Gladwell, Malcolm. "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking." Bay Back Books. France. 2007.
Review: I am always amazed, I shouldn't be by now, at what is out there that teaches us why we do what we do. Blink is one of those books that turns a light on inside my mind.
In martial arts we talk about the mind, the state of mind-no-mind, and about being present in the moment but there is more to that then these teachings. We talk about the mind, conscious and unconscious (the logic mind, the monkey mind and the lizard mind, etc.), but we don't really spend much time learning how the unconscious mind actually works and the why it works to well especially when we need snap judgement and instantaneous responses or actions.
Blick helps open the door to that process and explains just how much we depend on the unconscious, a faster processing part of the brain, to achieve instant answers or in the field of martial defense - actions.
The rub is once you understand how it works and learn how to acknowledge it for what it is you, like in mind-no-mind, simply forget about it and then be more accepting as to its purpose, function and use in life and in defenses as they apply to life. It is an amazing journey. I started reading and could not put it down till the end. I am at this writing starting the second reading of this fine book.
