// BLACK BELT TIMES

TECHNIQUE
How to Switch Off Your Brain

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[by Dr. Randy Borum]
PHOTO BY THOMAS SANDERS

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f youre like most people, you struggle with negative thoughts or self-doubts from time to time. They can get worse when youre under stress or pressure. Its bad enough when those thoughts cause discomfort or anxiety; its intolerable when they adversely affect your performance. Your rst response is often to resist the thoughts and try to force them to stop. Ironically, that can make them worse. This oddity has been the focus of Harvard professor Daniel Wegners research for more than two decades. He often describes it as the white bear problem. In Winter Notes on Summer Impressions, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky made the following observation: Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and youll see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute. Wegner and his fellow researchers decided to put that to the test. They asked people to think aloud for ve minutes but to avoid thinking of white bears. Guess what? They mentioned white bears about once every minute. So trying not to think about something doesnt necessarily make the thought go away. But heres the real kicker: There was a rebound effect. After ve minutes of thinking aloud while trying to suppress the white bear, the

researchers gave the participants permission to think about white bears for the next ve minutes. They mentioned white bears more frequently than they did during the rst interval. In fact, they mentioned them more frequently than did another group that was given the same permission but that wasnt rst told to suppress the thought. Conclusion: Not only might our attempts to snuff out negative thoughts be ineffective, but they also can make matters worse. Some psychology researchers seem to think that this suppression-rebound process can explain how clinical obsessions start. So if youre bothered by negative thoughts and if trying not to think about them doesnt work, what should you do? The answer may lie in a practice called mindfulness. It blends principles of Eastern philosophy with Western psychology, but its different from Transcendental Mediation. Its not a religious practice and doesnt require any particular brand of spirituality or faith, but it allows you to deal with your thoughts without ghting them. Like a gentle martial art, it enables you to defend against an attack by owing instead of using force. The essence of mindfulness is simple. Its about being quietly

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focused on the presentthe here and nowwhile nonjudgmentally observing your thoughts. The description may seem a little too new age, but its founded on a couple of practical assumptions. First, by staying in the present, you avoid the cause of most nagging thoughts and distractions. When negative content creeps in, its usually about something that has happened or might happen. Being mindful is being fully in the present. Second, by learning to observe your thoughts without reacting or getting caught up in them, you take away their power to control you. Thoughts are just mental events. They arent necessarily true. They dont necessarily reect reality. And they need not dene who you are. Research shows that mindfulness interventions are effective for managing stress and even controlling pain and reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Mindfulness-based stress-reduction programs are being taught in hundreds of hospitals in the United States. Its easy to get started on your own with the guide presented below. Just remember that it takes practice. Learning not to get frustrated is part of the journey. Find a quiet place and time so you can sit comfortably without being disturbed. Close your eyes. Dont worry about your thoughts yet; just focus on your breath and body. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm. Make sure your stomach extends before your chest does. Inhale through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth. Breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of eight. Start with three deep breaths, then resume breathing regularly at a relaxing, steady pace. Keep your mind fully in the moment by focusing only on your breathing. When thoughts or worries pop up, acknowledge them without evaluating or labeling them, then return your focus to your breath and to the present. Thoughts arent good or bad; theyre just mental events that youre observing. For example, if you nd yourself thinking that the exercise is silly, say to yourself, I just had a thought that this is silly back to my breathing. After youve spent a few minutes listening internally and focusing on your breath, listen to the sounds around you even the sound of quiet. Dont evaluate, label, criticize or comment; just listen without judging. When youre ready, slowly open your eyes and observe the room as if youre seeing it for the rst time. Allow your eyes to rest on some spot or object and remain there for 30 seconds. Observe it without thinking about or evaluating it. Move on to another object and stay there for the same amount of time, then to another, all the while allowing yourself to be aware of your breath and your body. When youre simultaneously sensing (but not analyzing) your environment, your body and your breath, youre fully in the moment. The steps are simple, but staying in the moment takes practice. Set aside a time twice a day for the next week to practice mindfulness. Im sure it will help you prevail over negative thoughts without ghting them.

3,000 YEARS AGO, PANKRATION CHANGED THE MARTIAL ARTS FOREVER.

Striking, grappling, submissions... Greek pankration has it all.
And now the legendary Jim Arvanitisinternationally known as the Father of Modern Pankrationshows you how this cornerstone of the earliest Olympic Games directly inuenced the modern techniques of todays ercest mixed-martial arts ghters.

Game of the Gods: The Historical Odyssey of Greek Martial Arts

by Jim Arvanitis
Topics include: submissions and counters grappling escapes, sweeps and reversals takedowns and takedown defenses ground-and-pound techniques knees, kicks and hand strikes myths and traditions evolution of Hellenic combat arts methodology and technique

Learn the ancient Greek combat theories to improve your MMA game NOW!
Book Code 484 ISBN-10: 0-89750-155-1 ISBN-13: 978-0-89750-155-2 8-1/2 in. by 11 in. 230 pages ONLY $24.95!
About the author: Dr. Randy Borum is a professor at the University of South Florida. Hes also a certied sports psychologist. For more information, visit www.blackbeltmag. com/archives/who/.
www.blackbeltmag.com / DECEMBER 2008

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! www.blackbeltmag.com (800) 581-5222

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