Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board: A Morning Mantra for the World We’re In

By Jennifer Finch, MA, LPC, NCC, SEP

May 19, 2025

Do you remember the childhood game we used to play at sleepovers?

Someone would lie down, flat on the ground, arms crossed over their chest like a Victorian ghost bride, while the rest of us circled around on our knees, and put two fingers tucked beneath their limbs. We’d dim the lights, hold our breath, and chant in a whisper together, rhythmically:

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board… light as a feather, stiff as a board…”

Sometimes, we would even amp up the theatrical element and whisper a story about the person’s death to make the ritual drip in pure dramatics. And then, somehow, mystically, ridiculously, against all logic, against every ounce of physics we thought we understood, we lifted them. Just like that. With just our fingertips.

We’d shriek, laugh, drop them halfway up, and try again, secretly wondering: Was that real? Did we just do magic?

It did indeed feel like magic. And in a way, it was.

Science might say otherwise. But despite that, it worked effortlessly.

In a world where every day is beginning to feel like we have to build back up what is being torn down, nothing is registering as effortless. Many of us are overcome by heavy lifting.

So, I began to think logically about this childhood sleepover game. What was actually happening? And how was it possible to feel so easy lifting someone? What was the “magic” part?

It wasn’t levitation or spirit possession or sleep-deprived hysteria (though those might’ve helped).

I was often surprised at how easily we could lift the person, so I researched what was making this all possible.

The effect is part psychology, part coordination, and maybe a bit of middle-school mysticism. The game embodies a beautiful convergence of the simple science of physics, timing, and the collective group's focus and intention, all driven by expectation.

Here is what is really going on:

1. Distributed Weight (Physics)

When multiple people lift a body using just two fingers each, they’re distributing the load across several points. A typical body might weigh 100–150 pounds, but if four people are lifting, that’s only about 25–37 pounds per person—and even less per finger.

Key concept:

• Force = mass ÷ number of lifters

• The more people involved, the less each person has to lift.

2. Timing and Synchronization (Neuroscience & Motor Control)

In everyday life, lifting someone together usually results in uneven weight distribution because people aren’t coordinated. But in this game, the repeated chant (“light as a feather…”) helps synchronize the group’s timing, actions, and movement, like a metronome.

When everyone lifts at exactly the same moment, the lift is smoother and surprisingly effective, even with just fingertips.

And with the weight distributed evenly across eight or ten fingers, no one had to do much. We just had to do it together. That rhythmic focus wasn’t spooky, it was smart. It quieted the nervous system, focused attention, and created coordination.

3. Expectation and Suggestibility (Psychology)

This is where the magic feels real. The game sets a spooky, supernatural-focused atmosphere. Dim lights, whispers, and group attention lower critical thinking and heighten suggestibility, especially in children and adolescents.

People expect it to work, and the brain often follows the narrative. It becomes easier to believe:

“Wow, we actually levitated them!”

Even though it’s just good teamwork.

4. Muscle Priming and Postural Rigidity

The person lying down is told to be “stiff as a board,” which engages their muscles and keeps them rigid. It creates alignment. And, a rigid, aligned body is easier to lift than a floppy one because the weight is more evenly distributed, like lifting a stiff plank versus a heavy, wet blanket.

5. Social Contagion and Group Dynamics

If one person believes it’s working, that belief spreads. This “group hypnosis” effect, where people take on cues from others, makes the illusion more powerful. Kids especially pick up on emotional cues and mirror group belief systems.

How Can We Use This to Help Us Today?

It feels magical because:

• The body is stiff (easier to lift)

• The lifters are synchronized (better force transfer)

• The weight is distributed (less work per person)

• The atmosphere alters perception (heightened focus and belief), and nobody wants to be the one who breaks the spell.

And most importantly, it worked because we did it together.

Can you see/feel the connection to today? This is how change happens, too.

The world feels heavy right now, even downright impossible. Many of us are carrying heavy burdens. Grief, anxiety, exhaustion, rage. The news cycle churns like a broken washing machine, and it’s easy to feel like we’re holding it all alone.

But what if we’re not? What if, despite how heavy it feels, we’re not actually lifting alone?

What if there’s a deeper rhythm underneath the noise, the sorrow, the unfathomable disbelief, syncing us without our knowing? What if unseen forces (friends, ancestors, strangers who care) are helping us, like little unseen angels, lift things that feel too big to carry on our own?

What if we are already being lifted, just enough, just in time, by forces we can’t always name?

What if the secret to change within us and within the world isn’t trying harder, but aligning better? Getting out of our silos.

What if some of the weight you’re feeling is being quietly matched by others, in their corners of the world, also whispering: “Light as a feather, stiff as a board…” as they hold up their piece of the collective?

I have nothing else to hold on to but the hope that change will occur when we shift our approach to how we relate to each other. To start believing that we are responsible for only our part, and others for theirs. And doing our part well with a willingness to stiffen our spine, soften our heart, and trust that we are not alone.

So, here’s my invitation to you, especially if the news or events in the world are causing your chest to tighten, or if it's your actual reality in your daily life. Or if your heart is tired of trying, or your spirit is questioning what the point of any of this is:

Next time you feel the weight of the world pressing down on your shoulders, let’s utilize this childhood mantra.  

Whisper it. Say it in your mind. Or, say it out loud. Let it settle into your bones. Breath into your body, and feel the ground beneath you.

Light as a feather, stiff as a board.

I am being lifted, even when I can’t feel it.

And I am not lifting alone. I never was.

I am part of a rhythm greater than myself.

I will stay steady. I will keep rising.

In dark times, it’s easy to believe we’re alone and doing it all, but there are invisible hands at our backs. Friends, strangers, allies, seen and unseen, helping us all rise. We don’t need big answers. We need small rituals that remind us how power moves through connection.

Let’s make the mystery a reality. Because even if there is a perfectly rational explanation that we can draw from to help us today, the mystery adds to the fun.

Light as a feather.

Stiff as a board.

Let’s rise together.