Different types of psychology


Take 12 Strokes Off Your Golf Game By Overcoming Cathexis With Kenosis - What?

Every summer for the past five or six years Ithe way. Every golfer knows that the mental
have reread Scott Peck's quirky book aboutgame plays a big part in a golfer's success.
psychiatry and golf, Golf and the Spirit.Golf involves the often difficult paradox of
Peck is probably better known for his bestrelaxing and concentrating at the same time.
selling books about his experiences andGolf cannot be played well if ones mind is
insights as a psychiatrist, such as, A Roaddistracted with all kinds of thoughts,
Less Travelled. In Golf and the Spirit, Peckwhatever they may be about. Somehow, it is
combines his love for golf and what golf hasbest to be thought-less. The mind must be
taught him about the human condition andemptied,  which  is the beginning of kenosis.
relates that to his years as a psychiatrist,
and what studying the human condition thatAnother concept Peck returns to often is
has  taught  him  about  golf.called cathexis. This word describes the
human condition of developing an emotional
If that sounds a bit convoluted, well,investment in destructive behaviour. It is
paradox is one of the recurring themes in theapplicable to golf as it is many things in
book. Peck says in the introduction thatlife. We can't change because we can't give
reading the book might take 12 strokes ofup the emotional investment we have in our
your game, and it might not. His advice onbehaviour,  how  that  behaviour  defines us.
the physical and technical sides of the game
is simple, keep your eye on the ball and takeI am often surprised, yet I guess not really
a nice easy swing, and, watch a good playerbecause I have done it too, at how often I
and imitate the swing. The book is more aboutsee golfers at the driving range make the
the mental part of the game, and thesame bad swing time and time again, somehow
behaviour that is required to succeed at golfexpecting a different result. If you want to
and  in  life.change the result you have to change the
swing, the stance, the grip, something. I
Peck, who has spent decades as a golfer, andfound that my game started to improve when I
now, unable to play, creates his imaginarystarted experimenting. What will happen if I
dream golf course on a tropical island. Instand with my feet closer together? What
each chapter he plays a hole on the course,happens when I draw back a bit farther on my
reflecting on memories of past experiences,backswing? Eventually, you find out what
both as a golfer and a psychiatrist. Alongworks and what doesn't work. In the process,
the course, he ponders issues like, why it isyou give up the emotional investment in one
so difficult for people to change, evenway of doing things. It is a form of kenosis.
though they want to, whether it is correcting
your golf swing to get rid of a slice orI can't say for sure if Peck is responsible
someone trying to overcome an addiction andfor taking twelve strokes off my game, but my
everything  in  between.game has definitely improved since reading
and rereading his book. I think there is a
A couple of the recurring themes arecorrelation. Learning to overcome cathexis
difficult concepts that define difficultwith kenosis is probably not being taught at
words. Peck returns again and again to themany golf academies. But read the book, relax
concept of kenosis, the idea that to changeand enjoy it, and your game will probably
you must empty yourself of self. Self gets inimprove.



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