#introduction I work in technology and am a #musician in my spare time. I play in a couple of #DIY and #punk bands, https://earlywar.bandcamp.com/ and https://pigeondown.bandcamp.com/
I'm primarily a guitarist, and recently I've been working on collaborative recordings.
I like all music and art, but some favorites include #grind, #prog, and #jazz.
@americandave Welcome Dave!
Meditation and subconscious awareness are my things. I have a student who's a percussionist that loves jaz and experimental music so my own musical horizons are constantly expanding.
@americandave How do you get out of practice?
What I mean is If the practice is adjusted to you, kind of like having a shoe fitting, it should just become part of your normal consciousness. Practice becomes natural and not an activity of it's own.
Mindfulness isn't always the right meditation tool for the job. It helps to know what your specific meditative goals are…what you hope to get out of it. Then strategically select meditation techniques to help you reach your specific goals.
@ToddRobinson great point. If enlightenment and awareness are within us already, why do we need to meditate? Kabat-Zinn's answer is that meditation is like scaffolding needed to paint the Sistine Chapel. To deliberately pay attention moment by moment, we practice doing so.
I used to set aside time to practice, less so these days. To your point, I want to be more deliberate about being present, in whatever way I can. I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it. Thank you!
If your goal is to be more present, You might want to try active self awareness meditation https://appliedawareness.org/self-awareness-meditation/
@ToddRobinson fascinating! I'd been thinking of practicing only as an activity before self awareness, not something that in itself is practice.
As a side note, given that I want to pay attention more, one of my favorite practices is choiceless awareness. Non-judgemental acknowledgement of what's there, not forcing something to be there.
A. Dave
ToddRobinson