KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER


An excerpt from The Power of Daily Practice 
by Eric Maisel, PhD

Are you trying to finish your novel? Do you want to build your own business? The impact of having a consistent practice focused on your life goals cannot be underestimated. Prolific author and creativity coach Dr. Eric Maisel has been working with artists and creative people for more than thirty years. His new book, The Power of Daily Practice: How Creative and Performing Artists (and Everyone Else) Can Finally Meet Their Goals (New World Library, September 8, 2020) is a thorough and holistic approach to meeting the goals and challenges of creating an authentic and effective daily practice.

We hope you enjoy this excerpt from the book.

In my experience, the simpler the practice, the more powerful it is and the more likely you are to maintain it over time. One reason that it ought to be kept simple is that if there is even a whiff of difficulty or complexity attached, it becomes really hard to crack through everyday resistance and get to your practice.

You wake up in the morning. Maybe you’re going to write, and maybe you’re not going to write. On one side of the ledger is your desire to write. On the other side are all of your bad feelings about your current book manuscript. Those bad feelings produce a heaviness that as likely as not will prevent you from writing. If, however, you have a simple daily practice in place that begins with a super-simple mantra, like “I write every day,” you’ve increased your chances of writing on that day, even as heavy as you feel.

If you feel heavy and you also have to face a complicated practice with lots of demands (A thousand words every day, damn it!) and lots of moving parts (Is the temperature sixty-eight degrees? Is the light coming in from the east? Has the rooster next door crowed three times?), that emotional heaviness combined with practice heaviness is a recipe for a writing day skipped.

Simplicity is both a cognitive sort of thing and a felt sort of thing. As a cognition, it might be a thought such as “I’m off to my practice” or “Time to practice” or “Here I go!” As a felt sort of thing, it is the same body lightness that comes when you anticipate something being easy. It’s like a sigh and a smile rather than a groan and a frown. It’s like a pillow rather than a rock. Picture something being really easy. Feel the ease in your body?

You might combine these two ideas, of simplicity and of ease, into the following ceremonial mantra: “I’m light, and I’m off to practice.” Imagine how lovely it would be if every day you were able to say, “I’m light, and I’m off to practice.” Can you remember the childlike simplicity of running out the door to play? There was nothing in the world easier. Be as easy as you can be and keep your daily practice as simple as is humanly possible.

Remember that we’re talking about your practice itself and not the content of your practice. The content of your practice may be very complicated. Maybe you’re working on a hard problem in physics or in the app you’re creating. Your practice can still be blissfully simple. Even if the song you’re writing is challenging, your practice can still be simple. Even if the mathematical problem you’re trying to solve is knotty, your practice can still be simple. Keep this important distinction in mind.

Robert, a workshop participant, shared his experience:

I got very excited about the idea of a life purpose practice where every day I would look at my list of life purpose choices and decide which one or two I was absolutely going to get to on that day. If I’d kept it that simple, it would have been a beautiful thing! But for some reason I had to overlay it with all sorts of demands: that I prioritize my life purpose choices, that I tackle at least one from my top three choices every day, that I spend an equal amount of time on each life purpose choice so as not to shortchange any, and fifteen other demands.

It started to feel like the worst kind of job imaginable! I had to chuck that whole way of looking at my practice out the window and return to the beautifully simple starting place: looking at my list each morning and making a choice or two. Period. That made all the difference! It turned a chore into a light thing.

Sandy explained how it worked for her:

I had a hard time defining my practice. I wanted to write, I wanted to paint, I had health issues I knew needed addressing, I was craving a spiritual practice or maybe something like a meaning-making practice...I couldn’t make up my mind what my practice was “really about.” So, of course, I never started it, and I never engaged with it.

It wasn’t working trying to decide what was most important. Each thing was important in its own way. I was about to throw in the towel, and then I had an inspiration. I decided that I would take “simple” to mean just showing up. I would just go to my designated daily practice space in the spare bedroom and do whatever needed doing on that day. I would just go there and stay put for an hour.

That kind of made for a magical change. One day I would work on my nonfiction book. Another day I would research alternative health treatments. Another day I would sketch. I realized that it didn’t matter what I did — each thing had its own importance and its own resonance. My practice simplified itself to “I show up for an hour.” And during the next two months I got a lot written, I created a new health regimen, and I made a lot of meaning, one hour at a time.

Food for Thought

What does a simple practice look like to you?
Is it your nature to make things more complicated than they need to be? If so, what might you do to rein in that impulse when it comes to creating your daily practice?
Explain in your own words how a practice might be kept simple even if the content of the practice is difficult or complicated.

Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than fifty books on creativity and personal growth, including The Power of Daily Practice. Widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach, he writes the Rethinking Mental Health blog for Psychology Today and facilitates creativity and deep writing workshops around the world. He lives in Walnut Creek, California. Find out more about his work at EricMaisel.com.

Excerpted from the book The Power of Daily Practice. Copyright ©2020 by Bridgit Dengel Gaspard. Printed with permission from New World Library.

Now that I am rapidly awakening on a spiritual level, I feel less patience and more anger in general. I want the world to wake up and change faster. Is this normal? I can't really relate to superficial people, have no tolerance for lying, and feel like I want out of my body. I'm new to your site but I absolutely love it!

Kathy

Astrea:

Like every other great quality, becoming patient and peaceful takes time. We all have triggers that are pulled and buttons that are pushed by the people close to us. Even the most enlightened individual can be frustrated with the slow pace of the world around her.

Remember that you have a HUMAN nature as well as a SPIRITUAL side, and the conditioning you've experienced your whole life won't change in a flash. Anger and impatience are part of the human condition, though you will be able to transcend those reactions more and more as you travel the spiritual path.

Of course we want those who are important to us to be learning the same spiritual lessons at the same time. Everyone goes through this at their own pace, however, so try to be more accepting. Open your heart to everyone you meet, from the check-out person at the pharmacy to the Highest Enlightened Teacher.

If you concentrate on the purity that YOU seek, it will take over and make you see others in a more open and caring way. I know this is easier said than done, but you can and will start to do it automatically. The more you know, the more you'll grow to be accepting and tolerant of others, and the more you'll be able to lead others to that same sort of peace.

Soon you'll begin to discover the changes in you affecting the people around you more and more. By showing others that you're leaving anger and ignorance behind, they'll want to do exactly the same thing. Be gentle in your approach to other people, however, as they may not be ready for all that you're going through.

Oh sure, it would be great if all the Enlightened Minds could change the world overnight, but that's impossible. Lightworkers have been at it for hundreds of years, and while we ARE making progress, it is very slow going at times. There are big shots who want wars and other discord in the world. It's difficult to change the way other people think and act, but that's no reason to stop trying. For every brick wall you hit on your way, there will be an open door.

Becoming more spiritually aware is not usually a recipe for anger and intolerance, but I understand what you're saying. Your desire for others around you to get it is very strong, so it's natural for you to feel as you do.

As you go along, you will grow to tolerate people who don't share your values better than you have in the past. Once you get where you want to go spiritually, you'll be able to lead others to that space in a kind and patient way. Keep trying, and keep letting your little light shine!

*****

Susyn:

Yes, this is a completely normal experience. I went through much the same thing when I began to awaken spiritually.

I recall standing in line at the grocery store, becoming very agitated by a mundane conversation between the clerk and a shopper. I found myself getting more and more frustrated, and wanted to shout out, Don't you people realize what's going on right under your noses? There is so much more to life than the price of grapes! Luckily, I held my tongue, but I was rather astounded at my anger and impatience with them.

I learned a lot from that experience, and was cautioned by other people whose spiritual advice I respected to accept that the clerk and shopper's paths were different from mine, and that I must allow them to be who and where they are. It was an important reminder to me that we all are in process and will all awaken at different times. (Once we do, however, it is hard to watch the rest of the world walk around clueless.)

You're sure to reach better balance as you continue your transformation. In fact, part of your process will be learning the art of tolerance, compassion and empathy for those who have yet to reach your level.

At some point, you may even be inspired to personally help them move a step closer to enlightenment themselves when they are ready. Often, many of us who experience this phenomenon find ourselves in position to teach and enlighten others either by setting a good example or sharing our experiences through metaphysical channels, and both can be quite rewarding.

Your sensitivity to dishonesty and superficiality isn't surprising now that you have moved so far away from them yourself. At first you'll seem to see these things everywhere, but soon it won't be as distressing as it is now. Your shock and frustration with others will also serve as wonderful reminders to continue to reach for the highest and best yourself.

There's nothing quite like the moment when our spirits awaken. It's only natural that we'd like everyone around us to experience the same freedom and joy we feel. It's wise, however, to remember that just as your awakening was activated by the Universe, when the time is right, everyone is given the opportunity to move to the next level that is right for them.

Be very grateful that your time has come. Remembering that it wasn't so long ago that you were operating in the dark will help you to be more patient and understanding with those who are less evolved, which should diffuse some of the frustration and anger you feel.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.