A Tale of Two Universes: The Mythology of Play

By Nicole Daedone

A Tale of Two Universes: The Mythology of Play suggests that life is best lived playfully. Just as an improvisational musician weaves novelty, surprise, and beauty into the changing progression of chords in a song, the player of the game of life invigorates every scene that they enter with artful spontaneity, magnetizing humor, and electric vulnerability.

By examining the evidence of play in the natural world, from ravens sliding through the snow on their backs to hippos doing backflips, grizzly bears play-fighting and bison slip-and-sliding on frozen lakes, A Tale of Two Universes: The Mythology of Play argues that this playful orientation to life is in fact our natural state. And, in addition to its many evolutionary advantages, it makes life more fun.

A Tale of Two Universes: The Mythology of Play also explores how deep play can trigger flow states, and how these states can facilitate optimal performance, peak creativity, and profound healing by taking a deep dive into the science around play and flow. Following the psychologist Brian Sutton-Smith, who said, “the opposite of play…is depression,” it presents play as a radical approach to psychological healing and spiritual transformation.

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