Practice Practicing

Coffee Art

Why the resistance to practice?  Oh, we do it, but often it’s because we must.  For instance, if you want to learn to play the guitar, manage differently, or change communication styles you must practice what you are being taught.  There is immense joy in learning something new, mastering something we had only dreamt of, but why does the road to that joy often include the hidden mind stories of “when will I get there?” or “why is this so hard?”  In other words, why do we diminish the joy by not being present to the practice just as it is without the internal banter? 

It’s as if there is something wrong with practice.  We say that we know it is necessary to practice, that there’s nothing wrong with the mistakes that inevitably inhabit practice, yet the internal mind, if you’re observant, is often belying this point.  If you don’t believe me just tune in and listen the next time you are practicing.  There are numerous reasons for this internal critic that demands perfection with some being cultural morays, our own hidden agendas, belief systems, and family and systemic programming.  But that can change.  You ask “how can it change?” and, of course, the answer is with practice.

This learning to observe what is actually going on in your mind is possible but you must begin where you are.  Just for today pick a situation you found yourself in and see if you can pick out the different “voices” present during the encounter; things you thought but didn’t say.  Once you do this (practice) for a while you will even begin to catch yourself in the act, hearing the voices as they actually arise or sensing the discomfort in your body.  These voice are just trying to help but as adults we intuit that this help is not actually useful and that we can just be present to what is without the internal (usually meaningless) commentary. 

So today, just begin where you are with patience and compassion. No use wishing you were already somewhere else because you miss today’s learning opportunities. If you have some experience with observing I’m curious as to how you practice opening to chatterbox mind or check out this 90 day sampling Rhonda and I are offering.  Either way I’d love to hear your story into deeper Abiding.