At the great Kevin Kelly’s newsletter Recommendo, he mentions “the best, most succinct roundup of productivity techniques I’ve seen”. We learned a few seriously useful tricks that compliment our current theme of deconstructing our old driven routines into a more spacious life. We are heartened by the all-time best practice…
Read MoreHow to Practice Magic
There is a big message in this little film, way bigger than its title, Reframe the Familiar. The visuals seem somehow of another time and act, with the words and odd voice, like hunks of poetry.
Read MoreHow to Practice Gratitude In Dark Times (W.S. Merwin)
We know lots of poems of gratitude but only one that manages to express thanks amidst the very hard things that befall us in life. It is remarkable and hard and heartbreaking and heartening, echoing perfectly that which we are living now… ‘Thank you’ helps us navigate.
Read MoreA 16-Second Film’s Moment of Zen Sparks Haiku and a Writing Practice
In this 16 second film, a blow torch + hair dryer + popcorn makes for a curiously zen moment. We found two haiku to go with it. Then we remembered our friend Tim Chegwidden’s timed poetry-writing practice…
Read MorePractice ‘How to Be an Explorer of the World’ by Traveling into Ancient Paintings
This charming 3-minute animated journey through four ancient Chinese paintings is a lesson in experiencing art and life; it called to mind Kerri Smith’s How to Be an Explorer of the World….
Read MoreOur Practice for the Last Week of the Year
We take the quiet last week of the year between Christmas and New Years to relax, unhook from many normal routines, and reflect on the year that has passed so we can envision the New.
Read MoreRandom Surprise: Groucho’s Spiritual Practice + Pattern Synchronicity
The random surprises we find daily make us realize that there is SO much going on all around us, if we only just look…
Read MoreA Practice of Letting Go of Obsessive Thoughts You Can Do Anywhere (John Cage + Huang Po)
There are twenty-one post-it notes in my copy of Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists: each an illuminating and useful tool. Here is a favorite.
Read MoreHow to Practice, Just About Anything (+ Allen Ginzberg)
This cool little video WOKE US UP recently about something we do daily. Practice. We realize now, we don’t always “get” the best way to do it, or the essential piece that we are missing.
Read MoreTying the Devil: A Turkish Practice for Finding Lost Things
In response to Kathryn Schultz’s very moving ‘When Things Go Missing, Reflections of Two Seasons of Loss’, Yesho described a unique Turkish practice for finding lost things.
Read MoreValentine’s Day Practice (Jenny Holzer + Yoko Ono)
We’re thinking alternative ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day…
Read MoreGogo’s ‘Focus/Fuck This’ Practice
My daughter is two years old and is learning so much right now. Mostly, we are practicing patience. It’s easy to get frustrated when chubby little hands fumble zippers or shoe Velcro or doll clothes…To bring her down to earth, I say to her “FOCUS”. Then she usually repeats it back to me, sounding a lot like “FUCK THIS”.
Read MorePauline Oliveros: Deep Listening is My Life Practice
“Deep listening” was sonic pioneer Pauline Oliveros’ life practice. Here is her simple instruction for doing it yourself (with music).
Read MoreA Time-Limited Mind Sharpening Practice
After our friend Tim Chegwidden suffered a stroke years ago at age 54, he had to painstakingly learn how to speak again. He immediately started figuring out systems to do the thing he loved most: express the complexities of what he read or saw. Not satisfied with the level of nuance of the words he used, he developed a powerful practice to deepen them.
Read MoreA Practice for Dire Straits
In January, after Improvised Life had been down for several days, I sent out a message to Friends with Benefits members. The message said, in essence: “The site is down, I hope it will be back and that years of writing and images have not been damaged; please send whatever personal magic you employ my way.” Then it seemed, my only option was to wait and practice Improvised Life’s principles…
Read MoreA 3-Word Practice for Expanding Possibilities
This photo of hunks of clay by Gentl and Hyers, made us wonder: What are we going to make today? And then we found this in Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art:
Read MorePractice Losing Farther, Faster (Elizabeth Bishop)
The other day we came across the shorn trunk of huge tree that had been taken down by the Parks Department. We looked close and tried to count the rings but got lost in the swirls and changes in its three-foot span. It is one of those everyday losses that reminded us of others, and of the Elizabeth Bishop poem “One Art”*, in which the antidote to loss lies hidden.
Read MoreFalling (and Failing) as Essential Practice and Play
The best performers and athletes in the world know something the rest of us don’t: Failure is not the enemy. Failure is fabulous. Failure —non-fulfillment, defeat, collapse — is not only inevitable, but necessary to get what you want. To try to avoid failure is to eschew progress; it’s trying to stand still in a…
Read MoreCreate A Personal Practice To Prepare for Any Challenge
Australian competitive hurdler Michelle Jenneke dances to get ready to run hurdles, a routine that has worked for her for years: she starts with enthusiasm and momentum to launch into extraordinary movement, using the dance’s performance energy to get ready. It’s a superb example of creating a personal routine that uses excitement and imagination to focus and feed yourself for performance, or just about anything you do in life.
Read MoreMorning Practice: Reading a Poem…..Again
For some time, our morning practice, before email or anthing digital, has been to read a poem aloud (sometimes with a friend). Recently, we decided to try reading the same poem every morning for a week. We discovered that each day, we’d hear it differently and find something new in those same few lines, as…
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