Some background information

How I started down this path.

About three years ago I had an epiphany. I was walking back to my office, muttering to myself, thinking about what I was going to do next. A thought popped into my head that made me stop in my tracks - "what I was going to do next...". The realization came to me that that was all I had been thinking about all day - what I was going to do next. I mentally reviewed what I had done that morning: the emails, the faxes, the quotes I had put together, and during each task I was always thinking about what I needed to get done next. It was like I was a step out of sync, never giving any attention to what I was currently doing. No wonder I had to check to see if I'd locked the door three times before I left work each night. Now I could see why I was always losing pens and misplacing folders - I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. What good does it do to focus your attention on what your going to do next instead of what you're doing right now? And how long had I been doing this? I knew it was longer that just this morning - but surely not my entire life. That evening, while these thoughts were still on my mind, I happened upon an article in the paper about "Mindfulness".


Mindfulness. Paying attention to what you're doing. I became interested in intention, attention, mindfulness and awareness. I read a book on meditation. I meditated. While meditating, as I focused on my breathing, I became aware of the thoughts that were constantly going through my mind. It was amazing how many thoughts there were, and how easy it was to "jump on the train" as one thought led to another. How random these thoughts were. Sometimes the train of thought led in a circle, one thought leading to another until I was finally back to the first thought - and then around the circle again (and again, and again). There was another mode I noticed myself going into from time to time where it was like I was explaining to someone else what was happening to me. Kind of a running commentary. This happened a lot during my drive home from work. "Some guy pulled in front of me and then stopped" "Oh, and then I got behind a guy who had his blinker on, at first I thought he was going to turn, then I tried to get around him but every time I switched lanes the car in that lane wanted to turn right..." I could spend a twenty minute drive home in this mode. Without realizing what I was doing. I wondered if it was possible to live your entire life in this unconscious state.

What does any of this have to do with golf? Well, while I was searching for information on awareness and mindfulness I came across an article by a golf pro who said that most players would be better off without instruction, that their play would improve if they just went out and swung the club. I remembered this article as I started thinking about my upcoming summer of golf and I wondered what really happened during my swing. What thoughts were going through my mind? Where was my attention? After my fiirst trip to the driving range it occurred to me that I did not need to be on a golf course to answer these questions, all I needed was enough room to swing a golf club. And as I searched for awareness, golf, mental, etc. I came across some other ideas that I thought might be interesting to try - and so the idea of the golf lab was born.