Faith Venture

I’ve been in the personal development (non)business. Not something I’ve earned an income from. Just something I have done. Both for others and for myself.

A couple projects in my open queue include looking at the Letter to the Romans as a guide for spiritual development and a new look at a spiritual disciplines course I’ve led a couple of times.

Another development is organizational. I’ve long believed that, especially for churches and other non-profits, leaders must analyze their budget in two buckets (from a financial standpoint, there are other things you need like P&L and capital)—how much is spent on maintaining the status quo (salaries, rent, maintenance) and how much is spent on ministry to others (missions, local and international ministries, supporting people in need). If it’s too much of the former, you need to consider if you are really doing your mission.

Then, let us look at time. Arnold Schwarzenneger suggests, “Instead of changing goals, look closely at how you spend your time. What habits are holding you back? And, maybe more importantly, what ‘good’ habits aren’t getting the job done? The more you assess how you spend your time, the better you can use that time to shape a more desirable future.”

For you, those you are mentoring, your organization—how do you spend your time?

• Endless meetings?
• Gathering with the same people?
• Meeting new people?
• Supporting those in need?
• Sharing your story with someone new?
• Bringing meals to homeless?
• Sheltering refugees (instructions direct from the Bible)?

Take a look at your calendar (diary in English English). What does it say about you? What needs a refreshment?

From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump newsletter. 

Small acts of discipline, from finishing a workout to choosing a healthy meal, become the bricks in the foundation of self-respect. Don’t chase motivation. Chase consistency. That’s how you earn the version of yourself you admire.

From Shane Parrish of Brain Food. The entire self-help industry in one sentence: Do what makes mornings exciting and nights peaceful. Will this make me excited to wake up? Will this let me sleep in peace? Everything that fails both tests is noise.

Health begins with good sleep.

Meaning comes from getting up excited to serve others according to your talents.

Someone told me that it is a sign of creativity to take ideas from outside your area and apply them to what you are working on. I will take that as a good thing.

My father took me to percussion lessons at about age 8. I played in school bands from junior high through high school to university. Along the way, I picked up a little experience with saxophone and trombone. But I picked up a guitar during my second year of university and have played it off-and-on ever since. Moving and Covid caused a break in the action.

I recently picked up an online guitar teacher called Klaus Crowe. He just posted a cool little essay regarding guitar practice called How To Be A Guitar Monk.

This is really cool. Let us try substituting our spiritual practices in place of the noun, “guitar.” Maybe prayer or meditation or study. Maybe even service. I’m posting some of the original. Make your own substitution for whatever spiritual practice (or guitar, for that matter) you need to work on.

“One guitar. One focus. One day at a time.”

1. Create a Sacred Practice Space

Designate a quiet, clean, distraction free place for your guitar. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just intentional. When you enter this space, you only play guitar. No phone, doom-scrolling or multitasking.

2. Set a Ritual Practice Time

Consistency is king. Choose the same time every day to practice, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Mornings are best for many, but anytime works as long as you’re consistent.

3. Focus on Fundamentals, Not Flash

Monks don’t chase applause, they seek mastery. That means practicing:

• Clean chord transitions
• Slow, accurate scales
• Perfect timing with a metronome
• Tone and dynamics
• Solid technique

4. Limit Your Tools

Many guitarists drown in options: pedals, amps, tabs, apps. A Guitar Monk thrives on limits.

Try this:

• One guitar
• One amp or no amp
• One notebook
• One piece of music at a time
• You’ll be amazed how much more you get done with less.

5. Practice Mindfully

Be present. No autopilot. Pay attention to:

• The intent behind your practice
• Mental distractions
• Your technique
• Your Posture
• Tension in your wrist, shoulders, arms, or jaw
• Slow down. Practicing slowly is a superpower. It builds precision, awareness, and muscle memory far more effectively than rushing.
• Listen deeply to each note. Don’t just play, hear the tone, the attack, the decay. Let your ears lead.
• Practice one thing at a time. Don’t multitask. Choose one goal, like cleaner chord transitions or even vibrato and give it your full attention.
• This turns practice into meditation and your guitar into an extension of your self.

6. Master Your Mindset

Before the fingers follow, the mind must lead.

Becoming a Guitar Monk isn’t just about technique, it’s about how you think.

• Detach from results. Focus on the process, not perfection.
• Replace frustration with curiosity. Mistakes are teachers, not enemies.
• Be patient. Real progress is quiet and gradual, like water shaping stone.
• Let go of comparison. Your path is your own.
• Return to the why. Ask yourself often: Why do I play? Keep that answer close.
• A calm, focused mind is the most powerful tool in your practice. Train it like your hands.

7. Commit Like a Monk

A monk doesn’t dabble, they commit fully, with heart and patience.

To follow the Guitar Monk path:

• Decide once. No daily debate. You practice because it’s who you are.
• Go deep, not wide. Master one piece or technique instead of skimming many.
• Be loyal to the process. Trust the repetition. Trust the slowness.
• Accept the quiet days. Not every session feels magical, that’s part of the path.
• Renew your vow. Each time you pick up the guitar, return with fresh intention.
• Commitment isn’t about pressure, it’s about peace in knowing your direction.

Becoming a Guitar Monk is not about being better than anyone else. It’s about becoming better than you were yesterday, through simplicity, focus, and devotion.

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently wrote a note to The Pump Club (an online fitness community) regarding too much fitness and nutrition advice floating around. Even if much of it is good advice, which unfortunately it is not, too much becomes confusing. Your head fills with more information than it can act upon.

Recently picked up guitar after a few dormant years. I know and have practiced many chords. I know from experience which keys I can sing in—and which genres. But I sought assurance. I visited my old friend Dr. Google. Man—too much advice. How to hold the guitar, what sort of strap and how to mount, what is the appropriate singing range based on an app.

I’ve devoted years to simplifying fitness and nutrition into something that works. Taking that thought back to the practice of guitar, I sought to simplify.

The same with spiritual practice. After 60 years of meditation experience and teaching, I found a new teacher online—just to check in to assure I’m still on the right path. His message—simplify. If the lesson didn’t come right away, well, that’s OK. Come back tomorrow.

Spiritual practice is just that—practice. Every day. If you didn’t receive a lightning bolt from God, well, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. Over time your personality will change. Just from sticking with the basics. Day after day. 

Read, pray, love.

Every day the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook send email messages. On the surface, they just want to  inform me about posts from people I know. What they really wish to achieve is my attention and presence on their sites. They earn income from my presence while viewing interminable advertisements.

I recently offered to a small group a meditation on words from Isaiah where God says that we should not fear because “I, the Lord your God, has your right hand.”

Sometimes reading isn’t enough. Sometimes we need to feel the message. God doesn’t pester us with endless emails. Perhaps we need to develop the practices that tune us into God’s “social network.”

We can practice stillness. Stopping our hectic pace at regular intervals leaving an opening for God to connect.

We can practice small support groups where the group can offer assurances to each other in God’s name.

These practices will take us a lot farther than endless scrolling on social media.

There is a way for us to get the message.

But practice makes us accident prone.

Even ten minutes twice a day practicing stillness and listening makes all the difference.

Sailors once upon a time checked a map to determine the direction of their destination. They left port, set their compass for that direction, and followed the course.

We have GPS today. I am contemplating a vacation to Scotland. Part of the desired destination is to visit the Shetland Islands. OK, only because we’ve watched a TV series based on a series of novels where the setting is there. 

I visited Google Maps. We would fly into Edinburg and spend some time. A ferry crosses to Shetland from Aberdeen. The GPS told me the route from Edinburg to Aberdeen (1 hr 27 min if you’re interested). When we visit, I’ll set the GPs for the destination and follow the course.

Some people teach that the goal of someone entering Christianity is to go to heaven (sometimes incorrectly visualized as somewhere in the sky) by praying a magic prayer. And that’s it.

That concept has always made me uncomfortable in the sense that it’s (one) too easy and (two) there’s no “then what.” 

I’m one of those strange people who believe that Jesus meant what he said. And, much of what he said taught how to live with God in the Kingdom of Heaven starting right now.

Perhaps instead of trying to short-circuit to the goal, we should set our compasses toward the goal and practice living a life with-God.

Just as I wrote a couple days ago, stories evolve in layers unveiling new and more important meanings. As we live out our vision of progressing toward a goal rather than being completed resting on our laurels, we live a better life.

The idea of leading a disciplined life gradually came to me the spring following a “promotion” at work from a position in manufacturing where I walked constantly (before the days of tracking steps) to a desk job the previous summer. I could barely run to first base in the first spring softball practice.

That led to a discipline of early morning runs before heading to work. That discipline got me through COVID when gyms were closed and we had just moved to a new state. I lost some fitness and gained some weight, but it could have been much worse.

Two books came my way years ago—Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster and The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. I have taught classes based on these books.

Recently I sketched an outline for a new class on Spiritual Disciplines. Thinking on these and my experiences, I concluded that a further introduction was needed for the students. Perhaps an introduction of habit forming, such as from Atomic Habits or the Power of Habit.

Then this report on research on exercise and mental health from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club newsletter—Researchers conducted a powerful statistical method that combines data from multiple studies to uncover underlying connections between exercise and mental health. The findings were clear: physical activity was strongly linked to increased resilience, and resilience, in turn, was associated with lower levels of anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress.

Before we jump right into studying prayer, for example, as a spiritual discipline, perhaps we need to pay attention to our bodies and minds and their role in beginning and maintaining discipline. Unless, that is, we join a monastery where we are forced to rise at 4 am for morning prayers.

Pursuing Spiritual Discipline is a “full-contact sport.” We must involve mind and body, as well as, spirit to the extent of our capabilities.