Routine/Ritual: Practice, Practice, Practice

Musing…
”Ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert-in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or twenty hours a week, of practice over ten years. Of course, this doesn't address why some people don't seem to get anywhere when they practice, and why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.”
      -- from the book This Is Your Brain On Music, The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

Kate’s Turn:

I LOVE this fact!  It promises me results if I show up with perseverance. Of course, one needs to choose the areas you want proficiency in to invest those hours of practice. I have experience of this in many areas of my life: cooking, learning Spanish, sailing and other sports, my professional work, etc.  And most recently, learning watercolor painting. And currently, tap dancing!!! Even in the 2^nd lesson, I improved to my great delight. 

There is another practice that could be implied here: doing something daily to support your creative energies. During my morning walk, I ground myself, and remind myself of my expansive and creative nature. This daily reminder creates myself anew.  It is a time to reflect on how I create my life each moment, in my thoughts and in my actions. Am I practicing for the results I wish to achieve?

Get Fired Up:

Review all the things you’ve become accomplished at, simply through practice. 

Reflect on this question:  What am I creating for my life?

Have you heard about the guy who asked the taxi driver “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”  The taxi driver replied, “PRACTICE!”

Routine/Ritual: Get Clear

Musing…
"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." -- G.K. Chesterton

Charise’s Turn: 
I didn’t say grace before beginning this writing, but I did do something I call “clearing”.  Clearing is making the space for the best possible outcome. You may have heard of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and the technique of writing when you first wake up, writing without correcting, without stopping, emptying thoughts and feelings on paper. It’s basically a dump – it may be valuable in and of itself or it may be valuable to get the dump out of the way so something else can come through. My friend Debra also refers to a “verbal vomit”, where you spit out your thoughts even if they seem off track or unpolished in order for some organization to follow.  

Clearing is simple. It might look like this: I say to myself “okay” and breathe quietly for a few moments. It might be a matter of bringing my hands together in prayer fashion and ask that what I’m about to do benefit myself and everyone else involved. It could be lighting a candle to bless the moment. These are all rituals that put import on what I am doing and also honor the power my actions have to make an impact, however tiny or large.

Get Fired Up:

Choose a way to get clear before you engage in an activity/endeavor/pursuit – 

several deep breaths, saying an intention to yourself, lighting a candle, saying grace or blessings, spitting out thoughts (on paper or verbally) until you get to an “ah” or an "aha" that clears the air for something new!