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Play with joy, with a smile. If you aren't enjoying it—stop. Never practice—that's just the brain. Always play, even if the audience is afar. That's the heart as well. Don't judge your playing—for then it is not play, but hard work. Just aim to refine your intention.

— John Diamond The Way of the Pulse: Drumming with Spirit (1999)

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More quotes by John Diamond

Holistic does not mean doing all things, but bringing all of yourself to all of the sufferer, and him bringing all of himself to you.

Facets of a Diamond: Reflections of a Healer (2002)

We can accept any and all events in our existence if we believe our mothers love us. For, as I say, she was, and still is, all the world to us.

The Veneration of Life: Through the Disease to the Soul (1999)

What matters is not what you paint but what your hand dances. The painting is only a notation of the dance of the hand, of the gesture of love.

Stillpoints: An Introductory Guide to Haiku Painting (2008)

The test of every act of creativity: Does it help you to enthusiastically, passionately, whole-heartedly and gratefully Embrace all your life? This, I believe, is the basic purpose of all the arts—and thus should be the basic Intention of every artist.

A Few Words on Art (Just a Few) (2010)

Although I use many modalities in my practice, only 3 are basic: my hands, my voice, and my intention.

John Diamond (2002)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Diamond (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.