Improvisation is not just making things up or doing whatever the hell you want to. Improvisation requires discipline and practice. Improvisation requires structure.
Discipline
The act of improvisation is the act of following the pulse. You don't make anything up. You simply follow.
Discipline means learning to tune into the pulse. Life is calling out to us at all times leading us into the most wondrous experiences. Why is that most people do not live magical lives? It is because though Life calls out to us, it does not do the living and experiencing for us. We need to learn to recognize the nudges of the pulse and follow Life.
Practice
Practice means that we must consciously engage with a way of living life that is different from what society teaches us. We must learn to be free. To recognize the pulse (discipline) is one thing but to actually follow it, day and night, every single day and trust enough to not give up on it is practice.
With discipline and practice we get stronger. We hear the pulse and see it. It becomes a part of us. Improvisation makes us whole.
Structure
In order to walk you need a floor. In order to do anything you need resistance in the form of structure. Improvisation exercises provide that structure against which the pulse can first be recognized and later continuously followed. These don't have to be my exercises. You can make your own ones up!
Discipline, practice, and structure make up the 3 pillars of improvisation. This applies to your art. This applies to your work. This applies to your life.
Once you start living the improvised life you never want to go back to the old life. You start living in the moment.
May the pulse be with you!
Abhay
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