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Bernie
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During the course of their working
lives, most people lose touch with the sources of
their personal power. Through guided self-study that
taps deeply into the energies of enjoyment, Bernie’s Journeys on the Playful Path open new channels for
bringing more success and satisfaction to our daily
lives.
Thirty-five years ago, while developing
a curriculum in theater for elementary school kids,
Bernie made two discoveries that changed his life
and some small but significant parts of the world:
Bernie eventually discovered that there was a direct
connection between the experience of alienation,
and the amount of fun people were having - that the
more alienated people were, the less fun. Realizing
he could help people make anything more fun - their
jobs, their relationships, the things they make and
do - Bernie set about creating public and private workshops for
exploring the Playful Path.
These workshops are generally very open-ended. The focus is on fun - experiencing, exploring, examining fun. The reason for that focus is that fun, once examined, can become a very powerful tool for creating community, for building relationships, for rediscovering the self.
During the workshops, participants play some games (well, Bernie's kind of games - the funny, Pointless Games, exemplified by (but most definitely not limited to) his Pointless Games collection.
Between games, Bernie leads discussions on what was "fun" about the games. Sometimes, he does little lecturettes to help illustrate something people bring up during a discussion. Here - are a few exemplary clips - two different games and a little presentation - very typical of what we might cover.
Bernie usually talks about things like Flow, Coliberation, the Play Community, the Well-Played Game, the Theatre of Games, and the Inner Playground (see below), but sometimes he only talk about one of those things, and sometimes completely different things. There are a lot of things people tend to bring up during this kind of exploration - some personal, some professional, some social. And this is what guides him in what games will be played, and how the conversation is focused.
Bernie recommends a weekend more than a single day, and a week more than a weekend. The more time people have to explore fun, the deeper and more valuable the things they discover and share, and the closer the community grows.
As for money, if you can give Bernie some sense of what you generally pay - his fees are not fixed. He explains "I've no one to report to except my wife. Earning money is always good. But it's not really why I do the work I do when I get to do it." |
Playing and reflecting participants learn how to bring a new
level of vitality to themselves and each other, to their significant
others and all they signify, to those they care for and care
for them. They learn:
- about the art and science of enjoyment
- how to make things enjoyable together.
- how to help each other laugh the kind of laughter that
creates wholeness, individually and collectively.
Bernie's journeys include:
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Play Pointless Games, in
depth, for the fun of it. Pointless Games are games that
are literally pointless. No score. No particular goal
other than to have fun. Which, of course, turns out to
be very pointworthy, in deed. |
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Discover how creating a FUN Community
helps:
- extend your playfulness and
- celebrate those who bring FUN to
your life
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Play, create, learn games like "Trash Basketball" and" Human Pinball Soccer" and "Puck Puck Hockey."
Learn how you can help peple participate and create events for other people, between families or neigborhoods, colleagues and community.
Learn how to help people create lifetime sports that are fun, safe, inclusive, and often make them laugh. |
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Explore the experiences of CoLiberation and
its impact on the FUN community.
Learn how to extend the gift of FUN to
your:
- selves
- friends
- family
- community of healers
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Create your own private, personal, imaginary playground.
Learn how you can find delight in all the various aspects
of your personality. Explore and expand your consciousness
while exercising your playfulness and imagination. |
I was just taking some little bits and pieces
of papers out of my journal and I found the following
hard-copy of something your brother-in-law wrote
to you: "I find many if not most people today are
not in a particularly "fun-seeking" mood. They are
preoccupied with finances, war, the economy and personal
problems. Fun, however, is a vital therapy no matter
the circumstances. The release of life's anxieties
cannot have too many channels, in my view. I....have
a need to communicate via Fun to people. I may not
want to enter that Fun because I cannot overcome
the 'troubles of the day' without major incentives
to do so. Fun may be good for me but I can't seem
to allow myself to enter in anyway. Perhaps I don't
see fun as the solution but rather as an escape from
solving the problem(s). Funny, when people most need
the releases, they are less apt to seek them."
I am touched again by his honesty and his insight.
I too feel unable to enter into Fun when so much
feels wrong and sad and overwhelming in the world
today, everyday. I forget your teaching, so to speak,
that Fun IS part of the solution and not just a form
of denial, an escape, a narcissistic indulgence at
the expense of others who are not as fortunate as
I am.
Just thoughts, which bring me back to the mindfulness
practice that DeepFun is for me. It is the practice
of Minor Fun all the time,
despite the trying external circumstances on this
beautiful and fragile earth I love and despite the
woe I see. And as I practice this path, I want to
change my paradigm and begin to really believe that
having fun, living fun, teaching fun, being fun,
can transform this world, that it is part of the
solution to the distress. IF not the world at large,
it may have the power to transform MY little world,
my circle of influence, I hope. And that is a step
in the right direction.
Magdalena Cabrera
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Finding Fun - further,
deeper, more detailed reflections from Bernie's Journeys
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