PLaYing ---- part two

Finally, after haven written 100 posts, I am getting around to doing Part Two of this blog! See Part One written as my very first post!

We talk about play in order to convince other people that it is okay to play. So I have been collecting play quotes. I write down these quotes because I agree with them and it makes me look as if I am not alone in these thoughts that I have. Even better, because other people have had these thoughts, and they have written books and have some sense of notoriety, I can ride on their proverbial coattails.

Here is a favorite: “Games are the most elevated form of investigation - Al Einstein” taken from the book A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Daniel Pink’s book, in addition to being an incredible read, is full of quotable quotes.

Here is another one: “There is no question that a playfully light attitude is characteristic of creative individuals,” Says Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (see http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/csik.html).

Of course my father has also said this, but he never wrote it in a book and has a name much easier to pronounce. My cousin would write something like this, but she is busy writing other books and talking around the world about communication, technology and culture and we are all terribly proud of her. (see http://www.hu.mtu.edu/~jdslack/)

Here is another quote that shows, indeed, my six year old son was right on target ( see story in Part One). Mr. Pink writes of the research of two neuroscientists (last names) Shammi and Stuss who "maintain that humor represents one of the highest forms of human intelligence."

He goes on to report that laughter clubs have been born in India and are spreading, with their mission to heal the world. ( Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of these laughter clubs, and his mission to heal the world through laughter are also featured in BBC’s program entitled FACE with John Cleese.)

There is healing in the joy, limitless nature and empathy of humor. Below is an arsenal of quotes to be used when justifying our play: (Please note - I know that this is a long list of play- full quotes, but if you read through them all, you will be rewarded with a website that you can play in.....)

In rare moments of deep play, we can lay aside our sense of self, shed time's continuum, ignore pain, and sit quietly in the absolute present, watching the world's ordinary miracles. No mind or heart hobbles. No analyzing or explaining. No questing for logic. No promises. No goals. No relationships. No worry. One is completely open to whatever drama may unfold. — Diane Ackerman in Deep Play

To play is to listen to the imperative inner force that wants to take form and be acted out without reason. It is the joyful, spontaneous expression of one's self. The inner force materializes the feeling and perception without planning or effort. That is what play is. — Michelle Cassou and Stewart Cubley in Life, Paint and Passion

It is a happy talent to know how to play. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is a mystic in every one of us, yearning to play again in the universe. —
Matthew Fox in Wrestling with the Prophets


Laughter is a holy thing. It is as sacred as music and silence and solemnity, maybe more sacred. Laughter is like a prayer, like a bridge over which creatures tiptoe to meet each other. Laughter is like mercy; it heals. When you can laugh at yourself, you are free. — Ted Loder

Play exists for its own sake. Play is for the moment; it is not hurried, even when the pace is fast and timing seems important. When we play, we also celebrate holy uselessness. Like the calf frolicking in the meadow, we need no pretense or excuses. Work is productive; play, in its disinterestedness and self-forgetting, can be fruitful. — Margaret Guenther in Toward Holy Ground

When we play, we sense no limitations. In fact, when we are playing, we are usually unaware of ourselves. Self-observation goes out the window. We forget all those past lessons of life, forget our potential foolishness, forget ourselves. We immerse ourselves in the act of play. And we become free. — Lenore Terr in Beyond Love and Work

Imaginative play is a key that opens the doors of intuition. — Frances E. Vaughan in Awakening Intuition

It is interesting that Hindus, when they speak of the creation of the universe, do not call it the work of God, they call it the play of God, the Vishnu-lila, lila meaning play." And they look upon the whole manifestation of all the universes as a play, as a sport, as a kind of dance — lila perhaps being somewhat related to our word lilt. — Alan Watts in Zen and the Beat Way

Be patient also with life itself. those who love life are tolerant of its ups and downs, its reversals and leaps forward. Those who love life enjoy playing it by ear, engaging life without a printed score, simply flowing with its melody. By keeping our agendas flexible and minimizing our demands, life can be a melodic song.

Whenever circumstances interrupt the normal rhythm of life, those who cultivate patience and inner freedom are able to improvise with a life situation like jazz musicians, making up music as they go along. The emphasis in playing it by ear is on playfulness. Those who use that gift of the Holy Spirit make their way gracefully through life. — Edward Hays in The Great Escape Manual

OK. That's enough. Now - time to play . For all you Jackson Pollack fans, click here and have fun. (You will see an empty screen. Just start clicking and dragging.)

For those who want to get to know Jackson Pollack before clicking there and having fun, click here.

For more information, contact Kim or call her directly via skype!


Get Skype and call me for free.