Mark Johnson’s six-decade-long global spiritual journey, culminated with his book, and initiation into a life of Play. Mark encourages you to take the plunge into the unknown and mystery of your own life where every action becomes an effortless, appropriate response to whatever life brings you.
“Life As Play” chronicles Mark’s sixty year spiritual odyssey with some of the most fascinating spiritual teachers of the last half-century. His travels take him from the mountains of Pennsylvania to exotic temples in China, Tibet, France, and eventually to the wild and dangerous hills of Malibu, California. Irreverent, witty and self-deprecating, Mark provides summations of Taoist perspectives on feng shui, the energy body, sexual practices and many more... all leading to live Life as Play.
"The spiritual life is often considered dull, boring, and strait-laced. According to Mark, this stereotype is absurd. In Life as Play, Johnson traces his spiritual development and explains how laughter, fun, sex, chaos, and paradox were instrumental in what he calls 'playing with enlightenment.' I can think of no better and no more delightful book to initiate novices embarking on their spiritual journey."
I had a chance to interview the author to learn more.
Why did you write this book?
The book was 50% intuition and 50% playfulness. I wanted to use my story as an initiation into a life of Play. The kind of Play I encourage can only be expressed by a mature adult who can appreciate and embody the Playfulness of the Universe in its many expressions of synchronicities, paradox, humor, and being “in the zone.” My experience tells me it is often more difficult to transcend a small, self-restricted life rather than one that is more open, expansive, and willing to evolve. This book creates a clear and fun path towards that evolution.
You took a particular spiritual path on your journey - how will your book resonate with others who may be members of different belief systems?
I did not write it to resonate with different belief systems. I wrote it as being the most simple and fun way to live a life of complete oneness with the divine! What more could anyone ask for?
What do you hope readers get out of your book?
I hope readers will recognize this Playful place within themselves and allow it to expand. To the extent my life has gone beyond the norm, I hope it inspires readers to take the plunge into the unknown in their own lives. The most consistent theme throughout the book is that of the power of synchronicities to encourage a life of Play and how it reveals the interconnectedness of all creation. So, if an ordinary person like myself can Play in every instant, then you surely can too.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is struggling and doesn't know where to turn?
The book is a profound investigation into how to discover your innate divinity. Every person on the planet should know that they are not mere waves on the vast ocean of life. They are, in fact, the entirety of the ocean NOW. All they need to do is be open to their innate divinity and allow it to flow through them until they realize they have always been the great oneness. Everything is energy and all energies resonate with like frequencies. Therefore, all they have to do is live compassionately, intuitively, spontaneously, and synchronicities and miracles will happen!
Few Westerners have training in the multitude of Chinese disciplines that Mark Johnson has. In addition to Tai Chi instruction, Mark specializes in Qigong (which is self-healing through moving high frequency energies throughout the body.) He also taught three styles of Feng Shui (which is the study of the energies of an area) and he was also involved in writing one of the most popular versions of the E Jing (which is China's ancient classic on how things change). He also teaches Chinese calligraphy to his students on his many trips to China. Mark has integrated these disciplines in creative ways for over fifty five years now. He has also founded Integral Tao Centers in Taos New Mexico, Tulsa Oklahoma, New York, and California where he now resides. He has been teaching throughout North America for nearly thirty-five years in a variety of formats: private sessions, on-going community classes, weekend and week-long seminars and workshops. He is a certified Tai Chi tournament judge and has officiated over 25 tournaments in the past twenty years.
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