The Mindful Pranksters Club
Manifesto
You've figured out that you
don't really want to do this
mindfulness thing alone.
You don’t want to simply sit in silence and
watch your own process--
you want to connect with others
who are watching THEIRS.
You want creativity.
You want camaraderie.
You want cool people, crazy stories,
and consciousness-raising commentary.
And most of all, you want a sense of
feeling connected to something bigger
than your own quest for personal growth.
I believe that what we really need is
less focus on effort ("right" or not)
and a whole lot more emphasis on Wow.
It starts with lightness--and it's a process I like to call
(with tongue planted firmly in cheek)
getting en*Lightened™. ;-)
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"Man, when you lose your laugh,
you lose your footing."
--Ken Kesey
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With a wink and a nod to iconoclastic novelist
Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters,
I'm calling this group the
Mindful Pranksters Club.
Think discovery, silliness and wisdom--
but without the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
And instead of traveling this road in a
big ol' psychedelic bus--
we're mindful of conserving fuel, after all--
imagine that we're all sitting in
Mindful Pranksters Club tree forts
all around the world.
And just like when we were kids,
we're up there, safe in the branches
of the sturdiest tree in the neigbhorhood.
We're with our buddies and from
that secret position,
we have a whole
new perspective of our community
and our power to
play with our parameters.
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“When people ask what my best work is,
it's the bus. I thought you ought to be
living your art rather than stepping back
and describing it.”
--Ken Kesey
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Now, I have to warn you about something.
You see, this club isn't for everyone--
what kind of club would that be, anyway?
The Mindful Pranksters Club
is for those who:
 love to poke around at parameters
know that freedom is all about playing, not fighting
value fun over fashion, laughter over luxury,
and wisdom over wealth
can't help smirking about the goofiness in the world
actively seek connections with other people
who are living life in creative ways
understand that bigger is not always better,
less can be more, and Wow is what we really want
Does this sound like you?
Oh, good!
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"I'd rather be a lightning rod
than a seismograph."
--Ken Kesey
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In my years of working with clients, one concept
keeps popping up again and again.
People of all ages want to
get zapped by a powerful bolt of Wow.
They yearn to feel electrified
in ways subtle and sublime.
They see clarity as the most valuable trigger for this,
and they're eager to learn how to
develop awareness and creativity
in a way that works for THEM.
Mindfulness training helps us
get good at getting zapped by those bolts of Wow.
We become
electrified, energized, and eager to connect
to the world around us with tremendous attention.
We begin to see those Wows around us everywhere,
and as a result, we open up to our own possibilities
and connect with the world in a more
profoundly engaged way.
The hardest part?
Hands down, the most difficult thing
is maintaining momentum.
It's just not easy to see the world
with greater lightness when you're surrounded
by others who, well, don't.
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"Life is a festival only to the wise."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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There is plenty in this world to worry about--
no doubt about it.
But there is a big difference between
recognizing the woes of the world
and wigging out about them.
We can be passionately engaged in
making the world a better place
WITHOUT getting sucked into the negativity
and hopelessness that seems to go hand-in-hand
with the bad news all around us.
In fact, we are MORE LIKELY
to reach out to others,
offer our gifts and do our
very best work once we've learned how to
transcend the stress and worry
and see possibilities for greater
lightness, creativity, and joy.
Now, not everyone is ready for this.
There are plenty of people who are sticking to
running on that worry treadmill and
they continue to work harder and longer
in order to keep up, keep going and keep the faith.
I'm not one of them--
and I don't think YOU are, either.
We get that life is a festival.
We know we want to enjoy every hour more
by paying attention to what is going on
around and within us.
We're ready to make awareness
and creativity a priority.
We're eager for
tips, tricks, treats and virtual high fives
to help us on our merry mindfulness path.
Most of all, we know that by
connecting with each other,
sharing our stories,
and collaborating to create ways
to inspire mindfulness in ourselves
and OTHERS,
we can awaken and energize
our own corners of the worldin ways that are
lighthearted but immensely powerful.
Are you in? ;-)
Great! I'm making it really easy for you.
For more tips, read How To Be A Mindful Prankster
or heck, live dangerously and just sign up here
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