Gnostic Gospels | zappadat- THE MOVEABLE FEAST

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

THE COSMIC GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK:………………IT’S THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN!

THE COSMIC GAME OF HIDE
AND SEEK
____________________________

Through us, the earth comes to itself.

This is true of every planet. We can no longer afford
competing religions.

Might as well say it: THROUGH US THE
UNIVERSE COMES TO KNOW ITSELF

The Hindu people for a very long time
have had this deep through = this profound intuition
known widely across their culture = this MYTH.

The ancient Hindu story coming out of the
DREAM TIME, THE ANCIENT DAYS,
THE GOLDEN AGE
is this:

“GOD PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK WITH HIMSELF”.
AND HE USES US TO MAKE THE GAME MORE INTERESTING!

Since we intuit that there is ultimately only one
substance in the Universe… this one substance
complexifies into many elements.

The many elements complexify into life.

Life complexifies into (a) awareness
then (b) Consciousness.

When life becomes capital “C” Conscious,
GOD (the Spirit molecule etc etc)
becomes aware of Himself
once again.

I guess at some point there is an “AHA!”
moment when one person looks at himself in the mirror
(or looks at another person) and says:

‘AHA! I’VE SEEN YOU BEFORE! I KNOW YOU!”
I’M GOD!”

Once this moment of recognition happens,
is the Game over?

No. The game continues for quite a while because
we humans are mortal. We die quickly, so we
forget our own Name.

For each person the Journey begins all over again,
when each person is born. This Quest is what is called
the Grail Quest, the individual search
for God.

The individual’s search for himself, coming to know
his own nature: the earth coming to know itself…
Because we die quickly and very few people can see
beyond death, we forget what we have learned in our last
life.

So the Game of Hide and Seek goes on…
And it continues to be amusing, new and sacred
both for the seeker and for the one who
is being sought.

(This cycle repeats itself through the rise and fall of global
civilizations. We don’t remember a single person’s name
from the last great Global Civilization, which existed just before the melting of the ice the last time around)

This is the first draft which I’ll re-write later.
Of course this map is an oversimplification, but if I do
say so myself , it’s pretty accurate.

Friday, June 27, 2014

THE LIVING WORDS * MORE OF THE CLIFFTOP WRITINGS

Friday, June 27, 2014

THE LIVING WORDS * CLIFFTOP WRITINGS

These are the words of the living
Jesus, the living words spoken between
Teacher and disciple, Master and brother,
seeker and the one who has reached the end
of the path… in this Christian realm.

The Father said: “I am He who is
Alpha and Omega, the Son who sets out to
find his Father, and the Father who waits
for his Living Son to return to him…”
   But first He attends us
as we patiently grow in Consciousness…
So in this new time, our Mind communes
with His Mind.
           The seeker Realizes Christ, and through this Gnosis,
this Knowing he is known.
           How this communion takes place is
a sacred mystery.The mystery of the Bridal Chamber
cannot be explained.

           “This is the gospel of the one who was
searched for, which is revealed to those who
are perfect through the mercies of the Father,
the hidden mystery, Jesus, the Christ, enlightened
those who were in darkness.”
“They knew, they were known: they were
glorified, they glorified.”
              “They were manifested in the Book of Life.”
                                                   The Gospel of Truth

                The communion with Christ is a mystery.
It is the Foundation Experience which involves
a change of identity.
                 In the communion of this Knowing,
together we know the Consciousness of
Christ arising.
                  He arises within.

These are the words spoken in the
eternal present.
This is not an historical gospel,
for history is written by the victors;
and the Living Words are beyond history.

        These Living Words predate the words of the four
gospels in the “New Testament.”
They are the words of the Living
Jesus.

          He who has ears to hear,
let him hear.
           Each man will understand what
he has the strength to bear.

                                        *

“Lesser poets borrow;
great poets steal.”

           So the Lord directed me:
“Make use of my Ultimate
Ability, my one Voice.”
          “Grace is not contained in any book.
I am the source of Grace. There is one
Poet only. I am the source of Poetry.”

              There is a gathering at the summit of
Mount Zion. This gathering of saints
is still flourishing today, as always;
as the gathering at Vulture’s Peak is said to
continue unendingly, beyond the dictates of time.
               Zion is here, always within you,
once repentance has been done.
Zion is eternal.
               In the Eternal Present
the holy city lives, shining upon
a hill.
.                                       *

                     Planet Earth is encircled by
the Consciousness of saints.
Make no mistake, these saints and
bodhisattvas will help you…when you are
engaged in a noble cause.
Call out loud to them. Make it
known, your cry for help…

           “Hail to you, holy ones! Hail to you,
Father of peace! I praise these, Father
at the core of the worlds.”
“And O you brothers and sisters
who have crossed the River to the other
side, miraculous is the way
you remain alive, aid me… in this my need.
O holy Ones, help me if I am worthy.”
“Father of the gathering clouds,
you source of Grace,
         You are the purifying spring of immaculate
water,
Our home in chaste heavens,
guardian of the inviolable truth.

           “I praise thee, holy One, you are the sun
that shines!”

If you can get in the Spirit… go ahead and
do it! And the Spirit will arise in you!

I praise thee,
O you who ride the clouds…
I praise you, as I feel your
strength approaching…
I am not worthy of you. I am not
worthy of the company of saints, and yet
here I am ! Here in the miracle of
these words.

   HERE IN THE MIRACLE OF THESE WORDS

            Grace comes to us, as a room brightens
                   as we pray,
             I praise thee, O Holy One, you have
                   given me this strength
             To rise again.
I am empty, but you fill me;
I am unworthy, you redeem me.
I am filthy, fresh from the chambers
                    of sin, you shine your light upon me.

How could I not praise you?
You are all my strength.

   As I saw your light shine
From my cabin
On the hill;
You make plain to me
The path to the holy city,
   You have made plain
                   The path to redemption.

As I take down these words,
Your wind refreshes me.
It blows through the empty
vessel that I am,
It blesses me.

          Because I write your verses
         You save my life.

As we have been before,
         Once again we shall be.
         As we already partake
                of the currents of one sea
                of tranquillity…

          Follow where the waters lead
    To the heart of the
                 inner fountain.

          If these words be false in any
way, condemn me….
          But these are the Living Words…

         This time beyond all times contains
                all history.
   There is one MInd, beyond
                 reason or rhyme,
One Mind to taste the
   the mystery.
                *

          One Mind – holy, purifying, sacred,
   loving, embracing
                  from within.

                                           *
   If you were to find your Name,
   Before your parents were born
   to give you names…
                           *
“Between heaven and earth
   I alone exist.”
              A Buddhist said this…
              The loving sacred Mind
             of the anointed One

                             *

            Jesus said:”When you make the two one,
and when you make the inner as the outer,
and when you make the male and the female
into a single one, so that the male will
not be male and the female will
not be female:”
“Then your vision will no longer be
divided.                                  The Gospel of Thomas

*

This message cannot be heard by the ear,
        touched by the hand.
Without speaking I send this;
        I send this message to you.
Without moving a step,
      I carry the fruit to you…
Can you taste it without opening
your mouth?
                                                       *

This fruit which flowers and grows ripe
beyond the fabric of time.
   This Tree is said to flower every
three thousand years;

          Before and after, there is panic and
uncertainty.

          When a voice within you
speaks the Living Words…
           A thrush sings his mournful note…
           As crimson dawn is blossoming on the horizon,
                  Even so a voice is rising within you.

                      ” ‘Whoever is near to Me,”
               so said the Living Son,
“Is near to the fire.”
                             “Whoever is far from Me
                   is far from the Kingdom.”

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

SPOT THE LOW TONE! INNUENDO AND INSINUATION SHOULD NOT WIN THE DAY IN CANADA!

” THERE IS NO HONOUR IN POLITICS”
Benjamin Disraeli

When a political ISSUE settles in my stomach for years
and causes some form of acid reflux within me… when I feel an anger over some fool’s arrogant misdeed and the anger doesn’t go away
but turns into a seething swamp of evil in my stomach.. Then
I have to speak up about it, or lose respect for myself.
What is this issue?
What foulness has gotten me up at 5:00A.M.,
grinding my teeth as I look in the mirror? Even now,
before coffee, I’m mad enough to spit.
The principle is this:

A POLITICAL PARTY MAY NOT USE THE PUBLIC PURSE – TAX MONIES IT HAS RAISED TO ALLEVIATE THE VARIOUS MISERIES OF THE POOR OF THE POPULATION
OF A NATION – IT MAY NOT USE SUCH FUNDS FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF KEEPING ITSELF IN POWER.

   In countries run by dictators, what do you
see? You see pictures of the dictator everywhere
on billboards and on on public buildings.
   When you see a leader using the public purse
to keep himself and his personality in power, you are witnessing a tactic dictators use: stealing money and plastering posters. Using tax dollars to maintain popularity.
            Misappropriating funds to create hate ads to
sway the populace against your legitimate opponent.
             A leader who does this is operating with the attitude of a dictator. He is making decisions on your behalf through the arrogance of a dictator. And he is subverting the democratic process.
A political party ought to raise its funds in a transparent fashion, in the daylight –
not indirectly through the re-shuffling of government
programmes.
   Where did the money come from for all those
constant, endless television hate ads against Ignatieff? The ads started months before any election was called,
advertisements with no other purpose than to use
low tone gossip and whispering insinuation
against a person I know to be an honourable man.
                Now I hear the same LOW TONE whispering and cawing against Trudeau…

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s twisted. He’ll sell drugs to your kids!” (my paraphrase)

The problem is this. If your repeat
the same lie endlessly, people start to believe the
lie. It’s been proven time and again that
you can sway public opinion…if only you repeat the same monstrous untruth often enough….
And if you’re using public funds to
place the ads, you can repeat the same
statement an infinite number of times.

What was the statement Hitler and his henchmen kept repeating?

            “The Jews are unclean. The Jews
are plotting against you. The Jews burnt your
Parliament buildings. The Jews are
cheating you out of your money.”

        This is an extreme example. But the same
principle applies about repeating a lie
endlessly…These methods are anti-democratic, and hateful to those of us who believe in democcracy

When it becomes apparent that a leader
of government is edging towards dictatorial thinking,
strong democratic action must be taken against him.

The HATE CAMPAIGN the Tories mounted against
Michael Ignatief in the last election, the ugly insinuating
barbs against a decent man…this left a poison in my
digestive tract that I have not yet been able to dispel.
That campaign of poison didn’t just
go on for weeks. It continued for months. I heard
the refrain daily for weeks and weeks.

“MR IGNATIEF DOESN’T CARE ABOUT CANADA.”

“HE LIVED IN THE U.S.A. HE
TAUGHT AT HARVARD.”

How can that be a negative thing? Use the
right tone of voice you can turn any positive into
a negative.

            More insidious than what was actuallybeing said in that endless stream of hate ads
against the man, more damaging than the
literal meaning of the words – was the TONE OF VOICE of the ads!!!
            Nefarious! As twisted and as belly-crawling
as the lowest gossip, back-biting against his/her
fellow work mates.
   I worked in a kitchen, on a ship going up the Mackenzie River. I was Mess Boy.
I saw endless trouble at work through sectarian gossip,
setting one group of waitresses/waiters against the other.
We’ve all experienced this kind of trouble-making
gossip. We’ve all heard the LOW TONE.
          So we recognize it right away when the Conservatives start to use it in their endless
television ads.

Now I’m hearing the same tone of voice
turned against JUSTIN TRUDEAU. I’m not going
to be quiet this time round.
Witness the following advertisement.
You’ll see what kind of LOW TONE insinuating ad
I’m talking about.
Learn to spot the LOW TONE. Use it as a warning bell in your mind to tell you, ” Lies are coming.”

Saturday, June 21, 2014

SOME PAINTINGS

Photograph, cropping and arrangement done
(C)2014 by Krista Geden

Friday, June 20, 2014

WAYS TO TRANSEPT THE NETHERWORLD OF GONDOR…. …….Excerpts a MIND TRAVEL DIARY

SCI-FI

Vignettes from the

Moon of Gondor

___________________

PURSUED BY MANIACS OVER A MOONSCAPE OF TRASH, THEY RAVING AND GRINDING THEIR TEETH WITH TOO MUCH METH,FENTANYL, PCP… AND A MIX OF OTHER ECSTATIC DELIGHTS

SUCH AS MORPHINE ENEMAS….THAT MAKES EM VOMIT FOR
DAYS… BUT NEVER DOES IT STOP…CRAWLING TOWARDS ME,
IT’S LIZARD-BRAIN STILL FUNCTIONING…
          FROM TIME TO TIME A SNAKE TONGUE FLICKERS OUT
AND IT SMILES AT ME WITH ITS MERCILESS SLIT EYES –
A SMILE IS AS FOREIGN ON ITS FACE AS A PARTY HAT
ON A WOODEN INDIAN.
          DAWN THREATENS BUT IS HOURS AWAY,
LIZARD BEAST LIES STILL, HARDLY BREATHING….
        “THE LIZARD PEOPLE RULE THE EARTH.” SO
SHE SAYS AT MY CONFERENCE TABLE… 12
LAWYERS ARE SILENT…NO COMMENTS FOR A RECORD
TIME.
        “UMMMMM, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE SHOULD DO
ABOUT THE SITUATION?” ASKS PINSTRIPE ONE.
        “VERY LITTLE TO BE DONE,” SAYS PIN TWO,
“THEY OUTLIVE US FOR SO VERY LONG…. ALL THEY DO IS LIE
THERE AND BLINK IN THE SUN WITH THEIR SLIT EYES
AND CROCODILE SMILES….. …. ….THEY HAVE SO MUCH MORE
TIME TO PLOT THAN WE DO!”
            ”DON’T GET TOO EXCITED,” PINSTRIPE ONE INSTRUCTS
US. “NO FAST MOVES….ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR HANDS…. …. …
AND FOR GOD SAKES, KEEP YOUR KNEES PRESSED TIGHTLY TOGETHER!”
“WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE WE ARE BEING MONITORED.”
           ‘WHAT’S THIS ABOUT THE KNEES?’ asks female PINSTRIPE,
THE ONLY ONE OF US WHO IS WEARING A SKIRT…
           “it’s best not to discuss it NOW…” I SAY. ‘WAIT ‘TIL THREE A.M.
WHEN WE CAN CLOSE THE MOON DOOR AND TURN UP
THE BREATH CONDITIONERS… … … WE ARE ALL SITTING
WITH ELBOWS ON THIS POLISHED TABLE…. ….. BUT…. HAVE
ANY OF YOU.. … RECENTLY…. LOOKED DOWN AT
THE FLOOR?”

Trippy Sci-Fi
(C)2014 by W.G.Milne

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

BEGGAR MAN AND THE ZION DREAM

This is a song about my early days in Jamaica. It’s not
recorded yet, but I had a powerful vision the other day.
I was a long way from home on a hot, hot day. I felt sick
and I had a long, long walk… I’m not sorry,
I’m happy that this happened.
____________________________________________________________________

BEGGARMAN AND HIS ZION DREAM
______________________________________

There was a beggar man down in old St ANNE’S
Sat on the curb, in the same spot
Broken tin cup and ancient hands
Begging for pennies by the Bravo Club

Opened car doors and bobbed his head
He begged for pennies, he begged for food
His feet were twisted I saw when he stood up
I saw his toenails were cracked and ruined

And he raised his dirty cup
Cracked feet and a crutch
Dried toenails, they’re cracked, too
As kids, we don’t know what to do

So my sister and my sister and me
I was five and she was three
We steal statues and china dolls
Treasures that we brought and give to he

We bring china dolls, we bring him bulla, too
For other treasures he had no use;
We break bread, we share a prayer of peace
And a glimpse of the Zion dream

Dreaming souls sing with me
SING to see a ZION DREAM
SOUL DREAMERS, THEY SING TO SEE
SING to see the ZION DREAM

We walk sharp coral, walk it by the sea
I am sure that no one follows us;
In the early morning on the Drax Hall rock
Through the bamboo grove we see the sun come up

ZION DREAM, a beggars Zion dream,
ZION DREAM, DOES IT DAWN FOR US?
ZION DREAM, ZION DREAM
I saw him kneel in HIS ZION DREAM

I see him kneel, throw his arms out wide,
Greets the morning like a bride;
He takes my arm and he points with me

Past where the birds fly by the beach

PAST THE TREE-TOPS, PAST THE MOUNTAINSIDE
THROUGH THE VALLEY, WAY UP HIGH
PAST THE DAWN RISING IN THE SKY, HE SAY:
“YOU SEE NOW? SEE, I TELL NO LIES”

ZION DREAM, ZION DREAM
SOUL DREAMERS IN THE ZION DREAM
NOW I SING HIS ZION DREAM
THROUGH THE TREES WHERE THE SEABIRDS FLY

BRIDGE:
_________________________________
NOW I SEE, O I SEE,
NOW I SEE, O, HIS ZION DREAM
NOW I SEE, LORD O I SEE
NOW WE DREAM THE ZION DREAM
DREAMING SOULS … THE ZION DREAM
DREAMING SOULS, SING WITH ME
_____________________________________________
ZION DREAM, ZION DREAM
NOW I SEE HIS ZION DREAM
THE DAWN IS BREAKING, BAMBOO BY THE REEF
DAWNING OF THE ZION DREAM

DREAMING SOULS SING WITH ME
sing with me in the zion dream
O DREAMING SOULS SING TO SEE
SINGING SOULS IN THE ZION DREAM

For the china dolls, he had no use

HE NEEDED COMFORT, HE NEEDED FOOD
WE buy FOOD ,WE BRING HIM BULLA BUNS
HE SAY A PRAYER, HOT CURB IN THE SUN

BREAKING BREAD HE SAY A PRAYER,
“O LORD A LITTLE HELP FOR WE
THE DAWN IS RISING, THE DAWN IT COMES
IS THIS THE DAWN OF MY ZION DREAM?”

I AM walking, I walk so long;
SIT ON THE SIDEWALK IN THE HOT SUN
SO HOT, SO HOT, NO WATER AND,NO SHADE
NO HELP FROM ANYONE ALL THRU THE DAY

I LOOK IN THE DUST, I LOOK DOWN AT MY FEET
MY BROKEN TOENAILS, THEY LOOK JUST LIKE HE
MY TOES ARE HIS TOES, HIS FEET, MY FEET
NOW I SEE THE BEGGARMAN IS ME

(((((ZION DREAM, ZION DREAM
ONE WAY TO KNOW THE ZION DREAM
CRACKING TOES AND BLEEDING FEET
ONE WAY TO KNOW WITH THE ZION DREAM))))

TOENAILS ARE CRACKED AND TWISTED FEET
ONE WAY TO KNOW THE ZION DREAM
NOW I KNOW HOW IT IS TO BE
BEGGAR ON THE SIDEWALK ON A ST. ANNE’S STREET

WHAT YOU HAVE TO GIVE, I DON’T NEED
DON’T NEED YOUR RICHES OR YOUR BELIEF
JUST DREAMING SOULS AND A DREAM TO SING
SING THE THE DAWN OF A ZION DREAM

SOUL DREAMERS AS THEY SING FOR THEE
DON’T NEED YOUR RICHES, OR YOUR BELIEF
ANCIENT HAND ACROSS THE CENTURIES
BROKEN FINGERS ON THE STREET

SOUL DREAMERS SING WITH ME
A REGGAE SONG IN THE ZION DREAM
ST. ANNE CALYPSO IS THE ZION DREAM
SOUL DREAMERS THEY SING WITH ME.

SING WITH REGGAE RHYTHM (Must cut some verses)

Saturday, June 14, 2014

GOD, GODS AND GODDESS… MYTH IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE PRESENT: ONE KALPA EQUALS FIFTEEN THOUSAND YEARS… SEED AND CASTRATION.

God and pleasure:

Having said that there is only one God, the One who is Creating Us…. He/She has been celebrated in many ways.
And I might add Yahweh, Jah, our Father – who is said to
condemn Baal… He is the storm god, god of ejaculating fertility…

God as Seed:
                          Baal… Jehovah condemns Baal?
   In fact, this is not so – Jehovah used to BE Baal. Originally he was God of SEED, God of the fecund furrowed fields. The original function of God
was inseminating the earth. Providing seed that renews itself.

Evil:
           Any force that opposes this seed-creating function
of the One Who Is Creating Us, any such force or entity
or corporation is evil. Make no mistake, this is evil
with a capital “E”. Seed is meant to replenish itself.
This is the very essence of God and Goddess.

              Baal has been given a bad name. But Baal
is not evil. The Father God used to be Baal
in one of His earlier incarnations.
            So let’s cut the bullshit… All this
horse manure about ‘sex is bad’, ‘sex is a sin’.
God used to be sex itself. An ejaculating phallus in the sky!
            But this function of the deity went out of fashion.
We no longer wish to see God in that way.
Times change but basic realities
don’t change.

Pleasure:
As primitive society grew more sophisticated people got tired of seeing
rows of men, dicks in hand, masturbating into the
rising sun, honouring Him by emulating the primary
function of the Divine Being.
OK, people got tired of seeing this…
this I can understand. But to place a Biblical
injunction against such activities… well, that’s
going a little far.
One fact must be remembered
before we follow the tendencies of this day
to not respect the fertility aspects of
religion. The basic fact is:

PLEASURE IS THE MOTIVATING FACTOR OF THE UNIVERSE.

It is the motivating factor of all living organisms,
even single-celled organisms are motivated
by following pleasure.
For example, it feels good to eat. It
feels good to procreate.
Let us not be too quick to condemn
pleasurable activities.

Castration
             To the early Greeks, there were many gods, male and
female. The head god was male, let’s call him,
“Zeus” although his father, whom he castrated was called
Chronos, and Chronos, when he took over… he castrated his
father, also.
   The name Chronos is another name for TIME . And like
it or not, TIME CASTRATES ALL MEN.
       If you have a castration fetish, and most men do, for
obvious reasons… this might sound kind of arousing…
the vulnerability of the testicles, swinging in the wind,
the fact that balls are so easily removed gets many
men musing on the subject of castration.
             The castration that time gives you in reality
is not arousing; after the fact, it is not erotic
at all.

             The earlier gods had a strange sense of values.
You could kill and steal, and that was all right… so long as
you didn’t steal the cattle of the sun god, you were more or
less O.K.
            The one type of behaviour the Greek gods really
would not allow – really would not sit still for… what really
pissed them off was ‘hubris’. Hubris is extreme egotism.
Hubris is an extreme form of arrogance, such as, “I can
throw a spear farther than Ares, the god of war.” Well, you
didn’t say such things out loud. In fact, you didn’t even
think such things, or the gods would get you!
                   Another ‘no no’ was saying something
like: “I am more beautiful than the goddess of love”.
You don’t make or even think such statements about
Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love…or very unromantic
DOOM will be right around the corner for you!
   Aphrodite has many ways to punish us.
I’ve seen it in others; I’ve felt the doom in myself.
Sometimes this doom can feel very like falling
in love.

             Arrogance such as to diminish the dignity
of the gods, this is still not a good idea. I am convinced
that the Greek gods are still present, certainly
in the back of our brains, and they still kick the
shit out of us when we are arrogant.

Death:
This wonderland, this play land
called the ‘human psyche’ has more ins and outs
than anyone could ever mention.
                  Even death has many entrances and exits.
And just like in a theatre, where you can always see
the exit sign, if you look carefully, and get down
on all fours to examine the situation, you will see
the bright light of day penetrates under the doors…
         Even in the darkest dungeon, light can be found eventually…
                In “life’s rich pageant”, in the darkest play, exits
can be found. Sometimes an entity, a psychic reality such
as one of the Greek gods, can show you the way
out of the maze in which you might find yourself trapped.
Never say never about anything.
   All things are possible. One door closes and another
opens. Death is an opening door.

Goddess and forgiveness:
Before the patriarchal gods, of course,
religion was a matriarchy. The Goddess ran things
and I don’t believe She is gone, either… We give
Her different names… but, she’s still around. And She
can be wonderfully maternal, kind and forgiving,
like the warmth of the sun in an open field. Like
the warmth of living in a straw longhouse in an
open meadow. The Goddess can embrace you and
can forgive you in the most wonderful of
ways.

Goddess and Castration:
             But don’t count on it. Don’t take Her
for granted. Do not belittle Her in any way.
             Have you ever looked into the eyes of
a woman as you are falling in love with her…
sometimes, on rare occasions, her face will light
up more brightly than usual – a golden glow surrounds
her head as a halo, and there is radiance in her smile.
At such moments, in my humble opinion, she has
become She.
               Your lover has been mounted by the Goddess.
Try not to fall in love, when this happens. You will fail,
my friend. Love will find you and this is almost always
a good thing.
              Once again, Aphrodite is not a Being you want to
mess with… horrible things happen to men who
have insulted the Goddess.
              For example, have you heard the one
about the handsome young man who falls in
love with a 3-legged dog, and he is seen on all
fours, throughout the town, scampering after
her ceaselessly…ignoring the advice of friends.
              Many jokes are told about such men.
And such jokes are not kind.
             To insult the Goddess, especially the
Goddess of Love, this is not a course of action
I recommend to anybody.
             Remember what time does to male fertility.
Time can be sped up! And don’t forget the Fates,
the Three Sisters… one sister has a pair of scissors
in her hand… and she can cut the thread of a man’s
life, or the thread of a man’s balls, whenever
she wishes…
        This is what is called, “The fickle finger of fate!”

Egotism and ‘kalpas’:
        I had a thought the other day. I had been watching
a Graham Hancock video.   He was talking
about the many underwater monoliths that exist
under the sea….   these structures are more or less proof
that human civilization existed and flourished before
the last ice age… say, 10,000 years ago, when the seas
were 400 feet lower than they are now.
When the ice melted, the waters rose – and
hence we have the myth of Atlantis.

Myth:
   When I say, “myth” I mean it in the sense
of the deepest memories we have, the most profound
archetypes to be found at the core of human
psychology.
Myths are stories about circumstances
that happened in the golden age, “the dream time”
primitive peoples speak of.
In fact, myths are stories about
what always happens, what happens over and
over again from the dawn of time until now.
The modern usage of the word, myth
means an erroneous story… A story that’s a myth is
a story that’s wrong. This is a shallow use of a
very important word.
                     The Bible is a myth. It is not meant to
be read as history. It is the story of people travelling
from heaven into hell and back again: from paradise into
the wilderness and back again. From the fallen cities of
Sodom and Babylon to that holy City on the Hill…
and back again.
                     (See Northrop Frye’s, “The Great Code”
I studied with him for four years and he influenced
my thinking deeply. In return, I was sharing
the earliest Christian gospels, so-called ” Gnostic”
gospels with him.)
A myth is a story describing our most
basic reality.

MYTH IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE PRESENT

       A though I had the other night is this: “We don’t remember
a single name from this past civilization of human kind.”
Not one name!
                  What do you think about that?

                  Human beings have been on earth for millions
of years. Recorded history appears to go back
a mere six thousand years. Six thousand years
is a flash in the pan of human history.
                 When God says, “I built the world in six days
and on the seventh day, I rested.” It’s best not to
be arrogant about things… it’s best not to take these
words literally!
                 The whole Bible is a continuing metaphor.
Metaphorically speaking, mankind has gone from the
garden to the wilderness, and the wilderness to the
garden many times… This is the symbolism of the
Bible.
       GOD’S MIND WORKS IN THE ETERNAL PRESENT

                   All the past and all the future are contained
in this present. Moses exists now and so does
Abraham. Christ’s statement, “Before Abraham was, I am,”
this statement has profound meaning. The Mind of God
thinks, processes in the present. This is why He
calls himself: “I AM THAT I AM.” He does not use
the word, “was”, to describe himself.

What is this “Course of Study”?
What subject are we enrolled in?
We might call it: “The Mythology of the Human
Mind – Between the Apocalypse from the Dream Time.”

                In the great Hindu religion, they have
something called a “kalpa”. It appears to me that a
kalpa is approximately 15,000 years. And thousands
of kalpas (or cycles) have gone by, this is what they say.
This is how Hindu sages have expressed the situation we
find ourselves in.
                 If the last major global civilization
existed 10,000 years ago, before the ice melted
and the oceans rose 400 feet… then a 15 thousand
year long kalpa (human cycle, rise and fall from global
civilization to global civilization) seems right on
the money! Those ancient sages knew more than we
give them credit for.
                      We are arrogant in our “modern” age,
we tend to think we’re smarter than anyone else has
been. The last civilization undoubtedly thought
the same thing… and yet not one name remains from
that last global village. What’s the name we give that last global
civilization? It is “Atlantis.”
                   The people of Atlantis were intellectually
and technologically advanced also… and what is left
of them? Many many monoliths remain, aligned to the
solstices… under every ocean – under waters, but clearly
visible…deep beneath the seven seas.

              Last night I had a thought that we know not
one human name from that great civilization that
existed over ten thousand years ago. Not one
name of a human being is remembered. Only the monoliths are
proof that the last civilization existed, because
they are such massive stone structures.
                It is said that thousands of such civilizations have
come and gone in the past four billion years,
during the life of this planet earth. We have no way
of knowing how many.

ego annihilation and birthing:
                It makes me wonder what value the individual
human ego has, if it can be wiped out so utterly. Not
a single person’s name survived!
               What is the value in struggling for fame or gain?

                In my view it makes more sense to drop the eggshell
ego our parents gave us, and learn how to be one with
the Universe.
                  Only the universe lasts, and the One who is

Creating Us, all His processes continue ceaselessly
in the present.

                  “Only the present exists. Our world is a
continuing dawn, a continuous birthing.” This is how
Heraclitus put it…
                  As Northrop Frye said to me when I was
asking him some questions after class one afternoon.
He said, “No one embraces the universe, if he has anything
else to hold on to.”
                 I agree with his statement. Yet utter ego annihilation
in an individual results in such a marvellous dawn for
the person who has undergone it.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

THE MENTAL PART OF THE GAME – A REPORT ON MATCHES IN THE FRENCH OPEN – GRAND SLAM EVENT

Thursday, June 5, 2014

THE MENTAL ASPECT OF THE GAME – A REPORT ON SOME MATCHES IN THE FRENCH OPEN

I’m watching Milos Raonic at the French Open
in Paris , France. It is now May 25th, 2014.
Raonic has arrived at this Grand Slam Event
with difficult wins and tennis trials in his
recent past.
He has played well against and beaten many of the top ten players. Raonic is currently ranked # 8
in the world coming in to the French open.

    He has a shorter and more military
haircut… and an air
of not quite calm, but intense concentration.
This is rattled in
the 2nd second set as he starts out playing a young talented Australian.Krygios displays some magnificent backhands, but is beaten by Milos in straight sets.

                    Raonic goes on to beat Simon,also,
who is a crafty player with terrific ground strokes.
The fact that he beat Simon
proves that his is baseline play are much
and more regular.
                  This is a terrific victory for the
23 year old Canadian.

                 He fires off a fantastic backhand
passing shot to beat Granolliers with a passing
shot at the net.
                 Now he is the first Canadian male
to make it to the 4th round of a Grand Slam
event.
    As the announcer states, he knows
how to end points when he gets to the net.
Krygios is 19 years of age and still
has a tendency to hold onto his anger.
Stay angry for 5 or 6 points, and you’re finished.
        Your loss of concentration can be fatal. While
you’re busy kicking a ball, and having a tantrum, the other player is taking aim… It’s best to be more balanced
emotionally. Raonic is… by some considerable margin.
             In tennis it’s important to forget, rapidly, your
mistakes of the recent past.

This is the beauty of tennis. The
psychological element enters into the game
quickly, far faster than in golf.
But the mental distress that is throwing a player off can dissipate just as rapidly… It can leave
just as quickly as it arrived.

   There’s an old zen tale about
two monks and a beautiful woman on the
bank of a shallow but fast-moving river.
The monks had sworn a vow of chastity.
The beautiful woman
is staring at the waters, knowing that
her hair is going to get messed up
pretty badly by the river – and her
makeup will be shot.
   One of the two monks acts
quickly. He walks over to the woman,
nods to her and picks her up in his
arms.    Immediately, without any more
thought , he carries her across
the river.
Gently, on the further shore,
he assists her to step out of his arms,
and walk along the road with her habitually
sexy step
                    As the two monks walk farther
along the road, the one monk is fuming.
He keeps muttering under his breath and
from time to time he violently
kicks a stone.
                   The monk who has helped the lady
asks the angry monk what’s wrong.
                   The angry monk says, “We’ve
sworn a vow of chastity! And there you go,
you break your vow with the very first
pretty girl we see! How can you live
with yourself. You should be ashamed!”
                    The helpful monk says, “Yes,
I helped the pretty girl across the river. It
was a pleasand experience, but I didn’t
break my vow of chastity…”
                    “Bah!” says the angry monk.
         The helpful monk says: “I put her down
when we reached the other shore. Are you
still carrying her?”

The same point applies with
tennis.You cannot carry your rage forward.
Just because you’re still pissed off
at your own last idiotic mistake, this doesn’t
mean you ought to carry your anger
thru the next five points. For you will
likely lose that set.
                If you keep blaming yourself
and if you keep making negative
judgements about the state of your
play – you are out of the flow.
You are no longer there to play tennis.
               You are self-flagellating.And this
plays hell with your reaction time.
In your head, “I just made a bad
backhand shot,” becomes, “I have a bad
backhand.” This is thinking that will
defeat you.

             Raonic wins this first round match
easily, with difficulty only in the 2nd set,
where he had the brief tantrum and displayed
anger he did not carry for long.
              I’d say he has a better grip on things.
But of course the point is – not to grip too
tightly. Loosen up that hand around the
racket handle…relax and play the game.
            With regard to your mind, grip
nothing at all, but let the river of your
thoughts flow on. Don’t stop the flow.
Don’t attach yourself to any thoughts.
Pay attention, have a drink of water,
knock the grit out of your shows…
let your mind flow back up
to one-pointedness.
               The flow within your mind
becomes an easy focus, when you’re
warming up… and a hot, keen silent
focus… when you’re into the match.
               Let the endorphins rise up
within you. Feel your body relaxing
and at the same time becoming more alert.
This feeling is the joy of the game! It is
also the mental approach we all must make
to play winning tennis.

            ‘Sports stadiums are now our temples.”
I was thinking about that statement today,
while watching the woman’s quarter finals
in Paris… Where else do you see 10,000
people sit in total silence, concentrated
silence?
        And why not? Who’s to say that a temple
to the beauty of physical movement is wrong?
       Tennis, at it’s best is very close to dance –
focused danced with a purpose.
        The other beauty of tennis is there’s
a cosmic feel to playing it. The balls are
round, like planets, and we hit them through
all kinds of space, especially when we play
in the open air.

          I hear the announcers discussing what’s
“in the heads” of the players, what they are
thinking about or what they’re worried about –
‘WHAT’S IN HER HEAD’?
         Well, or course the goal is to have nothing
in your head, nothing but the acute burning
focus of the endorphin-fed mind.

        I noticed Kusnetzsova (sp?) kept tugging at her
dress… thoughts about your dress, your costume,
your clothes…. Even this brief thought: “My dress
is too short with the wind blowing it!” This is too
much of a thought to have in your mind.
Even such a little bit of a thought will
throw off your balance.
        The goal is to have an empty head. This
way nothing impedes the reflexes.

Now watching Bouchard vs Sharpova.
After watching the first few games, I heard
a comment I made inside my own head:

‘NOW IT’S ALL IN THE MIND.’

   Indeed it is – whoever manages the mental
aspect of this game better will win the match.
   Bouchard did great. She took the
2nd set. Serving wide to one side, then goiung
down the line on the other side of the
couirt, this gave Sharapova some real trouble.
Which no one else really did, not until she played
Halep in the finals.
   Chris Evert made the comment about
the Bouchard vs Sharapova match: “That
was the final.”
   And I agree with her. Chris also said:
“Sharapova’s playing a younger version of herself,
when she plays Bouchard. That’s not easy to do.”
         But Sharapova has been playing
brilliantly in her own relentless manner.
And no one was going to beat her
this year.

         This is not to take anything away
from the Romanian, Halep, who displayed
terrific footwork and leg movement,
almost a sense of dance as she moved
lightly around the court.
         She hadn’t lost a set all tournament
until she faced Sharapova. But her serve
did not have quite the SNAP of Bouchard’s
serve. So Halep was not able to take Maria wide
the way that Bouchard did, and then finish
her with a cracking drive down the line.

          Halep, however, not only has fine
footwork; she has exceptional balance,
persistent ability to return the ball,guts,
and admirable mental equanimity.
And it has just paid off. She has just won
the second set of the woman’s finals
in Paris.
   But a championship this year for
Halep was not to be. She came so close.
I hope to see her back at the French Open
next year.
                    If Roanic learns better

footwork, maybe from a boxing coach –

if his footwork even approaches that of

Halep, no one will beat him.

Tomorrow comes the men’s final.
It’s Nadal vs Djokovic. Both men move from
offence to defence in a fluid manner. They
are #1 and #2 in the world, respectively.
It ought to be terrifically entertaining
final.

One other point I would like to make
is: it’s good to see Gulbis finally come into his
own. He beat Federer and he gave Djokovic
a tough time with his superb, surprisingly
fast serve.
Gulbis has all the shots. All he needs
is a consistent mentality in order to start
winning some big tournaments.
I’ve been watching him develop for
years. All he needs is a tenacious focus over
a three hour period.
For this talented player especially,
his difficulties are ‘all in the mind’.

NOTE: The two best announcers in tennis, Chris Evert and

John McEnroe have one thing in common.THEY DO NOT TALK

WHILE THE POINTS ARE BEING PLAYED!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST AND HEAVEN’S DOOR – A DISCUSSION OF MANIC DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS———— HOW TO PREDICT YOUR DANGEROUS TIMES

The following article may seem not to apply to tennis.
But if something like one out of ten people are affected
by this illness, then it becomes significant, RE: “Managing
the Mental Part of the Game” – What this Blog is all about.

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST AND HEAVEN’S DOOR – A DISCUSSION OF MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS;———-HOW TO PREDICT YOUR DANGEROUS TIMES

One out of between ten to twenty players will be affected.

I’ve been in the belly of
the beast for three weeks now, underwater, in the
tunnel. And the worst part of it – I didn’t know it.
I thought the Doom that I was feeling
was permanent: feeling doom was simply reality, just the way it things are. Learn to live with it.
Right! That is horrible advice!

I feel just fine now. The cycle is moving
along in its inexorable way and I don’t worry about
a thing. I can organize twelve things at once
that’s what I think in the manic part of my life.
And the problem is, at that particular time, I
really can do it!
                        So I get twelve projects started,
and people agreeing to work with me. I
can make million dollar deals. I once
put a bid in for a gravel pit.
I put in a call to the owner at
7:30 A.M. and he was up. I asked
him how much he wanted for his pit
trucks, conveyers and loaders. He said
7 million.
We phoned each other back
and forth. By breakfast I had him down
to 4 million.I’m good at that kind of
bargaining.
           Problem was I had about
three dollars in the bank.
   There was the fact that
I didn’t really want or need a gravel pit
to begin with. You might say, “How crazy
can you get? Buying something
you don’t even want.”
Well I can get a lot crazier
than this. Once I get an IDEA and
I’m manic, well, I’ll follow the idea
through rapidly

It’s all this manic energy running
through me. You can make deals that
you think you can manage. And maybe
you would be able to manage a major
enterprise, if you stayed in that manic
state.
Problem is, next comes depression.
And when you are in deep clinical depression,
all your ability to follow through is gone
and all urges to follow through are extinguished.
You are immobilized. And you can be in
serious trouble.
   In deep and ongoing depression,
the only creative urge you might have,
is the urge to end the utter misery
of your worthless life…(you are saying
this to yourself. The negative script
is a component of depression – and the voice(s)
in your head telling yourself how stupid and useless
you are, how lazy… And on top of these things,
what a prick you are!
            This continuing script, in my view,
has to be attacked.

One quarter to one third of manic
depressives kill themselves. So obviously
it’s a dangerous disease.
   I hadn’t been taking my diagnosis
seriously. I just thought I was way, way out
there. I started plotting out my cycle for
the depressed period, way before I knew
about any diagnosis, I knew I was subject
to a disturbing cycle.

             There’s a short period of time
during your depression, I call it “the depressive
peak.” That’s when you have to really
watch yourself. You can really go over the
top, during the peak ( which might be
3 days or thee hours or three weeks).
You have to counter the negative self-talk
with positive images, which you have prepared
repeatedly.

There are ways to train yourself
to picture one scene of a place you love,
or a person you love with whom you feel
grounded, or tender moments with a dog or cat.
You find these moments of joy within yourself
(And sometimes it takes a week to think up
even one such image. Don’t worry. Just
don’t stop. You need the positive image to
counteract the ravening beast who is calling
you names, deep in your own mind.

       Press one index finger on one hand
against the index finger of the other hand.
This becomes a trigger for you.
Every time you press the two
fingers together, you imagine your
beautiful scene.
When you have a horrible
suicidal thought, you trigger the scene
to offset the doom and gloom of
the thought , and it helps…truly
it does help. But it takes a while
and it takes practice.
       You have to practice. The
non-medicinal cure takes work.
It works better if you can borrow
a hypnotist to help you with your “imagining
sessions”     and to help you embed your image
into your mind so you can call up the scenes
of joy and happiness quickly, when you are
in desperate straits. When you are under
attack…
       We all get in desperate straits. I used
to hit the depressive peak every thirty-four
days. I’d map the times of my cycle. I had to,
to protect my life, it was a lot better when I knew
the timing of each phase my cycle time map.
        I used to call it my ‘psyche map’. At
least when you are attacked,
when this dark curtain is pulled across
your heart and mind, you know when it’s
coming. You have a calendar of days.
       You have a map of your own psyche. By
writing down notes on each stage of your
cycle, as you pass through each cycle,
you can nail the time frames down. It will take
about three times through, to get a somewhat
accurate cycle time map.
       You know when your depressive peak is coming
And more important you know when it’s leaving, and
you know it IS GOING TO LEAVE.
   You know this dark beast is
leaving. And you have a projection
as to how soon it will leave. So you
know this terrible darkness will stay for just
so long.
          This way you are dealing with
a finite situation. You are no longer facing
infinite misery. The feeling of Doom
will NOT stay with you for the rest of your life.

          Just this one little step
can make a huge improvement
in your life. You are going from
passive to active. And that
always feels good and helps relieve
the feeling of “helpless” and “hopeless”

       Of course , there are
exceptions! I’ve just come out
of a 2 or 3 month depression
and I didn’t even know I was depressed!
Sometimes it comes up on you from
behind…
       And creeps into your being
slowly, oh so slowly that you don’t
feel its presence or it’s growing
power over you, until you’re in a situation
that seems impossible to change.
(This is starting to sound like a sci-fi
movie)
. The weird stuff happens. There’s
no denying this fact. But I’d say the
‘psyche cycle’,the timing of your cycle,
which enables you to project your dangerous
time… I’d say this works and will help you
8/10ths of the time.

   Good luck and happy hunting.
   Respectfully submitted, R.R.R.
     (C)2014 by William G. Milne

Friday, January 17, 2014

IT’S HOT! ACTION! THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN!

             Two older style players – Gasquet and Robredo –
playing a beautiful game. Robredo’s one handed
backhand crosscourt is very challenging. Gasquet
is a complete player…and he will rush the net.
   I have to believe the net game will come back into
tennis more and more. Everybody’s started to rush
the net more in the last two years, because it works.
       But with guys like Nadal who can pass you with shots
from outside the tennis court, it’s tough…
       Nevertheless almost everybody is thrown off when they notice the opponent’s rushing the net. It’s best to make a little noise while your charging up, and if you have the time,
run with your raquet high in the air – shout while you’re
at it.
(Actually, this tactic will work in club-level
play, even top level club play… but try it at the
Australian open, they’ll kill you. Not enough time
to raise the racquet, shout, and get the
raquet back down again to hit a ball)
   It’s considered bad form, even in club
play, but it works more often that. So make up
your own mind about what to do.

   You have to be in the NOW for any fast sport,
but especially tennis… no other thoughts of past
and or future. As you know this is my constant
refrain.

   The Istomin vs Djokovic match is shaping
up to be a beauty…. depending on how much
adrenalin Istamin can muster. Very quick-paced
contest… At the moment, Djokovic looks
unbeatable, but things change as the hours pass…
when 3 sets are required to win a Grand Slam.
         In the third set Istomin attained that higher
gear he is capable of… but not for long.

          Murray has never won the Australian Open.
Is this his year? It could be.
          Andy works out in Miami, so he should be
used to the heat somewhat.
           The surface suits him.

          Federer doesn’t have the ranking he used to have,
but he’s so steady very few opponents will be able
to stay with him… Beautiful strokes!

          Djokovic has won Australian Open, what is it?
Four times. He looks damn nearly unbeatable.

          I haven’t seen Nadal yet in this tournament,
but of course you can never count him out.

Friday, November 8, 2013

EMPTY THE MIND TO CLEANSE REACTION TIME – WAYS TO ACHIEVE “THE ZONE”

               Of course, there are no easy matches in the London
ATP World Tour finals this week. It’s the
top 8 men players in the world, and these guys
don’t give anybody an easy win.
      At this level, when you see lapses of concentration,
the loss of presence of mind usually won’t last longer
than one or two games.

       Wawrinka is now playing Ferrer. Ferrer has just won
the Paris tournament, but has yet to win a match
here in London.

        About the backhand. It is the accepted wisdom
nowadays that it’s better to have a two handed
backhand than a single-handed backhand. This is not
always true. There are major exceptions to this
so-called rule.
IF YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT UPPER BODY
STRENGTH, it can be better to have a single-handed
backhand. You can get a better angle on the
ball with a one arm motion than you can with
a two-handed motion.
        Watch the snap Wawrinka gets on his backhand
often, and how he opens his arms and his chest as he
hits such shots – you’ll see what I mean.

        People point at Nadal’s two-handed backhand.
But of course, Nadal is an exception. Nadal was
originally right handed but Uncle Tony got
him playing with his left hand when Rafa was
very young…So Nadal’s two-handed backhand is
really Nadal using his natural right-handed
strength and orientation. That’s why his “backhand”
is so good. It’s not really a backhand.

        Now it’s the Ferrer-Wawrinka match. I had
assumed Wawrinka would win it.
        But you can never count Ferrer out with
his incredible athleticism, stamina and determination.
Ferrer’s taken the first set. I’d forgotten: Ferrer beat
Nadal last week in Paris. So all bets are off.
I shouldn’t be surprised when Ferrer
takes the next set.
        Ferrer uses his intense almost continuous
running to amp him up into the correct mental
state.

        When any of these top eight players gets
“IN THE ZONE“,; any one of these
guys can beat any of the others.
         Though Nadal has just clinched the
#1 world ranking with his second match victory
this week, and at this time he seems to be
about the hardest man to beat.
         Djokovic is also playing brilliantly and
likely wants his #1 ranking back.


         Getting “in the zone” is what this blog
is all about.
          There are specific ways to do it, ways
to get there… But we are really entering
into the area of meditative techniques.
          There is such a thing as meditation
in action. That’s part of what the dervishes
are all about.
There are also yogic techniques
that apply.
   It’s not a method you can use just
anywhere – I try not to get into too
deep a meditative state on my bicycle,
for example.
   But tennis is a game well-suited
for meditation in action. I’ll have to
get a better phrase for this discipline –
the “Art of Ecstasy” comes to mind, but this
is not a phrase that I have invented.
   Getting “in the zone” is a good
phrase. You know you’re ‘there’, when
there are no thoughts in your mind,
just a intense, burning attention to
every movement you see across the net.

Runners know about “the zone”.
In fact, a combination of the feeling
that you have when the endorphins start
to click in – plus that sense of utter
concentration that comes with hard
breathing and strong exercise –
this is why many distance runners run.
Also, more casual runners who run
just for exercise and health,
who are not necessarily racing a stopwatch,
they know about “the zone” also.

           Let’s face it, this moment of the
intense concentration of a mind
that is fully aware is a delight!
The game is to find the joy at
the core of things, without being
burdened with an endless train of
thought.
   Full concentrated awareness
without content, while in the midst
of focused activity – this is the joy
of sports! But I must say, tennis
is particularly relevant to this
kind of awareness, this joy of the
zone.
           There is a lot of empty
space in tennis. The situation
you are facing is more cosmic
than cluttered.
            Across the area in which
you play is a net full of holes – more
empty space! And an opponent some
distance away… firing balls in your
direction at high rates of speed.
             And you are running and reacting
in a court that is exactly big enough
to challenge even the best athelete.
The area and size of the tennis court
is a work of art, almost a work of genius.
          Any larger, and nobody would be able to
make it to the lines. Any smaller area
between the lines, and the challenge would
start to disappear – the elegance of the
strokes would become constricted.
          Tennis is the enemy of the enslaved,
monkey-like mind.

          Like in the martial arts, the player
is in a situation where any thought at all
impedes reaction times.
           Intense concentrated awaresness
without content, aided by pain-killing endorphins
fed with the energy of a fully functioning
cardiovascular system – this is the joy of
the game! And tennis is the game of life!




                                      (C)2013 by William G. Milne
                                          All rights reserved.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

ROUND ROBIN LONDON, 2013: WAWRINKA- NADAL MATCH

Wawrinka has sufficient upper body strength
not to be intimidated by Nadal.And it shows –
the fact thefact that he is not intimidated
Yet he has never taken a set from Nadal.
This is curious in that they have fought through
many extended tiebreakers.
The fact that Wawrinka, for periods of
time during his mental lapses, still hits series
of shots into the net – indicates that Nadal
still has Wawrinka psyched out to some extent.
But Stan has nearly turned the corner on that
psych-out, and it’s exciting to see him on the
edge of victory.
He’s got the shots and the strength
to beat Nadal… he just needs a little
tune up in the psychology of the game.
He’s so close to winning he can
taste it, and so can everybody else in the
audience – that huge tennis stadium in London,
everyone can sense how close their match
really is.
I’d rather see a Nadal/Wawrinka
match than any other match between players in the
top ten.
You really don’t know what you’re
going to get, but you’re going to see
a fantastic variety of shots.

It’s important to remember that Stan
was Federer’s hitting partner for years.That’s
got to help his consistency and mental acuity.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

BIG DAY IN BELGRADE – BEST SERVER AGAINST BEST RETURNER?——————plus———————–PSYCHOLOGY OF TENNIS IN THE DEEP NORTH

Whatever happens today, as the Canadian
plays the Serb, there will be a lot of sprinting,
sudden stops, heavy breathing… Determination
and courage will be all.

   I don`t know what`s in the water in Serbia.
Roanic is firmly Canadian, but he was born in
Montenegro.
   Djokovic also was born in Montenegro.
   This is a big day for Serbia, and
deservedly so!

   It`s a big day for Canada, too! Canada
has not been in the Davis Cup semi-finals
since the early days of the twentieth century.

          Surprisingly enough, there`s a large
Canadian crowd cheering their man on
in the Belgrade arena.
Balance and superior groundstrokes
won the day for Djokovic. Plus the judicious
use of the topspin lob over the ten foot height and
reach of the Canadian.
Milos showed real game and courage
and was never defeated in spirit. And you have
to admire grace in defeat.
   After all tennis is a game. We`re not
killing chickens here. Fun and a sense of play
and grace under pressure – this is what it`s
all about.

CANADIAN TENNIS IN THE DEEP NORTH

           These Canadians aren`t as quiet
as we`re used to. Is the country going through
some kind of identity change? What happened to
the polite, self-effacing pesonality
we all were used to?
This crowd is making some real noise.

        Frankly, the old personality type was getting
a little tiresome, anyway. And none too exciting.

        In a country which has basically two seasons –
(1) the freeze your ass off season – where you never
see a woman`s body for about seven months of
the year, unless you light a hot fire someplace;
(2) the get your ass bitten off season, when the flies
come to life and start to feed, making that
chattering, humming sound…
It was inevitable that someone was going to
start to shout sometime!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

NO NEGATIVE SELF-TALK! DON`T KEEP JUDGING YOUR STROKES…

THE TENNIS PSYCHOLOGIST

title (C)2013 by William G. Milne
___________________________________________

Please excuse legal matter above. I posted this
blog and almost immediately lost the title, then regained it.
____________________________________________________

BATTLE MATCH :

   Despite the fact that they did not have a huge
audience, I was moved by the intensity of the crowd and players at the Raonic vs Gasquet match. It was a five
set high-intensity battle, fought with the utmost
determination and skill to the end by both players.
              The crowd was as excited as the players. And
even if the audience was highly partisan, there was something about the feel of this confrontation
that most modern matches seem to be lacking.


           Stan the Man:

       Now that Federer is less intent on defending his
number 1 ranking and is fading from the spotlight
somewhat, Stan Wawrinka, Roger`s long time
hitting partner seems to have unconsciously received
permission to step forward into the noon
of his own day.
   In his match with Djokovic, I noticed Stan
using 3 or 4 shots strategy, thinking ahead, using
plays that are chess-like.
Obviously, he`s learned a lot from Federer,
and he`s a pretty smart
cookie, himself.

   I spent years playing tennis and also years
doing sitting, using one meditative technique
or another – allowing the river of the mind to
clear itself, without wrenching, without trying:
just allowing the river to clear on its own,
becoming unroiled, unmuddied.
   Not GRASPING after old memories
or loves, but seeing the beauty of each past
event without attempts of possessing…
Do NOT try to FORCE thoughts from
your mind – a dark space, empty of movement
is not the goal.
The goal is a burning window with
nothing inside…a window that allows
quick movements and reflexes… a burning
that consumes all thoughts
   Your running and hitting will
create the burning.

   The twelth century mystic, Meister
Eckhart has an expression:

“THE MORE WE HAVE, THE LESS WE OWN.”

   This thought can be applied to tennis.
The objectiveis to clear the mind of extraneous
thoughts,without using strong-armed tactics.
Watch the river flow in the window of your
mind, allow all thoughts and worries
to pass. You might have a problem
with your mortgage, but thinking about it
when you`re hitting the ball is not going to
help your tennis game.
   Once you`ve been running hard, the
endorphin-filled boiling silence of your focus,
this is all you need.
You can`t think as you`re hitting
your backhand – unless you`re just a beginner
and you must remember your form –
recent instructions from your teacher.

               This is important – do not think,
do not try for something other than what
you`re doing, and this ESPECIALLY
don`t judge yourself; don`t put yourself down, berate
yourself mentally in your mind.
               Thinking, “That was a bad
backhand – that last shot….” this quickly
becomes, “I have a bad backhand. I can`t
do a backhand.` These are deadly thoughts.
               Think this way and you WILL
have a bad backhand.

                Judging yourself harshly without
forgiveness is often a life problem. And
such negative self-talk not only becomes
depression. It IS depression
                That and repressed anger
can really mess you up and create tension,
and when you`re tense, you simply can`t
react fast enough at the net.
                                                     Cheers! Enjoy.

Links to this post

	zappadat - W.G. Miln… on ST. MARTIN AND THE VIRGIN
	zappadat - W.G. Miln… on THE PIER?NO! THE PIERRE
	zappadat - W.G. Miln… on THERE’S A CRAZY MAN UPST…
	zappadat - W.G. Miln… on MY FAVORITE OLD COAT
	Angela on THE PIER?NO! THE PIERRE

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Moon of Gondor

___________________

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THE TENNIS PSYCHOLOGIST

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Friday, January 17, 2014

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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

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