I just finished reading a very interesting article in New Scientist called Teach Your Brain To Stretch Time. The article begins by talking about how this Scottish guy claims to be able to stretch time and, thanks to this learned mental ability, he has become a better squash player.
The moment I read this, I was immediately reminded of an other-worldly experience I had just two years ago in which I had found myself playing volleyball in slow motion. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but it sounds very similar to what this article in New Scientist is talking about. They say it’s a state of mind called “the zone”.
According to the article, my personal experience could be attributed to the heightened chemical levels present in my brain as a result of the phenomenal week following our joyous announcement of Emily’s imminent arrival. But who knows. It would be a wonderful thing to be able to summon this state of mind at will and enter into the zone when desired. It all seems so Zen.
After the first couple of paragraphs, the article talks mostly about the biology, psychology, and chemistry of this phenomenon. While all very interesting, I wish it told more about this guy’s personal experience with entering the zone to play squash. Have any of you experienced anything like this?
I don’t know if this is the same zone, but when playing cello with an orchestra or quartet I often find myself “waking up” – playing the piece without consiously watching the music or moving my fingers, and then coming back to myself and needing to return to concious thought, uncertain of where I was before, what I might have been thinking, or how much music/time has gone by. It’s definitely part of being “in the zone,” but as I said, not necessarily the same “zone.”
That’s awesome. Unconscious aptitude. I have a recurring Douglas Adams-inspired daydream in which, if I could just take my mind off of the reality of the situation and zone out, I could step off of the top step of a flight of stairs and just keep walking on air until I Wile E. Coyote myself.
You know, I kind of have the feeling that time is stretching for me very frequently. I’ve never heard it called “the zone” before – I tend to refer to as “The British Council”.