kindergarten mind

Kindergarten Mind ... is taking a nap.

Maryann Devine — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:01:17 +0000

(You might have already noticed.)

While I do some creative re-tooling + reinvention, of my own.
You can peek at what’s happening + be part of my (new) story, over at maryanndevine.com.

Kindergarten Mind is not gone forever, and nothing bad is happening.

In fact, quite the opposite: this is all good stuff. I promise.

During naptime, you can still …

: Get FREE STUFF
: Poke around the ARCHIVES
: Have a SECRET PLAYDATE
: Take a DIY CLASS or buy a KIT

Want to be notified, when naptime is over? AND get secret messages?

Make sure you’re on the list:

Winter break

Maryann Devine — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:30:48 +0000

Guess what?

I'm taking a break.

Thanks to the 'Play Date with the New Year' and embarking on Unbelievable Ease with Shannon, I've been doing all sorts of processing since November.

I expected some movement on some issues, but on New Year's Eve (could the timing be more dramatic?), I had an epiphany that seemed like it changed everything.

And that's why you haven't heard from me since then.

We started '30 Days to Creative You' on Monday, and I decided that I'd take these thirty days to turn inward, explore my own creative process, and imagine the future.

I won't be on Facebook except to take part in the secret group that's part of '30 Days.' You won't see me on Twitter. And I'm giving Inbox Goodness a breather, too.

I will be working with Eleanor to create a DIY version of '30 Days,' so look for that soon.

In the meantime, you can dive into the archives, or have a DIY Play Date.

See you in February March. xo

photo: Charles Rodstrom

Next holiday season.

Maryann Devine — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:37:31 +0000

My ah-ha moment about how I want to spend the holidays came a little too late.

See, last year I had this blindingly obvious realization that, as much as I did not like the holidays, they were not going away.

Actually, the real realization was that I could work with the idea of the holidays, find positive touchstones from my childhood to lead me.

This year, I've been thinking about the holidays, especially since I was having all the entries.

I've been trying to come up with things to do, rituals, stuff that could become tradition that says to me, 'Yes. I'm in the holidays.'

I don't want to borrow something from other people's faiths. And the secularized Xmas trappings only remind me that I'm outside my childhood faith.

It dawned on me that there are holiday things that are warm and fuzzy for me, but they're in the past, and more importantly, I don't miss them.

Retreat month.

Solitude has been scarce for me since Thanksgiving week. We had a much-loved visitor staying with us, and then my husband ended up spending many days in December working from home. And he had long planned to take Xmas week off.

As I was pondering all the holiday possibilities for me, I suddenly thought: I don't want more to do during this season. I want even less, and I want as much solitude as possible.

I remembered how Joy takes an annual silent retreat between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

And I thought: yes. For me, the holiday season should be retreat time. It doesn't matter if I get away or not. What I need in December is more solitude, more silence. Nothing to teach, no commitments. The blog can wait. In fact, all of social media can wait.

Every year around this time I find myself struggling to get my work done, feeling spent creatively. Why don't I plan for this?

I can plan for December 2013 to be retreat month, turning inward to prepare for the new year.

Filling up. Doing nothing. Write, write, write.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Last chance.

For New Year Play Date packages, that is -- the last chance to get them at their early-bird prices of $39 and $49.

The price goes up later today.

If creativity and play sound better to you than 'Gah! pressure!' and new year's resolutions, take a look and get these packages at their original, deliciously low prices now.

photo: Doug McGr

Thank you, Secret Play Date.

Maryann Devine — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:45:54 +0000

Two days ago, the Society of the Secret Play Date met officially for the last time, for a final, farewell Play Date.

Beauty, inspiration, and bittersweetness ensued. One amazing Play Dater was even moved to write a poem and share it with us. My heart soared.

I sent a love letter on Tuesday, through this blog, to all of the Play Daters.

Now, I want to thank Secret Play Date itself.

... for giving me permission to make things, just because. With no sneaky agenda, like figuring out my revenue goals for the next three months.

... for offering me the baby steps toward making art again. That sneaky agenda? It was helpful in the beginning. It was the only way I could justify painting and drawing and the like.

... for showing me that it's possible to bring curiosity and play into almost any situation.

... for re-acquainting me with flow. Oh, hello, old friend. I remember you. We hung out in art school. Now we get together often.

... for demonstrating for me over and over that, really, I am not the exception to the rule that everyone's creative.

... for all kinds of crazy insights and ah-ha moments.

... for making it clear that setting aside the time to play in a safe, no-pressure environment is crucial to creativity.

... for pointing out that everything I'm drawn to do during that Play-Date time is valid. Even washing the dishes. Even sitting and staring out the window. It's all contributing. It's all necessary.

... for nudging me along in the discovery that 'everyone's creative' is my #1 message, and everything turns on that.

... for teaching me that results-oriented play is an oxymoron.

... for highlighting my rules about creativity -- like the one about digital images, for instance -- and giving me the space to play with them.

And you?

Have you been Play-Dating along with me? What have you learned?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Want permission to play?

'Sow the Seeds of Creativity' is a permission slip for tapping into that deep well of creativity inside you.

Sign up to get it instantly, plus my best blog posts, and info on goodies coming your way.

Photo: the green gables

A love letter to Play Daters, one and all.

Maryann Devine — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:10:47 +0000

It was two years and ten days ago that I started out on my adventure with play, inviting you along to see what happened.

And it was nearly two years ago that we first got together as a group, live on a call, to support each other and cheer each other on as the Society of the Secret Play Date.

Today is the last day we meet as the Society.

The secret lair is closing its doors, and I clear space for new Kindergarten Mind goodness.

So this is me, sharing my appreciation and gratitude.

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Dear lovelies,

I can't thank you enough for playing along with me, whether it was through the blog, or the Facebook page, or on Society calls from the secret lair. Maybe we never had contact at all, but you were there, in your own cozy space, Play-Dating up a storm, and the thought of that makes me so happy.

You have taught me so much, not least that -- I don't need to teach you to Play-Date. You already know how, and you've shown me so many different techniques and variations I'd never have dreamed up on my own.

And I don't need to teach you to to look inside.

When I first imagined Play-Dating with you, I thought it would be a fun way to tackle the boring side of business. You showed me that we could Play-Date internal issues, too -- the places where we're stuck, the patterns we repeat.

You are so courageous! Whether you're having a stealthy office Play Date in your cubicle, or surrounded with gorgeous art supplies in your painting studio, engaging with your curiosity, following rabbit holes, trusting in your own creative genius -- those are courageous acts!

You also taught me to trust that everything that happens within the magical boundaries of the Play Date is the right thing for the Play Date. You started napping during Play Dates! And calling in from the road! Finding ways to bring play to Important Business Meetings! Snuggling with the cat!

And many's the time that you lifted my spirits, by sharing out loud in the secret lair, or in the comments, or in my inbox. Hear this from a serious introvert: connection with you has been such an important part of Play-Dating, for me.

Today brings the end of the Society of the Secret Play Date, but certainly no end to play and curiosity and discovery and possibility here at Kindergarten Mind.

No end to engaging with the process.

I'm grateful for your companionship and inspiration and trust.

Much love,

Maryann

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DIY Play-Dating

We still have lots of Play-Date-ish-ness available to you if you're the DIY type (and who isn't, in some sense?).

The Secret Play Date DIY Kit ($29)

And the Play Date with the New Year DIY Kit ($29 | $39 | $49)

Take a look and see if you get that feeling of 'yes!'

photo: Susanne Gerdom

Rice pudding as proxy.

Maryann Devine — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:35:22 +0000

Eleanor and I had a Play Date this week, as a brilliant alternative to a weekly meeting. I can say it was brilliant because it was, of course, my co-conspirator's idea.

And since proxy-ing was so satisfying on my last Play Date (the Play Date with the New Year), I decided to do it again.

This time: rice pudding!

I had wanted to make it and I already had a simple recipe. So for Play-Dating purposes, I gave myself permission to set aside the time to do it instead of trying to fit it in around work.

And I wanted it to be a proxy for the spaciousness around planning for Kindergarten Mind, something that Shannon and I talked about just a little while before, on that very day.

Leave it alone and trust.

This idea of rice pudding as proxy delighted me.

Because ... rice pudding takes a long time to bake! One and a half hours, according to the recipe I used.

The preparation was quick and easy - just throw a few ingredients together, put them in the pan, and into the oven. But the baking is long. You have to leave it alone and trust that it's baking properly.

I didn't do it the prescribed way, I improvised with what I had -- used soy milk instead of whole milk, dried cherries instead of raisins, no cinnamon. I made it mine.

And there is sweetness in rice pudding -- sweetness that I find when I think of my clients and the work we do. And there is a coziness about it -- coziness that Incoming Me and Me of 48 have asked me for.

Tools that help me trust.

Why was I able to do it in the first place? Normally I shy away from using the oven for baking, because those numbers on the knob that tell you what temperature you’re going for? We don’t have them. It’s a crapshoot.

But now I have a new tool: an oven thermometer that you hang off the rack. So I could trust that the temperature was right and didn't fluctuate.

I adopt new internal tools all the time. Some of these are going to help me trust myself with the time that I need.

Closing the loops.

While I baked, I put things away and washed things -- closing the loops, readying for the new year.

I also did some quicker things, like toasting croutons while the oven was on. Making good use of resources and mirroring all the little things while giving my planning process time and space.

And in the end, the pudding took around two hours to finish, more time than I expected, but that was okay.

Just like my planning.

Photo: Robyn Lee

New-Year Play-Dating through loose ends.

Maryann Devine — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:12:12 +0000

Last Friday, we had our live Play Date with the New Year -- an afternoon of creativity and play and conscious entry leading up to January 1, 2013.

And it was wonderful.

I can't say it enough: the Play Daters are the most inspiring group of people I've known.

How did my own Play Date go, you ask?

This was our fifth extended all-day dance-mix Play Date, one that lasts more than our usual hour.

And what I've finally accepted is that leading a long Play Date and holding the space for the magic to happen -- that's challenging enough.

Layering my own Play Date on top of that?

It's too much of a stretch.

For this particular Play Date, I had lots of loose ends pertaining to the get-together itself and its related goodies -- loose ends that needed to be tied up ASAP. I knew that quiet journaling or drawing wasn't possible that day.

So here's how I brought play into it:

I decided that whatever I was doing would be a proxy or symbolic entry process for the new year.

For instance, I know that self-care will be a Big Thing for me in 2013, so when we got off the first call, I checked in with myself and found that I really needed a hot shower.

So, hot shower it was! Hot showers count as play-dating, it's a fact!

Then I started to think of all those detailed tasks as being part of ending the old year and readying for the new -- closing open loops and the like. And I included mundane stuff like putting clothes away (everything in its place) and washing the coffee maker (exiting the morning and entering the afternoon).

I knew I'd be doing journaling and more creative stuff in preparation for the new year (actually, I'd already started). So I felt okay with doing what I could, making do with the tasks at hand.

And it was the perfect thing.

I felt I was taking part in the Play Date as much as if I'd got out all my paints and markers and big newsprint and went to town.

All those little tasks had a new layer of meaning, and they all got done.

And instead of feeling happy-but-completely-drained, I felt a beautiful calm energy -- a sparkly Play Date after-glow.

And you?

If you can't bring crayons and glitter to the process, for whatever reason, is there still a way to bring play?

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A Play Date with the New Year: DIY Kit!

Did you miss out on registration for the original Play Date with the New Year?

No worries!

Just sign up to get the DIY Kit. It has all the support you need to start dreaming about the new year now.

Take a look and enter the new year your way.

photo: Salihan Laugesen

A Play Date with the New Year is tomorrow!

Maryann Devine — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:12:18 +0000

That's right: tomorrow can be the beginning of your journey into the new year.

A journey that you plot yourself, with the help of You of 2013, some crayons, and your journal (or whatever you love to play with).

I've been leading Secret Play Dates for nearly two years now and marveling at how, no matter what, creativity and play help you ease through what's blocking you, add lightness and joy to the situation, and spark those ah-ha moments that change everything.

In our virtual secret lair, you'll feel safe and welcome. Your fellow Play-Daters are warm and creative people who will cheer you on, or witness your process -- whatever you ask for.

And part of the safety of our secret hide-out is that there is never any pressure to share out loud. I will never call on you, or guilt people into speaking on the call. Silence (even awkward silence!) is absolutely okay in this space.

Why else would you want to join us?

Because conscious entry is always better.

Because midnight on December 31 is usually not the best time to get quiet and listen.

Because you're yearning for a better way to approach the new year than listening to '10 easy steps to stop/start/stick to whatever,' over and over again.

Because your journey into 2013 starts now.

Because a Play Date in the midst of the holiday madness is an amazing gift to yourself.

Because everything you do to enter the new year counts.

Because creativity and play invite wonder and possibility into your world.

Because connecting with other Play-Daters creates sparks.

Because the support and encouragement you'll get for the next month -- from the secret Facebook group and from your inbox -- is exactly what you need.

Because January 1, 2013 is only 25 days away.

Because you want to cross the threshold to the new year in a new way -- your way.

Because a date with glitter glue and your favorite colored markers is a date you want to keep.

Because $29 is a tiny investment that will pay dividends in comfort and ease and ahhh.

Because the You of 2013 has a lot to tell you. A lot.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Look at the new year in a new way.

Join us tomorrow for a Play Date with the New Year.

The calls will be recorded, so even if you can't join us live for the Play Date, you won't miss out.

Plus, our secret Facebook group and email support lasts through the first week of January -- tomorrow is just the start.

If you read through that list and felt, 'Yes!' then take a look at all the details and sign up here.

photo: jessica wilson

How 'imagine' can give you permission.

Maryann Devine — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:40:38 +0000

Sometimes it's hard to connect up with Future You.

Or the part of you that knows X.

(Fill in the blank.

The part of you that knows more about rest.

The part of you that has a good relationship with money.

The part of you that can handle difficult conversations.

You know what I mean.)

You know that these versions of yourself have serious wisdom to impart!

And yet, at times: crickets.

I have this problem on and off, and just the other day, I hit on a way to get around it.

Instead of asking, for example, 'What does Future Me know,' you can wonder, 'What do I imagine that Future Me knows?'

(This trick also works if you are drawn to chat with various parts of yourself and yet you feel like it's the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard, so you can't quite bring yourself to do it.

Saying to yourself, 'What do I imagine?' gives you an out. 'No,' you say to yourself, 'I'm not really talking to Future Me. I'm just imagining.')

Stomach trouble.

Let me give you an example.

I have trouble with nausea. Of course, sometimes the culprit is obvious, maybe, say, a killer headache.

I'm convinced, though, that at times I get nauseated when I'm on the brink of big changes. I've experienced it again and again.

Havi once generously worked with me when I had that awful sick feeling at the Playground. She did some acupressure magic while asking me questions about the nausea.

Questions including, 'How much of this is mine? And how much of this is from now? What is this about?'

I felt bad because I just drew a blank on them.

Since feeling sick to my stomach is a thing with me, I've tried using that technique on myself a number of times, and each time I'd ask those questions of myself, I'd come up empty.

Until last week.

Gently inquiring, 'How much of this do I imagine is mine,' I got instant answers. Same with all the other questions, even 'What do I imagine this is about?'

And as soon as I got a response to that one, my nausea vanished.

There was something about allowing myself to not have the right answer, but to imagine what the answer might be (even though that's what I've been doing all along) that allowed my mind to open up.

There was something about declaring myself to be pretending that gave me space.

I'm not at all claiming that your mind can make your stomach-ache vanish. But sometimes being upfront with yourself, saying, 'Yes, this is make-believe,' can give you the safety to play.

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Imagine your journey into 2013.

This Friday, December 7, we're using creativity and play to map our entry into the new year.

Instead of pressure and resolution-talk, there'll be safety, permission, and possibility. Plus crayons, of course.

If this sounds like a better way to meet the new year, take a look and sign up here.

photo: Julie

Snapshots.

Eleanor Graham — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:07:30 +0000

A little bit more of Maryann, and a little bit more of Eleanor. Like here.

What's going on in Maryann's world?

Flowers! Chrysanthemums for my mother-in-law's visit -- two weeks later, I still have a glassful, cheering up my desk.

And more chrysanthemums -- my neighborhood is bursting with big, gorgeous mums in all the best fall hues. No thousand-bloom chrysanthemums, though.

And one of my two Christmas cactus plants is blooming! Okay, it's only two flowers, but I'm completely tickled.

More Swallows and Amazons! As I mentioned yesterday, the Swallows and Amazons children's series kept me company during my week of hosting and traveling and entry and everything. It has me thinking about serious play -- the characters in the books dream up all sorts of adventures and they are most serious about them. I think I have more to say about this.

How about Eleanor?

Beads! This week I learned some bead-making techniques from my mom's roommate Betty. I watched her experiment with making some different sorts of polymer beads, and then she showed me how she makes papier machet beads. She let me draw from her whole collection of beads in order to make a necklace highlighting the paper beads I made. It was all so playful and fun!

San Francisco! Again! This time I went with my mom for a little day trip into the city. We dodged the rain and managed to have a grand day out! We went to the deYoung museum and saw two great shows: Rudolf Nureyev: A Life in Dance, and The Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism. Later, we made our way to a great little Mexican Art gallery, Polanco. It was such a treat to have a full day of art with my mama! We had all the fun!

Home again! After two weeks away, I navigated through some tight connections yesterday and made my way home. As much as I loved being out in CA, it feels good to be home. There's no place like it.

And you? What's going on in your world this past week?

We'd love to know.

Photo: Maryann.

caption2:

Above: When my mother-in-law visited, I cleared all of my art materials off the table to give her some room. Now that she's back home, I've been looking at the table and thinking about possibilities. It could be a new writing table. Or plotting and scheming corner. Or a place to sit and have tea and stare out the window. At one time we were going to move it to my office to use as a desk -- that's another possibility. Right now it feels like a clean slate. Photo: Maryann

Below: Eleanor's new necklace! Photo: Eleanor

beads.jpg

kindergarten mind

Kindergarten Mind ... is taking a nap.

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Winter break

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Next holiday season.

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Thank you, Secret Play Date.

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A love letter to Play Daters, one and all.

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Rice pudding as proxy.

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New-Year Play-Dating through loose ends.

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A Play Date with the New Year is tomorrow!

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How 'imagine' can give you permission.

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Snapshots.

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