In an earlier post I shared my pre-practice routine of dark chocolate and herbal tea. It’s what I do to create space from the nine-to-five world and prepare my mind for practice. However yesterday reminded me how seemingly unrelated decisions made during the day can profoundly affect my learning.

To be able to practice wholeheartedly and induce a state of flow, my conscience must be clear. My conduct throughout the day must be in harmony with my Christian values if I'm to be successful in music or any creative endeavor.

Stephen Nachmanovitch in his inspiring book Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art puts it in a similar way:

The creative process is a spiritual path. This adventure is about us, about the deep self, the composer in all of us, about originality, meaning not that which is new, but that which is fully and originally ourselves.

I'm feeling like myself again and look forward to practicing scales tomorrow.

Time meditated today: 38 minutes Quality of meditation (out of 10): 2