What makes a home “home”?
Sparked by Lisa’s move into a new apartment, she and Ted consider the many elements that go into feeling at home. The two warm up with a playful new spontaneity game called “A or B” that you can play right along with (1:35) and then explore what’s making Lisa’s new flat as homey as it is—and so quickly (9:07). Lisa wonders to what extent people make up the feeling of home (19:45) and Ted describes home as a safe place to launch from…and return to (23:22). After a short, tragicomic diversion about literal nests (26:00), Ted suggests that mindfulness teaches us how to come home to ourselves: with breath, with alignment, with finding a calm place inside (28:07). The two explore how effort helps build a feeling of home (34:14) and Lisa shares how, in improv, it’s the people you play with who make the safety net (36:25). Improv kicks up another (contradictory?) lesson about the goodness of getting yourself off-balance (43:14) which leads to a consideration of the benefits of international travel and the challenges of living away from a native land (47:58). Lastly, Lisa considers how moving to a new space can be like growing out of an old shell (52:00).
We hope the episode brings you a small measure of joy in this holiday season. If so and you’d like to share that joy—or if you’d like to raise a question—feel free to write Ted and Lisa at info@monsterbabypodcast.com.
To subscribe so you receive immediate notice of future Monster Baby releases, head over to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com.
And lastly, if you’d like a bit of Monster-Baby-inspired reading or need a great gift for this time of year, visit www.playfulmindfulness.info to pick up a copy of Ted’s book Playful Mindfulness: a joyful journey to everyday confidence, calm, and connection. (Ted will surely sign it for you if you like!)
Lisa Rowland and Ted DesMaisons
San Francisco improvisors Ted DesMaisons and Lisa Rowland explore the beautiful, surprising and unruly intersections between mindfulness and improvisation as they seek to befriend that oft-hidden and sometimes scary part of all of us that can lead to a life well-lived.
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