterday, and I'm making my way through it... (Slowly... It requires some re-reading occasionally.)

My brother in law saw the book and said he would like to write 'Impractical Shooting', which we both decided would be a lot of fun.

When I finish with that book I'll pick something else up, thank you guys for the recommendations!

[Dr. Strangelove]

I figure I can actually try and contribute something here rather than just ask questions. I didn't want to start another thread so I'll just post it here.

I said before that I felt like shooting and racing felt very similar. (In the book, BE says he's used motorcycle racing as an inspiration for some of his philosophies.) Reading some of this stuff I am reminded of a quote from one of my favorite racing drivers, Ayrton Senna. Senna was a Formula 1 driver in the 80s and early 90s and he's regarded by most as being one of the best the sport has ever seen.

In 1988 he was taking part in qualifying at Monaco. The circuit there is notoriously challenging and very short, a lap there usually took just under a minute and a half. Senna went out and put in a series of laps that got progressively faster, by the end he was almost two seconds faster than anyone else, including his teammate, a many times world champion with the same exact equipment. Two seconds on a course that small is an absolute eternity, and the lap he turned that day has been regarded by a lot of people as just about impossible.

Later he was asked about what happened, and I thought you guys would enjoy the quote.

"..the last qualifying session. I was already on pole, then by half a second and then one second and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more.

"Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realized that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down. I drove slowly back to the pits and I didn't want to go out any more that day. It frightened me because I was well beyond my conscious understanding. It happens rarely but I keep these experiences very much alive inside me because it is something that is important for self-preservation."

The sport back then was extremely unsafe. In 1994 Senna hit a wall at 190 MPH and died later that day.

[benos]

"..the last qualifying session. I was already on pole, then by half a second and then one second and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more.

"Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realized that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down. I drove slowly back to the pits and I didn't want to go out any more that day. It frightened me because I was well beyond my conscious understanding. It happens rarely but I keep these experiences very much alive inside me because it is something that is important for self-preservation."

That gave me the chills big time. Thanks for posting it.

be

[waktasz]

The cars had way more power then than they do now, and also way less aero.

There's a video of the Monaco lap on youtube too, but this one is more impressive I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Cfpaun978

Edited March 30, 2011 by waktasz

[benos]

On the Ayrton Senna thread drift, if you have a dog or love dogs, and haven't read the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, check it out.

be