Presence 2

I’ve been experimenting with a very simple way of staying present while practicing. 

I begin to sing a warm-up exercise and after a few scales, I ask myself gently, “What is coming into my awareness?” 

I am purposefully using a passive voice in asking this question because it seems to take the pressure off.  I find I am freer to relax and wonder and notice when I phrase the question this way than when I ask more directly “What do I notice?” 

With this gentler approach, I am finding more subtle things come into my awareness and I can enjoy watching them without having to “fix” something right away.  Sometimes more questions arise, sometimes experiments present themselves, and sometimes problems are solved as I notice them. 

Paradoxically my practice feels more peaceful and slow while my progress is accelerating.

I’d be very interested to see if changing the way we talk to ourselves in practice makes a difference for others.  Please  let me know what you find out.