Anima Learning

Insights & inquiries for inspired learning

Drawn from the worlds of growth mindset, contemplative practice, improvisational theater, and positive reinforcement training. Also including other oddities and life adventures.

ANIMA Blog •

Stillness at Summer’s End: Reflections from a Silent Retreat

by

And, so, my sabbatical year off from teaching came to an official end. This post came just before school started back up again during the 2013-2014 academic year. Once again, I needed to move in concert with another’s clock. Once more, I had to work a bit harder to find time for reflection and integration. Thankfully, I decided [more…]

Calling Our World Into Being (Part 3 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)

by

Part 1 of this three-part post introduced a working definition for spirituality—the whole-person practice of awakening, feeling, and expressing a connection to larger Mystery and deeper meaning—and for improvisation—the in-the-moment art of active creating in relationship to the many offers coming from one’s inner life and immediately surrounding circumstances. Part 2 examined the ways that [more…]

Paths in Parallel (Part 2 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)

by

Part 1 of this three-part post introduced a working definition for spirituality—the whole-person practice of awakening, feeling, and expressing a connection to larger Mystery and deeper meaning—and for improvisation—the in-the-moment art of active creating in relationship to the many offers coming from one’s inner life and immediately surrounding circumstances.  This piece will explore some first [more…]

Defining the Undefinable (Part 1 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)

by

In the summer of 2013, my colleague Cort Worthington and I convened a 3-day inquiry into the many connections between Improvisation and Spirituality. We were joined at the Green Gulch Zen Center north of San Francisco by nine other wonderful improvisors. This post marks the first in a three-part series sharing some continuing reflections from [more…]

Hey Jude: A Purr-tial Cat-a-log of a Year’s Learning

by

I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised, but my sabbatical studies in positive reinforcement have changed the way I relate with all animals, both human and other-than-human. That shift has become more obvious after these last 10 days I’ve spent with Jude the cat. While I’ve been sticking around San Francisco this month, my good [more…]

Little Purple Church: Still Building Community in the Castro

by

If I were to craft my life’s spiritual scrapbook—a collection of words and images to share the pivotal insights, difficult passages, and moments of deeper meaning—I would reserve at least one special page for San Francisco’s Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). It was there, as a college freshman on the verge of his adult manhood, that [more…]

A Deeper Kind of Play—Three New Exercises to Link Improv and Spirituality

by

A merry band of daring pioneers recently gathered in the coastal hills north of San Francisco for a workshop exploring the many-layered relationship between improvisational theater and spiritual practice. A few exciting exercises came out of our time together—check out these three and see what you think. I’d joyfully welcome any and all feedback from [more…]

Another Iteration of the Failure Bow

by

Folks love the Failure Bow. It’s a simple exercise, and it can be goofy, but its implications and ramifications go deep. Thanks to his TedX talk in Bellevue, Washington, Matt Smith’s message keeps spreading. Just this morning, I watched a short video by Jon Trevor, a fellow member of the Applied Improvisation Network, and got [more…]

Mindfulness Momentum: 7 Reasons to Start (or Boost) Your Practice Now

by

If you listen carefully, you can hear multiple streams of mindfulness growing into a larger tide. Here are seven good reasons you might want to start surfing the mindfulness wave. 1) It’s simple. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the famed Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts-Worcester, has defined the practice [more…]

Improv Wisdom for a Meaningful Life

by

IMPROV WISDOM for a MEANINGFUL LIFE A Playful Path to Courage, Creativity, and Connection  Green Gulch Zen Center, Sausalito, CA * Mon-Wed, July 22nd-24th, 2013 Enrollment limited to approx. 14 participants   In the long history of humankind (and animal kind) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.   –Charles Darwin Dig [more…]

(413) 522-3796
99 Westbrook Ave
Daly City, CA 94015
Info@AnimaLearning.com