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Loving my daily practice! How’re you feeling about yours?

What makes daily practice easier?

I’m an Advocate (with a capital “A”) of daily practice, and have learned a thing or two over the past few years about what supports me in achieving consistency in this special endeavor. I have created guidelines for myself that I reflect on before diving headlong into a new practice period. (I love defined beginnings and endings.)

What about you? When was the last time you sat with yourself, perhaps enjoying a beverage, and mused about what makes practicing and growing your craft (whatever it might be) easier, more fun, and successful?

I’ve just concluded Bijou’s* Be Well, 21-Day Zentangle Journey. That experience and another, with mindful stitching every day, reminded me of what keeps me engaged in the “daily-ness” of it. Here are my realizations:

The practice needs to:

  1. be immediately clear to me—what am I working on today? 
  2. be brief—15 to a maximum of 25 minutes per day
  3. the set-up for the work has to be simple or left for me to come back to easily (without taking over a portion of our home)
  4. provide a sense of completion in my chosen timeframe (I don’t have to finish a piece though I have to find a place to stop comfortably to feel accomplished)
  5. keep me moving forward—revisiting a rusty skill, refining a new technique, deepening my competence, or broadening my repertoire
  6. bring me pleasure or joy—”plorking” (playing and working) with the materials, having fun messing about, achieving my desired result (these last two areas sometimes occur on their own and sometimes in concert—think of a Venn diagram)

I learned with the mindful stitching practice—making a small square or rectangle a day using one or more stitches and/or threads—that I:

  • had to work too hard to think of what I would do
  • didn’t want to put the work down until I finished the square for the day—because who wants to fall off the schedule?
  • worked for too long (and I saw my evenings evaporate)
  • had to learn too much to be able to move forward at my desired pace.

Of course, I could have engaged in a kobayashi-maru** (changed the conditions of the work to be done) but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I finished the month, am proud of my work, and won’t do that again! 

On the other hand, the Bijou’s Be Well 21-day Zentangle Journey was perfect for me! It ticked all the boxes. And because I loved it so much I went a bit beyond my (self-imposed) timeframe, making multiple tiles of some patterns) because it brought me such joy.

I have just started Tammy Garcia’s ICAD/Index-Card-A-Day Challenge. (You’re not too late; it just started yesterday, lmk if you join!). I have started it before and had a little trouble staying on track because I’ve had to think about the prompts I want to use instead of just taking hers (which don’t always feel like a  fit for me). However, since I’ve just come off such great success with the Zentangle Journey, I am all in. I will say that my good buddy, Julia, is doing it too, and the incentive to do it together and support each other over the 61 days (because that’s a long time!) has bolstered my resolve. Another important piece to this is that I am focused on fun and experimentation—leaving “results” to show up as they will. That wasn’t true of my tangling days, as I am very focused on the end result there… This will be a fun shift in perspective! Perhaps you will join me?

I know that I have waxed on about the joys and challenges of daily practice. It is my hope, (as it was my intention), to ask you to reflect on your (perhaps)unarticulated) guidelines for ensuring that you are growing and enjoying your daily practice—whether it’s drawing, tangling, painting, gardening, running, writing or…

I would LOVE to hear about how you stay on track; please tell me!

I’ll be posting my ICAD journey on insta @jillig, though my Zentangle play is on insta @letstangletogether. I hope you will visit and chat with me there!

 

(*FYI—Bijou is the name of a type of tile/paper we work with in Zentangle and the name of a whimsical, wise character/personality in Zentanlge lore.) You can learn more here, https://zentangle.com/blogs/blog/bijous-be-well-bundle-a-21-day-tangling-journey)

** for all you Star Trek fans out there

Hey there, how are ya?  (All answers are accepted!)

What are you thinking and feeling about your mental health at this moment?

What’s your immediate reaction to me asking you this question? 

If someone asked me that question out of the blue, I’d think, “Good!” and then pause for a beat to check in with myself, going more deeply into what mental health means to me…

If I asked you to describe “mental health” what would you say? 

When I think about it, a vision of a color wheel/circle pops into my mind, representing the various areas of my life—relationships, work, play, physical health, emotions, safety/security (physical and financial), participating in/giving back to society… and feeling equanimous in these areas. Of course, adding the critical recognition that life is full of change, we experience a range of emotions and work with our feelings and thoughts, tapping into our resilience skills, and perhaps connecting with others, to create the path back to greater clarity, calm and focus when needed. 

In recognition of May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I should share something more substantial than my thinking… In searching for a description, I discovered, 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (World Health Organization. Promoting mental health: concepts, emerging evidence, practice (Summary Report) Geneva: World Health Organization; 2004.)

I dug a little deeper, discovered, and prefer this description, 

“Mental health is a dynamic state of internal equilibrium which enables individuals to use their abilities in harmony with universal values of society. Basic cognitive and social skills; ability to recognize, express and modulate one’s own emotions, as well as empathize with others; flexibility and ability to cope with adverse life events and function in social roles; and harmonious relationship between body and mind represent important components of mental health which contribute, to varying degrees, to the state of internal equilibrium.” (From World Psychiatry)

Let’s reconsider my question. 

I’d venture to say that we all experience times of disequilibrium and the need for support in regaining our sense of harmony.

What is the variety of easily accessible methods you use to regain your equilibrium? My list includes the following:

  • meditation 
  • guided visualizations
  • reaching out to a caring, supportive friend who will listen deeply*
  • taking a walk by myself
  • making time to sit in the sun with a cup of coffee 
  • making art
  • tangling/stepping into the Zentangle experience

* Whether for myself or with others, I am clear about helping, fixing, and serving. I take my cue from Rachel Remen.  “So, fundamentally, helping, fixing, and serving are ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak; when you fix, you see life as broken; and when you serve, you see life as whole.” (See the full piece here)

And so, I offer up a few of my tangled tiles, created as a part of the 21-day Zentangle journey through May as Mental Health Awareness Month. I hope they inspire you to take good care of yourself, find what serves you, and reach out to me if I can be of service to you in crafting a life of equanimity. Take good care.

Making Time to Be Here Now

As I sit down to write this week, I am filled with swirling thoughts and emotions. While I want to share my ideas and questions around my work, to connect with you and be of service, I am also keenly aware of the heaviness in my heart.

I love to focus on what brings me joy and areas that challenge me in my work yet I need to honor this moment in time. I am not just my work. Even when I am working, I bring all of me to everything I do. So I am going to pause now because it feels right.

Perhaps sharing some of the resources that I use to be in-the-moment/present to challenging times, and finding my way through, to tap into the strength to make change—personally, interpersonally, and societally—will be of interest and support to you. Here are some of my tried-and-true, and also a few newer-to-me gems.

Books

  • The Healing Power of the Breath, Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg
  • The Joy of Appreciative Living, Jacqueline Kelm
  • Dynamic Relationships, Jacqueline Stavros & Cheri Torres
  • A Fearless Heart, Thupten Jinpa
  • Radical Compassion, Tara Brach
  • Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg
  • Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman

Magazine and Sites

More Resources

I also use these tools in my work and personal life:

  • Points of You card decks:  The Coaching Game and Punctum—for reflection and insight
  • www.zentangle.com—for peace, calm, joy, beauty

 

It’s my hope that you will add your favorites—books, sites, podcasts (I didn’t even go there!), card decks, and more— so that I may expand my cache of resources. 

If you are curious about any of these resources, please contact me. I am passionate about their impact on my life.