What if your spiritual practice meant simply saying “Yes!” to life itself? In anticipation of this March’s “Yes to Life! The Improvisation and Spirituality Weekend,” Ted and Lisa welcome the retreat’s co-facilitators, Angelo John Lewis and Cindy Franklin, on to the Monster Baby Podcast. Lisa starts by coordinating an introduction of each guest, starting with [more…]
Monster Baby #27 Speaking of Spirituality or Why Lisa Might Be Going to Hell
What’s spirituality got to do with it anyway? Ted and Lisa take on the thorny task of exploring the realms of spirit and what they have to do with mindfulness and improv. Lisa starts by explaining the Double Bounce Theory and why her coffee and exercise routine might play out in the episode (2:50). Ted [more…]
Improvisation as Spiritual Practice: A Deepening Path
Want to explore all this in person? Join our Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat in Santa Cruz this June 11-15! This fall, I had the immense pleasure of spending four days in the woods outside Montreal with a most beautiful crew of applied improvisors. We laughed, we danced, we played, we performed, we ate amazing [more…]
Stillness at Summer’s End: Reflections from a Silent Retreat
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…]
Paths in Parallel (Part 2 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)
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)
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…]
Little Purple Church: Still Building Community in the Castro
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
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…]
Improvisation and Spirituality: A Personal and Collaborative Inquiry
My friend and colleague Cort Worthington and I were delighted to offer this inaugural Improvisation and Spirituality workshop at the Green Gulch Zen Center in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. We came with some provocative questions and exercises to get us rolling and the group dove in with full commitment to find all [more…]
