Welcome to Mind Your Practice. I’m Beth Pickens and in this episode, I’ll talk about ways you may feel lost right now and how to find your path again.
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THIS EPISODE'S HOMEWORK:
Ok, let’s talk about your homework. Complicated times call for uncomplicated solutions so it’s a pretty simple two part process.
Part 1, spend the next two weeks in a daily body practice of your choice. Mix it up. Try new things. Keep it low pressure. Just choose something every day that gets you into your body. See if you can connect to yourself from the neck down. Make a note or tell someone what kinds of embodiment and body-based decisions seem to help and which you don’t like at all.
Then Part II is some writing. Whether you use the questions I provided or do your own free writing, try to locate what is true for you right now. Not six months ago and not a year from today - right now.
Notice what is revealed and follow that.
Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear from you.
Mind Your Practice is produced by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs. You can find out more about her practice at carolynpennypackerriggs.com
Our show icon is made by Jess Cuevas.
Ep. 4: What if You’re Lost?
Welcome to Mind Your Practice. I’m Beth Pickens and in this episode, I’ll talk about ways you may feel lost right now and how to find your path again.
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Hello artists. Here I am in my Los Angeles closet recording studio and I’m six months into the pandemic and my household’s quarantine. I’m thinking about autumn because it’s late summer and, throughout my years of consultation practice, this is a cuspy moment when my clients are transitioning out of a summery dog days slog and into high gear. Every year, without fail: in July and August I notice people are slow to answer email. They have a hard time imagining a faster pace and deadlines and the subsequent year coming soon. But as autumn looms, people wake up, they get busy, and start barraging me with ideas and plans. They want action and movement. It’s invigorating for them and for me.
But 2020, of course, feels very different. Artists in my world want to plan, think about what’s next, and get really busy and they’re faced with endless question marks. Exhibitions and projects and performances and residencies have been rescheduled and rescheduled and truly they don’t know when anything will happen. I get a lot of questions and concerns.
Here’s a general sample:
Should I release my album? I’ve postponed it for five months already.
Will my work get seen in person ever again? It feels like this will never end.
Will museums and galleries remember their offers and commitments to me? Will they forget what we’d planned?
Will my book resonate with readers if it comes out before the vaccine?
What should I even work on? All my projects feel somehow out of place and out of time.
Many, many artists describe feeling lost and confused. Maybe you feel this way sometimes. And if you do, you’re not alone and it makes a lot of sense. This has been a dizzying and disorienting year. Your plans and projects have not happened the way you thought they would or they didn’t happen at all. This level of destabilization can make a person feel profoundly lost and disconnected from themselves as artists. It’s ok. We can find your way back.
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I think when we feel lost and disoriented and confused, it means there are some parts of ourselves that are being a little neglected. A good place to start, when you feel totally disconnected, is with your body! The first step on a pathway back to yourself is through some real, heartfelt embodiment time. I don’t mean stretching for 10 minutes one day and then everything is all better. I mean prioritizing and making the time every day for two weeks - choosing something each day that gets you in your body. This can be a lot of different things: movement, meditation, walking, exercise, dancing, massage, some wild deep breathing. Start with your body and give it daily focused attention for a couple weeks.
Then it’s time to do some writing. Whether you are a lifelong journaler or you avoid introspective writing at all costs, you will get some more clarity and connection from writing during or on the heels of those body-focused weeks. Here are a few questions to respond to:
This all sounds pretty basic right? Some attention to your body? Some contemplative writing? Will that even work? It’s too easy, what can it really do for you? BUT HOLY SHIT, if you can take time within the next few weeks to make some space for your body and to answer some questions about your practice, I think you’ll be amazed at the re-connecting that can happen.
The trick to all of this is to keep it low-pressure and hold off expectation. I want you to be curious and in a discovery process about what is revealed. It takes time for us to get out of sorts so it takes time to find our way again. Be gentle and patient. It works much better than being harsh and punishing.
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Ok, let’s talk about your homework. Complicated times call for uncomplicated solutions so it’s a pretty simple two part process.
Part 1, spend the next two weeks in a daily body practice of your choice. Mix it up. Try new things. Keep it low pressure. Just choose something every day that gets you into your body. See if you can connect to yourself from the neck down. Make a note or tell someone what kinds of embodiment and body-based decisions seem to help and which you don’t like at all.
Then Part II is some writing. Whether you use the questions I provided or do your own free writing, try to locate what is true for you right now. Not six months ago and not a year from today - right now.
Notice what is revealed and follow that.
Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear from you.
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Thanks for listening to Mind Your Practice and be sure to subscribe so you get all the bonus episodes coming your way. If you are an artist who likes to be told what to do, I am more than happy to boss you around through email and social media. You can find me on Instagram at @bethpickensconsulting and join my mailing list on my website bethpickens.com. Thanks for listening and keep making art.
Mind Your Practice is created by Beth Pickens and Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs.