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James Dodson

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proponents of the modern game peddle complicated technical systems that motivate players to hit shots primarily "for pathetic approval rather than the sheer joy of the experience."
   Everything one needs to learn about the process of how to learn, he insists, was in place within most of us by preschool. "Education philosophy peaks with show-and-tell in kindergarten. You learned to watch, to copy, to experience for yourself the results. True learning is experiencing and learning not to interfere with the body's own wisdom-its own way of accomplishing the task
   "People spend years in Tibetan caves trying to learn this stuff but it's really right in front of us! Especially in golf It's not New Age thinking. It's been around thousands of years! But a lot of teachers these days have students so busy thinking about what we 'should be' doing in a golf swing and they end up thinking instead of hitting the ball. And, the harder they try, the worse it gets, victims of these belief-generated behaviors.
   "I call it 'talking to body parts.' No more talking to body parts! Change the beliefs and you'll change the behavior! I'm going to tell you the key to playing better golf and why golf really is easy- it's really about complete acceptance of who you are. How do you learn to hit a golf shot the way you want to? The same way

"He's great for someone who knows who they are, and who are not afraid to open their minds."

you learn to break-dance or learn a move in -aikido. This is beyond the TV commercial that says, 'Just do it'! It does itself! This is not mysticism; this is neurophysiology!"
   Shea's own breakthrough to such enlightenment came over three decades ago when he read Tim Gallwey's Inner Game of Tennis, which altered his perceptions of how "non-interference" could lead to better results in any game. A passionate reader of history and philosophy, he also came across a story told by Buddha which affected him deeply.
   "It was the story about the prisoner who was condemned to walk along the road carrying a jug of oil on his head. If he spilled a drop, the guy behind him would take his sword and lop his head off. Well, one day he was walking on the road when the most beautiful young . woman on earth passed by, returning to her village after taking the world by storm. There was a crush of people trying desperately to catch a glimpse of her, and the prisoner knew that if he dared to try and see her, he may well spill the oil and lose his life. But he also realized that he had this rarest opportunity to experience true beauty, perhaps this moment only-¬so, guess what, he looked! He risked it all, he chose freedom!"
   Shea's own look-his freedom-came .... continued