The Four-fold Way: An Approach to Performance

I've written what is below based on anthrologist and author Angeles Arrien's "Four Fold Way", a mode of being and practice that is harmony with the deep self and with Nature.

I teach this to my students as a way to approach performance. It is how I endeavor to approach performance. It is also an approach to LIFE!

The Four-fold Way:

1.       Show up:

be present in mind body and spirit.

2.       Pay attention:

Quiet the "noise" of the mind. Sense fully what is currently going on around you. Listen to your body and to the music, note by note. Do not go forward or back in time.

3.       Tell the truth:

 

Be authentic! Be where you are now, as opposed to where you'd like to be. Feel what you are really feeling; your body will always tell you how to do this. Dramatic art versus pretension.

 

4.       Be unattached to outcome: 

 

Staying fully in the present ensures the best outcome. Keep your mind focused on what you are doing, as opposed to what you will do or what you did do. Let go of judgment. Open yourself to life, be a medium for energy as opposed to controlling it. TRUST yourself fully and unconditionally!