The Teacher Within

OK, as promised, I'll introduce your friend for the journey.

A moment of quiet reflection will lead quite simply, profoundly, yet effortlessly, to an understanding that you are a part of this magnificent Reality. The pure magic of existence. You will experience your very own awareness of the phenomenon we call "Life".
That pure, uncluttered awareness that you feel is your Spirit, it is you at the root level, the part of you that has never changed.

THE TEACHER WITHIN.

You have met Him many times before, maybe recently, She's the one who gave you the breath, earlier on, and right now for that matter.
He's the one who is hearing you play, She loves it, by the way. He's also the One Who is feeling your fingers on the keys. She's also the tension that you sent out of the room.

(He didn't want you to feel so tense, by the way, but you have been so busy recently that you didn't hear Her calling for you to take some time out, and relax and enjoy that wonderful Human Body that He also gave you. Still, better late than never. We can only continue from HERE and NOW.)

As well as being your best friend on this journey She will also show you that He is the best possible Piano Teacher in the whole universe, and what is more, She is absolutely FREE, totally sympathetic to your personal needs, always there to listen and offer guidance, and the only thing He asks of you is TO REMEMBER that She is there.

That should help you to relax.
I have the same friend, the very same teacher. It's amazing how He has the time for both of us, sometimes simultaneously, and She's always so wonderfully kind. I really, really love Him. I'm sure you do too. The staggering part is, I can't do anything in return, for Her, I mean, except remember, and smile in my heart. By the way, He invented harmony, the very idea of it, so music is very close to Her heart.
He loves it when we play just for Her.
Listen carefully to His gentle voice.
She asks you not to rush away, but enjoy fully the time spent with Him.
You are Her favourite, best, most beloved pupil.
He has nothing to gain from teaching you, save the thrill of seeing you grow and enjoy. Whatever your task, the satisfaction of reaching the end will undoubtedly come all too soon. Enter within each precious moment with Her, each special moment of music, every touch of your fingers, the flow of rhythm from the centre of you to the point of connection with the sound and onwards until the silence returns.

Silence is to music as an empty canvas is to painting. Create upon that medium and drink the silence deeply, you can find it within you.

Anyway, introductions over with, I'm glad that you've already signed the contract. So on with the journey, don't forget to remember, and remember not to forget. That's our part of the Beautiful Bargain.

So, I admit it, the Mysterious interface is not really between you and your instrument,
It's really between the Idea of you and the Idea of your instrument. Seeing as His ideas are the only ones that count from now on, we might as well stop pretending that there is any real difference between the piano player and the piano being played.
Ah, but there is one major and crucial difference, which makes everything fall into place.

The piano player is alive and conscious! Aren't you? Of course.
That enables you to enjoy the experience, enjoy the journey, black and white, high and low, loud and soft, stop and start, happy and sad, long and short, breathing in, breathing out.
I'll stop there, I think, dear friend, you have the general idea.

So you are already at one with your instrument, that's an auspicious start.
Can you feel at your fingertips the gentle vibrations of sound as you play?
Try some balancing exercises including your feet at the pedals.
Pivoting upon the heels of each foot, rotate the feet under and over the pedals in a circular motion clockwise and then anti-clockwise.

Open the ears, relax the arms and shoulders, feel the gentle breath, open your heart . . . you are ready to play.