Yes, we know play is a necessary part of our lives: it relieves stress, adds balance, and inspires creativity. We often don’t play, though, because we’re too busy—unless something reminds us.

Sometimes it’s something extraordinary. For me it was the convergence of an orca whale superpod off my local Seattle beach, a professional athlete’s spirit guide team, and my deceased dog, Murphy, showing up to sing with Beethoven (yes, that Beethoven).

Orcas know how to play! When the superpod showed up, my dog, Alki, and I joined the throngs of people partying: everybody was relaxed, happy, cheerfully sharing binoculars and observations. Watching people watching orcas made me wonder: does it really take something extraordinary for us to relax and play? Do we need permission to play?

The orcas were hunting clear across Puget Sound, but I knew they were also enjoying themselves when I asked them (I am a professional intuitive) if they would swim closer so I could get a better look, and they laughed, saying the fishing was better where they were. Can’t fault that logic, since orcas don’t have grocery stores.

I asked, “Can you come visit tomorrow, same time, only over here?”

“Sure!” one yelled, with a huge “Yay!” as it breached so high all the gawkers laughed.

However, it took a few days before the orcas came back. When I teased them about forgetting our “date,” they said: “Orca time or human time?” They said how much they love being orcas: the water, the food, being together, their curiosity about us, their amusement at how much we love seeing them.

Yes, orcas love being orcas. To them, the hunt is as fun as it is necessary to life. Work is life-giving play.

Which brings me to the spirit guides of a client who’s a professional athlete (who chose his profession because it’s work he enjoys—fun!). I call these spirit guides the Rainbow Boys: they appear as young athletes dressed in rainbow-swirled long-sleeved outfits that end below the knee. They carry basketballs, soccer balls, and balloons to play with while they work with us. Then they started showing up in sessions with other people, and I asked them why.

“It’s time for sacred play,” they said.

They then taught me a body technique I call “Marshmallow Spine.” It involves getting the client grounded, then floating in air to cushion and relax the body, shifting from a hard to a soft spine that supports the body while moving freely, nourishing. It allows a flat ball to bounce, is the exuberance in an orca breach, the play missing from our busy lives. As sacred play teaches clients to relax into joy, the breath of play softens tense bodies, filling empty spaces they didn’t know were empty until joy flowed in.

I thought of this as I was preparing dinner for friends and turned on my stereo. When Beethoven’s Fifth blared out, I remembered that I had chosen it for the funeral for my beloved dog, Murphy—music that that matched her vibrant nature.

As the music filled the house, Murphy showed up in spirit, with her trademark cheerful, teasing attitude. I asked her why that music. She said it was music “angels sang to.”

“Angels singing to Beethoven?” I asked.

Murphy nodded and started harmonizing with Beethoven as other voices joined in: the angels, Murphy said. “It’s play,” she said. “Sacred play.”

I got it. Beethoven wasn’t just a musical genius: he loved his work, it was fun. He tapped into the creativity that comes from hard work combined with inspiration and the pure joy of doing it. He played. He connected to others with his play, and he’s still doing it.

The orcas, the Rainbow Boys, my beloved Murphy singing to Beethoven: they reminded me that play matters. Not just for relieving stress in our busy lives. For keeping us open to joy and creativity. For connecting to other in our necessarily solitary journey through life. For discovering again the joy and role of sacred play in growing our souls.

Orcas delight us in part because we recognize play at work. Full deep breathing relaxes us. Beethoven’s music endures because for him his work was play. When we allow this sacred play in our lives, we do the same thing. We connect: to other beings doing their work, to ourselves. To life in harmony with our beloved planet.

Play matters. And whether we schedule it or just spontaneously engage, sacred play is necessary. We just need to go do it.

© Robyn M Fritz

Robyn M Fritz MA MBA CHt is a tested and certified intuitive and spiritual consultant and past life regression specialist with an international practice based in Seattle, Washington. An OM Times Expert and award-winning author, teacher, and speaker, she hosts “The Practical Intuitive: Mind Body Spirit for the Real World” each Monday at 2 pm PST/5 EST on OM Times Radio.