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Fighting Off Compliancy and Shame

April 2, 2011 By Pamela Lynn International 2 Comments
Bruce Lee

I’ve always hated the quote, “It’s not about the destination; it’s the journey that counts.”

Have you ever noticed when people preach it to you as advice, there seems to be a touch of condescension, and shame attached to it?

It’s as if they are really trying to say, “You’re just not grateful for what you have; you need to stop trying so hard to get to where you want to go.”

Would they give this advice to an Olympic hopeful?
I don’t think so.

Maybe they are well intentioned, but if you give this kind of advice to a musician or an artist, it has a nasty way of breeding compliancy, and shame.

Can you guess who helps inspire me to fight off this kind of mental mindset?

Bruce Lee.

Yep.
He is my iconic hero.

I like to imagine him as my personal mentor.

He expects only the very best from me, because he knows I have it within me to give.

And…

He never shames me into believing that I should settle for less than who I am capable of becoming.

My point is this:

If your destination involves your personal dreams, and highest aspirations then I say:
Fight like hell for your destination; don’t let the journey bury you alive!

Here is a video I think you’ll enjoy…

Filed Under: Drumming, Inspiration Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Lazy Piece of Meat

March 26, 2011 By Pamela Lynn International Leave a Comment
brain

A Lazy Piece of Meat: What a perfect description of the human brain!

This description comes from neuroscientist Gregory Bern’s book, “Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently.”

I am an avid reader of anything that can help a person learn how to use their brain more efficiently in order to achieve their goals. I loved this book!

If you value imagination, creativity, productivity and problem solving strategies, as much as I do, then you’ll be interested in what I have to share.

Why is this information valuable?

Because in order to push beyond your preconceived limitations, it helps to understand how your brain works in order to maximize its potential.

The Top Ten Lessons I Learned From Neuroscientist, Gregory Bern

1. The brain is fundamentally a lazy piece of meat that doesn’t like to waste energy. Energy is precious, so efficiency rules the land.

2. The brain sees things that are most familiar to it and it will take short cuts whenever it can, based on what it already knows.

3. The efficiency principle, coupled with an immense amount of information and experiences, means the brain needs to categorize.

4. How you categorize objects determines what you see, and since imagination comes from perception, it makes it difficult to think differently.

5. Breakthroughs in perception and creativity can be increased by stimulating your brain with unfamiliar content that it doesn’t know how to interpret.

6. Unfamiliarity forces the brain to discard its usual categories of perception and create new ones.

7. Creativity requires you to have the ability to break through categorizations and see things not for what you think they are, but for what they might be.

8. The possibilities for creative thinking are enhanced when the brain doesn’t have connections in place from past experiences.

9. The best way to jolt the brain out of preconceived expectations is to bombard it with new experiences.

10. To trigger a new perception of a problem, your brain needs to be confronted with new stimuli to entice it to reorganize its perception.

For more information visit Greogory Berns Homepage :http://www.ccnl.emory.edu/greg/
Amazon.com:http://www.amazon.com/Iconoclast-Neuroscientist-Reveals-Think-Differently
Amazon.ca:http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1422133303

Ready?

Case in point: Watch this…

Filed Under: Inspiration, Neuroscience Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Effortless Mastery: When Nothing Less Will Do

March 11, 2011 By Pamela Lynn International 2 Comments
Effortless Mastery

Have you ever be told to “slow down” when you’re practicing something new?

I’ve been told a million times, and it used to always annoy me.

I never understood what others meant when they said pracitice “slow”.
I thought, compared to others I am going slow!

Besides, I have a thing for speed.
I’m always hungry for the rush I get when I’m drenched in rhythms played at a speed that equals my intensity.
That’s part of the fun!

And, let’s not forget the fact that my ego was insisting that I needed to sound great, as fast as I can!

There was a slight problem with this way of thinking.

If applied to practicing, it will eventually derail you.
If applied to practicing, it will be eventually become your biggest liability.

I never understood this until I read Kenny Werner’s book “Effortless Mastery: Liberating The Master Musican Within”.
Massive paradigm shift.

When nothing less than excellence will do, effortless mastery is the goal.
Not speed.
Not ego.

If you struggle to understand the depth of this concept, purchase this book.
It will change your outlook towards mastering your art form.

I get it now.

Count me in.

Check out http://www.Kennywernerlive.com
For FREE Effortless Mastery TeleWebinars

Educational and Inspirational Messages!

Filed Under: Drumming, Inspiration, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Laying Down My Cards

February 26, 2011 By Pamela Lynn International 4 Comments
Laying Down My Cards

The best way that I know how to introduce an idea, is to lay down your cards.

Done honesty, it’s an efficient way to repel those that disagree, and attract those that are like-minded.

So, here’s my chance.

Ever since I started drumming at the age of twelve, I have loved the way drumming makes me feel. The best way I could describe that feeling was to say that it made me feel empowered. As an adult, once I started teaching, that feeling of empowerment was what I wanted to promote. I wanted others to have the opportunity to experience the same elated feelings, and enjoy the benefits of drumming in the same way I did.

My lack of education, and awareness as to what was causing this “feeling,” pulled me off track.
Let me explain this in the simplest terms as possible:

  • I don’t believe the healing power of drumming comes from the spirit of the drums themselves.
  • I don’t believe the healing power of drumming comes from the spirit of the rhythms.
  • I don’t believe the healing power of drumming comes from any other spirit that is channelled through the player.

With all due respect to those that do believe this to be true, I couldn’t disagree more.
I am a very spiritual woman, but there is a time and place for everything.

I believe that:

  • The healing power of drumming comes from how rhythmic entrainment affects the human brain.
  • I believe that the healing power of drumming, and that feeling of empowerment, and euphoria is caused from a very valuable biochemical reaction in the brain.

I understand that as a World Percussionist, this flies in the face of the status quo.

My intention is not to dismiss those that choose to believe in the spiritual, and healing powers of drumming, but rather to research the biological/cognitive effects in order to fully appreciate the health benefits that can be gained from the application of rhythmic entrainment.

In doing so, I hope that my discoveries will enhance the lives of many.

I want you to have the opportunity to understand the true value of drumming (aka rhythmic entrainment) so that you can use this information to enhance your life.

If you’re still with me…welcome to my blog!

Filed Under: Drumming, Inspiration, Neuroscience Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,