Monthly Archives: April 2011

Aaaaaaand now for: The Book Dance

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This is honestly about how the dance goes. Depending on the mood I’m in, there may be less shaking on my part. And there’s always that chanting. Always.

NOTE: I HIGHLY recommend A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, a memoir that recounts the journey that Dave Eggers took in the years after his parents’ deaths–becoming an adult while raising his kid brother. It is an honest, self-deprecating, and creatively unconventional memoir, but it’s not for those who prefer to distance themselves from profanity. There are passages that extensively use the F-word, although I believe its usage is appropriate in the sense that it best reflects the exterior (and interior) state of the writer.

Becoming Visible.

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The one thing I consistently hear about my worship leading style is that I point the congregation in the direction of the song, then I get of the way and let them focus on God.

When translated into other terms, they’re saying I have a very comfortable and unassuming stage presence. As a worship leader, this would be considered a compliment, since it’s not about drawing attention to myself.

As I learn more about myself, I’m realizing that I don’t like attention. I’m the wallflower, the people-watcher, the quiet one in the group. Not at all the life of the party. I’ve never been an athlete because the little-girl Mandy was petrified of all the eyes in the stands. I’ve never been a performer for the same reasons.

Don’t notice me. Don’t evaluate me. Don’t pay attention to me.

As a musician that doesn’t want to be noticed, the worship leading role is a great fit.

But, now that I’m doing this band thing, I’m thinking through the fact that people are going to literally look at me.

gulp……….

So. I wanted to ask for your help and advice and all that. How do I shift my mentality? Better yet, how do I grow more comfortable with people actually watching me and all that blah blah?

There’s a Pavlovian dog inside me. And I’m going to find him, train him, and name him “Muse.”

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So I’ve spent the first three months of the year spending a pretty consistent amount of time on the elliptical. Finally. The secret? Watching Alias while swishing. The forty-five minutes fly by.

And then I got all into Alias and then I broke my rule and watched an occasional episode while *not* on the elliptical and, like magic, my mind and body go into “let’s get moving” mode (you know, like when you’ve had one-too-many cups of coffee).

Interesting…. I think the thing that’s happening in my brain is kinda like Pavlov’s salivating dog (I. Hate. Saliva.) experiment, except with more agreeable results. It’s a trigger.

Ooohhh! I can use this to make our brains get all creative! I need a trigger. A set of steps.

Right around the time I was thinking about how to trigger myself (that sounds awful), an article came out about the creative’s routine–their mundane morning routine that gets them in gear. This is some of what the 99 percent had to say:

The different elements of the routine become associated with this creative state of mind, so that they can re-enter it by simply repeating the steps of the routine.

So I decided I’d go for it, and I’d start using this method before any intense time of creativity. I needed something that’d take about 15 minutes. Get me away from technology. And still my mind.

I talked to Drew about it, put a routine together, and the results? Well. They were sparkling. They were mesmerizing. They were sedately explosive.

They were, to say the least, fruitful…