Play: A Deep Subject

[oneperson]

Something I penned in 2003...

~*~

What is play? Freedom. Freedom of expression. Freedom of movement. Freedom of thought. Swings and creeks. Daisies. Bracelets in the sun.

Play has no time boundaries. Play has no schedule. Play flows and ripples like a creek with various dips, turns, waterfalls, and rate of flow. Sometimes it flows quickly and then gently slows into a quiet, relaxing swimming hole. Continue down the creek and the flow picks up speed again. Play is not stagnant. Play is open to unlimited possibilities.

Play is a child's work, a child's occupation. It is a child's calling and vocation. Play develops neural circuitry within that child's system that is crucial to the mental, emotional, and physical health and wellness of that child.

I believe in neurogenesis. Maybe...as I learn to play again, my system will respond with the genesis of youthful, exuberant, fresh, joyous, satisfied, stimulating, flexible, intuitive neural circuitry.

My....play is a deep subject.

 

[Ellen]

Beautiful thoughts. We all need more time at play.

 

[Forest]

Play flows and ripples like a creek with various dips, turns, waterfalls, and rate of flow. Sometimes it flows quickly and then gently slows into a quiet, relaxing swimming hole. Continue down the creek and the flow picks up speed again.

What you wrote reminds me of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's idea of flow:

Good stuff...

 

[Forest]

And, while it probably doesn't need repeating here, Dr. Sarno's idea of the "Rage/Soothe Ratio."

The Rage/Soothe Ratio

I believe a kind of rage/soothe ratio may play a role in determining when physical symptoms will occur. Patients frequently ask, “Why did the pain start now?” Invariably I reply, “Because your rage has reached a critical level; because it now threatens to erupt into consciousness.”

Suppose, however, there is another element in the equation; that it is not simply the quantity of rage that brings on symptoms, but the presence or absence of counterbalancing soothing factors. Theoretically, these pleasant elements in a person’s life would modify the threat posed by the rage and make symptoms unnecessary. One can carry this to the point of absurdity, but I believe something like it goes on and that the occurrence of symptoms reflects too much rage and not enough counteracting soothing elements in one’s life.​

A deep subject indeed....

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, from Yogi Berra, about TMS: “Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.” -- Yogi Berra

 

[oneperson]

Beautiful thoughts. We all need more time at play.

Thanks Ellen.
Yes to more play.

Ha. Typing the words "more play" just reminded of a place called Playmore - - a recreational area that was in the Blue Ridge Mountains some 55 years ago. Good memories! Thanks!

 

[oneperson]

And, while it probably doesn't need repeating here, Dr. Sarno's idea of the "Rage/Soothe Ratio."

The Rage/Soothe Ratio

I believe a kind of rage/soothe ratio may play a role in determining when physical symptoms will occur. Patients frequently ask, “Why did the pain start now?” Invariably I reply, “Because your rage has reached a critical level; because it now threatens to erupt into consciousness.”

Suppose, however, there is another element in the equation; that it is not simply the quantity of rage that brings on symptoms, but the presence or absence of counterbalancing soothing factors. Theoretically, these pleasant elements in a person’s life would modify the threat posed by the rage and make symptoms unnecessary. One can carry this to the point of absurdity, but I believe something like it goes on and that the occurrence of symptoms reflects too much rage and not enough counteracting soothing elements in one’s life.​

A deep subject indeed....

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, from Yogi Berra, about TMS: “Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.” -- Yogi Berra

Lol. Love Yogi quotes.

Thanks for sharing the Csikszentmihalyi TED talk. Look forward to viewing it later. I think I first learned about Csikszentmihalyi in Jonathan Haidt's book "The Happiness Hypothesis." Good book, btw. At least for me.

I don't think I'd read Sarno's rage/soothe ratio. Good stuff.

Thank you Forest!

 

[Baseball65]

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, from Yogi Berra, about TMS: “Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.” -- Yogi Berra

One of the most authentic humans of our era. No coincidence that he has more World Series Rings than anybody ever. Guys like that make everybody around them PLAY better. There are so many awesome Yogi-isms its hard to keep track, but the title of his Book was a good one "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

On Rage to soothe. Obviously HBP had a profound effect on me. One important detail I should always add about my quick recovery is that I used all of the time off I had to Read the text, write about anger and rage and PLAY. As soon as my pain began to abate I would go for long bike rides with my son, go to the batting cages and play catch...like all day long!....on the front lawn hitting a .99 cent market ball into the neighbors yard. Like I was 10 again.

Then I was ready to go and play adult again. Prior to my pain , I was a rising competitive guy in my business and was already 'Boss' before age 30 (which angered a lot of the older guys btw). I worked 60 hour weeks and bragged about my pay checks (Sarno's 'tough guy')

I re-evaluated life as regards work-fun time ratio...or even relaxing and reading a book and telling that nagging voice that says 'you should be DOING something' to shut up, and that for US to survive, this was the new time budget. What that voice really is? FEAR about economic matters masquerading as ambition. After admitting it was there, I decided it was no longer going to be my mission. Maybe someone else without TMS can have my spot.
I didn't volunteer for overtime anymore. I lost thousands of dollars in annual earnings BUT the quality of my life increased dramatically. I have never owned a new car. I don't own a home. I have been told I dress poorly....BUT I also have been pain free for a long time.

So, I came to the fork in the road, and I took it.... time to PLAY!!!!! Not in your 'spare' time...that never comes. Play always. Even when your supposed to be working....sing, throw tapeballs...tell jokes. Quote famous mystics masquerading as athletes.... As the OP on this thread said:

Freedom. Freedom of expression. Freedom of movement. Freedom of thought. Swings and creeks. Daisies. Bracelets in the sun.

Play has no time boundaries. Play has no schedule. Play flows and ripples like a creek with various dips, turns, waterfalls, and rate of flow. Sometimes it flows quickly and then gently slows into a quiet, relaxing swimming hole. Continue down the creek and the flow picks up speed again. Play is not stagnant. Play is open to unlimited possibilities.

Play is a child's work, a child's occupation. It is a child's calling and vocation. Play develops neural circuitry within that child's system that is crucial to the mental, emotional, and physical health and wellness of that child.

I believe in neurogenesis. Maybe...as I learn to play again, my system will respond with the genesis of youthful, exuberant, fresh, joyous, satisfied, stimulating, flexible, intuitive neural circuitry.

My....play is a deep subject.

AWESOME! I'm all in. Peace

 

[Sita]

I could have written this message myself. The same words. The voice when I was in pain, during the years, before I got well: "Do something!", "And be the best at it!", "Work two jobs, why just one?", "Train an hour a day to look like a fashion model!","You can do x or y after work, why be so so lazy!" etc etc....An inhumane voice, sadistic voice. And pain, always pain.

Now I play with children and chase dogs, jumping rope etc. At 51. Silly, I know. Their parents look at me like I lost it. I looove silly. I say, just make it simple, as simple as you want to. I'm done with proving my abilities, IQ and other stuff. I'm OK being considered silly. I'll take it, thanks a lot! No pain.

 

[oneperson]

Wow. Wonderful stories Baseball65 and Sita!
Sounds like changes paid off in riches beyond.
Thank you both for sharing!

Baseball 65, you made me chuckle with "...Then I was ready to go play adult again." Gonna keep that in mind, "play adult."

Both your stories brought to mind a quote that I read back in the '90s from the book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard Swenson. In the book, Swenson shares a quote from the 2nd century about the "confounded" sundial.

(This also dovetails nicely with part of the TED talk Forest shared above. I was able to watch it last night. Thanks again Forest!)

I googled part of the quote that I could remember and found it, with some context, in an article.
If those folks could only be here now!

From the end of the article: Biological Clocks: Who in This Place Set Up a Sundial?:

"In the latter part of the second century BC, the Roman playwright Plautus had one of the characters in a comedy complain about the tyranny of sundials [9]:

'The gods confound the man who first found out
How to distinguish hours. Confound him too,
Who in this place set up a sundial,
To cut and hack my days so wretchedly
Into small pieces! When I was a boy,
My belly was my sundial - one surer,
Truer, and more exact than any of them.
The dial told me when 'twas proper time
To go to dinner, when I ought to eat:
But nowadays, why even when I have,
I can't fall to unless the sun gives leave.
The town's so full of these confounded dials.' "

[end article quote]

Me again...
I was so stressed about "time management" for years.
One day it dawned upon my brain cells that I don't manage time; I move through time.
Time simply is. I manage my activities and responses.
It helped me ease up a bit on my self.
A continued work in progress...

 

[mugwump]

Wow. Wonderful stories Baseball65 and Sita!
Sounds like changes paid off in riches beyond.
Thank you both for sharing!

Baseball 65, you made me chuckle with "...Then I was ready to go play adult again." Gonna keep that in mind, "play adult."

Both your stories brought to mind a quote that I read back in the '90s from the book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard Swenson. In the book, Swenson shares a quote from the 2nd century about the "confounded" sundial.

(This also dovetails nicely with part of the TED talk Forest shared above. I was able to watch it last night. Thanks again Forest!)

I googled part of the quote that I could remember and found it, with some context, in an article.
If those folks could only be here now!

From the end of the article: Biological Clocks: Who in This Place Set Up a Sundial?:

"In the latter part of the second century BC, the Roman playwright Plautus had one of the characters in a comedy complain about the tyranny of sundials [9]:

'The gods confound the man who first found out
How to distinguish hours. Confound him too,
Who in this place set up a sundial,
To cut and hack my days so wretchedly
Into small pieces! When I was a boy,
My belly was my sundial - one surer,
Truer, and more exact than any of them.
The dial told me when 'twas proper time
To go to dinner, when I ought to eat:
But nowadays, why even when I have,
I can't fall to unless the sun gives leave.
The town's so full of these confounded dials.' "

[end article quote]

Me again...
I was so stressed about "time management" for years.
One day it dawned upon my brain cells that I don't manage time; I move through time.
Time simply is. I manage my activities and responses.
It helped me ease up a bit on my self.
A continued work in progress...

So deep...

 

[AngCalv]

When you're compassionate with yourself and you're loving towards yourself, that's when you will truly discover that it's much easier to be inspired every day to live your potential and be healthier and happier.
If you don’t fill your mind with positive engaging distracting activities, the mind will default to worry.

Re-engaging with Joy is all about channelling our energy to something that uplifts us and gives us energy. Our mind energy has to go somewhere, so we want to re-direct it to positive uplifting things, rather than draining thoughts. I really encourage you to read uplifting self-development books and articles. The novel Neuroplasticity program " Insula and Amygdala Retraining" was coupled with Mindfulness to construct 'MAIR,'