Author Archive

As this year’s InterPlay Life Practice Program has gotten underway I have gained a deeper appreciation for the first InterPlay Tool, “Easy Focus”. To illustrate the concept of “easy focus” on a body level we often use our hands to create fake binoculars for ourselves and find one thing in the room to look really closely at and study hard. Try that now. What did you notice in the rest of your body from using “hard focus”? Then after a little while remove the “binoculars” and let go of the “hard focus” and allow yourself to take in the entire room while still having your eyes resting on the object of previous focus. And just notice what happens in your body. I notice that the item that had my full attention sort of fades into the full “landscape” of the room and my body relaxes a bit.

As I reflect on this exercise, I realize how important knowing about and practicing “easy focus” has become to me. Many times in my own life I have focused on my own self-judged inadequacies. For example if I put my attention on how messy my car seems to get no matter how many times I clean it up, and let that be the point of my life that I focus on and judge myself about, then I could see myself as a big failure! When I broaden my focus and see that my messy car is a result of living a fun and full life with lots of wonderful people in it…then the messy car sort of fades into the landscape of my life.

The truth is in much of our lives we need to have a “hard focus”. It allows us to accomplish tasks and pay attention to details that need to be handled like paying bills! It is fun to explore the parts of our lives that need more focus as well as the parts that need an easier focus. Simply paying attention allows for new possibilities and choices to emerge.

In InterPlay we often play with our focus through the medium of dance. Sometimes we focus on allowing a particular body part to initiate our movement. The dance becomes very engaging to witness as the mover experiments with the infinite possible ways to move that body part and how the rest of the body comes along with it. Try it now…focus on your elbow and let it dance. Notice how the rest of the body moves because of the focused attention. Now do a dance focused on your knee and notice. Then allow the focus to move from knee to elbow and back and forth. What did you notice?

As I continue to play with “easy and hard focus”…I notice that things that seem to be opposites don’t cause as much stress in my body. Whenever I feel conflicted about something I get muscles spasms in my neck that give me a headache. I notice that simply stepping back from labels like liberal and conservative or Christian and Buddhist or shy and extroverted allows more room to have all of myself and my muscles begin to relax. I don’t have to split off and give myself a label from either side…I just take it in with an easier focus knowing that one end of the polarity is not all that I am. When I do this I find I have a feeling of confidence about the uniqueness of who I am in my body and I move through my relationships with more ease. I don’t have to have small categories to fit everyone into understand them. I can step back and allow myself to see the beauty of each unique bodyspirit.

In InterPlay we get lots of opportunities to flow between a “hard focused” concentration on a particular form and a more easy focus where the body integrates all of the skills it has been playing with and turns them into a little moment of grace and art! Ultimately the art we are creating with all of our “hard and easy focus” and opposites is our own life. As we learn to practice “easy focus” we are able to take in more of life in a way that is full of love for all that is!  Wheeee!!!!

Lindsey Gregerson, a participant in the InterPlay Next Gen Leaders: Art for Social Change program from the Seattle area wrote this article about her experience this summer in Oakland.

Recovering Serious Person

“To stress and seriousness I say WHEEEEEE! As a recovering serious person, I have known and practiced good self-care. You almost have to in order to survive your serious life. I love a good bubble bath, supportive conversations, some yoga and meditation.  It’s all good stuff, but for me these things are mostly just antidotes for the underlying problem – too much seriousness and an overactive focuser.

And then I discovered the InterPlay cure – a playful way of life. InterPlay has a way of helping you tap into your creative playful spirit, shed old body grooves (ways of being), and connect with others in new and different ways using movement, storytelling, voice, contact, and stillness. This powerful cure is leading me to less agenda and more freedom to be with the beauty of the moment.

This was all a recent discovery for me while spending two incredible weeks with young artists and activists learning about InterPlay in the context of a larger discussion around using art for social change.  This program was called Next Gen Leaders: Art for Social Change, led by InterPlay co-founders Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter, and the vibrant young InterPlay leader Amy Shoemaker.

When you are serious a lot of the time, you tend to take yourself a little too seriously.  And don’t get me wrong, there are things in this world worth taking seriously that need our full attention and loads of collective energy; but my chronic seriousness and perpetual abundant work load is not just about transforming the world for good. For me it is also about trying to create a life of certainty and predictability and finding too much of my value in my achievements. With enough planning, careful calculation, and hard work, life will go as planned, right…?

And then I met improvisation. Spontaneous expression is part enthralling, part terrifying. It makes me feel vulnerable, but teaches me to trust and appreciate myself and whatever comes out. InterPlay provides a safe space just to try some stuff with no guarantees of it being any good, but without any value system by which to judge it. It gives me the courage to be imperfect and just to be who I am. To play, dance, sing, talk and create in the presence of a witness or a group of witnesses doesn’t have to be frightening. For it is openness to vulnerability that births the beauty of love, belonging, creativity, joy, and deep relationship. And to feel vulnerable means that I am alive.”

A recent Life Practice Program graduate, Beth Sarver, wrote these comments about her experience of participating in the Life Practice Program in Seattle.

The Interplay Life Practice Program came into my life at the most perfect time. The forms and methods that I learned have expanded my work, my mothering skills and most awesomely I have experienced a cosmic shift in my spiritual life. I have always been a storyteller, performer, dancer, singer and creative person… but now I have experienced the potency of prayers lifted through dance and the power of laughing til I cry and wailing until I sigh and say “Wheeeee!” I have had a lot of dynamic learning experiences in my life, but none would compare with the richness that has come into every facet of my life after completing this program. I am humbled by the life changing power of play. I am transformed by the empowering surge of energy that exforms through movement and stillness, story and song. This training catalyzed my heart, mind, body and spirit. I look forward to the Leadership program and continuing to grow the interplay modalities on behalf of folks with disabilities and youth in crisis.

Our Seattle Friday Morning Class has been a time of joyful connections. Players find ways to support each other inside and outside of class. Some class members continue in the fun and creative spirit by gathering for lunch after class. Joy Fry shares her experience in this poem.

Friends
out to lunch
after Friday morning InterPlay,
slide into playful Southern drawl.

Gem sisters
delighting in one another
*Opal * Ruby * Sapphire * Pearl*
Our waitress *Amber* joins in.

We are nourished!

A fundraising event to honor the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers on Mother’s Day was also born out of connections made in our Friday Morning Class.  Elizabeth and Lorraine created a fun and meaningful event that included showing the movie about the grandmothers along with a wing blessing and a water blessing by Lorraine Bayes.

Let the connections made in Friday Morning Class continue to flourish and nourish!

My four “20 something” children suggested that we needed some new holiday traditions that involved more than opening presents on Christmas morning. The gift that they decided to give each other was “ecstatic following”. Each person in our family came up with an idea for a family activity on Christmas weekend. The gift from everyone else was to show up, be present, and participate without complaining.

This was not as easy as it might seem! Ice skating for the first time in 35 years (and I was lousy at it then) was a bit of a challenge for me. Then there was the cookie baking and decorating.  Nothing makes me swear faster than a rolling pin with dough stuck to it!  And my son had never attempted to decorate anything with frosting in his life.  It was also a dangerous activity after taking twenty years olds to the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. Those Picasso inspired Gingerbread men had uniquely placed anatomically correct parts! Laughter ensued…and their father decided that some of the Gingerbread men needed another layer of clothing before delivering them for Christmas gifts.If you need clothing from  Doja Cat Merch store, you can check it out here!

The weekend turned into a very memorable time.  Our whole family found ways to interact and enjoy each other. Occassionally I had to remind them and myself that the gift we  were giving each other was “ecstatic following”. It was just the right reminder to support us to show up for activities when they weren’t our  first choice.   I wish I had known about InterPlay’s ideas of “following and leading” when they were younger. What a miraculous and delightful gift!

Ecstatic Following!!!!

I don’t think we quite made a Million Connections this weekend or a million dollars…but my heart feels like an absolute millionaire from the connections I made with new friends and old friends during our various workshops this week with Phil Porter. Many thanks to Phil for teaching us “all that he knows” about Performing, Money Wisdom, and the BodyWisdom of teamwork for organizations. And thanks to all of you who joined us and to those who donated as well! What gifts you are to our community!

Invariably when I ask a longtime InterPlayer what part of InterPlay they value most, they say, “witnessing and being witnessed”.   In InterPlay many of our forms involve having a partner whose “job” is to simply be present with you with an attitude of respect and positive regard as you tell a story or do a dance or sing a song.  They offer feedback about how your expression moved them or what they can affirm.  Sometimes the whole gathered group is the witness.  And other times the participant is invited to be their own witness.  Witnessing is a foundational principle of InterPlay.

What is the gift in being “witnessed”? Often people report that they never felt really “seen” as children.  Their parents didn’t know how or had too little time to offer them important gift of presence.  Sometimes “being seen” is challenging for people because as children the only time they were noticed was when they were being criticized or reprimanded.  When I first started to InterPlay I was really frightened by the idea of someone witnessing me as I danced or sang or told a story.   But as I’ve gradually grown into enjoying having a witness, I’ve noticed that a witness has allowed me to have my full expression in ways that I would never attempt if I were alone.  Being witnessed also helps me know and express my deep inner truth.  Sometimes my witness reflects back to me things I didn’t notice or confirms the wisdom my body is expressing.  A witness provides a container when the challenges of life seem overwhelming.  Creating a dance or story out of the challenges gives them a beginning, middle, and sometimes most importantly reminds me that there will be an “end”!  Having a witness helps me feel less alone on the planet.

Being a witness to the stories or dances of others is also a gift.  I always feel like I am on “holy ground” when I see someone share their heart through movement or word.  I may be moved by their courage and struggle or by their creativity, joy, and beauty.  I notice that I can honor all of life’s journeys and get the opportunity to participate in their journey for those few minutes while I am witnessing.  My heart opens as I see these “snapshots” into of the lives of others, and I am able to cry or smile or celebrate with them. I’m always happy to have the opportunity to say, “I’ll be a witness!”