If you would like to listen to the podcast version of this blog, go to https://anchor.fm/tamara-tanner/episodes/Day-6-Go-Back-to-the-Familiar-e14u2fd
I’ll be honest, I have done some meditating, but I really struggle with making myself sit still and actually do it. And I really have disliked always being directed to focus on my breathing. There are reasons for this which I can get into on another day. Of all the different types of meditations I have done, moving meditation has been the most palatable for me. I like paying attention to my body in movement much better than I do when it is completely still.
Shifting to a slightly different topic. I have found that I am so in love with my violin meditations! With all this talk about this piece of music, I decided to publish as a bonus episode me playing this by heart. Hope you enjoy it! Here it is! https://anchor.fm/tamara-tanner/episodes/Bonus-Episode–Bach-on-the-Violin-e14u0rg
It was a couple days ago was when I first could successfully play the entire two pages of my Bach concerto by heart. Yesterday I was finding myself having some memory glitches in the newer part, in particular a spot on the second page that is similar to the first page but with definite differences. I compared and contrasted again, but this time I spent more time on the second page part to reinforce the differences by repeating it several times until I had it down.
Interesting thing happened today when I played through it. The first half page was the part I memorized first, and I did it so much that I thought I would never have a problem recalling it. But today it was that part where I had the most problem remembering the notes. I was getting it confused with the similar passage on the last page. This required spending a little more time on the part I memorized first and thought I would never forget.
There is a lesson in this. One thing that I noticed doing all this is that when I knew that first half page really well, it made the last page and a half easier to learn because of the reference it provided for me. I could learn the rest using the knowledge I already had. But what I also learned is that it is necessary to come home to the familiar regularly so that it can continue to provide context for everything else.
The same thing is true in my life. When I can go back to a routine that in the past has served me, it has a way of putting me back into that previous state I had been in, no matter how many years have gone by. It brings back an order in my life that I had in the past but at present seems illusive. If in the past I was productive doing a certain activity, I can reproduce that activity and get similar results. This is a great thing to remember when you are feeling like life is running you instead of you running your life. Try thinking back to a time or routine you have had in the past that has helped you be more centered, more productive, or more ordered. Then go back and do it again. See what happens.
Explorations in Healing 