Peaced Together - Ice Cream for the Soul by Joy Koenig, MD - Personal Growth, Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle, Meditation, Inspiration

PEACED TOGETHER
CATEGORY

        Meditation Game

DESCRIPTION

        Make a puzzle representing a pleasing situation that repeats in your life.

INSTRUCTIONS

        Do a few QUICKIES, then pick a theme. Choose something that naturally comes together and apart, or something that is built in pieces. For instance, your family starts the day or the week together then moves apart and comes back together again. Careers are often constructed from a group of things that fit together. Your sense of well-being also has many different pieces.

        Now, find an old jigsaw puzzle, preferably one that has larger pieces made from sturdy cardboard or wood. Put the puzzle together correctly. You could also make your own puzzle in the wood shop. Rough up the surface using finely grained sandpaper. Apply a thin film of glue, and adhere a sheet of colored card stock to the surface of the puzzle. Let this dry completely. Now, draw or color the sheet of paper using images that reflect your chosen theme. If you prefer, make a collage using pictures, photographs, graphics, words, shapes, and small, lightweight or thin objects that reflect or illustrate your chosen theme. Remember to pay attention to the size of the items. They work best if they are about the same size or smaller than one puzzle piece. Glue these items onto the colored paper. When completely dry, use your fingernail or blunt tip of a pen cap to trace the lines of the puzzle pieces, leaving a small indent along the puzzle lines. Then, carefully use an Exacto knife to separate the pieces of the puzzle from each another.

         With the puzzle pieces separated and in front of you, find a comfortable position and close your eyes. Take several deep breaths, counting, "one, two, three" as you inhale, and "four, five, six" as you exhale. Take the puzzle apart and examine the different pieces. Think about what pieces might still be missing from your "big picture". Slowly, put the puzzle back together again, focusing your thoughts on what you need to keep the pieces together.

JOY'S JOURNEY

        Putting puzzles together was one of my earliest forms of meditation. Of course, I didn't realize I was meditating. I thought I was just spending quiet time with a high school friend. We'd set up the puzzle on a folding card table in her living room, and spend hours in silence hunting for the edge pieces, then the pieces of sky or water or those that had a streak of pink or other identifying characteristic. Then we'd patiently (okay, sometimes not so patiently!) piece things together -- something we were having trouble doing with our chaotic adolescent lives. We'd work on the puzzle for hours, often not speaking at all.

        As a Myers-Briggs® ENFP, my fourth function is introverted Sensing -- paying attention to the internal experience of sensory information. By doing meditative activities that require me to pay attention to how I'm responding to what I'm experiencing, such as taking a hot bath or shower, I become more resilient to the little set backs in my life. However, I have found that, if done in a meditative manner, extroverted Sensing activities (paying attention to external sensory information) also calm my spirit and bring me joy.

QUOTES

Until you make peace with who you are,
you'll never be content with what you have.
Doris Mortman

All persons are puzzles until at last we find
some word or act the key to the man, to the woman;
Straightaway all their past words and actions
lie in light before us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dr. Joy is available to present playful workshops (playshops) at your corporate training retreat, non profit organization gathering, or club membership meetings. She is located in Denver, Colorado, and travels throughout the US to deliver Serious Fun ™ Programs for personal growth, wellness, and inspiration. Please see the program pages for details and contact information.

This playful meditation activity is COPYRIGHTED. If you are a professional trainer, coach, human resources person, counselor, or therapist it is not ethical nor legal for you to use it or share it with your clients or those you supervise/train as part of your job. See the copyright notice on the front page of this e-book. Remember, character is what you do when no one is looking. Please take the high road, and pay me appropriately to use these materials professionally, even if you work for a church, school, non-profit or the government.