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A practice implies engagement in a ritual.
A practice may be defined as the dedicated, daily exercise of commitment, will, and focused intention aimed, on one level, at the achievement of mastery in a field but, on a
loftier level, intended to produce a communion with a power greater than ourselves — call it whatever you like: God, mind, soul, Self, the Muse, the superconsciou...
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A PRACTICE HAS A SPACE
Order Commitment Passion Love Intensity Beauty Humility
A PRACTICE HAS AN INTENTION
Our intention as artists is to get better, to go deeper, to work closer and closer to the bone.
WE COME TO A PRACTICE AS WARRIORS
The sword master stepping onto the fighting floor knows he will be facing powerful opponents. Not the physical adversaries whom he will fight (though those indeed serve as stand-ins for the enemy). The real enemy is inside himself.
WE COME TO A PRACTICE IN HUMILITY
WE COME TO A PRACTICE AS STUDENTS
Even the peerless sword master Miyamoto Musashi entered the fighting square to learn as much as to teach.
A PRACTICE IS LIFELONG
Once we turn pro, we're like sharks who have tasted blood, or renunciants who have glimpsed the face of God. For us, there is no finish line. No bell ends the bout. Life is the pursuit. Life is the hunt. When our hearts burst... then we'll go out, and no sooner.
The other thing about the changes
Rosanne made after her dream is that she didn't make those changes to earn more money, or achieve greater fame, or to sell more records. She made those changes out of respect for her craft. She made them to become a better artist and a more powerful musician.
You and I can do it, too. We can work over our heads. Not only can we, but we must. The best pages I've ever written are pages I can't remember writing.
Two key tenets for days when Resistance is really strong: 1. Take what you can get and stay patient. The defense may crack late in the game. 2. Play for tomorrow.
Our role on tough-nut days is to maintain our composure and keep chipping away. We're pros. We're not amateurs. We have patience. We can handle adversity.
There's a third tenet that underlies the first two: 3. We're in this for the long haul.
The amateur believes that she must have all her ducks in a row before she can launch her start-up or compose her symphony or design her iPhone app. The professional knows better. Has your husband just walked out on you? Has your El Dorado been repossessed? Keep writing. Keep composing. Keep shooting film. Athletes play hurt. Warriors fight scared. The professional takes two aspirin and keeps on truckin'.
SIT CHILLY
The pro sits chilly. She focuses on the horse and the wall. She keeps her seat.
My worldview is pretty much that of the Masai. I believe in the shaman. I wish I had a shaman. If I had a shaman, I would have breakfast with him every morning, and whatever he told me to do that day, I would do it. Better yet, I wish I was a shaman.
Our job, as souls on this mortal journey, is to shift the seat of our identity from the lower realm to the upper, from the ego to the Self. Art (or, more exactly, the struggle to produce art) teaches us that.
