activity

More Thoughts on Practice: The Group Experience

by ultrapeg

For those of you still debating the wisdom of taking a class, here are a few more thoughts on the subject.  I recently listened to a Radio Lab program called “Emergence” which provided several stories highlighting the power of the group.  From the behavior of insects to the production of brain waves, forces working together and synchronizing their activity can result in outcomes that would never be possible for each individual acting alone.  Examples presented were as diverse as groups of fireflies silently lighting up entire forests to ants selecting a queen or eliminating invaders from their space to the human brain deciding to have a cup of coffee.  In every case it took a “village” to bring about the desired outcome.  Interestingly, in each of these cases there was not necessarily a leader giving directions.  Just a seemingly simultaneous, perhaps instinctive decision to work together.

This concept can be extended to many things, of course, but in particular to taking classes.  Group behavior can be more powerful than each individual in the group.  Many people often tell me that they like to practice at home by themselves.  They read books or watch videos providing instructions about various disciplines and follow along on their own.  This is great and certainly has its place as part of an overall practice strategy.  But sometimes we really need the reinforcement that joining with other practitioners can provide.  This doesn’t mean that we agree with all of the others all of the time.  Or even that we behave in the same way as other members of the group.  It simply means that there is strength in numbers and it can be reassuring to have the support of others doing the same things you’re doing at the same time you’re doing it.

For me classes, or whatever other form of group practice one chooses, can provide discipline.  They help me to set aside a specific recurring time to incorporate my practice into my daily life.  The most important aspect of any practice is to actually do it.  The more one does it, the more it becomes a habit.  This doesn’t mean that it never changes.  But it does establish a regular pattern in our lives when we can focus on behavior that is important to our well-being.  The benefits received will then ripple out to all of the various groups in which we participate including families, friends and community.  None of us exists in a vacuum.  We all need to help each other.  This is just one more way we can do that.

Continuing Reflections on Change

by ultrapeg

Today was an absolutely glorious day in the Black Hills!  A tantalizing reminder that winter really won’t go on forever.  Of course, as Mark Twain said, if we don’t like the weather we can wait a minute and it will change.  This is just one more reason to enjoy each moment while it lasts.

How about taking a lesson from our weather and recognizing that change is happening all the time all around us.  Externally and internally.  So when you think that you will always be a certain way because that’s the way you think you’ve always been, my favorite philosopher/astrologer Caroline Casey would say “until now!”  Very little is etched in stone.  And even if it is, the stone is likely to erode or crumble at some point.  Change is always possible.  It’s all a matter of attitude and perception.

In a recent article in Tricycle Magazine, Sharon Salzberg, a well-known meditation teacher, reflected on mindful meditation as being “ like going into an old attic room and turning on the light”.  She writes:

It’s never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn’t depend on how long it’s been running; a shift in perspective doesn’t depend on how long you’ve held the old view. When you flip the switch in that attic, it doesn’t matter whether it’s been dark for 10 minutes, 10 years, or 10 decades. The light still illuminates the room and banishes the murkiness, letting you see things you couldn’t see before. It’s never too late to take a moment to look.

Change doesn’t always happen instantly, though, even when we really want it to.  Sometimes breaking an old habit can be tough.  It requires practice and a recognition that the change may take some time.  First a commitment is required and then a consistent effort to let go of the old and familiar and bring in the new and unknown.  But I believe all things are possible with commitment and practice.  We’ve all heard the old story of a musician being asked what it takes to get to Carnegie Hall and answering “practice, practice, practice”.  There’s another old saying – “fake it ‘til you make it”.  Sometimes going through the motions of practice is enough to maintain the consistency until you can feel it happening.  Be patient and kind to yourself.  Give yourself a pat on the back for following through on your commitment.

In my classes I will often hear new participants lament “I can’t possibly do that move; I’ve never been able to do that move.”  My own experience tells me a different story.  There was a time when I could not do that move either!  But I kept trying and eventually, with practice, I found (sometimes to my surprise!) that I was actually doing it.  Maybe not perfectly by some standards, but well enough to know I was receiving the benefits.

As a firm believer in practice, I hope you will just keep at it.  Whatever you are trying to accomplish, keep practicing.  Be confident in the knowledge that change will come.  Maybe not the way you expect it, but it will come nonetheless.