Whatever you do, don’t be boring

In Paris, when a student struggled, Philippe would interrupt

This one, when they try to do the exercise correctly, they are so boring. Like a bureaucrat in Ottawa. So boring. Adios, immediately. 

It was humiliating and embarrassing to be dismissed like this. The goal was always to bring a sense of pleasure and play to the work ESPECIALLY when we didn’t know what we were doing. 

Pick two

That was Philippe’s instruction. The expanded version? Pick two students to help you. Their job, if they agree, is to caress the inside of your arm and your neck. They can blow on your ear or on your neck. Pick two to give you pleasure as you do the exercise.

Time after time this happened. Time after time we saw people have pleasure to be embarrassed, foolish, idiotic and exposed. Time after time Philippe helped people find their joy to be idiotic. 

These situations were fraught. They were high stakes: Sensory pleasure with social anxiety and embarrassment. People would change. They would relax. Their eyes would soften. Whatever they did next would be fairly magical. Fairly profound, adding sensory pleasure to override judgement of self allowed something very present, soft, anarchic and joyous to emerge. 

People were beautiful - they were caught in the grips of freedom and pleasure. I felt like I was watching Bambi experience ice for the first time. 

Once more familiar with this experience of freedom and pleasure? That’s when people’s unique way of being foolish emerged. Pleasure defeated the cops in our heads. Play conquered shame.

How do you sustain pleasure while delivering something that might not work?

How do you keep it fun?

Where does your pleasure to produce, pleasure to be seen and pleasure to make a difference show up?

Even though the resistance, the fear is there, where is your joy relentless?