Sep 12-14, 2008
Wake Up Laughing: Situational Comedy For The Non-Comedian
For over 20 years, cosmic comic Swami Beyondananda has been enlightening millions with his comedy disguised as wisdom – or is it wisdom disguised as comedy? In this laughter-filled weekend, meet the man behind the Swami, Steve Bhaerman, and learn the secrets of creating transformational comedy and healing laughter.
You’re not funny? Not so! You are funnier than you can imagine. As the Swami says, “The Creator is watching the Comedy Channel, and WE are what’s on.”
The trick is to see funny. In this interactive workshop, you will learn to hone your comic perception and turn these insights “insight out” to awaken compassion, wisdom, playfulness, and creativity. You’ll learn the architecture of a joke and how to build a bridge between the linear rational mind and the wild card of unpredictable creativity. You’ll learn the elements of humor and practice using them to transform situations in your own life. You’ll discover the art of “situational comedy” and learn ways to bring healing laughter into almost any situation. You’ll laugh while you learn, and you’ll learn while you laugh.
Here are some other ideas we will cover:
• What’s so funny, and why
• Finding your own humorous voice
• Developing a comic intention that creates a “farce field” where jokes appear magically
• When not to be funny
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love to laugh and those who need to laugh, so you’re pre-qualified for this workshop! There will be no pressure to be funny; you won’t have to make people laugh. They will already be laughing. You can relax and learn about comedy. The weekend is for amateurs and professionals and includes Swami’s comedy performance, guaranteed to keep you laughing till the sacred cows come home.
Steve Bhaerman, an author, comedian, and workshop leader, has performed as Swami Beyondananda for 21 years. The Swami has authored four books, including Driving Your Own Karma, When You See a Sacred Cow…Milk It For All It’s Worth and his current Swami for Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile Dysfunction. On the “serious” side, he is completing a book with biologist Bruce Lipton, Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future Now. Steve and Swami can be found online at www.wakeuplaughing.com.