Those videos of cats jumping when they see a cucumber are so funny! I just roll every time.

When you think of these imprints, they play major roles in our lives. This is especially true for people who do dangerous things, like soldiers, fireman, and police. But almost any job where danger is on the line, there are shapes and images that stick out in our minds and elicit a response.

The reason I bring this up is I caught not even a half second glimpse at the back of an open pickup truck this morning driving into work. The light wasn’t even very good. And after I parked my truck, I went over to confirm what I saw. It was a side discharge chute from a lawn mower. Mine falls off all the time while I’m mowing. I just bought a new one recently so it was imprinted in my mind.

I also went running on the trails today. I didn’t worry much about snakes because they don’t like the heat at high Noon. They stay in the shadows since they can overheat. But the look of a snake on the trail is something I never forget. Although, sometimes I see a small tree branch or something and think its a snake. But I can usually spot a real one from a long way away.

I’m sure people see when a stitch is wrong in crochet. A quarterback sees a defensive formation at a glance and knows what’s coming. A policemen notices a movement inside a car that looks troublesome. A metal worker sees a bad bulge or bead without even thinking about it. A tennis play knows by the language of a body and spin of a racket if a lob, a curve, or whatever English is put on a ball.

This is so true when I teach yoga too. It happened when I was an Army Drill Instructor too. I can glance down a line of people and, in less than a second, I can see something out of place. I can see a body and know what’s possible. I can usually see when a bind is possible or where depth can be found.

I’m starting to see things with Thai yoga massage too. I can see just how a body lays, how a person breathes, and how their body moves or reacts to touch; I can automatically figure things out.

This imprinting in our brains leads to heaps of intuition. Its tells us what to watch for. It makes us react in a certain way. Never underestimate what signals your brain receives to shapes in your environment. You can train yourself how you respond to those signals. It can be a very positive tool for life.