The art of letting go.

This Blog is titled Improv Spirituality. One of the reasons is that both Improvisation and Spirituality are about the same thing, letting go.

In Improv you have to let go of control of the scene. You can't push your idea or agenda. All you can do is make offers and then wait and see what your partner or team does with it. It's a given that they will say Yes, which means they accept your offer and use it as a building block for the scene. It is also a given that they will then give their And, which doesn't deny your offer but it builds on it with the gifts they offer in return. You have no way of knowing what those offers/gifts will be or in what direction they will take you. This is what makes improv work, the collaboration between contributing members where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

When you engage in back and forth "Yes, And" you grow in understanding and wisdom. You also actually grow your brain. Neuroplasticity means your brain forms new synapses when you open yourself up and learn something new. Your brain makes new connections, both physically and mentally. Letting go enables you to think and function at a higher level.

The same is true with spirituality. When we break out of dualist thinking and open our minds to experience God in new ways, we grow mentally and spiritually. When we let go of the rigid, "my way is the only way" and engage with others in how they experience the Divine we actually begin to see God acting in our lives and in the world in a whole new way. 

The old phrase, "let go and let God" isn't about throwing our hands up in the air and saying, "Jesus take the wheel." Letting go means letting go of control, of our need to be right, of believing what someone told me rather than my own experience with God. Hold things lightly, embrace uncertainty, quiet the inner critic, read theology, learn new practices of spirituality, be open to the Spirit. All that is about letting go.

Improv Spirituality is about saying Yes to God and all the wonderful variations God created and then collaborating with God by offering your unique gifts, the And. For both Improv and spirituality, its not about you. Its always about us.