Monster Baby: A Curious Romp Through The Worlds Of Mindfulness And Improvisation

Pull out the pillows and the tissue paper—Monster Baby Episode #47 gets emotional. Or, more accurately, gets into emotions. Lisa and Ted start with some reflections on Lisa’s end of term teaching improv at Stanford (2:27) and working through some “leftovers” from last episode—including how do you stay calm when performing I front of a [more…] The post Monster Baby #47 Why Are You So Emotional? appeared first on Anima Learning.

What does it mean to be creative? Do you qualify? In Monster Baby #46, Lisa and Ted mix it up with the muses, exploring the boundaries and qualities of this thing called “creativity.” They start with a riff on poinsettias and mouth noises—hint: Lisa likes the former and hates the latter (1:08)—and acknowledge their entry [more…] The post Monster Baby #46 Playing with Creativity appeared first on Anima Learning.

If you’re looking for some action, you’ve come to the right place! In Monster Baby Episode #45, Lisa and Ted consider the many ramifications of action in a life of mindfulness and improvisation. They start by considering what associations the word brings to mind (1:58) and then describe where action shows up in each of [more…] The post Monster Baby #45 Gettin’ Some Action appeared first on Anima Learning.

Ted and Lisa are working the levers of status: who’s got it, how it’s communicated, how we get good at playing with it—and more. On this, the Monster Baby Podcast’s 2nd birthday, our intrepid pair starts by giving away a scholarship slot for their upcoming Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat (1:43) and then by getting [more…] The post Monster Baby #44 What’s Your Status? appeared first on Anima Learning.

There’s wisdom in them thar’ bodies—so it’s time to get physical! Lisa and Ted open Episode #43 with an audacious shot at a free slot in their upcoming Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat (3:37) and a bit of a juicy story (6:31). Lisa wonders if mindfulness can ever be robustly physical (8:58) and if it, [more…] The post Monster Baby #43 Let’s Get Physical appeared first on Anima Learning.

Limiting beliefs get into us from a young age—how the heck can we undo or at least disarm them? In this Monster Baby episode, Ted and Lisa play with some tools and generate some hacks from the worlds of mindfulness and improvisation. The episode begins with a check-in from Lisa’s recent junket to Singapore (1:39) [more…] The post Monster Baby #42 Beyond Beliefs appeared first on Anima Learning.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Lisa and Ted dive into the topic of love in its many forms. They start by checking the legendary history of St. Valentine (1:45) and wonder if maybe St. Patrick is deserving of similar attention (3:19). They ask what the word “love” really means anyway (5:56) and then consider overlaps [more…] The post Monster Baby #41 What’s Love Got to Do With It? appeared first on Anima Learning.

Responding to a listener question (thanks, Shannon!), Ted and Lisa start to explore the world of expectations. Some initial responses (1:56) give way to another question: if we don’t have expectations, can we be disappointed? (6:04) Lisa delineates between expectations of what—as in, the end results—vs expectations of how—as in, the process (9:00) and the [more…] The post Monster Baby #40 Great Expectations appeared first on Anima Learning.

How did the Monster Baby Facebook fast go? Lisa starts with her results and notices the power of habit, voyeurism and what it means to think in status updates (5:03). Ted reports about noticing loneliness and boredom but also renewed mental clarity and lessened need for comparison (7:58). Lisa mentions how Facebook serves as a [more…] The post Monster Baby #39: Facebook Fasting Results appeared first on Anima Learning.

For this more free-form episode, Ted and Lisa share what’s been on their minds recently. Ted starts by considering how his relationship to technology has been affecting his sense of presence (2:21). That leads to a discussion of the addictive nature of Facebook, its effect on the experience of community (6:20) and a commitment to [more…] The post Monster Baby #38: What’s on Your Mind? appeared first on Anima Learning.

On the eve of a New Year, Lisa and Ted consider the value of fresh starts. They begin with some numerical musings (2:29) and warm up with a round of the classic improv game “New Choice.” (7:21) They explore how New Year’s resolutions and how improv heightens our awareness of newness in any given moment [more…] The post Monster Baby #37: A New Start appeared first on Anima Learning.

Just in time for a holiday season that so often leads to excess, Ted and Lisa return to extol the virtues of “Less is More.” They revisit an old standby version of Word-at-a-Time for a warm-up (1:39) and consider some general thoughts about how improv draws from life (5:42). Ted shares a few stories from [more…] The post Monster Baby #36: Less is More appeared first on Anima Learning.

It’s Lisa’s birthday and Ted’s about to turn 50—time to talk about aging! Our Monster Baby duo starts with a challenging warm-up game of “Fifteen Things!” to keep their brains youthfully invigorated (2:07) and then chat about how age has affected their respective memories (9:47). Ted and Lisa consider the dating ramifications of getting older [more…] The post Monster Baby #35: On Aging appeared first on Anima Learning.

Listen up, people! In Monster Baby #34, Ted and Lisa dig in to the nitty gritty of the world of listening. They start by defining the word itself and noticing how listening is like receiving (2:09) and then brainstorm ways to increase listening bandwidth (6:30). Lisa wonders if attention is a finite resource (9:32) and [more…] The post Monster Baby #34: Listen Up! appeared first on Anima Learning.

What sorts of intriguing insights show up on a 10-day silent retreat? Ted and Lisa find out in Monster Baby Episode #33.  They start by acknowledging that Ted’s in a period of adjustment (2:23) before considering the benefits of practicing mindfulness in relationship with others (6:58). They note how sharper awareness can help us “lock [more…] The post Monster Baby #33: 10 Days of Insight appeared first on Anima Learning.

Regular Monster Baby listeners know that Ted and Lisa love to play. In their latest episode, you learn why. The intrepid pair discuss play as a connector (1:43), whether it makes sense to be playful in such tough times (5:02), and different types of play (7:49). They consider the impacts and qualities of a playful [more…] The post Monster Baby #32: Press Play appeared first on Anima Learning.

Glide down a river of insight as the Monster Baby podcast takes on the topic of flow. Despite her uncertainties, Lisa offers a great San Francisco-based analogy before Ted brings in the Buddhist image of the Windhorse (1:45). The two distinguish between autopilot and flow (9:26) and then dive into three main questions for the [more…] The post Monster Baby #31: Find the Flow appeared first on Anima Learning.

Coping with a wounded heart can be tough, but mindfulness and improvisation principles and practices can help. In this episode, Ted and Lisa process Ted’s meteoric rise-and-fall romantic connection (2:33), preparing with a little levity in an opening game of Three Things (6:28). Ted recounts the good times and the stunning news of reversal (9:56) [more…] The post Monster Baby #30: Handling Heartbreak: A True Story appeared first on Anima Learning.

How does yielding at the right times serve creativity and collaboration? Ted and Lisa start with a game of Sound Ball (1:49) and catch back up after a summer apart (3:47) before jumping into this episode’s topic of “It’s Not You.” (11:02) They explore the connections between humility and humus (14:59) and delineate the difference [more…] The post Monster Baby #29: It’s Not About You appeared first on Anima Learning.

Lisa and Ted reach across the country to dig deeper into life’s offerings. Lisa shares some perspective from her time at Girl Scout camp and Ted relays a story or two from his trip across country on his way to a training program in Manhattan (1:56) and then the pair get into the topic of [more…] The post Monster Baby #28: Dig Deeper appeared first on Anima Learning.