The Blame Game

Suitable for two or more players. Age 3 +.

Rules:-

The object of the game is to skilfully negotiate your way around the board, apportioning blame whenever possible to the other players.

Extra points are awarded for aggression and refusing to listen to another point of view. Players, above all else, should deny their own responsibility and decline to examine their own issues, patterns and lessons.

Any player landing on “The Big Picture” square must miss a go and pick a Zen card, thus being challenged to ignore that the other participants are playing their parts to perfection and are, in fact, assisting in his or her spiritual growth and understanding.

This truth can only be overcome if a player has already acquired one or more “ego”, “intolerance” or “just don´t get it” cards – all of which can be played at this time in order to avoid being thrown in Blame Jail.

If incarcerated, the player must remain in jail until one of the other players land either on a “self-pity” or “aggression” square themselves – which immediately frees you from jail – or the golden card of “No-one can DO something TO us unless we allow it and everything happens for a reason and is for our highest and greatest good” turns up – at which point, the game is over.

The winner is...well, that´s the uniqueness of this particular game. There are no winners. Everyone loses in the Blame Game.

Let the games begin.

The Wacky World of Creativity

What? Hello? Where am I? Oh, I´m back in my blog – almost didn´t recognise it, it´s been so long since I´ve been here!

What a funny old thing creativity is. This seems to have been one of my lessons over the last few weeks, and the thing I feel compelled to write about today.

Up to recently, I´d never experienced any kind of block when it came to writing regular blogs, then suddenly bam! Out of nowhere, a wall Hadrian would have been proud of flung itself up in my mind and every time my thoughts to turned to writing something, I just kept banging my head against it.

Headaches and frustration ensued and all of a sudden everything seemed preferable to sitting down and writing. Scrubbing the kitchen floor with a toothbrush, ironing socks with a crease down the middle, sorting out CDs into alphabetical order – you know, fun stuff and, of course, all hugely essential.

But, as with all things in life, there was something to be learned here – although, be warned, it is a bit of a dichotomy.

On the one hand, I totally agree that there is little point in waiting until you feel inspired and creative to sit down to write. Inspiration tends to come along while we are working and many times in the past, I´ve not been in the mood to write but just got on with it anyway, soon to find myself in a strong creative flow and loving the process. I get that, I do.

And yet, on the other hand, I also believe that there are times when it´s best not to force it. I mean, where does creativity come from? Is there a magical, creative voice informing us? Our muse, as it were? I think so, and I also think that at the times we feel “blocked”, it is at its busiest, working overtime whispering the best and most authentic way forward to our subconscious minds. If we and our rational minds can get out of the way and not interfere with this process (too many cooks and all that), very soon those ideas will burst through to the surface and we are back in the flow – writing, making music, painting, sculpting – whatever our particular creative outlet may be.

Sometimes the rational mind just doesn´t get the magic of the process and has to be kept occupied doing something else while the real inventive stuff gets cracking behind the scenes.

So, the next time you catch me sorting a whole cabinet of books into alphabetical order, looking all fed-up and sorry for myself, just remind me of this, would you?

Thanks. :)