Posted by Anita Bondi on November 22, 2011 under Anita Bondi | 
Last week I brought the idea of connection to my InterPlay class. Phil Porter introduced the idea of small circles of connection a few years ago and I love to play with it often when leading groups.
Finish this sentence: I belong to a small circle of people who ________? Some answers from last week’s class:
- wear hats all year long
- have my own website
- have red hair
- would not be caught dead without lipstick
From the ridiculous to the sublime these are the ways we connect with one another, find our intersections, or lack thereof.
Using the InterPlay Inspiration Deck, I asked the group to each pick a card. I invited them to hold loosely and lightly the question: Is there something that could help me feel more connected to myself and to others? Something that would aid and guide me when I am feeling stuck or scared in my relationship to myself or others?
Here are a few of the cards that were chosen:
- following and leading
stillness- improvise
I led the group through a variety of experiences using movement, noticing and contact.
Everyone had profound noticings about how to use their particular card to help them have more of what they want and desire in connection to themselves and those around them.
I will share some of my own. I used the closed eyes shuffle approach to choose my card. I got Following and Leading. The first exercise we did was a solo dance in our own small dance bubble. This was followed by a medium dance bubble solo dance and then a large bubble solo dance. The medium and large bubbles overlapped with other people’s bubbles which helped to begin the investigation of connecting with others. At first I was unsure about how to do following and leading with myself. Within minutes though I was filled with ideas: use my right side to lead and my left to follow, set up a pattern and follow it, take something in the room and follow that, use my feet to lead and my hands to follow. And when the dance bubbles overlapped I had even more fun following and leading with the bodies I came in contact with (whether they were actually aware of me or not!)
Some of my noticings about following and leading:
- setting up something very simple and repetitive works best. (this is so helpful in marriage, child rearing, and most interactions)
- it is impossible to follow and lead at the same time. (this is so helpful in marriage, child rearing, and most interactions)
- when I am not clearly leading nor passionately following the dance falls apart. (this is so helpful in marriage, child rearing, and most interactions)
Now it is your turn. Get your own deck and explore the possibilities!
Tags: Anita Bondi, card, cards, circle, dance, deck, inspiration, Inspiration Deck, InterPlay, InterPlay Inspiration Deck, phil porter, postaday2011, round
Posted by Anita Bondi on November 21, 2011 under Anita Bondi |
In case you missed yesterday’s post, I am attempting to shine instead of shrink. That is a difficult sentence to write as the little Catholic school girl in me is screaming, ” Don’t brag or boast! Be humble. Let someone else toot your horn for you.”
Well, let’s start there.
Day 1 of interesting ways to use The InterPlay Inspiration Deck has begun.
A bit of history:
~the deck is based on the principles and practices of InterPlay ( read more about that by clicking on InterPlay)
~the deck was created between 2008 and 2009 as a way for me to understand the principles and practices of InterPlay in new and deeper ways
~the cards have symbols, stories, and colors to help bring the principle or practice to “life”
Back to the little Catholic school girl….what could help her?
Some of you will say, “only years of very intensive, expensive therapy.”
Today, we will try a much more inexpensive way (only $19.95): we will pick a card from the deck and see how that may apply.
Here is how I am doing that. I am noticing what it feels like in my body to have that energy of the Catholic school girl present and I am naming it.
~tightness in my chest and upper back
~lump in my throat
I am holding the deck in my hands while noticing my body sensations and will now shuffle the deck and pick a card.
In my mind I am holding the question, ” Is there anything I can do to help change the feelings and sensations in my body?”
The card I pick is Stillness.
I notice there is a chuckle in me and that I like the colors of the card…green and purple…I will close my eyes and let those colors bathe and soothe me while I take a few deep breaths.
Okay, I’m back and about to check in with my body.
~tightness in chest is gone but still a bit in upper back
~lump in throat gone
~ I also notice my eyes feel soft as do my fingers as I type this. I feel more calm and yes, more still inside.
Wanting to see if I can do something about the tightness that still lives in my upper back.
The deck comes with a booklet that helps with more information about the cards and some “try this” exercises.
Today, I will go to the “try this” exercises and see if one may help with my back tightness.
Here is the one I am choosing:
Stare at a tree and see stillness in action. Watch the leaves and branches move and sway. Focus on the trunk and the notice the solidity of the tree. Focus on the roots anchoring the tree. What are your roots?
For today the deck has given me two things:
- the courage to post this blog
- a wonderful excuse to go outside for a run and stare at trees.
Off to lace up my sneakers!
Posted by Anita Bondi on November 20, 2011 under Anita Bondi |
Today, I am going to tell you what I intend to do.
Tomorrow, I am going to start doing what I am telling you I intend to do.
Why the wait?
~to build intrigue in you
~to build courage in me
~to figure out what will be meaningful for me so that I can actually intrigue you
~to figure out how to have the courage to actually claim what is meaningful for me
Are you Blog readers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends
, or really inexpensive therapists?!
Okay here is my intention:
I intend to stop being afraid of promoting the InterPlay Inspiration Deck and give the world a chance to see what a great tool it can be for personal process and daily experiential growth.
Here is my plan:
I will write one blog post a day for a week.
I will feature various ways to use the deck.
I will be willing to “toot my own horn” and “shine instead of shrink”
That last one made me hyperventilate so I will stop there for now and just take some deep breaths.
See you tomorrow. Let the week begin!
Posted by Anita Bondi on July 19, 2011 under Anita Bondi |
In InterPlay we say that if we are to have health and well-being we cannot possibly hold everything alone. We propose that we all need help and also that we may actually feel lifted up or gain some relief by sharing our troubles and concerns with others. We call this practice On Behalf Of.
Today, I ask you to hold me and what is resting on my heart right now. I also invite you to share your cares and concerns with me via the comment section of this blog. We are in this together and I guarantee you will feel better knowing someone is holding it all with you.
card from the Interplay Inspiration Deck w/ purple coneflowers
Meet On Behalf Of and listen to her story:
when you call On Behalf Of there is always time for a cup of tea and a bit of conversation. she will make time to stop and listen. if you are at her house she will offer you special paper and a beautiful amethyst fountain pen to write down everything that is troubling or upsetting you. She places all the papers in a dragonfly jar on her kitchen windowsill. every week she opens the window on a bright sunny day and sends the concerns off to the light. she sees everyone who has shared their pain with her bathed in warmth and love. On Behalf Of knows that health and well-being come more easily when one opens up and shares with a friend.
Don’t be afraid to share with me or someone else who cares about you.
Oh, and be on the lookout for dragonflies!!
Tags: Anita Bondi, card, cards, deck, dragonfly, inspiration, InterPlay, On Behalf Of, postaday2011, round card, story
Posted by Anita Bondi on July 5, 2011 under Anita Bondi |
….between your eyebrows with your fingers, throw your hand up in the air and say, “WHEE!”
This is the gift of letting go of my hard focuser and taking a soft or easy focus. The peripheral vision has to be engaged and more of what I am looking at invited in. When I see only what is in front of me I am extremely limited. My fears can run rampant and make me believe that, nobody likes me, everybody hates me.
remember that childhood song? it ends with, “I’m gonna eat some worms…big fat juicy….ok, you get the idea.
My time at the InterPlay Leaders’ Gathering was an amazing exercise in letting go of fixation and my belief that the world is conspiring against me.
well, maybe just a few people, but “world” sounds so much more dramatic!
While at the gathering, I decided to use my tools and apply them to myself: noticing, witnessing, body wisdom, and incrementality. I let go of a bit of fear, allowed myself to be vulnerable, and wonderful things began to happen: people showed up to support me, meaningful connections were born, and The InterPlay Inspiration Deck found a whole new audience.
The principles and practices of InterPlay work, if you use them! When I make them more than just words on the page, or concepts that I study and memorize to spew out at appropriate times, especially to show how “wise” I am, then life shows me its magic!
hmmm, maybe life is conspiring for me and not against me.
Like all the other wonderful things that I have learned, read, and studied over the years, I am finally at a place of truly living and embodying the teachings I have spent years studying. It is a daily practice as some days flow and some days don’t. Many times I am in awe and just as many in tears. I see myself behaving in new ways and also see the same old me, doing the same old sh_t!
As Easy Focus says,” Good noticing Anita. Now, get on it , get off it, and get over it!”
Okay, here I go. Wanna come along?
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