Welcome to Week 1!
Hello friends and welcome to Week 1! I am pleased as punch to see you all today!
I cannot change your life.
I cannot claim that I am some sort of magician or messiah, capable of miracles. I cannot take you to where you want to go. I cannot transform you, turn you into who you want to be. I cannot do any of these things for you.
But you can.
I am simply here as a guide. As we continue on this journey you will find that your colleagues in this group will become guides as well. Together, we will walk, not with me in front, but at your side, holding your hand, and reminding you that YOU knew the way all along.
I am a firm believer in cause and effect, both spiritually and scientifically. That being said, where many get confused is that effect follows cause. Such is not the case, and neither will it be the case in our journey together. In Play/Ground, we celebrate the innate wholeness of the creative already within.
As an example: I want you to envision you are standing in a river, feeling the water run against your ankles. Know that the as the water is passing, you are experiencing each new moment, a new wave, a new splash. Feel the stream moving, clearly in one direction- forward. Now bring your attention to the beginning of the river, perhaps at the peak of a mountaintop. Imagine one tiny particle of water, one little H2O molecule traveling downstream. Remember that the water that is on your feet now is the very same water that was present at the beginning of the river…you just happen to be experiencing it in the present.
But what the F does that mean?! The river is your life. Those tiny H2O molecules are your experiences. Sometimes we think that what we are experiencing in each moment is truly new, existing for the first time. But what the river reminds us, is that these moments have been here all along. Everything you ever want, need, and desire you already have and are. You needed only to take the first step and place yourself into the water. The very same water was there at the beginning of the river, before you were even aware of it. All of the experiences you desire are already present, we need only to step into the stream, and become aware of everything that is present.
Here’s another metaphor for ya! Take the Giant Sequoia, or the Redwood Tree. The seeds of both are small, like, really small. A typical seed is roughly 4-5 mm. Both of these trees can grow up to 350 feet. That is bigger than an airplane. That is much bigger than most 10-story buildings. That is bigger than Big Ben.
All of that potential, all of the growth and expansion, was all held within one tiny seed. All it needs is the right environment, the right nourishment.
This is you. You have everything you need already, you always have.
We are not here to turn you into someone new- but rather assist you in finding the right nourishment & environment for your own glorious growth.
Let’s plant your seed. Let’s find your nourishment. Let’s create your environment.
Welcome to Play/Ground.
So, ready to get started? Yes? Me too :)
A few notes before we proceed. While not all exercises are required, I encourage you to complete as many as you can! If you are able to do 2 some weeks, and 3 another, great! If some weeks all you can do is show up to the weekly meeting, that is absolutely fine. I encourage you to go back and do any missed exercises the following week. This workshop is about radical joy, embracing the process, and finding play, so allow that to be your guide.
This course, like the natural rhythms that surround us, is meant to be cyclical. These exercises are meant to be done again. and again. and again.
So what can you expect in the coming weeks?
Each week has 3 “units”. You are welcome to complete them in as little, or as much, time as need. Here at Play/Ground, we move in GentleTime.
I would like to to reiterate: nothing is required here. Do as much as you can or would like. What you put in is what you get out, but only you know your capacity each week/day/moment.
There will be a prompt each week for our “live class”. Please make sure you take a look at this prior to class, as it may ask you to come prepared with something.
Document as much of the process as possible! During our last week we will be sharing a presentation on each of our journeys, and having documentation through the process will be super helpful (plus, it’s fun to share with others on social media and on the discord!)
Let’s get started, shall we?
Week 1 - Unit 1
Oh hey, buddy! Welcome to Day 1!
As this class suggests, we will be creating through metaphors of play and ground. As an avid gardener myself, I find so much inspiration in the earth- she knows what she’s doing! As any green thumb knows, the first thing one does when they begin a new project is to survey their resources and land, and begin to build the garden bed.
And so shall we, dear friend!
Before we dig into the dirt, so to speak, let’s get a sense of where you are at. As we dig deep into the soil of our past, shadows and fossils may appear. Some may be beautiful and shining, others may bear the scars of previous fires and quakes. However, like the forest after a fire, we have to see the potential, and know that there is the ability to grow after trauma. That which has previously seen pain, both in the land and in our lives, still holds potential for new growth. We cannot move forward unless we can also envision our land flourishing!
Let’s envision we are just beginning to create our very first garden! How do we start? Well, we need to know what we’re even dealing with here! In life and land, we cannot know where we’re going unless we know where we’ve been. Just as the land hold stories, as do our bodies and our minds. What stories have been embedded in the soil of our psyche? How do these stories manifest through our daily actions?
Everything around us, every atom and molecule, is potential. Just as the Sequoia and Redwood seeds hold the potential for tremendous growth, as do we, and as does the land we are planting in. Before we can even begin to dig into the dirt, we have to see the potential internally and externally.
When I think about soil, I think about nourishment, nutrients, and richness. Even if plants are sparse, we know the soil holds so very much potential. Likewise, the seed holds the potential for growth. Your life & environment are the soil, and you are the seed. Let’s get planting!
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Let’s take survey of our land, so to speak. Before we can dive in internally, let’s look at what surrounds us externally. Let’s get pretty basic. Grab your journal and write down the following…
Your name & pronouns
Where do you live?
Where did you grow up?
Who surrounds you currently? Who surrounded you in the past?
What and where did you study? Keep it broad and define “study” vaguely- this could be emotional learning, academic, or spiritual! What does “learning” mean to you?
What is the land that surrounds you?
Who came before you? Who paved the path for you?
Who do you love? Who loves you?
What makes you happy? What are you good at?
What is your story?
Who is the hero of your story? Who are the antagonists?
What is the central plot point in your story? What are the obstacles?
Great! Now let’s go back and take a look at this list. With each item, see if you can think of 1 or 2 “nutrients” that may have come from this experience. For instance, I live in Los Angeles. One of my “nutrients” is living in a city with such close proximity to nature & culture. My family is nomadic from the Middle East and Sicily. My nutrient is a deeply rooted sense of travel and exploration. I am surrounded by my friend Kristi. She reminds me daily to love the earth. As we can see, a pattern is already beginning to form! I hold deep, deep ties to the earth. This now gives me a greater sense of the inherent nutrients in my soil, without the need to add any fertilizer (we’ll get to that later!) This also gives a “rearview mirror” perspective, so to speak, of your story, and what your “soil” already holds!
HOMEWORK ACTIVITY
Create a play practice! Do one thing, everyday. It should be easy. It should be fun. If it feels like work move onto something else. For me it’s dancing. I never, ever feel like dancing is work. Do it everyday. No time limit, but something that feels manageable. Document it. Try to post it somewhere, share it with a community. Example: Dance every morning for 30 seconds, record it, post it to instagram. OR, grab a sketchbook. Everyday play one song, and for the length of it draw freely with crayons or markers. Post it to Instagram. OR Take a photo of a different color every day. OR Lie on the ground and sing a silly song. OR write a short poem. OR Walk aimlessly. OR play fetch with your dog. OR try to catch cheerios in your mouth. **There is no right answer, but it should feel good and you should try to do it everyday (if you can, but of course, no pressure!)
Week 1 - Unit 2
Welcome, friend! First, take a moment to notice where your body is at. How is it feeling? Notice your room, the light, maybe any slight noises. What is coming up for you right now?
Today’s class is about noticing. As we begin to take a survey of the land, so to speak, we want to ensure we notice all that is around us. Only through noticing can we begin to tackle where we can create room for play and creative freedom. I promise you, we will eventually be talking about actually making things! But we cannot fill a cup that has no room. We cannot plant a seed without first digging the whole. We’re going to take our time here!
We all are living a life. It is a life full of activities, people, jobs, and feelings. Tell me what you did 3 Fridays ago. No, you can’t remember off hand? What about everything you did last Friday? Or Saturday? Can you remember what you had for breakfast last Saturday? Can you remember what you had for breakfast this previous Monday?
Chances are you probably can’t. That’s ok, there is nothing wrong with you or your memory! We often move through life at such a speed that we rarely notice the actions we’re taking, the pace we’re moving, or the feelings we’re feeling. Worse, as we are often unaware of what we’re doing, we don’t know what feelings our actions might inspire.
Today, we’re going to get super-real with noticing.
COMBINED: JOURNAL + HW
For the next 3-4 days, try to jot down what you notice- as many observations as possible. How do you spend your time? How long did you scroll on your phone? How did it make you feel? When you got off the phone with your friend, what was the first thing that came to mind? Get specific! Feel free to get nitty gritty!
Try to “map” your day…what would a typical day look like for you? To whom or what do you give your attention, energy, and life?
As a visual learner, I like to draw this! Can you create a diagram mapping your days? An infographic? A collage? How do you show your discoveries?
Play Prompt! Take your “daily map” and see if you can reverse some of your activities, change them up, or do them differently. Do you eat dinner on the couch? What if you ate on the floor? Can you replace your Netflix time with 30 minutes of free dance? What if you sang yourself a lullaby before bed? Or worked outside? Or ate cake for breakfast? Of named a mango Fred? Or tickled all the flowers on your daily walk? Get as goofy as you want!
Week 1 - Unit 3
Hey buddy! Looks like you made it! We are on the last unit of week 1. Let’s take a moment to check in.
How are you feeling? What are you experiencing in your body? What are you holding? What are you letting go of?
Let’s take a breath together. In for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. Ready? Let’s breathe.
Ah, that felt good! Ready to jump in? Belt up, baby, today is a long (but GOOD) one!
So today we are going to be looking at envisioning what can now grow from all of this beautiful space you have explored this week. I am a big DREAMER. I can’t help but see the potential in every nook & cranny. Truth be told, I can drive my partner crazy with my dreaming. Some may say I am never satisfied, but that is far from the truth. I am always holding two things true: I love my life AND I want so much more in my life.
YOU CAN BE APPRECIATIVE AND WANT AT THE SAME TIME
Let’s repeat that, shall we? You can be be appreciative and want at the same time. One does not negate the other. In fact, if you take anything from this class it is that we can always hold two ideas true at the same time.
You are not selfish for wanting. You are not a bad person for envisioning a life of pure abundance. Did I just feel your cringe? If you did, know that many do when I introduce this word. Abundance is such a buzz word. But that is precisely what we are here to cultivate in this class. Let’s first get clear on the word abundance.
Abundance comes from the latin root abundantia, meaning- ‘overflowing’, originally from the verb abundare, or abound: ‘overflow’, from ab- ‘from’ + undare ‘surge’ (from unda ‘a wave’).
HOW MAGICAL IS THAT?! ABUNDANCE IS THE OVERFLOW. THE SURGE OF A WAVE. THE RUSH OF FLOW. How do we find a flow in our lives that creates an overflow of emotions, support, creativity and absolutely radical joy???
Ok, maybe a few more related words in case abundance doesn’t work for you! Replace as necessary! -bounty-myriad-plenty-plethora-prosperity-ampleness-copiousness-plenitude-prosperousness-thriving-flourish-flow-overflow-swell-hum…(I could keep going but I won’t)
As we begin to create our garden of unabashed ABUNDANCE and JOY, let’s think about the “structure”. We are going to first allow our garden to begin it’s growth before we build the walls that contain it. This may seem counter-intuitive, but this is in my opinion the #1 way to ensure pure abundance.
When we set a goal or “product” for our creativity, we are creating a container. We are, in essence, building walls that need not exist. These are limitations. That is not to say that we shouldn’t be goal-oriented, but instead I am suggesting that we build our containers in a different way. When we first tap into the creative process, I encourage you to let go of any outcomes. I encourage you to hold these values close to your heart:
Build your structure/goals around creative growth instead of the other way around
Give yourself ROOM...you may surprise yourself in your expansiveness
When walls are removed, we allow ourselves to flow (ie, abundance!)
When we hyper-focus, the only outcome we can see is that narrative. The world is so expansive! Why limit yourself to that which the brain knows? Our brains are so limited and human! Ah, what limited and beautiful humans we are! How lucky! How frustrating!
Walls are often created due to fear. Think of all of the ways in which walls reflect fear- cages, fear of the elements, fear of spilling over, etc. Obviously these walls we create, both physically and metaphorically, are also forms of protection. Can you recognize the difference between a real and perceived fear? Where can you break down your own walls?
We will be building a structure for our creativity, a “garden bed” if you will, but we will work in reverse. We are going to first let ourselves find freedom, then build our walls around what has naturally flowed.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Write the most creative, joyful version of your life that you can imagine! Get specific! What does your life feel like? What do you like to do? Where are you living? Who are you with? What does your creative practice look like? ENVISION BIG. Don’t censor yourself…let yourself be BIG, BOLD, AND UNABASHED. Write this in first person and in present tense.
Now, go back into your story and start to highlight or circle words that jump out to you. Pick as many as you would like.
Pick three pieces of “art” that make you so, so happy, pieces that make you buzz with delight! (I put art in quotes because you can literally pick anything that inspires you- dance, paintings, movies, music, gardening, cooking, etc). Write why these pieces bring you joy. Write down 3 words for each piece that describe how the art makes you feel.
Now, combine these lists of words from the two exercises! Were there any repeats? Do any of these words fall into “categories”? For instance, if some of my words include “sun”, “hike”, “picnic”, and “explore”, perhaps one of my categories is “nature”.
What categories did you come up with? I would argue that these categories are your “creative life values”.
BONUS CHALLENGE- Can you do a small activity everyday that aligns with these creative values??
Ok, full disclosure…I would highly, highly recommend you try to implement these creative values everyday! This is literally how I changed my life. This exercise above is one that I created, implemented, and then literally saw my life transform. The combined efforts of small activities everyday quite literally led me to meeting some of the best friends I have ever made, quitting my day job, starting a creative business, and moving across the country to California.
LIVE CLASS
HI BUDDY! How have you been holding in there? Remember to breathe, take care of yourself, and skip HW or Journal responses if they feel too overwhelming- they will be there when you get back!
So we’ve looked at where you’ve been, what your resources are…but what about your why?
We cannot begin to “dig in” until we know why we are planting in the first place. The funny thing is that we don’t need to know what or how we are planting…we simply need to know why.
Why are you taking this class? Why do you desire creativity? Joy? Why are you seeking?
Please also come prepared to class with one idea for a longer project you would like to work on. This could be as simple as staying dedicated to your play practice, or as large as finishing that painting you have been working on! Either way, we will be taking the focus off of the end goal, and re-focusing/re-centering on the how to incorporate play into this further.
We’ll chat more about this in class, see you then!