The Sound of God Laughing

When the talk turns to God or consciousness and God, do you picture any of these?

Serene strolls across pristine sand by a dazzling aquamarine ocean,
Gazing awestruck at a vast indigo sky flecked with glittering stars,
Images of a cascading waterfall in a verdant forest....

When I think of reading parables, I imagine opening a tiny book with crumbling pages and entering a world inhabited by sages in forests caves, or on mountaintops. I expect images of divinity to carry me away to far off times and places, far, far away from the hassles of today's world.

The very last locale for a spiritual parable could well be stopped in traffic on an LA freeway. The very last person I'd typically entertain as the hero of a parable, is a harried modern comedian, struggling with the conflations of ego, and the deflations of inadequacy, while trying to cope with the recent passing of his elderly father. Yet it's just that hero whom Deepak Chopra gives us in his wonderful new book, Why is God Laughing?

This easy read is a like a bag full of munchies -- you just have to read a few more pages, (and a few more) until you get to the bottom (or top) of it. Chopra's hero is a second-rate comedian named Mickey Fellows who keeps his sadness, loss, and insecurity at bay by keeping his mind on auto-pilot generating a constant stream of jokes. While Descartes famously asserted, "I think, therefore, I am," at the book open, Mickey's mantra might well be, "I'm funny, therefore I am." As the book traces Mickey's inner monologue along with his inner (and outer) journey, I couldn't help but sense the desperation lurking behind the ha-ha's. His familiar brand of humor seems somehow poignant: I longed for Mickey to find freedom from defensive humor and awaken to his core. Indeed, don't we all want that for ourselves? That's where the book takes us.

On this journey, instigated from the beyond by his recently departed Dad as a farewell act of caring, Mickey is guided by one Francisco, a mysterious guy who shows up unexpectedly in all the right places. Through this contemporary parable, Chopra carries the reader right to heart of the cosmic joke -- awakening Mickey to the joy and the surprise a-ha! hidden inside every moment. It's there for to recognize and delight in -- if only (like Mickey) I can let go, trust that I'm right where I'm meant to be, and learn to see (and delight in) the joke.

Without revealing too much of how Mickey gets there, I can tell you that this delightful volume, like all parables, conveys its spiritual lessons, and unlike many, it conveys them artfully through humor, proving once again that God is most divine when he is most human. Why is God Laughing? is a rare blend of divinity and humor, something to be savored. Who said the most important lessons have to be serious?

In another great modern parable, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche wrote, "I'll never believe in a God who can't dance." Chopra has clothed the timeless truths of spirituality in modern threads, so we can recognize them as our own and sort of boogey along.

Some say God is dead, or doesn't exist at all. Some say God is vengeful and punishes our sins, others that he died for our sins. But the god of Why Is God Laughing is not doing anything to you, or for you, he is you. And when you understand this, Deepak seems to be saying, you'll laugh too.

Comments

[esgabel]

When a post is talking about God laughing let's say, why is it necessary to denigrate the author's view?
If you don't believe in something or someone beyond--fine!--find something else to read...

[wondering]

Hmmm..

I'll remember your insightful words the next time some wingnut wants my child's school to teach Intelligent Design or introduce school prayer. And when a woman's right to choose, rights for gays (like marriage), or stem-cell research are trampled by fear-mongering religionistas, I'll remember your advice to just look the other way. And I certainly won't raise a fuss over tax-exemption for groups that believe in invisible friends.

The promotion of supernatural belief is not harmless. Religion (i.e., any belief in the supernatural) is the enemy of mankind.

Oh did I mention the horrors of child-bride polygamist sects and genital-mutilation - all in the name of belief in "something or someone beyond"? I'll be sure to ignore those too.

[esgabel]

That certainly does not describe this post--you definitely have a right to advocate--even fight for your daughter or for that matter anyone's child's school to not have "wing-nuts" take over science classes. Same for a woman's right to choose, gay marriage, stem cell research etc an infinitum...but just because I believe in God and am a practicing Catholic does not mean I am trampling you or acting as a fear mongering religionista!!! We probably have more in common than you think...it's just that this post talks about God's Laughter

You announce that supernatural belief is not harmless--what is the difference between you and the "true believer" that says that athieism is not harmless and is the enemy of mankind? Do you really want to be as small, single-minded and narrow as they are?

And while you only mentioned the the horrors of the child-bride polygamist sects and genital mutilation at the end, most of these things are looked on as aberrations even by those you would call wing nuts...plus I think genital mutilation in Africa, at least, has less to do with an organized religion as it does with tribal custom...but I could be wrong, on all counts...

[cowalker]

If there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that an omniscient God couldn't laugh. Humor is a human reaction to encountering something unexpected--a change in perspective, a new twist in language, a surprise prat fall. That's why some people think that having a sense of humor is related to the ability to innovate.

How are you going to surprise the omniscient God into a laugh?

[esgabel]

Take it from me, I've been working on it all my life and I think I've heard a chuckle or two!

[stevesrant]

There may be more to humor than what you propose. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land had a different take on it: "I grok laughter now. You laugh because it hurts." If there were a God, it would certainly be laughing - at us.

[Quaoar]

"When the talk turns to God or consciousness and God, do you picture any of these?"

No.
My thoughts are toward determining whether the believer is a harmless eccentric or a flaming fundamentalist.

[Merlin7]

Would the reviewer speak glowingly of someone who suggested we believe in leprechauns or unicorns? Or that reading Chairman Mao would cure tuberculosis? I think not. Then why are supposed to take seriously such views on conventional theology? This constant kowtowing to religion -- a form of irrational thinking that is extremely destructive and unhealthy in all its forms -- is one of the strangest aspects of our society.