Wake Up Laughing: The
Transformational Power of Humor
By Steve Bhaerman a.k.a. Swami
Beyondananda
Laughter heals. We’ve heard it so
often, it’s almost a cliché. There is
the classic story of Norman Cousins, who treated a life-threatening illness by checking
into a hotel room with Marx Brothers movies and Candid Camera reruns. When he got well, the Medical Establishment
decided to study the healing power of laughter -- the logic being, “Well, it
works in practice, but does it work in theory?” Indeed researchers have found that laughter has proven
physiological benefits. Laughter
produces endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller. Laughter improves immune function. Hearty laughter is literally good for the heart, because when we
laugh it causes our blood vessels to dilate, and that is certainly better than
having them die early! But laughter is
medicine in the Native American sense as well; a transformational tool that
used wisely can bring not just physical healing, but emotional release, mental
flexibility and spiritual perspective.
Now “healing comedy” is not always sweet
and gentle. Sometimes extreme
situations call for strong “medicine” ... case in point: Last fall, I was at the Altered States
conference in Albuquerque and did a workshop on Comedy As An Altered
State. After the workshop, a
psychotherapist came up to me and asked, “Would you like to hear a story about
a patient who actually was healed by a joke?” Well,
he had MY attention, and so he told me the story. A young man came to him with a multiplicity of issues: Drug and alcohol abuse, weight problems,
smoking, and generally low self-esteem.
Over several months of therapy, the man entered a rehab program, and
without the anesthesia of substance abuse, he began to face the despair and
trauma in his life. But he became mired
down in self-hatred. It seems that
several years before, he had gone to jail on a drug charge. His first night in prison, he was approached
by an older, tougher prisoner who told him, “You’re gonna be someone’s ‘girlfriend’
in here, or you’re gonna die.”
The young man submitted,
and now he felt overwhelmed with rage and shame. “I should have said no,” he told the therapist. “It would have been better if I had
died." At that point, the
therapist remembered a story -- which he told his patient. Three missionaries got lost on a trip to the
Amazon, and they were captured by a brutal tribe. The chief gave each of them a choice: “Death or Boola-Boola.”
Well, the first missionary knew what death was, so he chose
Boola-Boola. “Boola-Boola!” cried the
chief, and all of the tribesmen lined up and had their way -- sexually speaking
-- with the poor missionary, leaving him alive but brutalized. The second missionary also chose
Boola-Boola -- but less enthusiastically than the first. “Boola-Boola!” shouted the chief, and this
missionary too was left in a similar state. Now
the third missionary was the purest and most righteous of all. When he was offered the choice, he pulled
himself up to his full height, proudly looked the chief in the eye, and said, “I
choose death.” And the chief cried, “Death
... by Boola-Boola!” The patient burst
out laughing, and with the laughter, a flood of pain and shame poured out. And in the wake of the release came an
awakening: He realized that like the
missionaries in the joke, he faced an impossible choice. He had made the best choice possible -- he
chose life -- and now he was alive, he was out of prison, he was free. That was his last therapy session. At its best, a joke or humorous moment hits
on “all four cylinders” -- there is the physical and emotional release during “ejoculation”,
there is the insight that follows in the wake of the laughter, and there is the
spiritual perspective that comes from levity helping us “rise above” the
situation and see it from a higher perspective.
Another story of a truly magical
joke: At the time of the Cuban missile
crisis, American and Soviet delegates were meeting to discuss possible trade
between the two countries. When news of
the missile crisis hit, everything stopped and there was tremendous tension in
the room. Finally, one of the Soviet
delegates suggested that they go around the room and each tell a joke. He volunteered to start: “What is the difference between capitalism
and communism?” The answer: “In capitalism, man exploits man. In communism, it’s the other way around.” In the outburst of laughter came not just
the release of tension, but the awareness that what we have in common as human beings
transcends any of our man-made structures. We
can experience “enlightenment” any time we lighten up through levity,
particularly when we choose to laugh at those things we consider the most
serious.
In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl writes about being an
inmate in a Nazi death camp. For him in
that inhuman situation, laughter was his spiritual food. He and a fellow-inmate made a pact: Each day, they would find something ...
anything ... to laugh about. Because
with the spiritual perspective of humor, no matter what was happening on the
physical level, there was a spiritual “sweet spot” that no brutality could
conquer. To give you an idea of the “leverage”
humor provided during those darkest moments, this is a joke that actually
circulated among camp inmates: Two Jewish guys decide to assassinate
Hitler. They know his motorcade passes
a certain intersection every day at 11:00 a.m., and so they are waiting for
him. 11:00, and Hitler hasn’t shown
up. 11:15, 11:30, still no führer. When the motorcade still hasn’t arrived by
11:45, one of the would-be assassins turns to the other and says, “Gee, I hope
nothing has happened to him.”
Now this is not to say that humor is the
only tool in the toolkit, or that it is always appropriate. We’ve all known people who have used humor
as a shield (if not an actual weapon!) to keep others at arm’s length, or to
keep themselves from facing some of the difficult truths about their own lives
and choices. Ironically, there is a
kind of soul nourishment that comes from being fully awake during times of
suffering. But at some point, the
suffering has served its useful purpose, and at that point laughter can help us
lift the veil so we feel the full force (or should I say “full farce”) of the
Universe’s love.
Who’s to say what’s really true? In fact, I read recently that even the Hesienberg
Uncertainty Principle has been called into question! Beliefs are no more than choices, so it makes sense to believe "that
which creates healing and happiness." So that’s why I subscribe to Swami Beyondananda’s credo: “Life is a joke ... but God is laughing with
us, not at us.”
1. Laugh Every Day. Seriously ... laughter is good for you. And when things “just aren’t funny” -- that’s
the most important time to laugh. Try
this at home: Watch Funniest Home
Videos with the sound off and Spike Jones playing instead. 2. Don’t Worry,
You’re Already Funny. Instead of trying to be funny, learn to see
funny. Especially learn to see what’s
funny about you. Imagine God watching
the Comedy Channel, and you are what’s
on. 3. Bring
Laughter to the Outernet. Take the best of those jokes you get on the
internet and share them on the “outernet.”
Practice by telling the same joke to five people. Short jokes are fine. Remember, it’s not the length of the joke
that matters, it’s how much pleasure it gives.
4. Savor and Save Humorous Healing Stories. A good laughsitive cleanses the system and leaves the mind open
to receive nourishment. Keep a notebook
of jokes that “enlighten as they lighten.”
You will find yourself remembering and using them just at the right
time. 5. Turn Worry
Into Laughter. When you find yourself worrying about something, step back from
the worry and see if you can find something in the situation to laugh
about. Worrying has no proven
benefits. Laughter does. Did you know that one Youngman of laughter
-- the mirth contained in the average one-liner -- can release up to a megahurt
of emotional pain? 6. Reframe
Suffering as Comedy in Disguise. Sing the blues when you are angry, sad or
frustrated. If you must complain,
complain creatively -- and thoroughly enjoy your complaining. Say, “You know what I love about this ....?” Look for the comedy “hidden in this picture.” (e.g., “I’m not on the verge of
bankruptcy. I’m just having a near-debt
experience.”) 7. Build
Critical “Muscle” By Pumping Ironies. Looking for the inherent contradictions and
incongruities in situations helps build a strong body politic 12 ways. Train your inner child to ask, “How come
that emperor isn’t wearing any clothes?”
When you watch the news or read the papers, be on the lookout for truth
disguised as humor. 8. Develop a
Comic Alter Ego. A shy, mild-mannered man
named Edgar Bergen went “inside” and found a brash, outrageous alter ego which
he called Charlie McCarthy -- who would do and say things that would make Edgar
blush. Even if your “character” never
makes it beyond your bathroom mirror, a comic alter ego is a great way to give
voice to daily frustrations and lovingly laugh at your own “shadow.” One of the best ways to break the addiction
to your own personality is try some other ones on! 9. Write Your Laugh Story. Spend an afternoon or evening writing your
life story as if it were a comedy.
Which comic actors could play your family, friends and foes? Who would you get to play your part? Give your story a title. A friend of mine calls his “Don’t Do What I
Did!” 10. Play Regularly. Have you ever felt the Creator is toying with you? Well then, follow Swami Beyondananda’s sage
advice and become a creative plaything.
Bring the childlike quality of play back into your life. Run up the down escalator. Dress for Halloween -- any day the mood hits
you. Plant the seeds of harmless fun
wherever you go.
© Steve Bhaerman, www.wakeuplaughing.com,
2002. Feel free to circulate, with
attribution only. Steve Bhaerman is an
author, comedian and workshop leader who has performed comedy for the past sixteen
years as Swami Beyondananda. As the
Swami, he has authored three books, including his latest, Duck Soup for the Soul: the
Way of Living Louder and Laughing Longer.
He has also produced such comedy audio tapes as Yogi From Muskogee, Enlightening Strikes Again, Don’t Squeeze the
Shaman, Beyondananda and Beyond, The Fool’s Journey and Drive Your Karma, Curb Your Dogma. He has just launched a new web site
www.wakeuplaughing.com, which is where “healing laughter and conscious comedy
meet.” He is also a noted “cosmic
comedy coach” who works with authors, speakers, performers, healers and
therapists, businesspeople and educators to use comedy as a “healing art.”