Anima Learning

What behavior do you really want to encourage? Today’s episode starts with the mind-blowing wonder of Lisa’s recent night out at a magic show (1:41) before Lisa and Ted together jump into the realm of positive reinforcement (11:30). Ted helps clarify some commonly misused terminology (17:59) before sharing some thoughts about the game “Dolphin Training”  [more…] The post Monster Baby #5...

Nothing like a near-disaster experience to get you thinking. Lisa and Ted return to the ambient sounds of the Stanford University campus to share Ted’s frightening story of almost taking his friend Dan’s life (3:15). Our intrepid pair again dive into the topic of vulnerability, especially as amplified when we’re stepping out into the world  [more…] The post Monster Baby #58 Ted’s...

Want to know what you let in and what you let out? Time to check your filters! For the first episode of another new year, Ted and Lisa lean under the hood to check the topic of filters. Per usual, they start with why the topic interests them (1:25) and then move onto identifying those  [more…] The post Monster Baby #57 Filter-ama appeared first on Anima Learning .

Does our humanness lie within our tenderness? Let’s dive into the topic of vulnerability and see what we find! Lisa’s back from her month-long junket to Europe and Ted’s got a Thanksgiving tale or two (1:37) before the pair explains why they wanted to explore the topic of vulnerability (11:25). Ted introduces Brené Brown’s definition  [more…] The post Monster Baby #56 V is for Vulnerabi...

Why not just try some s**t out? In Episode #55, Ted and Lisa extol the virtues of bringing a spirit of experimentation to all of life. The pair starts by catching up on Lisa’s improv exploits over in Germany (2:26) and by articulating the differences between Halloween rituals there in Deutschland versus those here stateside  [more…] The post Monster Baby #55 A Grand Experiment appeared...

Improvisation takes care of all of who we are. In this episode, Lisa and Ted continue their two-part conversation with longtime improv stalwart and new author, Dan O’Connor. (If you haven’t heard Part 1, you might want to start there.) Dan discusses two of the “stickiest” concepts from Life Unscripted (1:09) and the trio discusses  [more…] The post Monster Baby #54 Life Unscripted: A Co...

How do we break free from the stale scripts we’ve been living by? Lisa and Ted have a two-part conversation with longtime improv stalwart and new author, Dan O’Connor, to find out. Ted and Lisa welcome Dan by showing him a fresh version of his hot-off-the-presses book, Life Unscripted (1:57) and learn how he got  [more…] The post Monster Baby #53 Life Unscripted: A Conversation with Dan...

What did Lisa learn at clown camp? Still a bit hazy from her experience off in the woods of Northern Ontario, Lisa reports back in on her experiences training to clown. Ted and Lisa start by acknowledging the typically chilly conditions of late-summer San Francisco (2:14) before Lisa jumps into explaining the basics of “Baby  [more…] The post Monster Baby #52 Lisa Goes to Clown Camp app...

The conversation with Joe Bill goes wider and deeper. When legendary improvisor Joe Bill arrived in San Francisco to teach and perform, Ted and Lisa seized the opportunity and wrangled up a whirring, stirring conversation about improv, psychology, surviving childhood—and a whole lot more. Listen in for Part 2 of their Monster Baby cup of  [more…] The post Monster Baby #51 Insights On- a...

Joe Bill’s an improv luminary with a brilliant mind that careens joyfully between gutter-level explicitness and spiritual truth—oh wait, are they different? When Joe came to San Francisco to teach and perform, Ted and Lisa cranked up the podcast for a two-part conversation that runs the gamut. Part 1 of the conversation starts with the  [more…] The post Monster Baby #50 A Buddhist Athei...

Speaking up is one of the most natural—and most frightening—things we humans do. With Ted back from a month-long voice and speech training in Manhattan and Lisa back from a few weeks at summer camp, Episode #49 takes on the topic of stepping up and speaking out. Ted opens the conversation with his reasons for  [more…] The post Monster Baby #49 Speak Up! appeared first on Anima Learning...

The devil may live in the details—but’s that’s probably because he likes the magic there. In Monster Baby Episode, #48, Ted and Lisa discuss the challenges, joys, and benefits of getting specific. They start with a few leftovers from last episode’s discussion on Emotions (2:20) and a new version of the old-standby warm-up game, Three  [more…] The post Monster Baby #48: Be Specific! appe...

Pull out the pillows and the tissue paper—Monster Baby Episode #47 gets emotional. Or, more accurately, gets into emotions. Lisa and Ted start with some reflections on Lisa’s end of term teaching improv at Stanford (2:27) and working through some “leftovers” from last episode—including how do you stay calm when performing I front of a  [more…] The post Monster Baby #47 Why Are You So Em...

What does it mean to be creative? Do you qualify? In Monster Baby #46, Lisa and Ted mix it up with the muses, exploring the boundaries and qualities of this thing called “creativity.” They start with a riff on poinsettias and mouth noises—hint: Lisa likes the former and hates the latter (1:08)—and acknowledge their entry  [more…] The post Monster Baby #46 Playing with Creativity appeare...

If you’re looking for some action, you’ve come to the right place! In Monster Baby Episode #45, Lisa and Ted consider the many ramifications of action in a life of mindfulness and improvisation. They start by considering what associations the word brings to mind (1:58) and then describe where action shows up in each of  [more…] The post Monster Baby #45 Gettin’ Some Action appeare...

Ted and Lisa are working the levers of status: who’s got it, how it’s communicated, how we get good at playing with it—and more. On this, the Monster Baby Podcast’s 2nd birthday, our intrepid pair starts by giving away a scholarship slot for their upcoming Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat (1:43) and then by getting  [more…] The post Monster Baby #44 What’s Your Status? appeared...

There’s wisdom in them thar’ bodies—so it’s time to get physical! Lisa and Ted open Episode #43 with an audacious shot at a free slot in their upcoming Mindful Play, Playful Mind retreat (3:37) and a bit of a juicy story (6:31). Lisa wonders if mindfulness can ever be robustly physical (8:58) and if it,  [more…] The post Monster Baby #43 Let’s Get Physical appeared first on Anima...

Limiting beliefs get into us from a young age—how the heck can we undo or at least disarm them? In this Monster Baby episode, Ted and Lisa play with some tools and generate some hacks from the worlds of mindfulness and improvisation. The episode begins with a check-in from Lisa’s recent junket to Singapore (1:39)  [more…] The post Monster Baby #42 Beyond Beliefs appeared first on Anima...

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Lisa and Ted dive into the topic of love in its many forms. They start by checking the legendary history of St. Valentine (1:45) and wonder if maybe St. Patrick is deserving of similar attention (3:19). They ask what the word “love” really means anyway (5:56) and then consider overlaps  [more…] The post Monster Baby #41 What’s Love Got to Do With It? a...

Responding to a listener question (thanks, Shannon!), Ted and Lisa start to explore the world of expectations. Some initial responses (1:56) give way to another question: if we don’t have expectations, can we be disappointed? (6:04) Lisa delineates between expectations of what—as in, the end results—vs expectations of how—as in, the process (9:00) and the  [more…] The post Monster...

How did the Monster Baby Facebook fast go? Lisa starts with her results and notices the power of habit, voyeurism and what it means to think in status updates (5:03). Ted reports about noticing loneliness and boredom but also renewed mental clarity and lessened need for comparison (7:58). Lisa mentions how Facebook serves as a  [more…] The post Monster Baby #39: Facebook Fasting Results...

For this more free-form episode, Ted and Lisa share what’s been on their minds recently. Ted starts by considering how his relationship to technology has been affecting his sense of presence (2:21). That leads to a discussion of the addictive nature of Facebook, its effect on the experience of community (6:20) and a commitment to  [more…] The post Monster Baby #38: What’s on Your...

On the eve of a New Year, Lisa and Ted consider the value of fresh starts. They begin with some numerical musings (2:29) and warm up with a round of the classic improv game “New Choice.” (7:21) They explore how New Year’s resolutions and how improv heightens our awareness of newness in any given moment  [more…] The post Monster Baby #37: A New Start appeared first on Anima Learning .

Just in time for a holiday season that so often leads to excess, Ted and Lisa return to extol the virtues of “Less is More.” They revisit an old standby version of Word-at-a-Time for a warm-up (1:39) and consider some general thoughts about how improv draws from life (5:42). Ted shares a few stories from  [more…] The post Monster Baby #36: Less is More appeared first on Anima Learning .

It’s Lisa’s birthday and Ted’s about to turn 50—time to talk about aging! Our Monster Baby duo starts with a challenging warm-up game of “Fifteen Things!” to keep their brains youthfully invigorated (2:07) and then chat about how age has affected their respective memories (9:47). Ted and Lisa consider the dating ramifications of getting older  [more…] The post Monster Baby #35: On Aging...