I was at a conference for The Humor Project in Silver Bay, NY, last weekend. It was an inspiring two days filled with world class speakers who effectively integrate humor into their presentations. As a speaker myself, it was a chance to see how the experts tickle the funny bone in their audience and use humor to get their message across. I gained immensely from the time spent there.
One of the speakers quoted Norman Cousins as saying
“No one knows enough to be a pessimist.”
Norman Cousins, as you may know, relied heavily upon laughter to pull himself out of a life threatening illness. He wrote the book “Anatomy of an illness,” which has been quoted substantially over the years by those agreeing with Cousins’ premise that what a patient thinks affects his health. And a good sense of humor makes a large positive difference!
His words I quote above are so powerful because they turn the premise of “Life is miserable,” around to “Life is good.” The quote affirms that life is essentially good right to the core of its being, and without limit, and when you accept that premise, you can’t possibly be pessimistic about anything, because even though you might not be seeing much good at the moment, you know there is a whole lot more to be discovered. It’s up to you to look further and discover it!
And that is what Christian Science is all about. God is good, infinite, without end. God is our life. Life is good without end too–ever.
Accept this premise, and you won’t have a single pessimistic bone in your body. Just keep looking for the good and discovering more of it. It’s there to be seen and experienced!
Wow, Evan, now I understand why I love your video lecture “Living in abundance” so much — it’s your wonderful sense of humor that comes across so well. I have been watching that video almost every day since I found it on http://www.christianscience.com. Watching all of it, or just parts of it, is how I have been starting my day recently, and getting such an uplift. Thank you ever so much for getting the message across (a really important one for anyone who may think they don’t have much abundance at this point). Also, your body language is very helpful to watch — it leaves no doubt about the message you are delivering in your lecture (messages like “Evil is a lie” and “God is our source”). Just today I really appreciated watching once again your story about the supposed loss of apples in your orchard. Thank you, thank you. You cannot imagine how much this video lecture has helped me progress spiritually. After your attendance at this recent conference, I’m ready to watch a new video lecture from you. Much love.
To above,
Well thank you! Sounds like you know my Abundance lecture as well as I do! Glad to hear it helps.
Lots of love…
One of my favorite books on humor and God is “God is No Laughing Matter” by Julia Cameron who wrote The Artist’s Way. Until I’d read that book, I never considered that God has a sense of humor. Now, I’ll joke with God and tell Him to “dazzle me” or “strut Her stuff” after praying every which way. In pondering why humor has spiritual power and appeal, as someone said, “what’s most personal is most universal.” Usually what we laugh at we connect to personally. Also, if we’re laughing about something, we’re obeying the first commandment, we’re not making a God out of it. In analyzing why something is funny, it’s often because the humorous event is an equalizer. I once recommended Cameron’s book about God’s sense of humor to some local ministers discussing how church could be fun, and one said, “you know, Jesus used to get criticized for hanging out with party-goers and sinners.” Later, I saw on a church billboard the title of the sermon “Did Jesus Laugh?” It would be fun to think of all the reasons why humor has a spiritual component as it has been perhaps underestimated in spiritual circles.
I have always thought of humour as an aspect of Soul!
You can tell it is an important component of truth-telling by the fact that in places like Burma, comedians face severe penalties and house arrest. Along with other truth-tellers.
Thanks for the blog.
Amanda