Sunday 29 January 2012

Zen?


    This post follows on from the last one.

    It was a crisp and clear dawn, -3 and the river still had some flow. It was business as normal, it felt good. It is a place of wonder and spells for me. Others on the same day just didnt have the same experience, they left the river questioning ability, place, and performance. They left with doubts. Looking as 'what if' and 'worse case scenario'. 

    The result of this for many is that they freeze up, focus on potential negative outcomes which loops as feedback in worse performance and a negative mobius bind they are unable to release from.

    I have tried here to explain my own rational for dealing with mind games, it may help others.
    I have, for this reason decided to write as a reply to an email, it may answer these questions for lots of people.



    'First off I guess what you feel in the negative out come is insecurity, am I right? Its not fear in the surrounding per se, but fear in your own mind, your own thoughts and ability. If this is true, which I expect it is, the following will be of help. You can get the long winded approach in the book 'Inner Skiing' and for some part in 'Tibetan Book Of The Dead'.

    It is natural to have mind games, everyone has, but the ability to develop from these is key. Your river reading and skill sets you have are obvious - you have too many years under your belt for that.

    Let me quess, yesterday, after that tricky hole- you had fluffed one, perhaps two strokes, perhaps you rolled. Then in the eddy you saw the river simply run away, the grey walls closed in and no obvious break and rest appeared. It is only a guess but when you fluffed, you began to doubt yourself. This had a domino effect on you, right?

    Fuffing is fine, the human body can fluff, can miss its beats. When you walk to the pub and trip over the curb does that spoil your night? No. Is doesnt why would it? Boating is the same, the body/mind knows what it is doing, christ you would not be in the flow if it didnt. Simple mistakes really dont matter. Believe it or not they are not life and death choices. If you look at the Llanberis footage I fluff the lead in, does matter mind you.

    This leaves us to the mind games, whilst you can scroll down this blog to the essays I did on Fear, or to Doug Ammons site it is perhaps of minimal use, words always seem to fall quiet and unused in some ways. But lets look at it another way, lets look at a river you know well.

    Lets look at the graveyard at CT, although it could be any river you can mind map. It is my quess again, but I am sure I am right, that you launch in at the top, paddle over to the big eddy before setting off down the flow. On the way you will take some eddys on both left and right, before pausing in the large eddy on river left, near the gate and white sign (it has some EA info). This sign, this eddy is the crux of the whole top of the graveyard, just like splat rock is for the lower half.

    All the moves you have made, whilst you have made many times have always been as a result of the big eddy by the sign. You have had the confidence to make the moves because, at an unconscious level you have had a fire door a place to escape if it all goes wrong... You see this lots with groups.

    So if we establish that you are happy and confident if you know you have a fire door to run out off it it gets too hot, all we need to do is look at ways to put fire doors, escape routes on rivers without the feeling of failure.

    It is never a failure to walk, or portage.

    The question you need to ask is simple.
    1) are you ready to accept the worst case out come of a move.

    I had to explain this to another group yesterday.

    For me a worse case scenario is dynamic, it changes with each stroke, each movement. The mind does it for you. Yours said, 'hang on, lets get the f**k out'.

    We need to ask why, what was it to be scared of. For you a worse case on the river is one of a few things. Its either a roll, a swim, or and perhaps more so, dinted pride. We know, you and I, that a roll fails from time to time, no issue. A swim from time to time, no issue. Few bruises, end of discussion. Its the Pride thing, the ego game, whether you know it or not. We crave a meaning to our actions, our own mind, our sense of self. Ego is the only word we can use in English. It is perhaps a close link to French as jouissance or the objet petite a, if we look at it as a missed piece. The one we chase in our mind. I only assume that your mind, the monkey analytical mind, made the choices for you, it then moved your body like a puppet? This for me that is, should not be of concern.

    Who does it matter to? It matters to no one but you, its not even like your mind is that bothered, since it blocks you at every turn. Then annoys you for it. So we need to keep telling the mind to 'shut the up, stop telling me I cannot do it, nothing makes me want to do it more than been told I cannot'. Red pill blue pill time if your a Matrix fan.'

    As readers I expect you will disagree with some of these points I have raised, please do. It will then allow you to grow. 

    Remember you never failed.

Thursday 26 January 2012

The importance of the simple breath, a meditation in action.


The river still flows, it rolls and tumbles on its dance. We pause; focus with intended heart beats for what we are set to do. Our stroke rate is of little concern, the edge and angle of our boat foolish to think about. All that we can know that is fact, that is known to be the truth, is the simple breath, our inhale, our exhale. For some it calms, that slow sucking of air to the lungs, the pleasant push as we let it escape our lungs. Physically it slows the heart, but it does more. The breath, this single life point, does not distract – it does the opposite, shedding the illusion of set isolated movements. The breath like the flow is a constant. No stop, no start.

In the calm on these simple moments, in the calm of the simple breath – that is all that matters, all that will ever be of concern. 



Our thoughts and mental picture often, so often, become torn. Our sound track, lifes memorable audio, plays on the worn grooves and broken stylus record player. Our own memory is not that which we think. Tricks of the mind happen daily. Are we ever truly centred, in the moment. We think of a multitude of objects and distractions, driving we often forget how we got from A to B. We take no time. Happy to be fooled by our our mind, by the passing minutes. We flick from social media to TV, from the text alert to the mp3 player. We dont even pause to eat. A snack at the wheel, a drive thru too many.

The same is true of our river experiences. We name and shame the river. We name and shame our experience. Rapids like 'Graveyard', Tombstones', 'Devils punch bowl' all force the river to be an impression before we even commit to a line. Names always shame our experience. Stout, Full On and such like. Just think, for a moment, how does this matter to you? When we paddle, content to be engrossed with each stroke, with the technique, with all these distractions we are tainting the language of our own connection. We offend, thinking of this 'all'- but our own place on the river. Deserves more. This a real standard for this impression, we focus on that which is not of truth.

Our truth is to be calm, to focus on the breath, to breathe alone. This will open the door to further exploration. Without hinderance. Motor techniques, the paddle strokes, the optical and physical effects of choosing how to edge, speed, dynamic feel etc. All these will come to pass in the moment of the breath. The in and out. We are with the river, we are not to be distracted from it. The river is fluid, it rolls and falls, tumbles and grows. It is both an infant and an adult all at once. In its movement it is all – past, present and future. It is more than we can give it credit for.

Many, too many, go to this haven for less that it deserves. The river doesnt care about our missed stroke, it doesnt laugh and ridicule us. We have no place to be concerned with this. All that is of concern is the way we, each moment, experience the flow.

Coaches and instruction books cannot teach this. The personal moment – thats it. We need look no further than our own self reliance. Human skill, faulted, will cope. We can walk without thinking about the technique. Paddling, with the right level of attendance - the right skill set, can also do the same. We need to embrace our skill sets, but we need to understand how they interconnect with our 'oneness' - our breath. To learn skills, set in place without connection holistically is futile. It will only ever alienate us from the reason we strive to be in the flow.

 ALL IMAGES A.BUTLER

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Pioneers


On the road up to the Braldu, my heart slowed, sad and quiet. We crossed the Indus and kept driving. It was a long day, made longer by the rushing waves of the river at roadside. In the isolated hamlet we sit. Cold tired, beated kayakers.

The Braldu rushes from K2, in our minds a ball of knots and confusion. 12 months previously almost to the day, we were on the Dudh Kosi. It was in the footsteps of Mike Jones that we walked, silence and tender steps. Now on the eve of my return to the Dudh Kosi I have looked again to Mike and his pioneering spirit.

We are lucky to be in a sport that has pioneers like this. Perhaps Walt or Rob, Shaun or Jim. Mentors, should they want to be or not.

Friday 20 January 2012

The 2012 Lecture series takes off with a trip to Explorers  Connect. 

 

Plymouth Explorers - 1st February 2012

on 1st Feb 2012 Venue: Treasury Café-Bar-Restaurant, Catherine Street, Royal Parade
Entry: £4 (or £15 pa)
Type: Networking
Event
The evening will be very interesting with a topic that hasn't been explored yet! Our guest speaker Daz is planning to Kayak down Everest, a challenge that should not be undertaken lightly. Daz will be introducing himself and his previous adventure history then taking us through the expedition plan.

This will be a very unique evening for Plymouth Explorers.

This is a great  opportunity to talk to like-minded people; so come along, invite your friends and join our community. Joining will bring you plenty of opportunities and benefits.

Treasury Café-Bar-Restaurant, Catherine Street, Royal Parade,
Plymouth, Devon. PL1 2AD
Wednesday 1st of February from 18:30 until 20:30

The talk will begin at 7pm.

Over the past 20years Darren Clarkson King has kayaked some of the world's most challenging rivers and countless classic descents. He is a writer and has just finished the text for White Water Nepal (3rd Ed), a guidebook to the rivers of Nepal with Peter Knowles.

For more information about Darren please click here:

To discuss further options please email:

Monday 2 January 2012

Tibet and the birth of the Bhote Kosi






Over xmas myself and Dave were discussing our adventures in Tibet, An old copy of Paddles magazine , with pages loose and stained by coffee cups, was found. Now over half a decade later Pure Land Expeditions are proud to offer Tibet expeditions for our valued guests. We have the amazing Reting trip that is perhaps the best value trips in Tibet. This is suitable for both rafters and class 3/4 kayakers. It is offered for a limited time and for limited numbers. 

Contact US now for the schedule and price details.