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Hear Hear!

Within this microcosm of Ms. Braceras’ observation, lies a universe of denial; a hidden black hole of static that sucks the real kernel of truth out of the story, the picture, and any meaningful link to the larger conversation. Denial, by its very definition, is a truth, obvious to others, that we do not want to hear. In fact, we cannot hear the information because of its deep connection to “who we are”. This hidden connection is an acid meant to burn the core of our very identity. This is a human problem. Not an American Problem, a Republican problem, or a Democratic Problem. We all own this problem with the same equality expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The enemy is here, and it is us.

The larger revolution of behind the “Right/Left/Stand with/Recall/Pro/Con” Conspiracy

In one small instance, in one op ed piece, Ms. Braceras evolves one small criticism, which has no real earth shaking importance other than to illustrate, yet another, preaching to choir article about a dissatisfaction with President of the United States in the election year of 2012. Big deal. If you are a right leaning Republican, you agree. If you are a progressive leaning Democrate, you are incensed. I can point out that she is expression her own arrogant and narcissistic opinion, while defining the arrogance and narcissism of Obama. She is expressing her own, self-held opinion and using words and editorial puzzle pushing to say, “your identity should attach to my identity”, and on it on it has gone, hour by hour, day by day, on radio, TV; and now with the advent of Twitter and Face book the puzzle pushing, people pleasing, narcissistic messages and tweets have grown exponentially in to a tsunami of preaching to the choir that might convert the devil himself. If he were listening. And there is the rub. That is the hidden point that put out the eye of Rush Limbaugh, and brought Wall Street to its knees, and sent Bernie Madoff into a downward spiral.

When were you ever given instruction in “how to listen”.

With all the arrogance and narcissism I can muster, I encourage you to research, examine, and practice the skill of real listening. Not because I have mastered it, but because I have not.

Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one’s chosen form.
- Stephen Nachmanovitch

You are about to make a discovery. You may think of yourself as a glass-half-full sort of person, and that you react positively in most situations of your life. Now is your chance to put your reactions to a test. Try this little experiment.

Experiment # 1

Watching Yourself Listening

Go over to the radio or TV and switch it on and listen to a news report. As you listen, watch yourself to discover what you are thinking in reaction to the words you hear. Do you find that you take immediate exception to much of what you hear?

After doing this for five or ten minutes, try to evaluate your reactions as positive or negative by percentage. Where they: 50% negative 50% positive? Make your own evaluation.

Now repeat the process, but this time try saying “yes” aloud to everything you hear.
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You are not being encouraged to become some dish rag conformist. You are experimenting with watching yourself listen. As you become attentive to your habitual thought process, you can access the difference in the way you feel by agreeing when holding the intention of yes….

As you watched yourself listening, you became aware of all the immediate, split second, judgments and attitudes that arose. Of course this is normal. We all do this. The big difference is, as you are doing it now, you are actively watching, whereas ordinarily the judgments creep in beneath the surface without the slightest notice.

Read the full experiment

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Like most other self-help works, you will enjoy a series of concepts and ideas to delight and inspire the mind with possibilities. Beyond the concepts and ideas, you are given a detailed step-by step system of things you are invited to DO. You are not only given a list of conceptual ideas and possibilities, but you are invited to shape the concepts into real action in your life. The exercises, which have been drawn from the theater, will lead you to practice powerful skills, and are offered here for you to play with and enjoy. The methods are yours to explore – to listen fully, to feel more present with your co-workers, family and friends. Yes..and… (this is a bit of an IN joke you will know later) to feel more playful in your life and to take yourself less seriously. You will find it easier to laugh and smile and joke.

The message of the book will define and explain the exercises that have allowed hundreds of others to become stage worthy, but more important, in the process of becoming stage worthy they have become more present and accepting of the people, places, and things of their day-to-day lives.

The wind is at your back. Much of the path is marked and well laid out by people whose goals were to get up and perform, and who found new awareness through the exercises of Meet Your Playful Self. They found an awakening of their playful nature. Everyone has this playful nature. You have this nature. Your path to your playful self lies before you whether it is directed toward performance or not.

As we look at practicing the yes…and…statement as a means to become a more playful person, it is a good time to look at why it is so necessary and basic in coloring our perceptions and vital to a conversation.

It is a first and primary step simply because it holds the dialogue and action of a conversation in a spontaneous and intuitive place. In other words, Yes…and… helps keep the action in the now. Playing in the spontaneous now is what improvisation is all about. We learn that we have a strong tendency to negate, question, or manipulate the observation. These tendencies often come as a complete surprise.

Sanford Meisner was a renowned acting teacher at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. In his book “On Acting”, Meisner used improvisation as the basic starting point in his actor training classes in a form called repetition. Here is a quote from the book Meet Your Playful Self where he is specifically referring to the reason for using improvisation in training actors:

Look, I’ll tell you why the repetition exercise, in essence, is not boring: it plays on the source of all organic creativity, which is the inner impulses.

In the video you will see the exercise “repetition”. The focus here is on actors and acting, but his work and use of improvisation to get at the real action of life is so relevant for everyone’s life as described and practiced in the book Meet Your Playful Self.

I love the city. I do not think I could ever call a city home again. It is 6 a.m. as I listen to the bird song and open the door to allow the voice of the robin that will build its third year’s nest in the leaves of the red maple I can almost touch.

Do you believe one can make a friend of a tree? I have a tree friend. My willow friend is there each time I walk out my door no matter the time of year, month or day. I have taken gifts of its fonds to weave gifts of crowns for my sweet friends. One on warm July 4 night one of my deary friends danced beneath the tree. The tree is “our” friend now.

I have photographed my friend tree in all weather and seasons; naked and dressed – happy and sad – erotic and impotent. I want to share some of the tree with you, here as it changes from season to season. The evolution and revelation of my dear old wise friend the willow……