Pinball Play - Mastering the Game of Life
Ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping!!
The rapid, alarming sound of a pinball stuck in one spot on the game board for what seems like forever..
Gaining small points? yes.
Safe from the possibility of losing the ball for the moment? sure.
But also knowing you’re missing out on possibilities just waiting to be discovered in other parts of the game that would add greatly to your points collection.
Your attention stuck. Caged in a small area of the game.
Not to mention the maddening ping ping ping ping ping!
The frustration and stuckness is real sometimes.
What a relief when the ball finally escapes and moves somewhere else for a change, allowing for a more dynamic play with more interest and flow. And most importantly-POINTS!
Oftentimes in our everyday life we might feel a lot like that pinball machine with the ball stubbornly stuck in one spot in our heads. ping ping ping ping ping!
For example, you might find yourself stuck weighing the pro’s and con’s of an important decision you need to make without getting anywhere with it.
‘Should I take a risk, feet to fire , and go full on in this new business pursuit or should I hold on to my 9-5 as I continue to dip my toes in the new biz? My day job is killing me and leaving little energy for my side hustle to flourish..but it does give me the financial peace of mind… It's also a cul de sac. Somewhere where I might never get out of..but on the other hand maybe i should just find it in me to do both for a while. Really commit! Yes! That's what i'll do. But wait what if i took all that energy and resolve and put it straight away into the new biz! Why waste it? But is it really wasting it? I need to be realistic about how stressful it will be to be stretched financially. It might influence how much focused attention I will actually have…Aaaaa… ‘Ping ping ping ping ping!
What if..
The playfield was your life,
The major targets were your mind, your emotions, and your body and
The ball, your attention.
And the player. Well that would actually be you. The real you. The awareness which is you.
The observer in control of at least the flippers in the beginning.. The one that is either succeeding or failing at gaining control over the ‘ball’.
Regardless the more you practice the more you are learning how to command a higher level of control navigating your attention (the ball) through the playfield collecting information, direction and wisdom from all the major centers.
You realize that over time you could get good at this, don’t you?
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The primary skill of pinball involves application of the proper timing and technique to the operation of the flippers, nudging the playfield when appropriate without tilting, and choosing targets for scores or features.
A skilled player can quickly "learn the angles" and gain a high level of control of ball motion.
It's all down to proper timing and technique.
A skilled pinball players can influence the movement of the ball.
They take risks as they learn the different angles of the playboard and the intricacies of the machine they are playing on.
A skilled life players can influence the movement of their attention.
They harness the capabilities of their mind while also staying informed by their emotions and instincts and sensing clues from the rest of their body as well as their environment.
In learning to utilize all their assets they dare to explore parts of themselves that they don’t know so well, sharpening their skills as they go.
All interconnected, interrelated, affecting each other in the storyboard..
How fascinating it is!
How much richness, possibility, creativity and wonder lies within..
Yet, a lot like that stuck pinball our attention often gets stuck in just one place. Our minds.
Many of us spend so much of our time exclusively in the ‘Mind’ area.
Reasoning, gathering and synthesizing information, calculating, strategizing, problem solving… 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠!!!
As useful and as stimulating and wonderful of an asset our mind brain is, we could stand to benefit from discovering other intelligence centers as well, giving them more ‘play’ time and giving our minds a bit of a break once in a while.
You may have noticed at times when you are hyper focused on a project and getting nowhere.. where the harder you try the worse things seem to get.. you instinctively know that it might be a good idea to step away from it for a bit. Check in with your body, move around, get up and stretch, hydrate etc, acknowledge the feelings of frustrations that you might be experiencing, shake it all off before returning to it with your brain refocused, refreshed and open to a different perspective that was just not obvious to you a few short minutes ago.
And suddenly things start moving along nicely.
Wow! What happened there?
Many of us are in pieces, with little or no communication between the fragments. We mistakenly imagine that our minds are disconnected from our emotions and the rest of our body. We’ve been conditioned to value intellect and reason over everything else available to us, even though it is only one of our major tools.
Life is about learning and that learning happens on many levels.
Intellectual, emotionally, biologically and spiritually.
If all of our dimensions are approached and worked with in ways that allow them to function together as optimally as possible our wholeness is reinforced and deepend.
As complex as this may all sound, it is actually quite simple. It is natural to us as humans.
Being fragmented, disconnected, alienated is what is unnatural. Leading to unnecessary complexity and complications, stranding us from much of our humanity and potential.
The best play is when the ball (our attention) is dynamic and hits all the targets (our parts) gathering points (wisdom) from everywhere.
All these treasure chests to unlock and discover within..
⚫️Ping ~ Mind
⚫️Ping ~ Emotions
⚫️Ping ~ Body
𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐡𝐡! -the space in between that connects and inhabits everything ~ Spirit
Imagine what it might look like to bring your whole self to your life, to your relationships and your conversations more of the time.
But how does one become skilled in this area?
Patience, persistence, time and experience.
Reps reps reps reps..
Many reps..
⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️
So next time you notice your mind buzzing with activity..
Take a second to drop into things like:
What emotions are arising in the present moment (Ping).
How does that emotion feel in your body? (Ping)
What other sensations are you experiencing? (Ping)
What new thoughts are rising up?(Ping)
What has opened up?
Ping—Ping—Ping—Ping
Follow that ball around and slowly learn how to control its direction.
Life is the ultimate game.
I invite you to participate and step fully into play!
Remember the best play is when the ball is dynamic and hits all the targets gathering points from everywhere😉
And the best player is the one that diligently puts in the reps remaining wide eyed and wondering, curious and playful💪♥️🧠
If you’d like to learn more check out my blog posts on body awareness and emotional literacy.
Or book in a 1:1 session with me to dive into this deeper as it relates to your life and goals. Click here for coaching options.
