How Mindful Music can increase our enjoyment.
In my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHATâď¸đľ, weâre doing a deep-dive into our Book Club selection! This week is Chapter 9 of BECOMING AN ARTIST: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity by Dr. Ellen J. Langer.
In Chapter 9: From Reference to Preference, EL describes how we often go through our lives so mindlessly that we fail to engage with the world around us.
To illustrate this, EL shares many funny stories. Like the time she visited an art museum with a friend, and the museum hadnât finished putting up all the exhibitions. A set of curtains hid one of the unfinished sections. Much to their amusement, a couple entered the building, saw the curtains, thought the curtains were the art, and âproceeded to wax eloquently on the âartâ they saw before them.â EL and her friend couldnât help but laugh. But then, she realized, âI think the joke was on us. That couple clearly enjoyed looking at the curtains; we had barely considered them. They mindfully engaged the curtains and created a work of art for themselves, which they enjoyed greatly.â
My MINDFUL Conclusion:
On the one hand, lack of attention is sometimes necessary so we can focus on the priorities in our lives. After all, if we paid equal attention to everything, weâd be far from efficient or effective.
But, on the other hand, when we fail to engage with whatâs in front of us, we lose. There are many missed opportunities. If we mindfully engaged with whateverâs in front of us, we could enjoy our lives so much more.
My MINDLESS Mistake & My MINDFUL Plan to Correct It:
Last week, I shared how, when I was a kid, Iâd mistakenly assumed the best way for me to study piano was to learn it the way most people study it: by focusing on traditional Classical music. And, when my teacher didnât encourage me to explore my preferred styles, like pop, I ultimately quit the piano. Leaving me to lament what couldâve been.
I realize now, this is exactly what EL means when she says â[W]e all exhibit a strong tendency to mindlessly take the world as it is given to us, and in so doing, we give up much more control than we realize.â
The Solution?
âWe canâŚlearn to choose our passions actively, to become mindfully attentive to them and totally involved in them. In such complete engagement lies a real benefit of mindfulnessâââwe become attracted to that which we engage. Whether it is a painting or even our own appearance, mindful exposure to something increases our enjoyment of it. In essence, the more we see it mindfully, the more we like it.â
My Plan:
To apply this Mindset to renewing the vitality of my piano practice.
But, I wonât be limiting it to practicing scales or learning new pieces.
Instead, I intend to practice piano with the Mindful intention:
đ To heal myself.
đ To forgive myself for not knowing better when I was a kid.
đ For giving up too easily on what I wanted at the time.
đ To celebrate my willingness to right that wrong, so many years later.
đ¤ My Hypothesis
I wonder, how will this Mindful intention to heal myself, to forgive myself and let go of my regret change the tone of my practice?
I hypothesize that itâll feel strange to approach the piano bench with this Mindset in mind.
I am so used to focusing on mastering the technical aspects of music.
What might happen if I focus on the internal, emotional experience of it, instead?
Now, take a Mindful Minute, to ask yourself:
âď¸ Think of your chosen Creative Practice.
âď¸ Do you tend to over-focus on mastering the technique?
âď¸ What might happen if you focused on noticing your internal, emotional experience instead?
I hope that you will join me. Because we can all heal when we embrace our âMessy Middle.â
Because we deserve it.
And we deserve to do it in a well-regulated way, too.
Because our Nervous Systems donât need to be traumatized to grow.
In that spirit, Iâve recorded the attached song for you & for me.
To remind ourselves, we are FREE.
To feel good.
To embrace our Creativity & live our life wholeheartedly.
đ§ đ¨ The Singing Creative in Me đ¨đ§
đ§ đ¨ honors & respects đ¨đ§
đ§ đ¨ the Singing Creative in Each of You, đ¨đ§
Marisa