Wake Up Laughing:The Transformational Power of Humor By Steve Bhaermana.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?” And indeed researchers 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.” 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. Now, who’s to say what’s really true? In fact, I read recently that even the 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.” 10 Ways to Wake Up Laughing -- and Leave Laughter in Your Wake 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.”