Playful Mindfulness: a joyful journey to everyday confidence, calm, and connection

Playful Mindfulness brings together wisdom from the worlds of mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and kindness) and improvisation (making life up courageously as you go along) so readers can find greater freedom, ease, spontaneity and joy. CONFIDENCE. CALM. CONNECTION. Do you long to express that creative project or idea but tell yourself you’re not good or clever or funny enough, so why even try? Do you dream of a wide-open life filled with moments of wonder, delight and surprise but find yourself trapped in routine and smothered by stress? Do you yearn for meaningful connection with those around you but feel yourself ever more isolated by social media and modern technology? HOPE IS ON THE WAY. In this playful book, Ted DesMaisons takes your hand and leads you on an adventure through the worlds of mindfulness and improvisation where you’ll discover the same freedom, ease, spontaneity and joy that thousands of his students at Stanford and elsewhere have found for themselves. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ted DesMaisons has been synthesizing innovative approaches to collaborative learning and personal development for over 30 years. A graduate of Stanford Business and Harvard Divinity schools, Ted trained to teach mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn and others at the UMASS Medical School and has studied, taught and performed improvisation internationally. Currently, Ted teaches Playful Mindfulness and voice and presence courses through Stanford University’s Continuing Studies program and co-hosts the Monster Baby Podcast (“A Curious Romp through the Worlds of Mindfulness and Improvisation”)—the inspiration for this book. He lives near the beach cliffs of Daly City, California with Luna and Marley, his two quirky and charismatic spotted Ocicats. For further resources, explore: www.playfulmindfulness.info