Watching the movie Men Who Stare at Goats recently brought back memories of some of my mental training I received in USMC boot camp way back in 1961. When you enter boot camp you are issued two pairs of boots you are to alternately wear to break them in. My ankles refused to work after just a few weeks into training as I fought to march around the grinder (they call it that for a reason). Eventually I was dispatched to the tender care of Navy medics and although most boots like myself immediately a received a diagnosis of malingering I was spared and transferred to a recovery platoon for light duty while my ankles recovered. I always suffered pain during training, but I learned the mental tricks of getting through it that have served me well all my life. One trick I learned was to focus on other trainees and keep telling myself that if they could do it I could do it. I also focused on footsteps and emphasizing every count in my mind. This trick works by shifting your awareness. Another trick I learned watching my mother cope with her pain. She would gently tap herself on her chest at regular intervals. Unfortunately, this trick wont work for me lying immobilized in medical machinery so I got my doctor to prescribe Vicodin which I will take prior to radiation treatment or PET scans. No I have never tried to stop a goats heart, but I do think there may be something to this, but would be hard pressed to explain a scientific reason why it may be possible.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:02:56 +0000
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