State & Performance

I recently sat a piano exam. Naturally I used many of my own techniques to help me remain calm and relaxed through the process. I learned some very useful things as a result.

The last piano exam I sat was 16 years ago! I know, it seems not all that long ago. However, it was ages ago! So, in essence, I was embarking on an unfamiliar experience. I'm also a long time out of school or examinations of any kind.

Right up to the point of the exam I was relatively relaxed and calm. I was even philosophical, knowing I had already achieved the level of play. This was valuable in itself to me - knowing I had raised my skills to this new level.

However, when the exam started I felt a little bit nervous. Not much, just a little flutter. Because I had made my state such a primary focus, this little flutter got my attention. So I became aware of it and started to engage with it. As the exam progressed I would say my state had too much of my attention and my piano playing got too little. My mistake was to make my state more important than was useful.

In the performance of music, the head game is quite significant. As in, the level and the nature of focus can make all the difference in the world to the success of a performance. To become too conscious can tip a performance as much as can zoning too far out and losing the place. However, this head game is only in part in the state - for example of relaxed muscles - but predominantly in the activity. In the nature of attention towards the task at hand.

In applying a state to a situation, it's at its most useful when the state is secondary to the situation and not the other way around.

Incidentally, I passed the exam and learned some new lessons to boot! (o:

Andy Murray - A Scottish Champion

Regular readers will know I love tennis. So Andrew Murray's win at Queens on Sunday was a brilliant celebration. I know he's British. And the first British player to win in 71 years. However, he's Scottish. And to any Scots person this counts for a lot. He may even be the first Scottish person to win ever.

On winning the title he went over to his guests box and shook hands with his team. Trainers, coach, physio and family. It was a good reminder of what it takes to create a champion performance.

Most of us have a team. People who's opinion we respect, professionals and specialists in their fields. Family and friends who provide us with support and encouragement. Author's, musicians and historical figures who inspire us. Any pursuit is made all the sweeter for having a team to share the wins with. Not only that - it's usually easier too.

"I would rather have 1% of a hundred men's efforts than 100% of my own."

John Paul Getty

Who do you really value in your 'team'? What about them really makes a difference to you?

Can A Book Change Your Life?

Is it possible to experience life change through reading a book?

The ‘popular psychology’, ‘self-help’ or ‘personal development’ sections of book-sellers are swelling with volumes aiming to help us make out lives better. Do they?

I’m an avid reader of self-development titles. Some books ‘speak’ to me more than others. I’d say three main factors come into play in determining how useful a read is:

• the rapport I feel with the author
• my commitment to following the exercises and ‘trying it out’
• a good balance between familiar ideas and the unknown

In no particular order, these 5 books changed my life:

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
I read this on taking up Tai Chi in the early nineties. I’d just returned from an art residency in Holland. My mind was hungry for new perspectives and to keep challenging my old ways of thinking.

The Power of Intention by Dr Wayne W Dyer
The subtitle is quite appropriate for this blog entry. “Change the Way You Look at Things and the Things You Look at Will Change.”

Creative Dreaming by Patricia Garfield
A friend recommended this book to me. A wonderful voyage on dreams and the way they are used in different cultures. It led to my keeping a dream journal for a few months - pretty enlightening.

The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra
This is a great read for exercising perspective, seeing the world and life differently. An antidote to self-importance and a reminder of the importance of getting on with it according to your own truth.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
I loved and hated this book. Pressfield is uncompromising and invites the reader to really confront their true level of commitment to making their art. I participated fully and so really value this book.

It's not only books on self development that have the capacity to change our lives.

I'd love to know what books changed your life? Share your views and / or your list in the comments tab below.

(o:

Have an Average Day

I'm reading life coach, Michael Neill's new book Supercoach. One of the sessions in the book discusses the wisdom of having an average day. Or aiming to be average.

It's so counter-intuitive and yet it's such a useful antidote. Our cultural ethos has become more and more about excelling. Doing the best we possibly can in all we do. And then do better and better and ... well it can take the fun out of it after a while!

We've all heard the work/life balance equation being banded about. Well, how about the being average/being super amazing balance?

We're all pretty brilliant. We have people in our lives who value our presence - before we say or do anything. Even where these people maybe make demands of us - their demands are often more a reflection of how they feel about themselves, than of how they feel about us.

Knowing that we only have to be ... to be brilliant, can take the pressure off. And taking the pressure off is often the way to be more brilliant! Fun, isn't it?

Here's an example of it at play!

I'm currently preparing for a piano exam. A while back I decided to set myself the goal of achieving a pass with distinction. What happened was counter to progressing my ability. My relaxed, fun practices became tense. Every error became a mistake rather than an opportunity to identify what I was stumbling on. It was like a different person stepped into my body and did my practice for me.

After a while I decided - "okay, let's pass and if it's with distinction great and if it's not that's good too." My practice immediately returned to being a relaxed and enjoyable affair ... for the most part. I know my ability will grow more effectively working this way.

Having goals is great. Burying ourselves in them is not all that helpful in achieving them.

If it's worth doing - it's worth enjoying doing it (o:


You can find out more about Michael's work here.

Yoga Nidra

I have been practicing yoga nidra recently. For any of you who are not familiar. It's a relaxation technique. It involves lying on your back on the floor and following a set of instructions. These include: becoming aware of parts of your body, counting your breaths, creating vivid visualisations and staying awake. The staying awake part is the challenging bit! The counting and the visualising only become a challenge when you drift off.

The practice is aimed at promoting healing in the mind, emotions and body. It's derived from the yoga tradition. It interests me greatly that the object is to remain alert when everything in the practice is now known to promote deep trance states. Scientifically I mean, not just the fact that I doze off! (o:

Focussing on one thing to the exclusion of other things is commonly used to promote a hypnotic trance. Becoming aware of and counting breaths - a function of the unconscious mind itself - is also used to create hypnotic states. Not only that, you are counting your breaths backwards!

It's a challenging practice. One that has a lot of value in the modern world. Our lives are filled with stimuli for our already busy minds - it's a great practice for taking that roller-coaster out of gear.

How do you like to unhook from the rambling of mind? Do you have any particular activity or practice you enjoy?

Om

Soul Music

Kutara is a magically unique recording combining the music of improvised voice and harp.

Heather Golding - also known as Huulanaya - dedicates her life to transforming the lives of others through colour and music. On Kutara she collaborates with classically trained harpist, Victoria Davies, to produce a calming and uplifting weaving of sound for the soul.

It has a quality of recordings based on ancient chants. However, these ancient chants have meanings and are dedicated to a specific philosophy or belief system. On Kutara there is no meaning beyond the sound. It comes to you, like colour, naked in its eternal transience.

This recording will help connect you to your stillness - your soul will answer to the call. I know it's possibly not for everybody - you can go and listen for yourself at the Huulanaya website.

Speaking for myself - I'm delighted Heather is here, with the courage to sing from her soul. My world is richer for her being here. Thank you Heather.

I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts after you've listened at Huulanaya's website - please use the comments tab below.

Namaste

What Does It Take?

What does it take for you to take action?

Do you have to get up close to a deadline before you take action to meet it? Does your partner have to leave you before you realise how much you love him/her?

I watched the animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame last night. At one dramatic point in the story, our hunchback hero, Quasimodo, was imprisoned in heavy chains at the top of the tower. While in the court below, his gypsy friend, Esmeralda, was about to be burned at the stake. Quasimodo looked down and felt helpless, wallowing in thoughts of, 'it's no use.' The flames were licking her ankles before Quasi desperately broke free and came to her rescue. His hesitation was great for dramatic tension.

Leaving things we know we're going to do until the very last minute creates drama. Often in the form of stress or panic. This can even become habitual, in that it creates an adrenal rush. Many people believe they need the rush of adrenalin, late nights and coffee in order to perform effectively. Although this is universally not true, until they do it differently, it's their true experience.

Stress has been demonstrated to inhibit performance and not enhance it. It also impacts on the ability to communicate effectively, often leading to misunderstandings and compromised relationships.

So what can a 'last minute junkie' do to turn things around? Here are a few suggestions for starters:

1. Instead of creating challenge through the drama of last minute performance, aspire to achieve more challenging goals - raise the bar.
2. Regularly engage in an activity that allows you to relax and let go of any pent up stresses.
3. Spend a couple of minutes at the beginning of each day visualising yourself doing all the things you want to do easily and in a relaxed way. Make sure you're relaxed while you do this and give the visualisation your full attention.
4. Create clear priority lists including all your current deadlines in all areas of your life.
   
5. Regularly take a moment to review your delegation, where it's working well and where it could be more effective. Invest time and attention in communicating with your team.

Recognise that whatever it takes for you to take action - you're in charge. If your experience of meeting deadlines could be better - take this as useful feed-back to experiment. Make changes until you enjoy an experience of your choice.