#006 Life in Fast-Forward, Seducing the Muse + Sacred Pause
Hey, friends. Welcome to a new edition of The Now newsletter.
We’re slowly easing into autumn here in New Zealand and, in recent years, I’ve become more away of my body changing with the seasons.
This week, I’ve felt the need to slow down. My energy’s lower, my muscles and joints are more achy from my workouts, and I’m craving more downtime.
If you have any advice for navigating these seasonal shifts, please respond to this email and let me know.
For now, I think I’ll listen to my body and give it what it’s asking for. But I’ll also be exploring ways to maintain energy and vitality over the coming months.
Whatever season you’re moving through – literally or metaphorically – I encourage you to tune in to your body and ask it what it needs at this time. I don’t think we’re designed to keep driving in the same gear all year round.
Thanks for being here. I hope you enjoy the microdose of wisdom I’ve whipped up this week.
— Jonathan
One mind-expanding idea: Life in Fast-Forward 💡
I was at a 10-day silent meditation retreat in Thailand when this idea struck me.
We were doing a walking meditation in the evening.
About 70 of us were walking slowly in a line, snaking around the retreat grounds in the dark.
It was day 7 of the retreat. I should’ve been dialled-in by this point.
I should have been “in the moment”, mindfully aware of each step – lifting, moving, and placing my feet and sensing the complex textures of the grass beneath me.
Instead… I caught myself drafting a magazine article I was planning to write about this experience in my head.
My body was present, moving ghoulishly through the night in my loose-fitting retreat clothes.
But my mind had well-and-truly departed to work on a creative task in an imaginary future.
I almost laughed out loud when I realised what I was doing (but I had to catch myself because, you know, it was a silent retreat).
I’ve come to call this phenomenon, Living in Fast-Forward.
Think of it as fat-fingering the ⏩ button on the remote control for your life.
It happens more often than you think.
The other day I was pulling weeds in my veggie garden, an activity I usually find quite grounding.
But my mind had skipped forward a few scenes and was already working on future tasks.
What work do I need to get done today? What should I cook for dinner? Do we need anything from the supermarket? When will I get around to painting the hallway? Winter’s coming up, I should probably order some firewood.
This might seem normal. And thinking about the future in this way might seem harmless.
But every time you hit the fast-forward button on your life, you miss out on the full experience of what’s happening now.
Add that up over a lifetime and, well, you’ve effectively missed out on a good chunk of your life.
It also feels stressful to binge on future tasks while trying to focus on what you’re doing now.
For me, this stress can show up as shallow breathing, a whole lot of tension in my face and diaphragm, and a sense that there’s “not enough time”.
All of this makes the experience of the moment – whether it’s a walking meditation, weeding the garden, or whatever else – less enjoyable.
If you watched a whole movie on fast-forward, you wouldn’t know what’s going on, you wouldn’t enjoy it, and you’d feel frazzled and overwhelmed.
The same thing happens when we live life in fast-forward.
Consider this your invitation to hit ▶️ on the remote control for your life and cruise in real-time for a bit.
Or perhaps you need to hit ⏸️ and regather yourself for a moment.
Allow yourself to fully experience what you’re doing now.
There’s no rush.
For now, there’s nothing else to do and nowhere else to be.
One curiosity-igniting link: Seducing the Muse 🔗
I stumbled across this video on social media this week and it’s stuck with me.
It’s a clip from the documentary series The Beatles: Get Back, in which Paul McCartney creates the hit single ‘Get Back’ on the spot.
The Beatles were in the process of writing 14 new songs ahead of their first live show in more than two years.
The scene is from their fourth day in the studio, less than two weeks before the live performance.
Paul picks up his bass guitar and starts strumming two chords in an erratic, marching rhythm, wailing, humming, and improvising vocal melodies over the top.
Slowly, a song emerges. Not just any song. But the follow-up single to Hey Jude. A worldwide hit. In a matter of minutes.
This is often cited as an example of creative genius and, on first watch, it feels like witnessing a miracle unfold.
But I see it more as an example of the power of showing up.
The Beatles have been in the studio for four days. It’s slow, grinding, and at times tedious work.
The two chords McCartney chooses are nothing special, but he persists. His bandmates seem uninspired while he strums rigorously, like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.
I call this creative practice Seducing the Muse. McCartney’s laying himself bare, hoping inspiration strikes, enticing the Muse to show herself.
Sure, McCartney had put in reps by this point. He’d already written more than a dozen hit songs. He’d refined his taste and talent.
But he had to show up, do the work, and give himself over to the mission to create the conditions for a “miracle” to happen.
“When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.” – Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
Watch the Clip
Credit to Billy Oppenheimer for putting this clip on my radar.
One life-altering practice: The Sacred Pause 🔥
If you’re prone to living life in fast-forward, practicing a simple mindful pause can be enough to bring things back into focus.
Meditation teachers Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield call this practice The Sacred Pause.
Essentially, it’s a short meditation practice to fall back on whenever you notice your mind’s run away on you.
You can do whatever helps you to become grounded and present.
Here are some simple suggestions.
How to do it: The Sacred Pause
- Take six deep belly breaths.
- Re-focus your attention and energy on what you’re doing now.
- Notice if there’s any tension in your body and, if there is, see if you can release it.
- Ask if there’s something more important or enjoyable you’d rather be spending your time on. If there is, prioritise it.
- Know that you can only do so much in a day. You can’t do it all. Free yourself of that pressure.
- Give yourself permission to enjoy what you’re doing now.
- Try saying simple affirmations to yourself: “I am present. I am calm. I am choosing to live in the moment.”
Remember, the now is all we have so we should probably be here for it, right?
That’s it for this week. I hope you can become aware of when your mind’s racing ahead of you today and allow yourself to pause and be present, even if it’s just for a moment. Maybe this moment?
Thanks for reading,
— Jonathan