“Play is where we don’t know we’re different from each other”
I had a great time last weekend leading a four hour workshop exploring many different aspects of connection.
What became clear for me is that the order of connection is important – “If you want to help someone, get yourself together [first]” as Wendy Palmer says. Also that as connection deepens have the sense of individual egoic self dissolves. The anology I used is that we are the tips of one great iceberg that joins under the surface. I have this “oceanic” experience – which verges on the mystical – in tango, aiki
do and love making fairly often. If you don’t you wont get it and I’ll sound mental and it’s not possible to explain linguistically so I better shut up 🙂
We started by connecting to self – breath, awareness, body, feelings and needs (meditation and NVC inspired), then to gravity by rolling around and walking (contact improvisation inspired) then walked in the room connecting to the space before connecting to each other in a series of aikido and Being In Movement inspired exercises that I use regularly in Holistics.
We had some art therapy, connecting to the unconscious and aesthetic sense before Kirsty of Kiju Tango turned up to bring it all together, connecting to self, space, partner and adding music. Thanks to the ladies for condensing their work into 15min windows!
The climax of the day was a freeform play session, 
inspired by Fred Donaldson’s Original Play. This was as deep and fun as I hoped it would be.
inspired by Fred Donaldson’s Original Play. This was as deep and fun as I hoped it would be.
What became clear for me is that the order of connection is important – “If you want to help someone, get yourself together [first]” as Wendy Palmer says. Also that as connection deepens have the sense of individual egoic self dissolves. The anology I used is that we are the tips of one great iceberg that joins under the surface. I have this “oceanic” experience – which verges on the mystical – in tango, aiki
do and love making fairly often. If you don’t you wont get it and I’ll sound mental and it’s not possible to explain linguistically so I better shut up 🙂 ……………..
Connection so what: We’re not what we think we are. In fact…we’re not at all.