Dwelving into Laughter

This piece on "thought-free" laughter is one of my favorite passages from A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age by Daniel Pink. And I'm tickled that a book that harps on finding a niche free from the offshoring threat then features a Mumbai India physician that has exported his laughter club concept worldwide. That was worth a little chuckle.

For [Madan] Kataria, humor is not a prerequisite for laughter. The goal of his [laughter] clubs is "thought-free" laughter. "If you are laughing, you cannot think. That is the objective we achieve in meditation." The meditative mind is the route to joyfulness. Joyfulness differs from happiness, Kataria says. Happiness is conditional; joyfulness is unconditional. "When you depend on something else to make you laugh, the laughter doesn't belong to you. That's a conditional laugh. But in laughter clubs, the source of laughter is not outside the body; it is within us." - Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

If you are curious about the difference between happiness and joy, you might enjoy the book Joy by Osho.

We'll include laughter yoga in the practices we'll cover in the upcoming Dwelve 2005: A Personal Innovation Advance. I've been woefully negligent in getting out more information about this "retreat" in the beautiful foothills in Los Altos, CA on April 8-12th. I've only just recalled this week that I've nearly cancelled every single "advance" I've ever been on. My mind is conflicted - it simultaneously wants to and it doesn't want to break through impasses. I have been dragging my feet because I don't want to go there myself.

Ah, resistance.

It doesn't matter that almost every outstanding idea and a centered sense of purpose has been a direct result of a period of incubation and inspiration that I call an "advance". I'll blot that out of my memory and go right ahead and resist the next one...

This is not a conference. This is not an event.  The intent is not to schmooze, network, or intellectualize. The intent is to tap into Big Sky Mind and quit censoring the big hairy audacious dreams just behind the dam.

I like how bestselling author Eckhart Tolle opens his second book, Stillness Speaks. This is the spirit of the "advance" as well:

If you come to a spiritual teacher - or this book - looking for stimulating ideas, theories, beliefs, intellectual discussions, then you will be disappointed. In other words, if you are looking for food for thought, you won't find it, and you will miss the very essence of the teaching, the essence of this book, which is not in the words but within yourself. It is good to remember that, to feel that, as you read. The words are no more than signposts. That which they point is not to be found within the realm of thought, but a dimension within yourself that is deeper and infinitely vaster than thought. A vibrantly alive peace is one of the characteristics of that dimension...

Bit more details: Many of you have more than enough information to decide; more gritty details next week when I'm back home. Just a little willingness to reside in a place of inspiration is all that is needed. Four nights lodging at Hidden Villa, all meals, and all practice materials is $300 for the first 10 people to send a check to: Evelyn Rodriguez, PO Box 490, Mountain View, CA 94042. Paypal coming next week at $350 rate.

To 'dwelve' defined: The experience of simultaneously deep delving and grounded dwelling.

al

Comments

[Troy Worman]

This sounds like a fantastic experience. I am sorry I won't be able to attend.

[Evelyn Rodriguez]

Me too Troy. I'm sorry we won't get to meet as well. But you can still participate virtually (alas solo). See the March 21st post...