In the USA, we have drive-through coffee shops (like Starbucks®) that allow us to quickly and conveniently get a drink without having to leave our car. ☕ We drive our car along the side of the building and pull up to a speaker where we can communicate with the employees in the shop, putting in an order for what we’d like to drink.

After ordering, we drive over to the pickup window to wait until it’s ready. Then the employee hands it through the window, we receive it, and we pay.

This simple process is actually very much like how we human beings naturally and easily manifest our desires into reality. ✨

Let’s say you want to play your instrument. Here’s how it goes:

1) Set up. You get your instrument and everything you need set up and ready to go (pull your car up to the speaker). 🎻

2) Intend. Clarify what you want. Decide what music you’re going to play (put in your order to request your drink). 🎯

3) Inhibit (and Direct). Get out of the way by clearing your mind and body of unhelpful thoughts and tension (move your car to make room for new orders), delegating the task to the appropriate systems in charge of carrying out your intentions for you (let those in the shop do the work for you), trusting that your brain-body-self knows how to coordinate itself to create the sound you want (trust that the employees back in the shop know how to make your drink), and allowing your music to be produced while you watch and wait patiently for the result to be delivered (wait for your drink to be handed to you). 🌿

4) Receive. Your ears receive sound a split second after it is produced (receive the drink handed to you after it has been made).

5) Repeat and refine, as desired. Now that you have the result, is it actually what you wanted? Do you want something modified? Do you need to be more specific? Do new skills need to be learned before you can get the sound (or drink) you want? If so, go back to step #1 and repeat—now you are practicing!

As simple as it is, it’s easy to get this creative process wrong by skipping steps, doing them in the incorrect sequence, or forcing the process through impatience. When we don’t follow the natural and necessary “means-whereby” (Alexander’s term), chaos ensues, and we miss out on what we want.

I have two coaching openings for new students beginning in August. Just comment below if you're interested and we can have a chat about what's possible!

With Love & Light,
Jennifer ❤️

📘 The above is an excerpt from my award-winning book, ‘Make Great Music with Ease! The Secret to Smarter Practice, Confident Performance, and Living a Happier Life'.

Need a great gift? You can find the book on amazon in paperback, hardcover, and kindle versions. Or – if you're in the USA – you can now order copies directly from me.

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