Monthly Archive for August, 2009

Aug 31 2009

Hand to Hand Contact

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBIaOEsabZk&hl=en&fs=1&]

How often do you giggle these days?

I’m guaranteed a good giggle whenever I stand palm-to-palm with another person in an InterPlay context. There’s something about a partnered hand dance that gets me every time!! Just watch the video, above, and you’ll see what I mean.

The hand dance is one of the most basic InterPlay forms. It builds on the idea of the one hand dance, which I blogged about recently. However, unlike a one-hand dance (which you do by yourself), a hand-to-hand dance is done with another person. As a result, it can be unpredictable. I never know exactly what the other person will do, or how I will  respond.  Talk about being in the moment!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of my life hyper focused on myself (“Am I being a good person?”) or on other people (“How are they responding? Do they like me?”). During a hand dance, these two perspectives soften a bit. Instead, I’m focused on our hands, on the adventure that is unfolding  between the two of us.  And so often, what unfolds is hilarious! And surprising! It makes me laugh out loud! Laughter is such a precious resource; I treasure when it erupts.

I also treasure the opportunity to have safe, affectionate touch with other human bodies. Physical contact is, after all, a minimum requirement for health and happiness. Too often in American culture our needs for physical contact get met only in the context of sexuality. Those of us without a regular romantic partners often get little physical affection, other than an occasional hug or hand shake.  Before InterPlay this used to be true for me, too. But now I have a weekly space where I  am guaranteed  some fun, playful physical connection with others.  It rocks!

Plus, there is something about hand to hand contact that is, quite simply, profound. Amidst my giggles, there are moments of awe, connection, affection, hope. For this reason, I try to build a hand dance into every InterPlay class I teach.  I hope you’ll come play sometime on Mondays in San Francisco or Tuesdays in Oakland. I look forward to the mini adventure that will ensue when our hands meet palm to palm.

Filed Under InterPlay | 7 Comments
Aug 28 2009

MuseCubes in the Blogosphere

The Making of the MuseCubesMuseCubes are popping up everywhere! I’m especially grateful to a group of creative women bloggers who have spread the word this month.

As Jenn, Jamie, Leah and Cynthia share their impressions of the MuseCubes,  I’m learning oodles about the power of whimsy to embolden people’s lives.

Thank you, ladies, for your kind words, generous spirit, and astute observations. Read on:

MuseCubes Stir Up Creativity Thinking

One way to stir creative thinking is to bring together concepts or ideas and see what happens when they hang out. Gretchen Wegner has done that in a delicious and beautiful way with MuseCubes. … Whenever you need to shake things up a bit, just toss and play. Every roll gets your body involved and shifts your energy. Here’s what happened when I rolled Sigh & Dance: (Watch the short video of Jamie’s Sigh Dance here).

~ Jamie Ridler, Creative Self Development Coach

MuseCubes Cure Writer’s Block

Often when I have writer’s block, it’s because I’m stuck in my head. I have all that inner critic stuff going on, and it’s really not helpful. … My friend and blogger Gretchen Wegner created a tool called the MuseCubes. You roll them, do what they say, and that really helps get you into your body and into the flow. (Watch the entire interview on Blogher).

~ Jennifer Lee, Artizen Coaching

MuseCubes Ease You From Constriction to Spaciousness

The way we are in our bodies moves us from constriction to openness and spaciousness.  If I want to have an open mind, it is helpful to start from a place of movement.  It’s the fastest way to do it. … This is one of the reasons I love Gretchen’s MuseCubes. I find that I have to roll the dice three times to get myself over the hump of being self conscious about it. That self consciousness is a constricted, narrow, self evaluating (and other evaluating) way of being. (Listen to the whole interview with Leah Piken Kolidas here).

~ Cynthia Winton Henry, co-founder of InterPlay


Filed Under MuseCubes | 3 Comments
Aug 16 2009

Body Data, Body Knowledge, Body Wisdom

Photo: Katherine Kunz

Photo: Katherine Kunz

Listening to my body isn’t hard at all.  But acting on what I’ve heard is.

For example, most mornings my body hurts.  Especially my neck and back. When I’m getting more exercise, they hurt less. When I’m not exercising, they hurt a lot more.

Take this very moment.  It’s 6:55am.  I just got out of the shower. As I was brushing my teeth, the phrase that begins this post sauntered through my mind, swinging her pretty li’l hips.  Ha! I thought.  That’s a perfect line for a blog post about InterPlay philosophy.  I want to go write it right now!!

But then My Body spoke back: Um, Gretchen, don’t you think it would be a good idea to stretch first.  I mean, we’re in pain right now.  And you know how it goes: the minute you open the laptop, you get sucked in for hours.  Pay attention to me first, and then write all you want!

Me: Good point. In fact, what you’re pointing out is a perfect illustration of InterPlay’s distinction between body data, body knowledge, and body wisdom. That’s brilliant!  I want to go write about it right now!!

My Body: Gretchen, dahling. Please pay attention. You notice that our neck hurts pretty badly right now and that our spine is longing to stretch. That’s body data: the little bits and pieces of your experience.

Me: Right! And body knowledge is about collecting those little bits of data over time. Looking for patterns in our experience.

My Body: Yuh huh. And I’ve noticed that pain in the morning is a pattern that doesn’t go away without exercise.  I also notice that it’s a pattern of yours to let excitement for starting the day get in the way of taking care of me. And then I’m in pain for the rest of the day.

***Pause, to let this information sink in. Gretchen is nodding her head, aware that her body is telling nothing but the truth.***

My Body (probing, using her best teacher voice): And…what is body wisdom all about, according to InterPlay?

Gretchen: Body wisdom is about taking action, using the information we’ve gathered about our patterns to make our lives more wonderful.

Body (quietly, almost to herself): And wouldn’t life be more wonderful if we stretched first!

Gretchen: (acquiescing) Yes, yes it would. (but then jolted by another creative urge) But my GOD, this thinking process you just led me through is so wonderful.  It’s a perfect illustration of how important the Body Data-Knowledge-Wisdom thinking process is, and how hard it is as well!  I need to write it down right now or I’ll forget. And I promise ~ I PROMISE ~ I won’t spend more than fifteen minutes on it.

And then we’ll stretch. Pinky swear.

Filed Under InterPlay | 1 Comment
Aug 10 2009

You Got Skills? MuseCubes Photographers Needed.

Nature MuseCubes
MuseCubes Non-Natural Environments

I’ll cut to the chase — MuseCubes need help! Of the photographic variety.

I’ve done a fairly good job with my point-and-shoot Canon, taking pictures of the MuseCubes in outdoor settings (click on the photos above to see an album of my pics).

But now that I’m about to publish a how-to booklet and a new website, I need photographs of MuseCubes in a more practical context (at the computer, for example). I’ve tried, but I just can’t get the light right. See what I mean?:

MuseCubes on Computer Keyboard I MuseCubes on Keyboard III MuseCubes on Keyboard II

Might you (or someone you know) be willing to:

  • Take some photographs of the MuseCubes? ~and/or~
  • Teach me about indoor lighting and help me take my own pics?

In return I will:

  • Send you a couple sets of MuseCubes to use & then keep,
  • Give you credit on my website and on promo material where I use your pics
  • Refer you like crazy and write a kick butt testimonial, if you want one.

One of the reasons I need help is that I’m not just looking for a standard product shot against a while or colored background. The photographs I imagine are artful, kinda funky, and tell a story about where and how people use the MuseCubes:

On a laptop keyboard. Next to writing pad/pen. Amidst paintbrushes & art supplies.
Falling out of a purse, briefcase, backpack, or diaper bag. On a conference table.

If you’re interested in helping, please email me at themusemonkey [at] gmail [dot] com. For more info about the MuseCubes, check out www.musecubes.com.

And finally — a huge thank you! MuseCubes are, through and through, a community-supported creation.  On my birthday last year, over 20 folks stopped by to cut and glue. Artists across the country have submitted gorgeous art for new MuseCube products (that I’ll launch this holiday season).  Folks have offered legal and financial advice.

The support has been both humbling and inspiring, and I intend the circle-of-giving to extend much further — eventually, by starting a MuseCubes foundation to support innovation in public education (in fact, in January I donated 2008 profits to support West County Community High School).

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Filed Under MuseCubes | 1 Comment