We are led to believe, and a lot of us have unwittingly submitted to the idea that play, as a problem-solving tactic or exploratory strategy, is an inefficient, time-sucking, unproductive, flabby, needy, silly, childish, waste of time.
Better to work harder, faster, smarter. And then engage in the kind of “play” play was meant to be.
Croquet, cocktails, movies, Scrabble.
The thinking is this: if we engage in play as a problem-solving tactic, we will pay later. We will have less time to work so we can get home to make dinner, do dishes, help with homework, go to bed, get enough sleep to get up early, exercise and do it again to accomplish great things, to be more successful, to get ahead of the game, so we can move forward until we die.
The thinking is this: if we engage in play as a problem-solving tactic, we will pay later. We will have less time to work so we can get home to make dinner, do dishes, help with homework, go to bed, get enough sleep to get up early, exercise and do it again to accomplish great things, to be more successful, to get ahead of the game, so we can move forward until we die.
We are on FF right now. Fast forward. Falling, falling…forward into the giant abyss. Without the ability to play with our reality, we stay stuck in the sameness of our thoughts. Jung said:
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.”
He spoke about active imagination as a process of mediation in which our conscious mind asks questions of personal images or dreams and waits for our unconscious to answer thus building a bridge between what we know and what we cannot know without asking and listening.
We start by asking questions.
Then we listen. Not aggressively. Not with any expectations at all.
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.”
He spoke about active imagination as a process of mediation in which our conscious mind asks questions of personal images or dreams and waits for our unconscious to answer thus building a bridge between what we know and what we cannot know without asking and listening.
We start by asking questions.
Then we listen. Not aggressively. Not with any expectations at all.
Zen Buddhists practice an acronym called R.A.I.N. which roughly summarized suggests that when confronted with a strong emotion that sends us into fear, we try to Recognize physically where it is in our body and how it physically feels Ask ourselves if we can Allow it. Can we just be with it, whatever it is? Investigate with Intimacy. What does it want from us? What would the fear need to feel better? Can we Non-identify with the fear, the emotion, the experience we are having as something that defines us rather than simply an experience we are having. We can ask questions of our personal images or dreams as Jung suggests. We can ask questions of our emotional or physical pain as Buddhists suggest.
We can ask questions of whatever captures our attention and sticks in our mind—a tree, an unfinished pb&j sandwich, a painting, an unusual situation. IT will speak to us about whatever we need to begin a process of self-renewal.
We can ask questions of whatever captures our attention and sticks in our mind—a tree, an unfinished pb&j sandwich, a painting, an unusual situation. IT will speak to us about whatever we need to begin a process of self-renewal.
It is both a process of active imagination and active awareness.
It honors that the energy of everything around us and within us has the power to transform us, if we let it. It acknowledges that each energy has its own frequency, it’s own beat.
Our hearts beat us into existence everyday. Our breaths provide a backbeat. We are made of rhythm. The crickets are made of rhythm. The clocks, the washing machine, the hummingbird, the autumn leaves. The world is made of co-existing rhythms that form a universal music.
If we ask questions, if we tunnel into the center, the core, the essence of the “play” we can hear the music.
Our hearts beat us into existence everyday. Our breaths provide a backbeat. We are made of rhythm. The crickets are made of rhythm. The clocks, the washing machine, the hummingbird, the autumn leaves. The world is made of co-existing rhythms that form a universal music.
If we ask questions, if we tunnel into the center, the core, the essence of the “play” we can hear the music.
