At a certain point, we forget. We forget what it was like to marvel at things, we forget what it means to ask new questions, we forget the rush of spinning around and falling to the floor in a fit of giggles. 🤹♀️
Life’s struggles, delusions, and stresses have stamped the fun out of nearly everything in our lives. We strive to find ourselves, often in temporary solutions. I guess we feel like we’ve seen it all already. What a terrible state of affairs! 😔
Walking down the playful path means saying “yes,” “I don’t know,” “wow,” “amazing,” “you look great tonight”…. And so forth! 🌈✨
Playfulness, according to Shelly Johnson, is a combination of Curiosity, Openness, and Joy.
The playful path begins in curiosity. The openness holds the curiosity open for longer so we can marvel and experience delight and joy. 🌟
We are so stuck in our heads and our old boring heavy thoughts. We need new thoughts, and we can only get them when we surprise ourselves. 🎈
Walking down the playful path means surprising ourselves. 🤸♂️
The entry point into the Playful Path is where a Loving Heart, a Joyful Mind, and a Vibrant Body meet. I’ll talk about these three points in a moment. 🧡🧠💪
I’d like to say that the Playful Path isn’t an easy one at all, but we can (nearly) always choose to walk along it. We are taught that only difficult things have value, so the Playful Path, which is inherently easy, becomes difficult for us. 🤯
It’s not easy because it clashes with much of what we’ve been taught. “Stop playing around, you are 7 now!” (or 6 or 5… or 57… you get the point). Another reason it’s not easy is that it requires imagination, a leap of faith into the unknown, and vulnerability. 🤹♂️✨
Before we can walk on the playful path, we need to see all the invitations around us that are calling us into playful interaction, calling us into heartful fun relationships. ❤️🎉
To see the invitations, you are going to have to slow down and stop. Stop, look around you, see things for the first time. See things for what they are, not by their names! 👀✨
When we get really into the Vibrant Body, this all becomes easier! 💪✨
The Vibrant Body 💪✨
The vibrant body is a state of readiness, readiness to jump up, readiness to act where it’s needed. It’s a state of high energy but doesn’t mean we have to be all over the place. More like a cat, ready for action but otherwise pretty relaxed. 🐱💤
The vibrant body is a true state of optimal health, not just the absence of symptoms and needs to be trained in a specific way—breathwork, movement, stillness, relaxation, correct diet, hydration, and a general solarity about your being. 🌞💦
When you inhabit a vibrant body, you feel radiant, full of vitality, energized, and we stop overthinking. ✨
A Loving Heart ❤️
A state of compassion, empathy, and care for ourselves and others. It’s seeing strangers as friends to yet meet. It’s wanting to hear and see others. It’s about shifting out of our head and down into our heart space. 💖👫
This might sound a little strange for some of you. So let’s just try this a moment. Place your hands on your heart, breathe deeply into your hands—let’s say 10 breaths—then open your eyes and see the world as though you were looking through your heart. 👐❤️
That’s it! You’re getting it! 🎉
A Joyful Mind 🧠✨
A joyful mind is a deeply intelligent mind. It has its roots in curiosity and enthusiasm and knows how to talk to yourself and others with care. A joyful mind directs the energy of the heart and channels it for a higher good. When we get out of our own way, we feel a spaciousness that we recognize as joy. ✨🧠💖
There is much overlap between these three elements, and working on one helps the others develop. However, it’s important to notice that while many meditators may have a vibrant body and joyful mind, if there’s no loving heart, then spiritual arrogance can be just around the corner! 😇🚫
I’d also like to add that you can be fit as a fiddle and still not be happy—a playful mindset may be the missing link! 🤔💡
Unlocking Universal Intelligence ✨🌌
My curiosity also suggests that there’s more to this. How does this joyful, curious, playful state open us to untapped universal intelligence? One story that illustrates this phenomenon beautifully is the tale of Richard Feynman. 🕵️♂️🔬
The Story of Richard Feynman and the O-Ring 🚀
Richard Feynman, a brilliant physicist known for his playful curiosity, played a crucial role in uncovering the cause of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. During the investigation, Feynman was fascinated by the O-rings used in the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. His playful and curious approach led him to conduct a simple experiment: he submerged an O-ring in ice-cold water, demonstrating that the material became brittle at low temperatures. This insight was pivotal in identifying the root cause of the disaster. 💡🧊
Feynman’s ability to approach the problem with a sense of wonder and curiosity, rather than strictly following formal procedures, allowed him to uncover a critical piece of information that others had overlooked. His playful mindset opened him up to a moment of universal intelligence, where a straightforward experiment revealed a significant truth. 🌍🧠✨
Embrace Playfulness to Unlock Potential 🌟
This story demonstrates how a joyful, curious, and playful state of mind can lead to profound insights and discoveries. When we allow ourselves to be playful and curious, we open up to new possibilities and tap into a universal intelligence that transcends our everyday thinking. Whether it’s through a moment of sudden inspiration or a gradual realization, embracing playfulness can unlock our potential and lead to remarkable achievements. 🚀🌈
The Playfulness Retreat 🌞🌳
Walking along the playful path also inevitably shifts us into community thinking. At the end of August, I’m offering a retreat—a summer camp for adults—The Playfulness Retreat. It’s about walking along the playful path, community yoga, games, sharing and inspiration, and journaling. 🌟🧘♂️🎨📓
Link to retreat
Anthony Trahair
