We begin with the aforementioned punch line to the cosmic joke, “Life is a comedy of situations and we are just having an episode.” What if the hokey pokey IS what it’s all about? What if your friends greet you on the other side with a big banquet where they tell funny stories about you – i.e., you roast in heaven? What if everything we think matters doesn’t matter – and not even matter matters – because it is all energy anyway? This opening session will lay the groundwork of cosmic comic perspective as a filter to apply, not so we can deny tragedy or disappointment, but so we can successfully transform those – and be a light in the world. Oh, and NO homework in the Upwising course, just “home play.” You’ll learn to: 

• Discover the “cosmic joke” in your life story, and use it to transform your story into a healing one.
• Trace your own “fool’s journey.”
• Unleash the transformational power of: “… and then, a funny thing happened…”
• Use laughter to achieve a complete release of all tension, so you can relax, restore and rejuvenate your body.
• Allow humor to feed your internal fountain of eternal youth, and shave years off your true age – instantly (hearty laughter keeps you young at heart … and stretches your liver too, and remember those with longer livers, live longer).
• How to laugh when the joke is on you, and become a “cosmic fool.”

This module focuses on how to put yourself slightly out of whack – to get yourself back in whack. It’s about finding the joke hidden in the picture. Says Swami, “When you look at yourself slightly askew, it’s like getting a new pair of ‘I-glasses’.” The art of seeing funny according to the very “farce-sighted” Stephen Wright, is the art of seeing with innocent perception – with a child’s eye. The science of seeing funny involves intentionally putting things together that don’t belong together, and taking joy in the surprising results. You’ll learn why and how the simple act of putting a smile on your face (even when you don’t feel like it) will cause you to see funnier – and be happier. You’ll learn to: 

• Help you see funnier, and to see your way “out of the box.”
• Shift the way you view certain challenges, so your can go beyond the typical “fight or flight” response to greater creativity and mastery.
• Cultivate your own “natural” sense of humor effortlessly.
• Gently help others see funnier too

This module will help you laugh in your own face, and in the face of life’s challenges. This is not denial, not whistling in the dark … it’s a proactive way to mine your life for gems of comedy, and then use these as reminders of what is really important. If you’ve been looking to release the grip of your ego, and find yourself bragging, “I am the most ego-less person I know!” – this module is for you. A key step in mastering the ego is learning to make fun of one’s own seriousness. You will learn some keys – from comedians and non-comedians alike – for how you can bring the perspective of humor to situations that are, if not life-threatening, than certainly laugh-threatening. Obviously not everything is grist for comedy … AND when we choose to lovingly laugh at our own foibles – our problems become less solid, and our path more fluid. You’ll learn to: 

• Understand the “anatomy” of jokes, so they can be truly used as “healing stories.”
• Find the “aha” after the “ha-ha” – how to seed insight in a “harmless” joke.
• Master the art of the “Zen Cohen” … finding and using cosmic comic teaching stories.
• Use humor to break patterns … and leave the real you standing taller.
• Use situational comedy to apply “loverage” to life’s situations

Remember: “It’s a joke, laugh?” Here’s where you REALLY need it. You’ll discover humor to bring people together, and raise the overall energy of you, your partner – and all your relations. In this module, you’ll not only learn why a sense of humor is rated as a most desirable trait in a mate, you’ll learn what kinds of humor work, and how to cultivate these. We will include wisdom from some of the most effective relationship teachers and coaches on the planet to help YOU use the magic of humor to create more joyful and authentic connections. You’ll learn to: 

• Continuously infuse your relationships with the joy and levity of laughter.
• Instantly transmute negative, stressful situations and dramas into humorous, optimistic ones – and use hearty laughter to get to the heart of the matter.
• When NOT to use humor.
• Shift toxic relationship patterns, without the other person even realizing it!

Swami tells us the world is in serious condition largely due to our conditioning to be serious, and this module is about how to use humor to shine a light on the most serious shades of darkness. He will offer two examples of how jokes transformed deadly situations by embracing them, and how the energy was shifted in the field. By choosing to laugh – out of awakening, not denial – you will be able to look at the craziness in the world through the eyes of forgiveness and compassion. And you will also see how this “cosmic comic consciousness” will enable you to be more effective than ever before. You’ll learn to: 

• Distinguish between positive and negative humor, and how you can use jokes to build bridges, rather than blowing them up.
• Appropriately shift the conversation from serious to humorous … and back.
• Turn what seems like an intractable “negative” into a transformative “positive”.
• Shine as a beacon for others to wake up laughing instead of hitting “snooze”.

Is there a relationship between humor and activism? Well, ask Dick Gregory … or the Yes Men … or the students who overthrew the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia. There’s a reason why one of the first things Hitler did upon coming into power was jail the cabaret comedians, and why rigid and oppressive regimes fear humor. On the other hand, humor can also be used to distort the truth. In this session, we will explore the relationship between humor and the art of persuasion, from propaganda to “impropaganda.” You’ll even get to design and practice random acts of comedy designed to heal the heart and free the mind. Or, as Swami says, “You’ll learn to milk the sacred cow and take the bull by the horns.” You’ll learn to: 

• Transform a protest march into a pro-fun parade.
• Find, create and use language that playfully awakens.
• How to compost media BS and turn it into fertilizer for new growth.
• Use the right kind of playful perspective to keep your own spirits up.
• Have others look at you and your work and say, “I’ll have what THEY’RE having!”

In this final module, we will focus on YOUR comic creations and best practices. What makes classes unique are the participants – and the unique contributions that even non-comedians can make to the domain of comedy. Here, participants have an opportunity to post their own comic creations, and best-loved pieces that others created. You’ll learn to: 

• Connect with playful sub-personalities and alter egos within your own psyche that bring self-love, self-appreciation and self-knowledge.
• The first rule of improvisational comedy – serve the scene.
• Why the first – and best – joke is always on yourself.
• Play … laugh … and play some more, and embody your own cosmic comic self.

Errol and Rochelle Alicia Strider have developed a new model for entertainment and spiritual education, called “Innertainment,” which combines philosophical inquiry, spiritual discovery and psychological growth with comedy and theater. They have devoted the last 40 years to this ministry, travelling extensively all across the United States doing performances and conducting workshops and classes. Not only are they wise, but they are as funny as “all get out”! In this session, you’ll have a chance to tap into their deep insight, and discover ways to humor yourself and others. You will also have access to one of their comedy videos, so you can experience their out-of-sight insights for yourself – and experience cosmic comic consciousness. 

Richard Stockton is a nationally touring comedian with many appearances on national television and radio, and a NeuroLinguistic Programing teacher who focuses on blasting through the fear that blocks you from being all you can be. He says that if you are not living your own dream, then you are living someone else’s. His tales of transformation appear regularly on NPR stations. He will show you how to see things with a different perspective, so you can use your fears to move you forward. In this insightful (and “inciteful”!) conversation, Richard will discuss comedy as a tool for activism, and for reframing issues – personal and political. 

In this laughter and insight-inducing conversation, find out how human is spiritual, and spiritual is funny. 

After a dozen years of doing standup comedy, Alicia Dattner made the transition from working the comedy club circuit to performing around the world with her award-winning one woman shows, Eat, Pray, Laugh! and The Oy of Sex. She is the founder of the online Spiritual Comedy Festival.

Singer / songwriter / humorist Greg Tamblyn offers his wise and witty insights on using humor to “see the best of yourself and laugh at the rest of yourself.” 

Greg Tamblyn, NCW (No Credentials Whatsoever), has been a successful singer, songwriter, speaker, and humorist for over 20 years. He combines outstanding audience rapport with an irreverent sense of humor, and has a special interest in the relationship of music, laughter, and lifestyle to physical and emotional well-being.

Greg’s humorous musings on cultural absurdities, as well as his messages of effectiveness, optimism, and service, have garnered him a large international following.

Wake Up Laughing: An Insider’s Guide to the Cosmic Comedy 

A 75-page downloadable e-book that tells you all you need to know about The Cosmic Joke, The Fool’s Journey, The Divine Comedy… and how and why to laugh – even when it’s just not funny. $15 value.

The Zen Cohens of Harry Cohen Baba

Three Dozen of the Funniest Stories Ever Told, a 58-page downloadable e-book, with wise and hilarious stories – suitable for after dinner speakers, or way after dinner speakers. $15 value.

In this enlightening, entertaining and funny session, Visionary Activist and mythic / cultural “uncommontator” Caroline Casey will help us discover and use
the “compassionate trickster” archetype to in her words, “be ever more effective players on the Team of Creation at this time of dire beauty.” Caroline, who is versed in mythology, astrology, language and the comedic arts will open her entire trickster bag of tricks (that are actually treats) including new and playful forms of blessing, her magic mirror, and her “harumphitude-composter”. Get ready for profound playfulness and practical wisdom. 

Caroline W. Casey is the host-creator of The Visionary Activist Show. Her unique art of Astro-mythological-political-guiding-meta-story-telling is presented in myriad multi-media venues. Primary astrological consultant for Time-Life Books’ 1989 book “Cosmic Connections”, she has offered mythological-astrological news analysis on ABC”s “Nightline”, CNN’s “Crossfire”, in “People Magazine “, on Public Radio, the Mutual Broadcasting System, CBS’s “Nightwatch”, “Fox Morning News”, “Equal Time” etc. Her audio book, Visionary Activist Astrology is published by Sounds True. She is the author of Making the Gods Work For You – the astrological language of the psyche.

She offers Trickster Training Council weekly tele-class as well as councils at a wide variety of conferences all over America as well as in South Africa (presenting at the Parliament of World Religions), Bali, Sweden, UK, New Zealand, Hawaii, the Caribbean, British Columbia. A rousing and frequent keynote speaker, offering the Mythic News at the Bioneers Conference,(for over a decade), Green Festivals, New Living Expo etc. and with the great poet-ally Robert Bly for over 11 years at his Great Mother Conference.

Linda and Charlie Bloom have been using humor as a tool in their own relationship for more than 45 years, and will be sharing insights from their own marriage and those they’ve counseled. They both have graduate degrees in Clinical Social Work and they have been relationship counselors, seminar leaders, and psychotherapists since 1975. They have also authored two widely-acclaimed books: 101 Things I Wish I Knew When I Got Married: Simple Lessons to Make Love Last (over 100,000 copies sold) and Secrets of Great Marriages: Real Truth from Real Couples about Lasting Love. In this enlightening session, Linda and Charlie talk about the when’s, the where’s and the how’s of using laughter to heal, to connect, and to reach higher truths.