Practice

To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.
Kurt Vonnegut

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is practice.
Vladamir Horowitz

Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Billy Jean King

The beginning of the new calendar year is a good time to take stock. While deciding on the topic for this week’s reflections, I compiled a list of the ninety-two essays – all still accessible in the `Weekly Reflections´ section –which have appeared on this website since the very first, on February 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2021. That essay was aptly named `Imbolc´, which is the Irish name of the feast day of St Brigid, which falls on February 1^st, and marks the beginning of the Celtic year.

Further Reflections which explore my Celtic heritage include: `Belonging´ in May 2021, `Holidays – Holy Days´ in July 2021, `Mother´ in November 2021, `Family´ in June 2022, `Halloween´ in November 2022, and `Christmas´ in the final edition of 2022, published last week.

Even though my life has taken me away from my native Ireland to over forty years of living and working in a foreign culture, my Celtic roots remain vibrant and strong. Contemporary Celtic artists formative in the shaping of my world view include the mystic and philosopher John O’Donohue, the poet Seamus Heaney, musician Van Morrison, and the Irish American psychotherapist Anne Wilson-Schaef.

Further, my work is strongly influenced by the ancient spiritual traditions from all around the world, the more recent developments of depth psychology, quantum physics and Twelve Step recovery, and the latest research in the fields of neuroplasticity, performance psychology, epigenetics, and embodiment practices.

The processing of my journey from adversity in childhood, through chronic long-term substance addiction, to sustained recovery is well characterised by Josephs Campbell’s remark: `The cave we fear to enter holds the treasures that we seek´.

With the kind help and encouragement of gifted teachers and generous fellow pilgrims, I very gradually began to confront my fears to then discover insights and practices such as those described in: `Our True Element´ and `Paradox´, both in February 2021, `Pain and Suffering´ in July 2021, a range of essays in October 2021 (`Grandiosity´, `Community´, `Defeat´, `Letting Go´, and `Meditation´), and `Addiction´ in November 2022. The cave has yielded and continues to yield many treasures indeed.

These are but a few. As you browse the library of Weekly Reflections, you will find many related directly to the downward spiral of the addictive dynamic to the point referred to as `rock bottom´, the turning point, and the subsequent ascent into a new life of purpose and liberation. `Playing God´ and `Ego´ (both 3/21), `Exile´, the final essay of 2021, three essays from February 2022 (`Reconfiguration´, `Neuroplasticity´, and Re-membering´), and `Despondency´, (9/22) are worth mentioning in this respect.

Recovery is a process which would be much more difficult, if not impossible, for a lone ranger. Essays on the importance of community in the healing process are also to be found in the SoberOasis collection. They include the previously mentioned essay on `Community´ (10/21), `Belonging´ (5/21), `Hilltops´ (12/21), `Family´ (6/22), `My Tribe´ (7/22), `Unity´ (8/22), and `Comfort Zone´ (11/22). These essays touch upon various aspects of the fertile ground of sharing the experience of spiritual imperfection as we heal and grow together.

After embarking on this process of recovery, the clouds of shame and depression began to clear, and life began to gain in colour and vitality, most notably expressed in a healthy daily structure as described in `Time Planning´ (2/21) and `Discipline and Authority´(4/21), and the blossoming of playfulness and creative gifts which had lain fallow since early childhood. This latter development is described in essays such as `Breath´ and `Flow´ (both 3/22), `Photography´ (4/22), `Writing´ (5/22), `Dance´ (7/22), and `Music´ in August 2022. These blessings continue to yield bounteous harvests as I become more daring in expressing what had been, for so long, bottled up inside.

Then there is the subject of work. It had already become clear to me even back in 2020, in the fourth year of a five-year COO assignment, (establishing and developing a psychosomatic clinic in Eastern Germany, with its focus on trauma and addiction), that my next professional chapter would involve Transformation Coaching for private clients, in an independent capacity. The idea of SoberOasis was born.

Synchronicity presented me with an invitation to join the Positive Intelligence (PQ) Coaching Programme in January 2022. Although it came out of the blue, it turned out to be a perfect fit for the concept already in the shaping and it was with eagerness that I jumped at the opportunity to further deepen my knowledge and practice in this Mental Fitness approach by signing up for the 12-month training programme for professional coaches. It has been an inspiring experience, an opportunity to learn and grow.

The initial SoberOasis coaching concept is described in `Nomen est Omen´ published in March 2021. Many of my more recent essays have explored the basic concepts of PQ, transporting the ideas in a simple, comprehensible manner. These include `Factor Analysis´ (3/22), `Transformation´ (9/22), `Positive Intelligence´ (10/22), and `Stress´ (12/22).

One of the key aspects of the PQ Mental Fitness training approach as a catalyst for transformation, is that it is made up of and delivered as 20% insight and 80% practice. The wide variety of engaging exercises, ranging in duration from 3 to 30 minutes, contained in the App-based mental fitness studio, can be easily integrated throughout the course of each day, making it easy to maintain and expand our practice, while also allowing us to monitor our progress as we proceed.  The daily supply of new material helps keep us fresh and focussed.

Like sustained physical fitness, mental fitness needs to be a commitment for life. What we don’t use, we lose. What is not cultivated and maintained, is sure to wither away.

My commitment to physical fitness began to manifest in daily practice almost thirty years ago (I hated sport as a child!) and, more than ten competitive marathons later, continues to this day. My deal with self is to take at least one hour of exercise in the fresh air every day, – rain, hail, or snow. My average over those thirty years probably exceeds the 355 days/year mark.

I now bring this level of dedication to mental fitness training. This is greatly helped by the fact that my work now involves teaching this practice to clients as a foundation course, prior to getting into the nitty-gritty of the transformation they feel they need to effectuate on their way towards achieving their goal of `living the lives they love´.

This transformation may be a strategic or leadership challenge in the realm of business or academia, or it could be related to family, relationships, parenting, health, life purpose, self-care, or any of a wide range of further applications. Whatever the issue, it can be identified and handled all the more efficiently and effectively, the greater the level of mental fitness already mastered by both coach and client.

In doing this work, I model the aspired behaviour by living the life I love.  

Which brings me to the topic of practice. My decision, in early 2021, to commit to writing and publishing essays on a regular basis, was driven by two main factors. Firstly, the enjoyment of getting clarity around issues important to me and the desire to share these insights with others in the hope that they may prove both enjoyable and beneficial. The second factor was my recognition of the necessity of an apprenticeship to hone my writing skills.

The touchstone came this week in opening the – as yet unpublished – manuscript of a book I had written in 2020 on the topic of `Trauma, Addiction, and Recovery´, with the intention of revising it in full before making a renewed attempt to find a publisher. While revising the early chapters, I immediately recognised the benefit of the two-year Weekly Reflections apprenticeship.

They say: `Practice makes perfect´; I would counter that it does not make perfect. It does, however, help considerably reduce the drag and level of imperfection in our exploits, whether expressing of our creative potential, developing our capacity to lead, cultivating self-care, or simply relating to self and others. The results include better performance, a higher degree of fulfilment and harmony in our relationships, an improved sense of well-being, and more peace of mind.