In 1895, H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine captured the popular imagination and set the tone for our infinite fascination with time travel. Its attendant gadgetry kept the nerdier fans busy, while others were distracted by the possible and impossible science of it.   But the idea of time travelers is more significant. The time traveler, like a …

In King Lear, theGodfather of its time, Shakespeare exposes the folly of power through his narrative of it slipping away. Lear’s Fool matches elusive power with a taunting dance of his own. He represents Lear’s conscience, but Lear ignores him. The Fool makes Lear’s madness worse, driving him crazy. He dances on the play’s mushrooming …

So how do power, playfulness, war, and the amoral stance of the Trickster intersect? Western civilization, in its drive to build empire, needed a morality of absolutes. If I want my army to kill the soldiers in your army, I must make a convincing argument that my army represents good, and yours, evil. So my …

Let us adopt the childlike belief in the antidotal properties of original play. That to be playful means not taking power seriously. When such disruptive play reaches critical mass, power collapses and leaves us swimming about in the amoral waters of the Trickster. Those who have successfully retained their childlike playfulness, who have resisted power—personally, spiritually, …