Playfulness
In AdultLife: Unlocking theCreativityFlowand Beyond
Insights from SixDecades of Playing, Teaching andCreating
KefasBerlin
Playfulness In AdultLife: Unlocking theCreativityFlowand Beyond
Insights from Six DecadesofPlaying,Teachingand Creating
KefasBerlin
Playfulness InAdult Life
Unlocking theCreativity Flowand Beyond -Insights from SixDecades of Playing,Teaching andCreating Kefas Berlin Jannes
Copyright ©2025 by KefasBerlin Jannes
Allrightsreserved
Publisher: BoD· Books on Demand, Östermalmstorg 1, 114 42 Stockholm, Sverige, bod@bod.se
Print: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee273, 22763 Hamburg, Tyskland
ISBN:978-91-7969-052-6
Automated techniques used to analysetextand data in digitalformfor thepurposeof generating information,inaccordance with Sections15a, 15b, and 15c of the Copyright Act(textand data mining), areprohibited
Cover andInteriorDesign and Photos: Kefas Berlin Jannes
Thank you!
Allthe peopleI havemet and had theprivilege to talk to,to work and collaboratewith, to play,practise, improviseand create with —friends,adults and children,artists and workshop participants. Thecollaborations, encounters, andthe experienceofthemhavetaught me so much through theirways of beingand doing. Youknow whoyou are. Thank you!
Thepersons that openedthe doorstospaces whereI could work and havethose encountersand continue my pathof investigationand creativity.You know whoyou are. Thank you!
My brotherand my father forhow thewhere,mymotherfor hertrust and supportofmychoices,mychildrenfor how well they haveraisedmeand taught me.Thank you!
Thesecond element: Interaction51
-Contact andacceptance54
-Reciprocity 58
-Resonance 61
Interlude:Presenceand Interaction65
Thethird element: Dynamics67
Dynamic polarities72 - Chaos74 - Structure76
Interlude:Trees or Forest 79 -Wildness 82 - Stillness83 - On 86 - Off87 Intensity 88
Thecreativeprocess90
Intuition 92
Developing intuition96
Dynamics: Summary 99
Repetition: Thecoreelements100
Interlude:MihalyCsikszentmihaly105
PART 2
Exercisesfor
Experiencing
Intuition:
PART 3
- TheDramatic Play
…Adults:The SocialArt236
PART 4
ThePlayfulness andCreativityTroubleshooting - Quick-list243 - ThePre-PlayStage 244 - TheCoreElementsofPlayfulness 247 - ObstructivePatterns249 - AdditionalReflections 253 Coda:Afterglow
Prelude
PlayfulnessinAdultLife: Unlockingthe Creativity Flow andBeyond
Dear Reader
Humanbeingsare inherently creative. It is through creationthatwefully expresswhatmakes us human.Within each of us lies theabilitytocreate—likea seed longing to be plantedinfertile soil,where it cantakeroot and flourish. Anditisinthisflourishing that we recognize ourselves,feel athome, andconnect with our true power.We areall, in one wayoranother, artists.
Themeaningoflifeistoliveitand experience it—and everything that unfoldsfromthat. Meaning is linkedto wholeness. As long as you remain undividedand whole, the questionofmeaningdoesnot arise.
Yetitis, however,the recurring innercondition of boththe individualand humanitytofinditselfdivided andun-whole. However, out of this outer and/or innerfragmentation and conflictarisesthe drivetoreunite,toreconcile,tomakewhole —tocreatemeaning, coherence, anda life that continuesto grow.And, as thepoetsang:
Ring thebells that still canring
Forget your perfect offering
Thereisa crack, acrack in everything
That's how thelight gets in (L.Cohen)
By embracingthatlight in form of theultimateinner freedom we have been given, andbychoosingtoapproach life with playfulnessand creativity—whichisalwayswithin our reach—our existencebecomes abundant:fullofvitalityand deep engagement.Indoing so,the questionofmeaning becomesredundant.You aresimplylivingyour meaning.
When we startoperatingfromour creativecorewith playfulness, we feel trulyathomeinour innersensationof meaning. Meaningisabout purpose, andevery person, no matterwhere they are in life or what they do, is meantto embrace reality in some form—and as it is—and create somethingnew fromit. Theessence of creativitycannot be separatedfromthe essenceoflife'smeaning.
As Iearliersaid, this creativecapacityiswithusfrombirth.It firstmanifests through play—through exploringthe worldand our ownbodies,through social body play,rule-basedplay, fantasyplay, andsoon. Andaswegrowolder,thisinnate playdrivecontinuesinwhatwecallcreativity. Essentially, however, creativity is nothing otherthan play. Thecoreofbothplayand creativity Icall playfulness.
Usingthe word playfulnessmay feel challenging, as we all associateitwith different emotions and expressions.That is whyI, in this book,will explore and definewhat Imeanbyplayfulness so that youcan understand what Imeanbyplayfulness.
In ordertogainnew insightsintosomething youalready knew what it was, it canbehelpful to startcompletelyfromscratch, forgettingwhat youalready knew in ordertomakespacefor new insights.
However, on thejourneyfromchildhood—perhapsnot always aparticularly playfulone—toadulthood, most of us lose our senseofplayfulness. Andwithit, creativityfades.The reasons forthismay be deeply personal, yettheyare also tiedto theculture we liveinand, more specifically, to thelong years spentadaptingtoaneducationalsystemthatshapesus. However, this book is not about how or whycreativity disappears—thereisalreadyplentyofresearch on that.Instead, it explores how we can reclaimit. Andwedosoby understanding playfulnessatits core andactivelypracticingits elements.Creativity then followsnaturally—whether asecond laterora daylater.
Part 1: This part of thebook offers an analysis of playfulness. It givesyou adeeper understanding of what makessomething playfuland creative—thebasic elements andtheir subgroups. Once you’ve graspedsomeofit, you’ll be able to make useof theTroubleshooter in Part 4.
Part 2: This part offers practicalexercises forplayfulness bothfor individuals andgroups.Here, you’ll dive into the elements of playfulnessand find exercisesthatwillsignificantly enhanceyour skills.
Part 3: This part delves into theroleofchildhood play andhow its elements resurface in adulthood. It offers away to understand essentialaspects of life as an adult—in relation to well-being, social life, boundaries,rules,drama,creativity, joy, andmore.
Part 4: TheTroubleshooter.Thismay be themostimportant part,asitoffersthe actualkeystoplayfulness—and to the creativity that comeswith it. Youcan turn to it when you find yourself missing playfulnessorcreativity—or even thesense of meaninginlife—andneedsomeunderstanding andinsight, rather than more thinking. Note: Part 4can’t be used unlessyou’ve engagedwithPart1.
This book is acollectionofexperiences andinsightsthat have emergedoverfour decades—in my pedagogicalworkwith bothchildrenand adults andinmyworkasa musician and performingartist.
Ihope that this book will offeryou somethingvaluablealong your journey—inyour life with others,withchildrenand adults, with friends andlovers,inyour professionallife, in your encounterswith yourself,and in your explorationofboththe worldand your innerbeing.
Ihope it mayinspire you in thecreationofart and in thecreationof life as art.
Even as you read,you canbegin practicingyour playfulness through finding your ownreadingpace; sensewhenitistimetoput thebook downand when it feelsright to continue.Donot become the dutiful student whodiligently readsfromcovertocover—instead, allowyour impulsiveness to have space.Followyour curiosity.Take pauses.Let thetextsinkin. Letitalsoencourageyou to pausefrom time to time andreflect on what theconcepts anddescriptions I presentmean to you—how they arealready presentinyour life and what you choosetodowiththem.
I’vecometorealizehow important it is to distinguish between play andplayfulness.While they areclosely related, they have unique qualities. Understanding this difference is keytodivingdeeper into playfulness. It revealshow playfulnesscan enhanceeverythingwedo, turninglifeintoart
My hope is that you, as thereader, discoveryour ownplayfulness andawakenyour creativity,allowing it to flow into everypartofyour life. Life will be filledwithyou—your presence,your transformation andre-creationofwhatlifeoffersyou.
Part 1:An analysis of playfulness, exploringits core elements and subgroups,settingthe stagefor theTroubleshooter in Part 4.
Part2: Practical exercisestoboostplayfulness,for both individuals andgroups,enhancingyour skills.
Part 3: Alookatchildhood play andits relevancetoadultlife, touching on well-being, social life, boundaries,creativity, andmore.
Part 4: TheTroubleshooter,offeringinsightsand solutions to reignite playfulness, creativity, anda senseofmeaning in life
KefasBerlin -Jannes, bornand raised in Stockholm, Sweden,isa dancer,singer, musician, and composer.Withover 40 yearsof experienceasa performanceartistand teacher, he has collaborated with various performancecompanies and taught in over 100 schools and adulteducationprograms. Hispassion forsharingknowledge in playfulness, movement, and voicetakes himaround theworld, offering workshops bothinSwedenand internationally.
