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New York SOAR-Fest October 4th

Please see details at the end of this email.

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Washington SOAR-Fest September 6th

Dinner is $50 per person including tax and tip.  To reserve a spot, please send a check to
Roger Mattioli at 410 5th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 as soon as
possible, but no later than August 23rd. If you have any questions, send e-mail to roger@rmattioli.com.

Turbulence



Turbulence is a problem. It is not a problem for the pilots. It is not a problem for the plane. It is a problem for the mind. The problem exists there, in the mind, and nowhere else. It does not exist in external reality, but only in internal reality.



I don't know if we will ever find a way that will change how an anxious person thinks (or feels) about turbulence. But recently, I noticed some relief when I have told clients on the phone that pilots have THIS problem with turbulence. You are flying along just fine in the cockpit and you get a "ding, ding" on the intercom. And your peaceful flight is interrupted by irate flight attendant. "What the hell are you trying to do to us back here?" To which I response, "What are you talking about?" And the flight attendant says, "Why isn't the seat belt sign on; it's bumpy back here."



I've even had a flight attendant -- after that kind of conversation -- come up to the cockpit and give me hell for not having turned on the seat belt sign earlier. She told me she had just come back from six weeks off due to a badly sprained ankle she got in the rear galley during turbulence. She accused me of being completely uncaring whether she got hurt again.



I told her that I fully understand that the back of the plane moves around more than the front. I fully understand that they have to wrestle those heavy carts back into their storage slots. I understand they have to put things in the galley away. But, I told her, we just don't notice the turbulence like they do.



Flight attendants want us to turn on the seat belt sign at the first indication of turbulence; they want to have everything stowed in the galley -- particularly the rear galley -- before it gets bumpy enough that they might get hurt trying to slip the carts into the storage slot while the tail of the plane is wiggling.



Pilots have only two problems with turbulence.

1. You might get a coffee stain on your white uniform shirt.


2. You will catch hell from the flight attendants.

As to coffee stains, they may never completely come out, but so what. As to the flight attendants, we can't seem to get it. We can't seem to turn on the seat belt sign early enough to satisfy them. Why? Because we can't get ourselves to notice the turbulence. We have gotten so used to it that we not only don't notice it -- we can't notice it.




When It Comes To Turbulence Pilots Are Oblivious - And Need To Be



You might worry, then, that the pilots are not paying attention to turbulence. But why should we if it is insignificant? To give you the idea that turbulence really matters would only reinforce the false idea in your mind that turbulence is something to be concerned about. Pilots don't notice turbulence because their Reticular Activating System filters it out of awareness so they can focus on things that do matter. See: www.fearofflying.com/wordpress/?page_id=136 Via the RAS, the pilot's mind filters out stuff that is of no consequence. If the pilot's mind didn't filter out meaningless stuff, it would be too filled with trivia to work well. To a pilot's mind "turbulence = trivia".



Here is the problem for you. That can register intellectually. But to change how you feel when you fly in turbulence, you have to pay attention to turbulence. You have to NOT block it out, or even try to. You have to study it. You have to take it in. You have to form a Reticular Activating System "chunk" so that it becomes in your mind, too, "turbulence = trivia".



There is, however, a major block in the way. That is "psychic equivalence". When flying, I'm betting that you have run a scenario in your mind during turbulence that you are in danger. You may have even imagined the plane out of control or going out of control. Once you run that scenario a few times, you memorize it. When you memorize it, you store that imagination in the mind in the same place you store fact. Thus, when the false information about turbulence you have memorized comes to mind, it comes to mind as fact. This is psychic equivalence; you believe that what is in your mind and reality are one and the same.



A clever attorney can inflame a jury and leave them convinced of something that is not true. You need to carefully -- and skeptically -- assemble the contents you accept mentally, the way you hope a jury would accept only clearly established facts if you were standing trial.



Deceive Until They Believe



Today, sixty percent of the public believes that off-shore drilling can lower gas prices at the pump. Insane. But psychic equivalence is the form of insanity that gets certain kinds of politicians elected. They use fear to get your attention. They put something untrue repeatedly in your mind. You unknowingly memorize it. When you recall it, it has the feeling of truth. That is not because it is true, but only because it is stored in the same place in the mind as things that are true are stored. Psychic equivalence is the political equivalent of "money laundering". Repetition causes memorization which makes the brain (via psychic equivalence) launder falseness away.



It is the thing that happens in your mind about turbulence: memorization (and psychic equivalence) that makes it "feel" true. That's what you are up against with turbulence: memorized imagination.



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New York SOAR-Fest October 4th


You don't need to have taken the SOAR Course. This is open to anyone
interested in flying problems. It is an opportunity to meet and share
experiences with people who feel like you do.



The restaurant, which serves classic French cuisine, has received excellent reviews since it opened in 1977.







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Discuss Or Schedule An Individual Session -- Call 877 332-7359



Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)



You'll reach me easily. The toll free number rings my cell phone.

• find out how I can help you with flying
  


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• set up a time that fits your schedule

Outside the U.S. and Canada call 203 258-4803

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