What if your spiritual practice meant simply saying “Yes!” to life itself? In anticipation of this March’s “Yes to Life! The Improvisation and Spirituality Weekend,” Ted and Lisa welcome the retreat’s co-facilitators, Angelo John Lewis and Cindy Franklin, on to the Monster Baby Podcast. Lisa starts by coordinating an introduction of each guest, starting with Cindy’s eclectic background in corporate America and more spiritual circles (2:07) and concluding with some insight into Angelo’s current station in life (6:59). Both share stories about the place of spirituality in their lives growing up, including tales of Angelo’s “inner sound,” the spirituality of listening, and wisdom from St. Theresa (8:59). Cindy shares some of her tension as a child between her father’s atheism and her sense of a living god despite that atheism (17:49). All four participants reflect on how improvisation connects with spirituality (21:39) and Cindy introduces Joseph Chilton Pearce’s notion of religion as a ‘dead virus.’ (26:11) The crew reflects on whether improvisation has other moods and modes beside just play (33:34) and then close with what’s got each facilitator most excited about the upcoming retreat (39:46). Ted and Lisa return for the outro to pull the episode together and to remind you: if you want to respond to this week’s question (“What originally got you ‘hooked’ with improvisation or mindfulness? As in, what about them grabbed your heart?”), send a written response—or even better, a voice memo!—to [email protected]. Maybe you’d like to develop more confidence, calm and connection for the New Year. If so, consider trying out Ted’s Monster-Baby-inspired book, Playful Mindfulness. To order, please visit www.playfulmindfulness.info. (Ask nicely and Ted will surely sign a copy for you!) If there’s something in the episode that brings you particular joy—or raises a question—feel free to write us at [email protected]. To subscribe so you receive immediate notice of future Monster Baby releases, head over to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com.