NEIL COWMEADOW - THE EXPERT GUITAR TEACHER IN TELFORD. GUITAR TEACHER AND AUTHOR. GUITAR LESSONS THAT WORK! DEDICATED TO TEACHING SINCE 1999 - ACCELERATED LEARNING TECHNIQUES: LEARN FASTER, PLAY BETTER, AND UNDERSTAND...

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The Thursday Thesis
Thoughts and Lessons from Life & Guitar Teaching

Episode 052 - The Book, or The Balloon...?

15/6/2017

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Picture
Physica Subterranea - A Handbook of Alchemy. Science Museum London. © Neil Cowmeadow 2017
Hear the Thesis
The Thursday Thesis  - 16/06/2017

“Close Your Eyes...”

Where your mind goes, your body follows: it’s true for everyone and for everything.

And when I’m working with students, this is my favourite demonstration of the importance of mindset.

Try it for yourself by listening to the audio version of The Thesis, right now.


I ask the student to close their eyes, and start to feel more deeply relaxed. Now I ask them to hold their arms out in front of them at shoulder height with palms upwards.

I now tie an imaginary helium balloon around their right wrist, describing how the balloon looks, the colour of the ribbon knotted around their wrist, and I explain that the balloon is lighter than air and will – obviously – begin to lift up their right hand, so there’s no need to resist the rising sensation, because it’s a balloon-thing...

Now I ask them to prepare their left hand to support a copy of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica which I’ve just bought from a second-hand bookshop. I describe the book’s binding, the gold lettering on its spine and front, the thickness of the book and how heavy it is as I “place” it onto their uplifted palm. I explain that the book is very, very heavy and old; that it is dusty and that the paper is yellowed by the years.

Guess what happens – the “balloon” hand rises, sometimes a little, more often, rather a lot. But the “book” hand sinks downwards, sometimes shaking with the sustained effort of holding up that dusty old tome.

When I ask the student to open their eyes, they can see a huge difference in hand position. I ask them which was heavier, the book or the balloon?

“The book”, they tell me.

“What book?” I ask.

There is no book, and there is no balloon. The important point here is that your body will behave according to what we believe to be true.

In other words, whatever we believe, that’s how it is for us.

So, how do you want it to be, for you?

You alone will decide: the book or the balloon.
You choose...


© Neil Cowmeadow 2017

Please  Like and Share The Thursday ThoughtCast with your friends, family, and anyone else. I’d love to hear your comments, along with any ideas you’d care to hurl at me.
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    It's Like This...

    The Thursday Thesis shares ideas which I think are worth spreading.

    I'm Neil Cowmeadow, the Guitar Teacher and Guitar Technician, based near Telford, Shropshire.


    My aim is to share some of the discoveries and cool stuff that took me a lifetime to learn - so you don't have to replicate the effort.


    Along the way, I'm also going to debunk the mountains of nonsense and pretentious claptrap that put people off playing music, writing songs, and having more fun in their lives.

    Along the way, some of these posts might  challenge your assumptions and ideas.
    Pick up a nugget of cool stuff, here, and throw it into the waters of your life.
    The ripples you'll create will spread outwards...

    I may also wander off into politics, literature, or any other place I damn-well please, but if you're cool with that, read on....


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