Tag Archives: playful practice

Depth Psychology, Play & Create, Play-Based Approach, Playing in the Everyday

It Feels Right: I Have a Confession to Make

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Writing or creating anything really seems to take its time with me.

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I collect ideas, dreams, images, and what-nots for an undetermined period of time and then when the time is right to let it rip-I share my collection. Its occurred to me lately that it might be wise to share bit-by-bit, in dribs and drabs, dot-to-dot. For NOW I’m ready to share what I have stored away.

No Matter What I Play on…

Many people, when they learn about Play=Peace and my play-based work, tell me that they don’t play enough or even that they don’t really know how to play at all.

There are also folks who ask me incredulously,

why would I need someone like you to help me learn to play?

well….

We live in a playful world

Every one of us is born with the birthright

to PLAY

YET

our Culture pushes us towards stress, poor health, migraines, worry, tension, conflict, pressured-scheduled living or lethargy, workaholism, and much more that is harmful to our well-being and opportunity to live full-out!

NO MATTER

who joins me learning the art of playing in the everyday

I GET TO PLAY!

My Imaginal Being, my Dreams, Psyche–calls me to play and create

for myself and in service to others….

Play is the Thing!

and

There is another Side of the Coin

Stress and Pressure live there…

It all what you want to Choose. I’ll be playing! no matter what…

I’d love to hear from you!

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Play-Based Approach, Playing in the Everyday

Choices + Action: Create Your Playful Journey

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I don’t do black & white photos so when I was asked to participate in a recent photo challenge I decided I could turn my color images into black & white. ~Sarah Miller

Image 2-25-16 at 9.44 AM

What Sarah is saying, in part, is that she created a playful shift in her thinking which easily allowed her to move forward so she could participate in the black & white photo challenge that her friend sent her.

There are so many ways to play in the everyday of our lives. Think about your daily routine. I wake with a dream, stretch in bed, listen to the sound of birds outside, get out of bed and slip my robe on, say hello to Michael and our puppy, Lila, walk into the kitchen to grab myself a cup of coffee and pick up my journal and pen….

and that’s just the start of my day.

Your day has a routine too. Breakfast, brushing your teeth, driving or walking to work, dropping the kids off at school, studio time, and multiple possibilities depending on the day and what matters to you most.

The thing is that every thing you or I choose to do whether its sweeping the floor, meeting a friend for coffee, sitting with a dying friend or family member, taking a walk, working on a project, writing a blog post, or painting can be playful–it just takes practice!

Listen to your Impulses. Choose to Live Playfully & Creatively. Take a Different Path and Live a Joyful, Meaningful Life.

Most mornings I start my day with journaling, stretching, dancing, and meditation. I might pick a book and open it to any page and see what calls me that morning. What wants to be played with?

Today I open my visual journal and see…

No Time to Lose

Riffing on that phrase a bit…

Each day I choose one way to play and then share it with others that day or when the time is ripe. Today I’ll be playing outdoors planting some colorful primroses that I picked up at the garden center yesterday. I’ve been picking up cedar branches and am imagining an early Spring ritual of burning the wood while letting go of anything that is holding me back. No matter what I choose to play with-digging in the dirt, planting, burning away what is no longer needed, brushing my teeth, wondering if I hurt someone, organizing, writing, looking up something new that i want to learn about, planning a new course, teaching, or performing…

I can play in every moment of my life and so can you!

Choose ways, as Sarah and I have, to create playful shifts in the way you go about your day and see what happens.

What does your playful spirit want to play with first?!

Want to try turning the customary way of doing things into play?

Turn around, move betwixt and between, and breathe this in…

even the most challenging of times can be part of your playful journey if you make the choice to practice the art of play in the everyday.

What will you Play with TODAY?

Share Your Experience in the Comments or Email me…REALLY, you’ll make my day if you share just a bit of your playful journey…

and even better! we can meet up and explore together!

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Play-Based Approach, Playing in the Everyday

My Playful Journey, My Playful Practice

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Each time I play with my grandchildren I learn something new.

Bailey is 14-months old. Chase and Jenny are in first grade. Bailey wants to do everything that her big brother and sister do. I take out the crayons and some paper so she can hold the colors in her hands, make her mark on paper, place them in the box, and dump them out again.

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Bailey and the twins are shaping their lives. As their Nana, and a witness to their development, I am privileged to be a part of their play and learning.

as I develop

I am aware of what is revealed as I remember, reflect, and take playful action in response to what I have learned along the way. I am grateful to all who have mentored and supported me along my path. I receive new gifts and playful connections every day.

Some of the questions I ask myself are:

What memories are evoked when I re-visit my playful journey?

Are their changes that I notice? What pathways feel similar? Unfamiliar?

What are the most delightful parts of my playful journey?

What are the most challenging?

What is most important to me now?

How can re-visiting the pathways of my playful journey inform my work with others?

a life view

I believe that ‘playing in the everyday’ is fundamental to a life well-lived. Playing in every nook and cranny of my life, the easy bits and challenging transitions, has offered me both joy in the everyday moments of my life and nurturance as I struggle to find my way.

I believe that I am called to a playful practice which includes helping others to embrace their playful natures and share their unique gifts with others.

from the beginning

Thank goodness! My dreams led me back to play and encouraged my playful nature’s callings to sing, dance, write, draw, paint, explore outdoors, try out new things especially when ‘I didn’t *don’t* have a clue’ how to do this, or that…

I found myself listening to my impulses and moving forward without knowing everything.  No instruction book needed. I’ve noticed that a lot of people’s life storyline includes needing to have all their ‘ducks in order’ before they move ahead with anything. If I’m drawn to something my approach may be to move slow…slow…but often it’s not.

I’m honoring my gut instinct. My gut is reliable I’ve found.

becoming

Sooooo, I’m playing with some new things like:

fiddling

I’ve listened to fiddle tunes for years. Love the play of a swing instrument.

children’s songs

Not really a new way to play for me but I’m finding myself listening to ‘Casper Babypants’ as I dance in my studio, take a break, stretch in the morning.  Is this something a PhD in Clinical Psychology is supposed to do?

art-making

Well, you know, there are lots of ways to paint the world. and I want to try them all! I’m finding that Pinterest is a great place to discover some of these ‘ways to play’…I’m collecting these ideas on boards and trying them out. Soon I want to play with a group, interested?

What do you delight in?

What is most challenging for you?

Are you playing with some new things?

I’D LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT!

Share Your Experience in the Comments or Email me… [contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]