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cynicism
January 2010 
Humor as Spiritual Practice
Posted on Dec 28th, 2005
by 
~Matthew
~Matthew
I'm going to try to put into words, as best I can, how I feel about humor... how it can be used as a transformative tool... how I aspire to use it. Sometimes a humorous thought comes out of my mouth before I think about it and it rattles loose an attachment I have to some idea. I wasn't even trying to do that when I thought the thought. And yet, there it is. Its vibration hit my ear and changed me. I don't consciously know where it came from; it just manifested in my head, came out my mouth, I heard it, and for a moment, glimpsed my original face. Alan Watts often started his days with a good fit of laughter. The more I laugh and let go, the freer I feel. Embarassment lurks. What if I laugh at embarassment? Shame lurks. What if I laugh at shame? Sofia Diaz says that shame and embarassment are good to feel when you open up. It means you are growing. The more shame and embarassment you feel, the more you grow.
Try this now: Laugh. Go ahead and start laughing. Keep laughing! Open up!! Take the risk!! "Everybody's looking!" Are you free or in prison? Laugh!! "The impulse to hold it in is too strong! I can't let go and laugh!" Who constructed that barrier? Laugh your way through it! Laugh!! "This isn't normal!" Fuck normal! Laugh!! "I'm sooo embarassed!" You're growing! Keep laughing!! Laugh past the voice that tells you it's time to stop. It's just another ego-constructed barrier. Keep laughing! "You're crazy! I'm crazy to listen to you!" Laugh through that thought! Laugh!! Are you engaging in the exercise? Laugh!! Keep laughing! Belly laugh! Giggle! Cry! Laugh!...
and let it come to a close all by itself. Don't force it to stop. Let it be a force of its own. Let the laughter take whatever course it will. Let it go where it wants. Don't try to control it.
Can you see it? Did you glimpse your original face? The face you had before your grandparents were born? It's really quite subtle, isn't it? Subtle, yet it was always obviously there. Things are a little clearer after a good laugh.
Cynicism is the self-contraction applied to humor. The giddy, open, free-flowing Self is trying to escape but is shut out of awareness with little, snide impulses. Is that not obvious now? "Shit! My True Self is coming out. How to hide it? Oh, I know! I'll deride it, so no one recognizes who I truly AM." Who are you?
Try this now: Laugh. Go ahead and start laughing. Keep laughing! Open up!! Take the risk!! "Everybody's looking!" Are you free or in prison? Laugh!! "The impulse to hold it in is too strong! I can't let go and laugh!" Who constructed that barrier? Laugh your way through it! Laugh!! "This isn't normal!" Fuck normal! Laugh!! "I'm sooo embarassed!" You're growing! Keep laughing!! Laugh past the voice that tells you it's time to stop. It's just another ego-constructed barrier. Keep laughing! "You're crazy! I'm crazy to listen to you!" Laugh through that thought! Laugh!! Are you engaging in the exercise? Laugh!! Keep laughing! Belly laugh! Giggle! Cry! Laugh!...
and let it come to a close all by itself. Don't force it to stop. Let it be a force of its own. Let the laughter take whatever course it will. Let it go where it wants. Don't try to control it.
Can you see it? Did you glimpse your original face? The face you had before your grandparents were born? It's really quite subtle, isn't it? Subtle, yet it was always obviously there. Things are a little clearer after a good laugh.
Cynicism is the self-contraction applied to humor. The giddy, open, free-flowing Self is trying to escape but is shut out of awareness with little, snide impulses. Is that not obvious now? "Shit! My True Self is coming out. How to hide it? Oh, I know! I'll deride it, so no one recognizes who I truly AM." Who are you?
Access: Public
Matt I love this post ! Very cool. The anecdote about Alan Watts was cool. Papaji had something to say on laughter too, check out this bit from Papaji: Interviews:
[Student] What is the teaching of Poonjaji?
His only response was to start laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed.
When the laughter finally subsided, again he was asked again “What is the teaching of Poonjaji?”[Poojaji] Laughing, laughing and dancing. When a person laughs, he has no mind, no thought, no problem, no suffering.
The exchange on the subject goes on but I’m too lazy to type it all out. You get the idea :)
Personally I laugh a lot - if I have to throw in an episode of Seinfeld so be it!
I’m thinking of a doing a post on humor as well, but on how it can be used as an ego-defence mechanism.
(from the sidelines: You guys rock. Oh, and tag this one “laughing, laughter” :)
Laughing as I glimpse my original face.
R- I guess I’ll have to check out Papaji. He sounds like my kind of teacher! I look forward to reading your post.
B- I’m glimpsing your monkey face. You were soooo cuuute as a baby. Are you holding a blanky?
~Matthew
Life is far too serious not to laugh at.
The Japanese actually have a laughing meditation. It is impossible for the monkey mind to take hold when you are laughing.
I also like to talk jibberish. I’m really quite good at it and it inevitably ends up in laughter.
Great entry, Matthew … and that’s no joke. ;)
~Gemma
Jibberish??? I love Jibberish! I always thought it was spelled Gibberish and pronounced with a soft “g”, but whatever. My wife is Japanese. She speaks Japanese and English. She tells everyone that I speak English and Gibberish, mostly Gibberish.
@gemma: laughter meditation? Neat. There is also Laughter Yoga (we really need to be able to add or link to images here sometime!!)
Awesome link! Thanks Ryan!!
Laughter, what a great medium! Where would we be without it?
Where did it come from? Imagine the first laugh! What a trip!
What are you laughing at? What’s so funny?
Hey Brian, glad to see you’re laughing at your original face.
I’m laughing at your current face! Hahahahahahaha!!!!! =)
Great post Mathew
@Matt - Most welcome! I found a wonderful sufi poem on laughter as a spiritual practice, so I blogged it here
We really need trackbacks of a sort here - where are those Zaadz development wizards when you need them ;-)
Awesome topic…yes, it is freeing when you let your laughing urges to free itself. That in itself is nirvana, especially if there is no thoughts, and no self. Laughing is heaven on earth and if you laugh to a point that pleasure and pain mixes up inside you and your stomach will scream in pain for you to stop. But you kinda of can’t because the flow is there so you put your hands to your tummy. It dosen’t work so you do it again and again until it does.
And it was Papaji who got the giggles started with his childhood quirks when he tries to imitate Buddha by stealing his mom’s sari and go house to house begging for alms. His descriptions are so comicial that you can’t help but laugh your heart out.
P.S. Matt, man, you are a laughing Buddha.
Oh man…this is great!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!When I go into laughing fits…it’s outrageous…and I feel AMAZING afterwards…like I’ve been washed on the inside…and all my edges start to dissolve…
Hurt myself reading this.
cool stuff
Wonderful post , son!! When shame comes over me - like at work -I feel the blush rise and along with that I am laughing inside at the familiarity of this overwhelming feeling of shyness. I’ll notice that the other person is trying to help me out by not looking at me while I am in this compromised position and I love that person for their compassion. And something about it is so hilarious to me. Maybe it’s because I feel ridiculous…absolutely ridiculous…and something about that is very funny (and sweet).
sodomy can kiss my a$$.