Looking at comedy again, as a mode of knowing: Comedy as a form of epistemology or way of knowing things! Been studying it since college, but comedy as a way, seems more needed now than ever.

I love studying comedians, but also recently preachers to see how they use humor much like the native americans do–to prepare the mind for the wise men’s words. Often, a preacher will tell several jokes before giving their message. I grew up watching this, and it makes sense. The clowns prepare us for the wise men and women!

Freud’s book on humor isn’t funny, of course, but it does have some interesting ideas about what humor is, and how it works. I don’t agree with his basic premise that humor makes us feel superior to what we are laughing at, but he has a nice section on bringing two things which normally don’t hang out, into the same conversational room, and discovering their intrinsic narrative. The best comedians do this all the time. How could these two normally separate elements meet and come into dialogue. What are three other things this object could do or be? That’s sort of the basics of improvisation. And life is a form of improv really. Anyway, i love studying humor again. It’s funny.

Of course, hyperbole is another form of humor often used in American humor, but it’s also really about unexpected uses of objects. Exaggeration creates caricature, which can be funny, if contrasted against something unexpected.

In comedy you are always thinking of what else the thing could be or do! At least three other things a car wheel could be etc…you are always seeing other uses for an object. That creates it; then you have to place it in a narrative, or discover one as you go….This plate could also be a frisbee. Ironic or other uses; and then sudden leaps while still connecting them. An evangelical preacher preaching at a carwash sort of thing.

Principles in comedy have to do with bringing at least two usually desperate elements into the same room. A war general and a banana peel; watergate and Woody Allen etc. It can be surreal, but not necessarily. A priest at a pub works also. There are levels of association between things. The further away the two things are from each other, the more narrative required to make the imaginative leap to bring them into the same room. Eddie Izzard does this well, as did Robin Williams. They can both bring things into the same conversational room, which are usually very far apart from one another.

I love studying comedy, have since youth. What makes people laugh. Unlike Freud, i don’t think it’s about humiliating weaker things. Often it is however about taboo topics as he pointed out. Slapstick of course, works with our ability to empathize with vulnerability. In this sense it’s cathartic. I don’t agree with Freud that it is usually about feeling more powerful than other’s handicaps. Usually it’s about recognizing our own through other’s. More thoughts soon on comedy—i love studying it again!

Creative camaraderie!
Nice article in the Sunday Times art section, on life long collaborations between artists today! I love it when artists serve and champion one another’s gifts rather than compete. You see it in comedy often when both people are confident in their gifts, and can be humble and serve and even help the other’s talents shine more brilliantly. Inspiring.
Building one another up as you are restoring the walls of the city makes sense to me, from Nehemiah and Ezra’s days-been reading Nehemiah, what a great tale about unity building! Take the ego out, and put unity and your gifts in instead, and great things can happen-a whole city can be rebuilt, in fact. I see it even on great interviews between artist—both shine brighter for having yielded. It’s true in ministry or any other field as well! It’s true between the creatures as well.
One day the lion and lamb will hang out, though Woody Allen claims the lamb won’t sleep! One of my favorite end times jokes. It’s suspicious!
But, nice seeing art giants play like kids instead of moving in insecurity! Makes sense, these two were friends over the years! It’s the right spirit. Also interesting looking at these two, to see how their art flowed from and was an extension of who they were—even physically! Symbolic expression flows from core identity-you can see them in their art. I love Miro’s stuff, but we got to see Calder’s work in Bilbao Spain, years back–remarkable, kinetic wonder! Our resident squirrel and cat agree! Nice Sunday read anyway!

Some “take aways” from reading today!
Someone once said, if you look at how we all get along, and try to think of us as God’s masterpieces–oy! Still, He obviously loves us, and wants us to get along.

Tone is a practical tool towards reconciliation! IN-toning (making sure your words are in the right tone), in Love, your own conversations with others is a useful practice these days.

Reading “For the Sake of Heaven and Earth” by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, kind man from his tone, about christian and jewish reconciliation (but symbolic of many other types of needed active reconciliation needed now, over and through all types of walls!) and active loving dialogue, which he, like Herschel, and many other of my friends, modeled in their lives. Of course, it extends beyond those two groups.

The basics of reconciliation apply to us all! Assume we aren’t perfect, ask for Help, confess, into thanks that you’re still here, if you can’t muster anything else, at least assume your not perfect, and love others. Confess into thanks into praise, then into action; be humble by the time you act–a basic prayer pattern daily I’ve discovered over the years.

Anyways, as James Carroll wrote on the back of this book: “This book is a record of, and a testimony to, the Jewish_christian dialogue. It give the world the compelling voice of one of its pioneers, whose testimony shows that criticism and self criticism can work together, enabling the growth, even in ancient rivals, of trust and, perhaps, Love.” If these two religions can do it, anybody can!, I would add!

Nice meditation in times when historically tense communities need to listen well to one another. Slow to speak, til Love baths our tone and tongues. Listen into language. Be quick to confess our own sins. “Assume you sinned in your dreams-wake up confessing into thanks” as one saint put it! Or as Heschel put it: “How to combine loyalty to one’s own tradition with reverence for different people from other traditions. How to honor their collective “thou”. Or as Jesus put it more succinctly: Love your neighbor as yourself. How to pro-actively love your neighbor, in short is the core question of our times.

I guess this read is about ecumenical basics to being human. Or as one of my favorite yiddish proverbs goes: “People are just people trying to be people. If we can help one another do that, then do so with what we have received thus far, and do so, in love, until we know face to Face!”

Anyway, enjoying studying patterns in reconciliation this season! Of course, some form of confession and forgiveness appears to always come first. “Assume you sinned even in your dreams, and wake up confessing into thanks.” As one saint put it! “And confess it for even your previous generations, assuming they also didn’t do great. That’s what heals the land, and allows us to talk again in kindness.”

And kindness really is underrated these days! Check the tone of your words constantly, as my mentor said. Make sure it’s coming from the right place inside. Other’s may misinterpret it regardless, but they’ll keep returning to the tone. Tone is a practical method towards reconciliation! One take away from this book today, anyway! Nice read. I love it when people write from humility and experience.

Or as the tribe of native americans i grew up near said: “Heal the core wound, blunt the knife.” Which always meant to me, if you want to change something, you have to head at the inner wounds in yourself first, and start reconciliation there. The inner walls fall first! Then the weapons of war with others are not longer necessary. The walls start crumbling in the One who tore down the walls between Jews and gentiles, not to mention all other walls! Anyway, good meditation today! The inner walls fall first. We must first be occupied by Love, in order to occupy the world around us with Love! Basics! Otherwise, everything is projected or acted out, as if it were outside of us. We transfer and project our wounds, and those we have inherited, onto others and the world around us; instead of seeing them as they are. Start inside to see others well.

In Jewish tradition, there are two streams coming down the sacred mountain of God’s revelation: one is oral, the other written. God is speaking, and has spoken.

Of the two streams of law running off Sinai, i tend to swim in the oral one; yet both matter. And there are more life guards along the banks of the written river! Rhema and Logos inform one another. I’ll keep trying to stream and swim in both! What He is saying now, and what He wrote down. Wisdom teaches us which one we need to be in now. Fun meditation today!

Today was heavier, denser, weightier, than usual. Some days weigh more than others! Some days are blues songs, others-jazz their way into being.

Today was like a Raymond Carver (american writer) story in slow motion. Still, i trust tomorrow will be a bit more Whitmanesque! More a book of dreams than nightmares (Galway Kinnel). A bit less Lamentations, and more gospel. But, everyday has it’s own type of song, we each have to sing, embody or carry in our own ways.

Today’s, after counseling a friend through some weightier issues, felt more like Anselm Kiefer’s paintings, than Chagall’s, so to speak.

Today’s song was certainly played on a Saxophone—en-toned in blue, as Saxophones are want to. But just behind blue is yellow, at least in my spirit’s pallet. Lament and joy are somehow tethered to the same poll.

Yet, Easter’s levity continues, despite the weight of the times….bless you all in the bearable lightness of being today friends! His burden is Light, as a friend reminded me today! (Sort of meaning He carries the density of the whole color spectrum on His Own Shoulders, so we can still enjoy them daily! He’s our filter, and weight lifter, daily!) We wear clothes of praise to elevate, despite the weight of glory.

a dragon fly landed near me today as i was waiting…

Crouched wings in waiting for the right instant of Wind to come…..dragonfly with leaned wings on a picnic table, nearby still, until it’s time! She became translucent as she peeled her wings against the wood of table. Her hope, to lift off again soon! This little sign of hope today is enough to go on! Help me wait well Lord of all Winds—expectantly, already in hidden cobalt blue golden glory, meet us, even as we crouch in waiting…

He wants to play the entire flute of your spine forever! He wants the part un-rusted, so He can breath through the instrument you are. He wants to restore that home note in you. To play Zion through you! He wants to play the home song through who you are! Zion is home. And He wants to play the song of home through each of us. Whatever blocks His playing and blowing through us is being oiled, made clean so He can play the song of Himself through us forever!

He wants to play us as a flute song in Zion! Zion means us being home in Him. And He really wants to play through us into that place. Father wants to sing us! As a song of Himself.

Each of us has parts which resist His playing. And for some there is rust there. But He wants to oil our rust, and make us improvisational instruments of praise. Particular instruments He picks up for His pleasure, when He feels like playing a great jazz piece.

Father is gentle in clearing off our rust, and un-hinging our blocked spaces. Still, He wants to play us freely. Zion represents being fully home in Him! He is already restoring Zion in us! Our healing process is like Nehemiah’s time. We need extra word, encouragement, resources, and unity to rebuild the walls of unity. And each family or tribe does it’s part. The holy city’s restoration is like our own.

WE are God’s Zion which He is restoring to dwell in forever.

Some instrument have mood. Sax is one. It also has color. It creates immediate tone. Instruments symbolize different aspects of meaning.

A word i got today!
May all those who hate the Zion in you, be turned away forcefully. May all those who hate the place God is forming Himself in you, be shut out forever. May the enemies of your life, be silenced! May your true life be enabled to speak.
Be silenced, the voices which speak against His Voice in you!
So you know the true nuances of your own name in His!

From counseling today: a simple insight I had today while counseling a friend!

Sometimes when I’m counseling I see too much, sometimes not enough. I get insight into people. It’s a gift. Sometimes it is a pain, but usually it’s a blessing. Sometimes it’s like the scene in the movie “Run Lola Run” where she sees the life stories of every person she is jogging by.

Yet, I like having a gift of insight to help people. When I was younger, i didn’t always use my gift from the right motivations. Sometimes I used it to get approval, feel useful or validated-loved. Now, I think i usually use it more out of overflow from being loved. Today, as I was listening to a friend, i felt this funny Grace Voice which said just listen. What I then heard was:

Our gifts don’t make us feel loved. Love does. We can be incredibly successful in planting our gifts, and still not know we are loved. Love goes deeper than our gifts. If we are teachers, knowledge won’t bring us love. If we are counselors, helping people won’t bring us love. If we are builders, building won’t bring Love. If artist, our talents won’t let love touch us at the core. Church planting doesn’t bring you love. Love brings love. Being loved precedes our callings and use of gifts.

If we know we are loved, we will happily overflow our gifts in love to others! And you can sense when someone has that sequence, in the right order in their lives. Their gifts overflow from a place in themselves which is already loved. Then we are really useful to one another!

Again, Love in our core identity, precedes our callings and gifts. In fact, our callings and gifts are expressions flowing out from our loved identity. I knit and knew you, therefore I gave you some cool stuff to “do” in life (Jeremiah’s calling). Being loved in our core identity precedes our pathways prepared beforehand for us-our outer activities in life (Ephesians 2:10).

I’ve watched so many ministers, artists and friends over the years, try to get love through service or sharing of their gifts. Artist, through their sheer talents mostly. It’s meant to be the reverse! We serve from Love. We are loved, therefore we do. To re-frame Descartes’ phrase. Love contextualizes our talents and gifts. It directs them, and Love energizes them naturally or authentically into serving others.

Anyways, nice insight today while counseling. A bit distracting, as I was trying to help my friend, but useful I hope.

We are loved, therefore we serve with our gifts. A loved identity precedes outward expression and use of our gifts. It has to be in that order at the end of the day. Otherwise, we seek approval and intimacy through using our gifts. I did so in college. I helped people in order to feel validated. I’m good at helping people, so when i did, it made me feel useful. But that’s not knowing your loved. Love comes first, and goes much deeper.

So I’ve been thinking about this challenge lately, of letting Love in more deeply, so that all our serving others with our unique gifts, comes from this already knowing we are loved space. Just a thought today, as I was counseling a friend.

When I know I am loved, I’m useful in using my gifts to help others. I’m sure that’s true whether your a teacher, minister, builder apostolic type of whatever. Love is deeper than our gifts. Even as artist, we are rewarded primarily for our talents. But we are more than our talents, and they should be flowing out from being already loved. Many have to stop their gifts for a season, just to soak in Love. If you do nothing for others, who are you, I was once asked in a dream.

Sort of spiritual basics I guess; but I often ask myself, if I can’t help or inspire anyone today, do I know that I am still adored?

I’ve been coming to ask that over many years of my journey. But its a journey. When you can help people, that gift can become the source of self worth, but it’s meant to be reverse–we know we are loved, therefore we overflow in serving with our gifts! I’m sure its the same for those who are very successful in their fields, but very lonely or unloved inside.

If my best gifts were taken away, would I still know I was loved? This is still the basic question! And, is always what I now ask people in counseling. Who are you outside your most overt gifts. Do you know your really loved? That’s sort of the gospel question as well. At least for me. No matter how much success we have by using our gifts, they won’t make us loved. They won’t affirm that deeper knowing in the heart.

Love comes first. Continue to help us know Your Love God, outside of just our gifts. Amen.

New art in da house. This one a gift for my love from a local artist in San Fran. Enjoying it’s sub-aquatic wonder world-ness. So much happens in the unseen places. This woman focuses on that unseen drama in her art. Had to bring one of these meditations into our art house. Soothing and stimulating simultaneously. A little floating poem about earth’s dream life!