I’ve been learning that I’m one of those people that can see the larger picture of things. I can see the vision of what is possible and become enamored with it, while I let it fill me with all the deliciousness that it is. I’m also that person who looks at all the steps to get to that vision and almost immediately bogs down in the details. So I start thinking of ways to skip steps and try to take leaps instead to get to the prize as quickly as possible. As a result, I almost always get knocked back a few steps as if the universe is saying “go back and try again and don’t skip anything this time.” I’ve been learning this about myself through a book call The Life You Were Born to Live by Dan Millman. The photo above is from that book. In this book, Millman presents a formula for adding up your birth numbers to come out with a sum that related to pro and con issues that we face in our lives. I ended up being a 43/7. In reading about these numbers I can say most of it is pretty spot on for me. Especially when it comes to process. 

It's a bit embarrassing as a life long practicing musician and teacher to say that I’m a person who attempts to skip steps when it comes to building a career out of music. One would think that I would apply what I know about practice to work through steps to build this career. But I'm human and I make mistakes. Now, I’m realizing that like the practice of music, building a career out of what you do, is also a practice. You learn techniques and find ways to use those techniques that fit with who you are and what you wish to accomplish. There is no other better example of practicing this for myself than learning about marketing and promotion of what I do. 

Like many artists, I loathe marketing and promotion. I’ve wrestled with these two more than anything else when it comes to building my music career. But last night I made a post on social media about having a lesson with this amazing student and much to my surprise, I managed to promote myself as a teacher without even thinking about it. It felt so effortless just mentioning that I have slots open for more students. This was such an amazing lesson for me that things don’t have to be that hard if you just relax into the process. I’m laughing about this because I see this with my students when they are learning to circular breathe and they are looking for any shortcut to get to where they want to go. The lesson is – there are no shortcuts but if you simply relax into the process and not think about it too much, suddenly you find that it’s much easier than you thought. 

So, Grasshopper, if you feel stuck on something and are trying to find a shortcut to get to where you’re going faster, can I suggest that you just stop where you are, take a deep breath and a step back and check in with your inner wisdom. Then let that wisdom guide you into remembering the steps you need to take and then just do those steps. Stay out of your own way, meaning the mind will try to butt in but don’t let it. Instead, give the mind a job to do and it will be happy to do it. It's the “chop wood, carry water” approach but this is what works. And in the end when you've done the work, you can look back and be proud of the effort you've put in. I’m telling this to myself as much as any of you who read this. So don't be afraid. You're are not alone in your journey. You are the hero with all of the support of the gods, universe and energy behind you. 

That’s it. Thank you for reading this if you got this far. Take care all and sending you lots of love on your journey.

Pam

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IMPORTANT READ: Traveling the road in solitude is great at times but there are those times when I need others to share the road with me. If you really like the content I make here and elsewhere, you can support more of this work either by either making a one time contribution to my virtual tip jar or signing up for a Patreon membership. I also have music available for purchase on this site and Bandcamp or if you want to learn to play didgeridoo you can contact me here.

Thank you so much for your consideration and stay amazing! Pam