To Dream the Impossible Dream . . .

I received a question a while back and answered it today. I hope that my answer might help others. So, I am posting it here.

Hi Mark,

I think using imagination develops one’s imagination. Imagination is certainly important, but it isn’t what I am talking about here. When I say “starts with the mind,” I mean that body movement is initiated through neurological signals. Some neurological signals are localized, some run to different neurological “servers” and some originate from, or circulate to and from our “CPU” (Brain). Since bodily movement depends upon these, it makes sense to train these. Now, having intent is a step further. Some mistakenly equate it with imagination, but this is a huge mistake. The intent, in this case, is the act of activating specific (therefore previously identified) neurologic resources. The neurological resources are specific to the performance of a certain act. Therefore, that act must have previously been experienced and the neurological resources associated with that act identified. Only then can one “intend” the act and consequently call upon the specific neurological resources. At that point, the practice of “intending” not only can reinforce the pattern of activation, but it can (if the “call” is sufficient to necessitate an adaptive response) strengthen the neurological activation as well.

A gross example would neurological activation involved in competitive weight lifting. One trains to develop muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone strength, but arguably more importantly one trains to call upon maximal neurologic activity activating as many muscle cells as possible at one time. Individuals high on PCP for example can exhibit seemingly superhuman strength. It isn’t because suddenly their muscles, tendons, ligament, and bones develop. It is because they have unleashed the fullness of their intent. In other words, often to the detriment of their own body, they can fully activate its resources even though it may result in outward and inward damage. As is evidenced at times in sports, one can activate one’s muscles to unleash forces beyond the capacity of one’s own tendons, ligaments, and even bones to support.

This is the paradox of internal training. One must (when there is no previous experience) imagine/try/blunder one’s way into the actual desired experience (normally repeatedly) before one can begin to successfully repeat the experience and therefore increasingly begin to truly train their intent. So, intent is a real thing, but specific intent is only real after one already has developed the capacity to activate the neurological resources specifically related to the specific intended action. Before that, all one can “intend” is to attempt to experience the action, repeat the action, and THEN begin utilizing the specific intent related to the action. This is the intention to learn, leading to learning, leading to specific training.

I first began my Aikido training in a “Ki Aikido” dojo. There it was common to hear one’s seniors admonishing students to “use Ki,” “extend Ki,” “use more Ki,” etc. That, of course, is fine IF one has a clue as to what they mean by “Ki.” If not, the instruction is really useless. I used to, being the trouble-making critical thinker that I am, say, “Sing the Hungarian National Anthem.” And receive blank looks (not training Hungarians). So, then I’d say, “Come on . . . just relax and let the Hungarian National Anthem Flow!” Every once in a while someone (because this was when there were real hippies at the time) would begin to make a song like noise . . . at which point I could (in pretended frustration) shout, “What is that?!?! Do you call that the Hungarian National Anthem? That is just noise! An insult!”

My point of course was, without knowledge of what it was I was asking for it was highly unlikely, theoretically possible, but highly unlikely, that anyone present could spontaneously burst forth in the desired song. Now, truth be told, if one had, I wouldn’t know it either because I don’t know the Hungarian National Anthem either. So, in that case, it was the blind leading the blind, blindly. Which is, I believe, a very appropriate metaphor for many individual’s training.

Now, unlike some, I believe that virtually everyone has the capacity to learn, given that one has the will to learn, one has a knowledgable instructor (one can only teach what one knows), and that that instructor is skilled at teaching.

With just about 40 years of teaching under my belt, the best advice I can give is, “Experience is King!” Get an experience, or create circumstances for a student to have an experience, and one stands a fair chance at being able, in time, to replicate that experience. The simpler the experience, the better. Build from one experience to the next. Work from success to success. Failure is only useful if the experience of failure leads to repeatable success.

So, you think about what you intend to do . . . but having previous successful experience doing what you intend is key!

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