Tilling+the+Soil

What can we do to cultivate innovativeness? This is a question we must ask ourselves if we wish to change anything. A goal, of course, is necessary, but it is not sufficient if we are to avoid mere rearrangement of the existing structures. In our search for new perspectives and new behaviors, we must take action to do things differently. At the personal level, this involves developing practices that remove the barriers to innovativeness. (I make a distinction here between a //habit// and a //practice//, the former being an unconsciously created structure, and the latter, a conscious one.)

One type of barrier to be removed (or at least reduced) is that of stress. More accurately, we need to make sure that the inevitable stress of life is released and not held in the body. In the language of structure and flow, stress is a flow (of energy) that becomes caught in a structure to form a repeating loop that will ultimately damage us. We hold onto the stress long after it has served its function. Furthermore, stress causes us to hyperfocus (e.g. to get out of the way of the oncoming car) and prevents us from seeing the bigger pictures, taking other people's points of view and other factors that contribute to innovativeness. It is essentially our habits that determine how we process stress; we need to replace them with practices that help us relieve the stress. The book Stress Free for Good, by Dr. Fred Luskin and Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier is an excellent collection of such practices.

What makes their book so good is that they describe what I have come to call "micropractices". One of the problems with changing ourselves is that we often face gargantuan systems that promise to save us if only we spend hours and hours (and often dollars and dollars) with it. A further complication can be that the system becomes an end-in-itself. (A cult is an extreme example.) Micropractices are small, simple things we can do, one step at a time, that bring about change. How do we go about adopting micropractices? This is a question that occupy us for years and is the essence of my work at this time in my life.

One of the key aspects appears to be that of a balanced diversity, or //integral//, as it is being increasingly called. I would refer all the work of Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute. The goal is to focus on the whole and not the parts, which means engagement with parts as parts, not giving into the temptation to identify with **any** of them. This means that one avoids the statement "I am a -" where - is any system (educational, religious, or otherwise). Instead, one says, "I have a great set of tools (structures) here, and they come in a collection called a -- and I'm finding it helpful to be around people who are making use of them."

Another aspect of developing micropractices is the need for fun. Many systems for improvement are heavy and onerous. At least, one generally needs a way "in" to the practice, like priming a pump or pulling a cord on a lawnmowever: something to get us started. (This is where an intellectual system, or structure can be helpful, as long as it doesn't become an end in itself.)

Yet another aspect is the need for quick results. If we get some kind of positive feedback, we are more apt to continue it. Physical practices such an exercise and structured breathing can often accomplish this.

Underlying the development of micropractices is the need for motivation to do so. This, I believe, comes from the recognition of the deliciousness of newness, that it is something worth working for.