Autumn at Playing Mantis 2014

September 2014:
My favorite month and season, oh how I wish I could hold the ever changing autumn leaves a bit longer ….

This year Playing Mantis celebrates the 8th autumn with deep bright colors of Halloween and Thanks Giving. Pumpkins big and small will greet everyone by the doorstep. Soon the friendly ghosts and adorable little monsters will be trick or treating from Soho to TriBeca. It is such a festive time for the neighborhood. We are preparing the window with friendly witches and gnomes. Costumes made of wool and leather from ages before will be all over the wall. Be a knight, be a king or a a brave prince with swords, bows and arrows for a just one night. Let’s hold this time of magic like the golden autumn leaves a little bit longer and celebrate the tradition of LIFE.

Time is too fast…. constantly changing and evolving with all the challenges of our culture of video games, ipads and phones, social media and cheap accessible plastic toys. Many of the most prominent researchers in the field of psychology such as Jean Piaget, William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Lev Vygotsky all had strong beliefs on how important play was to human development. Play is not just a pastime activity; it has the potential to serve as an important tool in numerous aspects of our daily lives, for adolescents and adults .Not only does play promote and aid in physical development (such as hand-eye coordination), but it also aids in cognitive development and social skills, and can even act as a stepping stone into the world of integration, which can be a very stressful process. With this knowledge , I believe our hands should learn more than pushing a button, and our bodies should learn how to throw and catch a ball, skip rope, turn a top, swing a yoyo , push a truck and play house with kitchen sets, pots and dolls. Young minds should look up and wonder about the beauty of the blue sky and the far away twinkle that reminds us how amazingly connected and infinite our lives can be. Our children should be given time to explore the beauty of nature outside the digital world .We have a spiritual obligation to connect in a natural way and allow love to shine from within.