Ideally, meditation is a tool to bring your attention back to the present moment, emptying the mind of incessant chatter, which can show up as an infinite variety of unnecessary, cluttered, contradictory, irrelevant, or destructive thoughts.

For example, if you’re about to go onstage and feeling nervous, you may be thinking things like: I don’t want to be here; I have to go onstage now—the audience is waiting for me; I’m scared—what if I mess up that passage of fast sixteenth notes again? Or: I don’t have a choice; I’m not ready! Or: I LOVE the piece I’m about to play—let’s get out there right now. I hate waiting backstage!

Some thoughts are positive, some negative; some are happy and excited, some full of dread; some are pushing you towards the stage, while others imagine a mad dash for the exit.

When you have contradictory desires (“I want to perform” + “I don’t want to perform”), your brain is sending contradictory messages, and your muscles will gear up in an attempt to take you in (at least) two different directions at once.

In that inner conflict, you get increased muscle tension, or even start shaking—unless, making a firm decision to choose only ONE way of thinking, you then direct your mind and whole self to follow through, banishing any contradictory thoughts.

If you aren’t accustomed to taking charge of your mind to think with more one-pointed clarity on a regular basis, then when you’re backstage, fighting with yourself in a last-ditch attempt to override your panic, you certainly won’t be able to do it!

Besides contributing to performance anxiety, a lack of mental control will slow down your progress in learning anything because your body won’t receive clear messages from the brain.

When you’re practicing or performing, you need to be able to think clearly. You need to be able to think one thought at a time (with lightning speed), so as to be fully present and attentive to the notes you’re playing as you’re playing them, while ALSO being aware of what’s coming up, where you’ve just come from, and what’s happening around you.

But . . . HOW do you actually do that?

Concentration is defined as the ability to focus attention on a single object. We all know it’s absolutely necessary for a musician to develop this skill in order to learn, play well, and keep improving. In fact, the degree to which our skill evolves is in direct proportion to our ability to concentrate.

But what most people don’t know is that there are two different ways to concentrate, and our choice is critical to our overall well-being and ultimate success.

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The selection above is from my bestselling book, ‘Make Great Music with Ease! The Secret to Smarter Practice, Confident Performance, and Living a Happier Life‘.

If the ideas I share pique your curiosity and you'd like to learn more, just reply to this email to ask about my online programs for musicians, educators, and creatives (that's pretty much everyone). There's no time like the present to wake up your Creative Spirit!

I look forward to sharing more with you about how this approach can help you feel better in mind, body, and spirit – while making better music in the process!

Love & Joy,
Jennifer 🦋

P.S Wondering if my programs could be a fit for you as an artist? Don’t let doubts about skill level hold you back — message me and let’s explore what’s possible together!