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

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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!)

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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.

Disrupt & Discover!

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When is the last time you placed yourself into an experience—an event and people who are totally new to you?

The fabulous room for my session, “Discover & Design the Life Your Desire.”

It’s been ten days since the EPIC International Summit in Santa Barbara, California. While I had an inkling of what it would be like, as I presented with my buddy Jill Langer at the online Summit last year, live and in-person was so different! The setting was gorgeous—The Music Academy of the West— and you could feel the energy in the room. 

When you have stepped back into special events, have you noticed any differences in how you engage with people, process new experiences and information, and socialize?

The number of participants felt just right—comfortable yet with opportunities to continuously meet new folks at meals, special sessions, and events. There was also time to be on our own—which I really appreciated! I love meeting people, having conversations, and participating in activities, I also want time to think and feel into what I have been experiencing.

My representation of my plans is on the right… my duck is on the left.

Given the opportunity, do you often go for new experiences or re-visit a methodology or technique to approach it from a new perspective?

I joined a session led by a Lego Serious Play facilitator because I loved the content. Truth be told, I was hesitant. My first experience with Lego Serious Play was no fun at all. Happily, the combination of the facilitator, peers at the table, content, and my attitude created a really fun experience with great conversation… and a Picasso-esque duck, plus a representation of my future plans. (Truth be told, I did have a moment where all I wanted to do was visualize/draw my plans… but I let that go.)

When you reflect on your time uncovering new ideas, asking questions, learning, engaging in deep conversations, and gaining a sense of camaraderie, what are your conclusions about your time devoted to the endeavor? 

I had plenty of time to savor and reflect upon my three-day experience. I brought business cards (which I thought might be a thing of the past), and I loved sharing and receiving them (perhaps because I am so terrible at remembering names, and they become little crib sheets for me). The cards are a reminder of the people, our time together, and the total experience. This was time well-spent. 

We found many vellela vellela—By-the-wind Sailor—on an afternoon beach walk.

We lived the Summit’s themes of, “disconnect, disrupt, and discover.”  Though it was challenging to “disconnect” —to put aside my phone, ipad, and computer—it was also a delight. Disrupting ways of thinking and being was fun and took me outside my comfort zone. Discovering new people, ideas, practices, and more left me brimming over.

How do you plan to amplify your experiences?

I have already contacted a half dozen folks about continuing our conversations. It feels wonderful, generative, exciting! 

I am a firm believer that we do not need to physically travel to different places to have the kinds of experiences I describe above… though it can be easier to jumpstart the creative process when we do.

I’d love to hear what you have done lately to shake it up for yourself—and the impact it has had on your whole life.

Getting it just right!

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Tuesday’s session, Sketchnoting Makes Your Notes Come Alive!, was the epitome of an engaging session for everyone involved. It held all the elements of a stellar experience. I LOVE working with teens!

The Scene

The room was sitting room only—in a room set for 90 students, there were 100, so some were sitting and working on the floor in their business attire/nice clothing. (This was the annual FBLA/ Future Business Leaders of America conference for Pennsylvania—5000 students, and their advisers were attending.)

The students were:

  • early 
  • present and attentive
  • curious
  • vulnerable 
  • excited to learn
  • willing to experiment and step outside their comfort zone 
  • totally engaged 
  • responsive to my questions 
  • hungry for resources 
  • full of ideas
  • receptive to key ideas that might run counter to what they were hearing in their other sessions, such as: 
  • learn the methods, then create your own style—lean into it!
  • when you make a mistake—and you will because you’re human—learn from it and try again. (This was made real by my difficulty drawing a star in the way I planned—one of my signature icons, and I didn’t like what I drew… I called it an “epic fail” {perhaps a bit of hyperbole}, and yet they saw me make a mistake, in my area of expertise, in front of 100 people, call it out and move on to do it again better.

How often do adults show their vulnerability in front of teenagers? Or presenters in front of their audiences? 

After learning and practicing icons, graphic elements, figures, lettering styles, and layout (in this 45-minute session), the room erupted in conversations when given the opportunity to chat with a neighbor. They reveled in talking about their newfound skills.

Perhaps most exciting were their responses to my query about how they would use their new skills—every day in their classes because…

And their feedback, shared on sticky notes as they left the session, revealed their enthusiasm for the content learned and the experience. One young woman came over to speak with me after the session. She said, “This is what I love to do!” She showed me an origami crane and moved it. I loved it! I was so impressed that she had made it with a 3-inch square sticky note that I had given out for sharing their thoughts. She then gave it to me as a gift.

Just like the students in my session. This is one experience I won’t forget. 

When was the last time you completed a session, feeling energized, confident, and committed to using your new skills? I hope it was not too long ago!

Discovering themes in our choices

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A few weeks ago, in my graphic memoir course, I was asked to reflect on books I read when I was about 8 to 13. It was a surprisingly daunting task for me. I remembered some books, including a series, but I was surprised by my short list as I had a bookcase full of books!

I enjoyed reading, although as a kid, I also loved playing outside with friends in the neighborhood, going for long walks with my best friend and my dog, doing craft projects, and going to new places. I felt like I must be forgetting some important books because I really did love reading. 

We were to create a zine/tell a story about our discoveries… Initially, I was stymied!

So in my effort to discover more books, I posted about the challenge I was having on Facebook. And happily, many folks responded, refreshing my memory and expanding my list a bit, which now includes:

  • Pippi Longstocking
  • Nancy Drew
  • Walter Farley series about horses
  • Misty of Chincoteague
  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Peanuts comics

I would certainly have more titles to add to the list if I visited the local library…

Perhaps even more important than the list’s creation was identifying themes in reviewing the books that mattered most to me. The theme that stood out for me was that of girls having adventures. It is truly one of the threads in the tapestry of my life. I am a girl who is continuously seeking and having adventures!

Whether you are thinking about your youth before adolescence, the books you’ve read, and their influence on your life, or choosing to reflect on the same questions from your reading over the past few years, what do you discover?

What themes or threads weave together to create your tapestry? 

What do you make of your answers? What intrigues you?

The books I’ve been reading over the past few years, spanning my professional and personal lives, reveal additional themes. From a quick mental review and glance at my bookcase, I discover new threads:

  • my continuing interest in education, neuroscience, interpersonal communication, compassion, resilience, healing through breathwork, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and meditation
  • my search for meaning
  • ways to increase connection with myself and others (Nonviolent Communication)
  • spirituality and Buddhism
  • living life to the fullest/living life every day, dying, death, ritual creation
  • creating a daily practice, both in my professional life—around drawing—and in my personal life around spirituality
  • different facets of writing—haiku and graphic memoir
  • in fiction, memoirs, autobiographies, and novels, I choose to read women authors; in nonfiction and poetry, I read a diversity of authors

If I go further afield and consider videos and podcasts, that might include learning more about different forms of craft and art—Zentangle, bookmaking, watercolors, and fluid acrylic painting.

I am delighted to focus on the details of periods of my life, reflect on the subtext of what appear to be almost random choices and dive into a  more rich understanding of who I am in the world. 

I wonder how books have influenced you at different times in your life. I hope you will share your insights with me.