You have certainly already heard of cardiac coherence. If not, go immediately and watch one of those thousands of videos or articles that will explain to you how alternating, balanced breathing makes it possible to change the heartbeats, and thus its inner chemistry and your whole emotional and psychic mechanism. In reality, this method comes from Hindu teachings which, since time immemorial, have used an art of breathing and posture (yoga, pranayama, tantra) to access one’s full energy. Our modern society has transposed and popularized these techniques to make them more accessible. That is what happened with yoga and with meditation. And that is a very good thing! But what I want to talk to you about today is not merely cardiac coherence or even respiratory coherence.
It goes far beyond that.
Coherence is more important than perfection, because it will be easier and more flexible for you to be in your coherence than in your perfection. But what is coherence, then, you may ask? As Jung said: "Do not seek to be perfect, seek to be complete." In Hebrew, the word "Shalom," used to say "hello," means "peace." But its etymology actually means: completeness. Thus, when this word is used to wish you peace, it is to wish you to be in your completeness.
In your opinion, what would your completeness look like?
A few clues: what is complete rejects nothing, and everything finds its rightful place, even though it may shift at every moment.
Trying to hide something, to restrict or deny it will not help you free yourself from feelings of blockage! On the contrary, welcoming means allowing things to circulate, to breathe, to exhale. Sometimes it will have taken only a word, at a certain age, a glance or a gesture, for the fearful analytical mind to send a message to the emotional brain to set up defense systems. A freezing. So much energy used for a mechanism soon to become absurd... And similarly, it will take just a word that allows the mind to focus differently in order to see the world - and oneself - differently.
Like an administration in burnout, an incoherent nervous system arises when too many "files" have not been filed, processed, or read. And it is nothing more than that: read once, then decide to throw away or store it somewhere more suitable. Then there is room to decide what you want to see first, what should be more easily accessible.
The musician is special in that they use their sensitivity and emotion as an essential ingredient. Wanting to cut yourself off from certain emotions is therefore not the solution. What is troublesome is never the emotion itself, but the fear of that emotion. The greatest champions are often those with the most emotion and fear. The only difference is that they have learned how to tame them - and not to put them in a drawer.
In my opinion, what differs between a fixed mindset (to borrow Carol Dweck’s expression, whose work I recommend), that is, a mindset that stops at the result and sees every event as an end in itself, and a growth mindset that creates an inner environment conducive to success, is good self-esteem. Not an esteem that says "I’m amazing" (and the next day "I’m terrible!"). No, a steady, reassuring, and balanced esteem.
Now, good self-esteem is not being happy all the time or having good adventures. It is being comfortable with the fact that uncomfortable emotions such as sadness, anger, or fear may arise.
Poor self-esteem is being afraid of being afraid. Good self-esteem has the ability to listen to that fear. And this is not a higher quality or a separate talent!
We now know that genes have very little influence compared with the power of our mind. In reality, if you feel you lack this favorable soil in daily life, rejoice, because you will be able to become its master. A virtuoso! And your freedom will therefore be in your hands, rather than a matter of luck here or there.
It is a matter of learning to use your attentional capacity differently than when it passes through the neocortex (the analytical mind). By using your attention to modify your brainwave frequencies, you gradually send new information and connections. Your reassured brain sends a message that "everything is fine" even if the situation is not ideal at this moment. Yet with a reassuring message, you can requisition the resources you need, rather than being overwhelmed by stress.
This is how you gradually transform your self-esteem: by transforming the reactions of your nervous system, you recreate favorable soil.
And this happens through:
☞ training your mind every day through new systems of thought
☞ welcoming emotions differently when they arise
In training your system of thought, there are many possible actions. Being observant, but also learning to know your true engine, what in coach jargon is called "values." If your "zone of genius" is play, wanting to resemble a "serious" musician will not help you. If you need to express your "crazy" personality, that is a source of energy. Likewise, if you are very visual, do not try to memorize first through the auditory. Use your strength. If it is the opposite, or if you are mainly kinesthetic, do the same. (*I will soon speak about the different systems for optimizing the learning of a score)
Ultimately, there is not just one way to be high-performing.
There is only yours.
And sometimes you have forgotten what makes you effective (too often very French to emphasize where one is "bad" while forgetting where one is good). Hence the need to return to your coherence.
Coherence is also the link between energy and matter. Once again, the analytical mind stops at what it sees and perceives through the senses. It is an experience of matter. But we have known since the quantum discoveries of the last century how everything is made of energy and in reality varies from 99.9% emptiness. It is therefore not from matter but from energy that it will be possible for you to create real and deep transformations. Now, the bridge between matter and energy is emotion. Motion in its etymology, which means "movement."
If you block your emotions, you block the possibility of working with energy. Conversely, the more coherent you are between your emotions, your thoughts, and your actions, the more your energy will naturally be multiplied.
Of course, you may need outside help. Do not hesitate to find a guide, whether it is me or someone else you trust.
Finally, it is by welcoming yourself in your entirety, by making peace with your life, that you will find or rediscover your true balance. Do you feel pleasure in your daily practice? If not, change something! Of course, there are mornings when we are less motivated, when the amount of work to be done may seem austere, but that is all the more necessary then, to rediscover a personal challenge, a meaning in what you do. The same goes for the balance of all your interests, not only your professional activity. Do you place value on your friendships, your family, your curiosity in other areas? Going out or taking a walk? Reading, being alone? Your passion for lemon pies or your knowledge of cinema? These are not just peculiarities of your personality. They are your balance. Homeostasis, as we say in biology. And it is your being that reveals itself through multiple channels. By acknowledging this, you acknowledge yourself and allow your mind no longer to believe it is under pressure in one single voice, in one single way.
And your mind needs that. As you need to breathe, it too needs to be reassured in order to function properly. Not reassured in a "under the blanket" mode! But reassured so that it can tell itself: "Okay, this scares me, but we can do it. So let’s go, it’s going to be fun!"
Letting go is not this transcendental state that New Age propaganda would have us believe in. It is something very simple that consists in not putting pressure on one place by endlessly banging your head against the same wall. Like in a relationship, you might hate it if your partner put pressure on you! Well, it is the same with your art. Let it breathe. Trust it! Your job is to feel and nurture that balance within yourself until you stand steady, and feel so good and balanced that your attention can be used optimally, whatever the results.
Like an instrument to which each necessary string is returned before it can be tuned to the right pitch, little by little your brain will synchronize, meaning that your mind (emotions, mind, body) will function in coherence. Like a computer synchronized with your smartphone! And you cannot imagine how pleasant, simple, obvious this will then seem to you! Because your whole being will be moving in the same direction, with one part no longer slowing down while another speeds up. And you will only have to follow your path, whether it rains, blows, or shines.
With all my heart,
Wishing you amusement, inspiration, or joy
In the talent that is yours!
Hélène Tysman for Hypnosis for Musicians©
