Lesson Five: Creating connection b/w mind, body and imagination.

Monday's class was really great because it really felt like the work I had done earlier that day really clicked for me.
As I said, I unfortunately did not complete the homework exercise at quite the same pace, but thankfully it was enough to do SOMETHING, which I'm grateful for.
Mike talked about really connecting with the object at your cheek in his post and that really resonated with me because I FELT the cold on my skin when that happened and at that exact moment I heard a "good, Shannon" from Jon and knew I was in it.

Then I got to be FIRST victim for the exercise. I really felt like I had it in my hand and the only time I lost it was when Jon told me to apply the lotion. At that point I had to place the bottle in my lap and apply lotion as though the bottle was still around and that was a bit harder. I'm glad I could serve as a correction moment that he started using a different approach in future turns. Though I will say, that was a good moment for zone of concentration (the area of the object, the middle ground and the background if my notes are correct).

Homework Time: Go outside. Find a spot. Sit or stand for 10 minutes in the same spot everyday and YAWN. The biggest yawn you can. Then listen with your ears opened and eyes in soft focus. Hear what's around you. Feel the atmosphere on your skin. Wind, heat, moisture, etc. Notice any smells. Notice how your body reacts to these things.

I chose my patio outside, which I need to spend more time at anyway. We just got some new chairs that someone left on the side of the road and so I've been sitting in one of them with a 10 minute timer. What I've noticed is that my range of hearing goes way beyond what I would expect and I start to notice little things. The strands of spider web in between the trees. Squirrels skittering about. Birds in the corner of my eye. And it didn't stop after the exercise. Even walking my dog immediately after I noticed more than I usually did. I think even after this, I'm gonna keep spending a little more time on my patio once a day. As Evelyn said, it's a great moment of meditation that I was not able to achieve during the few times I have tried "normal" meditation.

I actually don't have many Jon quotes except for "the best acting is unselfconsious", so I'll also add one of my favorite's from a favorite voice actor of mine, Crispin Freeman.

"Professional acting is the ability to play pretend so believably, that people will pay you for it."

Thank you Shannon, and thank you Crispin. Really nice post. Clear and relatable.

Kick ass post, Shannon!

I forgot about the yawn, crap. Same about gonna sit in nature everyday, I already have been. Inside is more depressing, I feel a little less anxiety from doing these.