Mad Lab: An Exercise on Fun
With everything that is going on in the world, I have rapidly become bogged down with seriousness. Justifiably so. Having compassion in the face of adversity is exhausting. Trying to convince others or governing bodies to have compassion when they lack, is exhausting.
In trying to find my footing for a blog post I was at a loss of words for, I’m giving into my current resistance to intellectual thought and discarding that post for now.
I had recently been reminded of the importance of fun and play within a spiritual practice. Or a practice of any kind. So, this will be my deeply unserious contribution towards helping provoke a space to set down the burdens of the world and breathe for just a moment. And maybe even get a chuckle going.
!!
I also want to add here that the framework of the following exercise is written using absolution language. The intent and energy behind this exercise is solely for the purposes of allowing ourselves the permission to have fun. The absolution language here is equivalent to when kids create their own make-believe worlds with rules for play.
That being said, it is completely up to you whether or not you wish to engage in the exercise or to what extent you’d like to engage. At no point are any of the “musts” actually a must. You hold the final authority in creating this space. These “rules” are meant to help inspire entertainment, so if they become stressful, toss them aside.
Also, as a side note, if you do not feel safe in your physical location to engage in this exercise fully, but still want to try, please feel free to change or reconstruct as needed. Sometimes even just reading or envisioning something bizarre and absurd is enough to “cleanse our palate” to feel a little more light.
So, without further ado… let me put on my “madman hat.”
Welcome to my Mad Lab!
Properly name the Magically Incongruous Laboratory of Kooky! (M.I.L.K.… because we all need some, apparently, and I don’t like dairy so this will do…)
Please suspend all skepticism, criticism, and anti-sugarism! This Mad Lab requires your complete and dedicated cooperation. For the illusion of fun to transfix your being, participation in this role-play exercise is mandatory! Belief in and perceived experience of the Lab must be ABSOLUTE!
Presently, since this is your first time entering the Mad Lab, there are a few
basic rules in place for safety:
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is to be worn at all moments whilst in the Lab
Horse play is mandatory when cornered
Food & Drink must be barbarically consumed or stored as an Emotional Support Snack and effectively gifted a name.
All doorways shall be blocked with tape to some degree at all times
If a Happy Detraction Portal opens during experimentation, pause, dramatically look off into the distance, then verbally accept or decline the Portal
PPE necessary for Lab entrance:
Lab coat (an extremely long cardigan or “marshmallow” poofy coat only acceptable replacements)
Safety glasses (sunglasses or swim goggles only acceptable replacements)
Gloves (Oven mitts acceptable)
Feet covers (mixed matched socks, toe gloves, or stilettos)
Hair must be tied back, no matter the length! This is serious work!
~~~ Have a cookie! ~~~
Beautiful! Now that you’ve read the rules (pre-taping of doorways is always recommended) and have on your proper PPE, let me paint you a picture of the lab.
The Mad Lab takes on the physical structure of whatever building the Lab is invoked into. All materia that can be seen in the Lab has a bright and shiny demeanor. Smells of happiness and sugar waft around you. Sounds of musical buzzing fill your ears. Wherever it is the lab has been invoked into becomes a sanctuary and is protected from non-Lab impediments.
Congratulations!
You have set foot into the Mad Lab!
For today’s experience…
make your way through the Lab to the Kitchen Table with the following items:
A sheet of printer or notebook paper
A magical writing thing
A set of dice blessed by the breath of a frog (if no frog present, concoct a frog-potion to shape-shift someone for 12 Lab hrs)
Firstly, use the magical writing thing to, very horribly, sketch a rough blueprint of your current Lab’s rooms and doors onto the paper. Next, assign a die to each room and roll to get the room’s Authority Number. Write each number inside the sketched room.
The sketch is now your road map and the Authority Number corresponds to a prompt below. Travel very carefully and intentionally to each room, starting with the lowest Authority Number. Complete the prompt within the room and exclaim this completion with your best dramatic flare before moving on!
Don’t forget to follow the rules of the Lab at all times!!! And should any non-Lab impediments break through the magical barriers, banish the globs with any common nostalgic phrases! (Ex: “Swipper! No Swipping” , “Stop, Hammer time” , “…Pudding!”)
Enjoy your Mad lab experience! We hope to see you again soon!
PS
Regarding Rule #2, “when cornered” specifically addresses finding yourself in a corner of any kind. 90 degree angles demand horse play always.
~~~ Inspiration Kitty hard at work ~~~
Authority Number Prompts:
Something
Provide a 2min abstract dance over the concept of polarity/duality
The triangle is Key
Four is a bore, so let’s provide it some more! Find four sets of four
Five shakes. Five hops. Five spins. Five twins. Five always mends.
There once was a King of 6, split he became, reconstructed he reigns
All communication be in song, completion follows the siren’s bong
All things are developed to be undone, give and take with your own hand
O’ the cauldron of brewing! Mix and mix; a potion of joy be true
Light as air, swift as fire, rooted as earth, flexible as water
Wish Wish, the genie has a wish! Find his face and be transfixed!
She has no clue, the prophecy’s so new, find it out of the blue
Hot potato, hot potato, can you survive? A game of hot potato while the floor is alive?
Ring-a-ling, round & round, we’re trying to reach you with something profound
Fire in darkness, warmth in cold. Do something that feels unnaturally bold
Beauty in the eye of the beholder, the shapes be-ith in the sky
Rbf; grump and stump. All is rock. Rock is serious
Great scientists experiment. Draft an abstract and in-act greatness!
Worry not, and you shall see, the thing you seek is a motte away
Un-Something
