Recently, I have been interested in learning more about mindfulness. It's an area of my cello playing and personal life that I have actively been focusing and working on this last month. In Thich Nhat Hanhs' book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, he describes mindfulness as "keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality." He also includes in the book the Sutra of Mindfulness, "When walking the practitioner must be conscious that he is walking. When sitting, the practitioner must be conscious he is sitting. When lying down, the practitioner must be conscious he is lying down... No matter what position one's body is in, the practitioner must be conscious of that position. Practicing thus, the practitioner lives in direct and constant mindfulness of the body..." I have been trying to implement this idea into my practicing and teaching. For instance, I used to often play through my warm up/scales and exercises in order to get to my repertoire. I was always focused on the next thing I had to practice, making it difficult to complete successful work on what I was currently practicing. Instead, now I tell myself "this scale I am working on is the most important thing in my day right now. This is my time to think about this scale,"etc. Having only committed to this idea within the last month, I have already noticed the quality of my work is improving, and more importantly I am feeling much better about the time spent with my cello. This idea has also helped with managing fears I created for myself. Often times, I would practice because I was afraid I would miss notes in future performances. I would be afraid that I wasn't good enough. Unfortunately, these ideas will negatively affect your ability to be open emotionally in a performance. I would practice with future fears in mind, instead of focusing on the present moment. But I should not have been afraid of things that did not happen yet, those ideas I created for myself only made mental barriers and only get in the way of my ability to "keep one's consciousness alive to the present reality," as Tchich Nhat Hanh put it. Instead of practicing to sound good for/please future audiences, teachers, or audition committees, I am reminding myself that I can only control the now, and that what ever it is I am working on is the most important thing I am doing. I am trying to listen to myself and my playing with open ears and an open/healthy mind.
vm