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You Wanna Play? November 14, 2008

Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Balance, Creativity, Play.
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One important aspect of living a spiritual path that I often overlook is play.  We have a tendency to get so serious about our spiritual lives, or life in general.  Work, running here and there, getting things done, taking care of our kids, being responsible etc.  Very little time is given to play.  And usually we don’t think much about this lack of play time as adults.  But, imagine if we never gave our children time to play.  Suddenly the importance of play in life is put into perspective.

We know that in children play is a stress reliever and an energy release.  We know that it helps in the development of free imagination.  It relaxes the mind and the body.  We know that play time usually means happy time.  Imagine what life would be for children if they were never allowed to play, or had very little time for it.  They’d probably crack.  Why is it then that we so easily discount play as adults?

Play has the same restorative effect on us as it does on children.  It gives us a psychic break, allows the mind and spirit to breath and in this breathing, imagination and creativity are given birth.  Far from being a waste of time, play, like prayer, is essential in re-energizing us for life’s work.

Spend some time playing each week!

Whoa Horsy! Give It A Rest! July 17, 2008

Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Balance, Contemplative Value, Creativity, Relationships.
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“Come to me, and I will refresh you.”
See Matthew 11: 28-30

Again we have this image of Divine refreshment, this call to rest.  We see this repeatedly in the life of the Christ who took time to enter the silence to rest, pray and meditate.  Throughout the centuries, spiritual teachers of various religions speak of the central importance of such spaces of time and place.  However, our culture, and even some of our churches, do not honor such spaces of time.  Our culture worships the god of productivity and action.  Taking time to simply “be” is held in suspicion, and one who does so on a regular basis is thought to be lazy.

As a musician, writer and passionate speaker I find that the creative moment happens in the spaces of this desert time.  It happens in the space of nothingness.  It is this space that gives pregnancy to what would otherwise be a quite sterile place within.  It is from this place that the inspiration of any song I sing, any talk I give or any article I write is given birth.  This space is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to the creative process.  Without it, I would manifest nothing of substance in my outer world.  No song would be sung, no article written, no talk given with any modicum of inspiration.

Eckhart Tolle says this in his book The Power of Now:  A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment:  “All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.  The mind then gives form to the creative process or insight.” (p. 24).  Even the Judeo-Christian creation stories speak of God creating everything “ex nihilo,” out of nothing.

We all need to honor the space of the desert.  We will find that this “waste of time,“ as I have described it before, will give renewed energy to our work and creative pursuits.  Not only that, it will give breath and life to our relationships.  Anyone who has had a Partner for a number of years will attest to the need for psychic and physical space in the relationship in order to give it life and energy.  As we take the time to enter silence we will ultimately discover that the desert space can be found within, no matter what is going on around us.