When going through change, uncertainty and transitions, we are often encouraged to focus on what we can control. This is sage advice. In the midst of uncertainty, if we look at the whole of our lives, we’ll see there are numerous areas that are stable and relatively controllable by our actions and behaviors. For ITP practitioners, one of the most powerful areas under our control is our practice itself.
A favorite quote of mine is attributed to Bruce Lee who said, “Under pressure, you will not rise to your expectations, you will fall to your level of practice.” In this sense, our practice is a solid place to “fall to,” or said more positively, “to land and stand on.” When we are challenged in life with change, our practice can serve us greatly. A solid routine, a set of familiar behaviors, is something we can consciously choose to engage and have some sense of “control” over. The cumulative effect of our months, years, and even decades of practice, can come to life and offer us this solid place to land and stand when we need it most.
Often when challenged with life changes and relative chaos, a common complaint or objection to engaging transformative practices is “I don’t have enough time.” In response to this very rational, logical and usually justified objection, I offer another favorite quote of mine, attributed to the Dalai Lama, who said, “I meditate one hour every day, except on busy days, then I meditate for two hours.” This points to the non-linear impact and benefits of transformative practice, even, and perhaps especially so, in challenging times.
Quoting from the Preface of The Life We Are Given, George and Michael say about transformative practices: “They require time, but frequently make more time available to us: they can slow time down, and open us to the timeless moment from which we have arisen. They require sacrifice, but they restore us. While demanding the relinquishment of established patterns, they open us to new love, new awareness, new energy; what we lose is replaced by new joy, beauty and strength.” Here we can see the power of practice and how it can be of great service to us in challenging times of change and transition.
I’ll end with another favorite quote of mine from Michael Murphy, “To practice or not to practice is not the question, for we are always practicing something. The question is, what are you practicing?” If you are experiencing change in your life right now, perhaps transitions in various realms, I invite you to look at what you are practicing and whether it is truly serving you. Perhaps review the 9 Core Practice Intentions and select one or two that you intuitively feel can support you through these changes or transitions, and choose to consciously practice them. Change, transformation and transition are what ITP is all about. I encourage you to land and stand on your practice and allow it to serve you well.