When Funny is not so Funny

When Funny is not so Funny

For those interested in doing the Work, there are many weaknesses to observe and transform. Some may appear more consequential than others. For instance, trying to control attention and to break identifications are fundamental challenges to reaching higher states of consciousness. Less obvious forms to work with—and no less challenging—include controlling unnecessary talk, lying, and expressions of wit.

This essay focuses on the latter: the control of wit. Why is it necessary to curb expressions of wit? One reason, among others, is that wit can be very insidious and almost addiction-forming, and sleep-inducing. When I speak of wit in this light, I mean making fun of or joking at someone else’s expense.

Like any area of the Work, start with observation. Unless the Observer can observe something in myself, I cannot resist its expression or transform it. Without self-remembering, the task of observation is also hollow, so try to remember yourself and observe when and how your machine expresses wit. When I have made such efforts, I have been startled to find the frequency and degree to which I engaged in this form of sleep. There was much more than I expected.

I assume that at this point you may be having ‘I’s like, “What is all the fuss about making jokes and having a good time with others? A few laughs will not hurt anyone or my possibilities of waking up.” Indeed, some relativity, as we call it in the Work, is certainly warranted. I caution, however, that more often than not, my wit and jokes are not only frequently at someone else’s expense, but they also directly supplant presence in me because when engaging in various types of wit, I am feeding my ego or lower self, rather than my Higher Self.

An example might help. As an adult, I have observed on numerous occasions excessive expressions of wit in a group setting in the office or work environment. Wit often arises as “office banter” in which several people, including myself, remark about a situation or person (say a supervisor), and each person layers on another biting remark like a feeding frenzy. This has the effect of elevating my false image of myself, while tearing down someone else or some other thing. Each person outdoes the last clever and funny thought with a new witty remark. Often, the intensity of laughter increases, as our lower selves fill the space.

Do not laugh your life away. ─ Al-Ghazali

Maybe you do not engage in office banter, or maybe you show discretion in the jokes you tell. Maybe you do not make fun of someone in this way or self-denigrate yourself humorously. My Teacher has often said if the shoe does not fit, wear it anyway. If you try to observe wit and control it, maybe you find that you do it more than you realize now.

The Work is about turning over the many rocks of our psychology and seeing what one finds. Try looking for wit. If you find any, record the observation and remember yourself, and try to resist its expression. Consuming your own homebrew mechanics becomes your fuel for waking up.

To know more, one must be more awake. Everything leads us to the present and to self-remembering. ─ Girard Haven

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Statue of a Woman with a Pomegranate (detail), South Attica (580–560 BC), Berlin.