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EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:
VINCE'S GYM
Neo Talks About the Force,
the Dark Side and the Good Side
One day Rock, Harry & I were training heavy behind-the-neck
seated-presses.
I happened to be stronger than Rock who weighed about a hundred
pounds more than me. Rock & I were both stronger than Harry who
weighed fifty pounds more than me & fifty less than Rock.
Neo was doing
his usual powder puff workouts was watching us as he was yelling
out some encouragements to the three of us as we went for our
lifts. The three of us went for a weight that we could barely do
twenty-five reps.
From there we would
pyramid upwards doing as many reps as we could on each set as we
could muster. The final goal would be for each of us to get to a
weight where we would ultimately fail.”
Harry was
struggling with sixty pounds--what some lifter would have
considered a fairly light weight. Then Rock puts on a
considerable amount more at one hundred pounds & does his first
heavy set for twenty-five reps.
Harry starts to
whine & make excuses.
“Well of course
Rock is doing much more than me…he is much bigger…his muscles
are much denser.”
Neo pipes in
sounding just like Yoda from Star Wars, “Size matters not.
Look at Vinny. Judge him by his size do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well
you should not. For his ally is the Force,and a powerful ally it
is.”
I had to re-rack the
weight because Neo’s imitation was spot on and had caused me to
laugh so hard I just could not perform on the set.
“Neo…stop it, I
can’t concentrate with you doing that shit.”
“Control,
control…you must learn control,” sounding like
Yoda again.
I break into
another fit of laughter along with Rock & Harry. We had to wipe
the tears out of our eyes we had laughed so hard.
Finally, I
steeled myself to control my laughter. I said, “Okay…okay, I’m
ready…give it to me Rock.”
Neo (Yoda)
says, “Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight
hundred years have I trained lifters. My own counsel will I keep
on who is to be trained. A lifter must have the deepest
commitment, the most serious mind.”
I resolved to
push through the set despite sporadically snorting & snickering
between reps. I did not do quite as well as I would have, but I
felt satisfied that I managed not to be thwarted by Neo’s
uncustomary fit of tom-foolery. I managed to do one hundred &
fifty pounds for twenty reps.
We proceeded to
do the round robin method, Rock & I going up ten pound
increments for several sets without any interference from Neo.
Harry went up five pound increments.
Harry was very
disappointed with his lack of strength.
He said, “You &
rock are so much stronger than me because of physics.” “My arms
are too long & I don’t have your muscle size & density.”
“What a minute,
I jumped in, my arms are almost as long as yours, & you weigh
more than me…you have as much muscle.”
“I have learned
in physics that muscle density is the key…that’s what I have
been taught,” whined Harry.
“You must
unlearn what you have learned,” says the Yoda sound
alike.
“Yes, I said,
use your philosophy about the chimps, unlearn that you are too
smart compared to them, & then you will be able to lift the
weight because you will not know that you can’t”
This got a few
snickers from both Neo & Rock.
I tried to
imitate Obi-Wan-Kenobi’s voice but did a shitty job of it. “You
must use the force Harry.”
“Yes, a
lifter’s strength flows from the Force,” imitated Neo -
(Yoda).
I said, “Harry,
you got to believe totally that you can lift what other people
will lift.” “For instance today I will finish off with one
hundred pounds over my bodyweight.”
Harry
scornfully said, “That’s two hundred & seventy pounds.” “That’s
impossible, especially sitting down at the end of a workout.”
“Hell that will mean that you will do a hundred pounds more on
the thirtieth set.”
“You’re crazy!”
I said, “I
believe I have a good chance with finishing off with three
hundred pounds.”
Harry snorted
again, “That’s impossible, there is now way you are going to be
able to finish off with two hundred & seventy pounds much less
three hundred.” “You’re just too small.’
Neo – (Yoda)
laughs & says, “So certain are you. Always with you it
cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?”
The three of us
kept going up in weight. Harry actually gets to one hundred &
ten pounds & he struggles & just barely gets it up. Rock does
his set for one rep -- then I did my set for a few reps.
It is Harry’s turn
again & I put ten pounds more than what he had done on the
previous set. The weight was a whopping one hundred & twenty
pounds, which is very respectable considering all the sets that
Harry had done.
“Harry cries
out in a falsetto whine, “Your nuts, I can’t do that…it’s too
heavy.”
I said, “There
is no can’t, just do it!”
“Okay, okay,
I’ll try.”
“No! Try
not. Do…or do not. There is no try.” Neo - (Yoda) mocks!
Rock finishes
off for two hundred & ten pounds & barely gets the weight, but
he is triumphant with his new personal record.
Harry said,
“You’ll never get to your goal.
“Ah…I have lots
of strength endurance, & besides…like Mr. Yoda over there
says…the force is my ally.”
I worked up to
two hundred & seventy pounds. Rock helped me to take it off the
rack & I lowered it down to deep to my shoulders & paused & then
I barely pressed it completely out. My arms were quaking during
the entire movement.
I jumped up &
down out of sheer joy.
Harry was in
awe, “God damn it! If I had not seen it, I would not believe it.
I still have trouble believing it.”
Neo – (Yoda)
said, “That is why you fail.”
I decided to go
for two hundred & seventy-five pounds. Harry starts to scream
his ridicule.
I said, “You
have to believe remember.”
“You almost
didn’t make the last lift,” he warned.
I had Rock help
me to take the weight of the rack & as with the last one I was
triumphant…in fact it was actually easier than the previous set.
For some reason Harry actually looked pissed & contrite.
I worked on getting
psyched up because my goal was to lift three hundred pounds. I
put on two hundred & eighty pounds & just barely missed it. I
tried it twice & failed. Then I went to three hundred just to
feel the weight & of course it crushed me.
Harry laughed.
“I had to try
it & feel the weight,” I said.
It was a great
workout. Rock had to leave & before he left he thanked me for
his best shoulder workout. He thanked Neo for making him laugh.
Looking sour, Harry also left.
Neo & I were the only
people in the gym.
I said, “I know
that we have kidded around before talking about the Force & such
shit.” “I know that you have talked with me that you believe in
this sort of stuff.” “If you do really believe in it…as I think
I do…where does it come from?”
Neo – (Yoda)
says, “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy
surrounds us & binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude
matter, (as he pinches my shoulder). You must feel the Force
around you, here, between you, me the tree, the rock,
everywhere. Yes, even between the carpet in the gym & the
weights that you lift.”
“Come on Neo,
get serious.”
“I am deadly serious mate.”
I queried, “In
the movie the characters talk about the dark side of the force,
& of course I give this credence because of experiences during
non-ordinary travels.” “Do you think there is a dark side?”
Neo said
firmly, “Yes, I do.” “And as Yoda warns, we must beware of the
dark side of the force.” “Even though it was only a movie & Yoda
was really a Henson puppet, emotions such as anger, fear,
aggression --are part of the dark side of the force and when you
indulge in them they can take you deeper down the hole to the
dark side.”
I persisted &
asked, “Well I will ask you the question that the character Luke
Skywalker asked Yoda – is the dark side stronger?”
Neo laughed,
“Yoda says no, that the dark side is quicker, easier, & more
seductive.” “That is why Harry travels on that path, because he
likes to indulge in those emotions.” That is why Harry is quick
to get into fights.”
Neo falls back
in to his Yoda rendition, “Once you start down the dark
path, forever it will dominate your destiny, consume you it will
as it did Harry.”
Snickering from
his foolery as I asked, “Yoda said, that you can tell the good
from the bad sides of the force when we are calm, or passive &
at peace.” “Do you agree with that?”
Neo smiled &
said, “Yes, it is what the Carlos Castaneda books try to teach,
it is what Jesus tried to teach.” “It is what I believe.” “A
person that truly is seeking knowledge & personal power uses the
Force for this reason & for defense, never for attack.” “That is
also what the founder of Aikido Morihei Ueshiba teaches,
& he also believes in the force.” “When you lift weights, many
times I can see you using the force.” “As Yoda said, life makes
the force grow, & your mind & body is part of life that does
this.’
Amazed by that
George Lucas had used all of this for his movie I had to ask,
“Where in the hell did George Lucas learn all of this?”
Neo said,
“George is a very smart educated man & very imaginative.” “He
has done a lot of studying on the subject & as you have learned
there is a lot of literature in many cultures, in many religious
& philosophical thought.”
“Don’t tell me
that George Lucas is another one of your mates,” I countered.
Neo put on a
look of mock contrition, “Nah, but one of his mentors, a fella
by the name of Joseph Campbell is one of my mates.”
“And who is
Joseph Campbell pray tell,” I asked?
Neo mocked me
in good humor, “Vinny, with all of the mythology that ya read,
you don’t know who Joseph Campbell is?”
“I must confess
I don’t.” “I don’t pay attention to the authors whose books I
read.”
Neo said,
“Joseph Campbell is one of the greatest mythologists of our day
& he claims that George Lucas is his finest student.”
I said, “What
do you think about levitations?” “Do you think that people can
learn to use the force to levitate large objects like Yoda did
in the movie?”
Neo – (Yoda)
ignores my question. He says, “Nothing more will I teach
you today. Clear your mind of questions. Hmph, heh, heh.”
The Neo laughes
& starts moving towards the door, “I got ta run Vinny, later
mate.”
I laughed &
pondered on our conversation & I marveled at Neo’s skill of
memory & mimicry.
Much later, I
watched a pirated tape of “The Empire Strikes Back” & I was
further amazed at the accuracy with which Neo quoted the
conversations of Yoda. I wondered if his memory was actually
that good, or did he obsessively watch a pirated tape a few
hundred times to get the patter down to point.
I will never
know
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One Primate's Search For Intelligent Life
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(JUDGMENT DAY)
ADVENTURES IN MARINE BIOLOGY
THE MARINES: GOD'S CHOSEN
WARRIORS
CONVERSATIONS WITH NEO
NEO TEACHES ME THE ART OF WAR
& PEACE;
His Version of The Matrix
MEMORIES OF MY FATHERS
ZEN & THE ART OF RESISTANCE
TRAINING:
A Yogic & Scientific Approach To Weight
Lifting
ZEN & THE BIOLOGY OF
TRANSCENDENCE:
The First Matrix of Psychic
Phenomena
ZEN & THE ART OF KINESIOLOGY:
The Yogic & Scientific
Approach To Movement
ZEN & YOUR ENERGY SYSTEMS
ZEN & VARIOUS ASPECTS OF
TRAINING
HOMEPAGE TO VINCE'S GYM
HOMEPAGE |
