Today is a day to celebrate! Rowdy has cracked it! Only a week ago the thought of taking Rowdy off piste in difficult snow or on steeps was out of the question. He just simply would not cope – the fitness didn’t seem to be there and the technique seemed miles away. The constant returning to stemming (basic swing) was defeating any progress. Now – all of a sudden – he is there! I ski down a steep slope in difficult snow and he is still behind me in control and not sliding down on his back as it has always been in the past. Was it pure perseverance? Was it the unique exercise reducing the turn transition into an almost slow motion event – so it could perhaps be more clearly perceived? Was it focusing better that raised awareness? Was it a combination of all of this? Normally I’m firmly on the side of “technical” solutions but in this case I suspect that a shift in focusing brought the result. Rowdy was constantly being overwhelmed by his unconscious movements and they ran the show in a tyrannical fashion. He could manage specific exercises in controlled circumstances but everywhere else the unconscious took over again. At least 95% of everything we do is due to the unconscious brain. There was a general lack of awareness of the lack of awareness acting as a firewall protecting the unconscious. When Rowdy realised that he was easily distracted and not strongly focusing internally and that the unconscious mind was taking over then he could see that he had to respond differently. Knowledge of the need to re-program the unconscious mind and the mechanism to do so then gives you access to re-programming it. Focus has to be internal and unshakable – because that is what does the re-programming. Suddenly all of those unconsciously imposed moves vanished. Rowdy felt like a different person skiing – no ego – no judgement – only observation and feedback. That’s what happens when you are centered through focusing internally. You use a different part of your brain – perhaps the right hemisphere – the non symbolic part – the part which observes. In drawing you achieve this by looking at negative spaces – the spaces surrounding the object – and by avoiding looking at the easily symbolised object. In skiing you don’t focus on skiing – you focus on what you are doing internally and you impose it regardless of the external world, fears or emotions. This process has to be engaged even before moving.