Ep. 95 (Part 2 of 2) | Author, activist, and humorist Steve Bhaerman (aka Swami Beyondananda) realized the power of humor as well as his talent for making people laugh early on, when his schoolmates would laugh so hard, milk would come out of their nose. Steve’s spiritual and psychological wisdom, his deep love and concern for humanity, and his clever, refreshing humor come together in a perfect triad to create the wise, inspired, and funny political and spiritual commentary that have delighted so many for so long. Steve’s mission is to bring people together to work for the things everybody wants—rather than a tug of war, his vision is of a tug of peace, all pulling in the same direction. He has seen over and over how effective comic relief is at bridging people’s differences; it can even disrupt dualistic thinking to where oneness becomes real and unity is achieved.
Steve’s sidekick, Swami Beyondananda, will make you laugh and his humorous perspective on the great issues of our time (like truth decay) and insights about how we can create a more positive future for ourselves (like self-facing laughter and tantrum yoga) really help to lighten the load. Hope is transmitted through levity and we find we can all laugh at human behavior together. Steve explains that with laughter we release emotions, trauma, and mental structures because truth is being liberated, and that comedy’s role is to deconstruct toxic narratives yet leave people standing. In this conversation, you will experience the power of humor to make even the dire circumstances of today’s world feel a bit lighter—Steve/Swami’s inspired comedy is not only politically astute but palpably heartwarming. Recorded August 10, 2023.
“We need to create a sane and sacred center that transcends both religion and non-religion…bring left, right, front and center to face the music and dance together.”
(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)
Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2
- Swami’s take on Donald Trump (01:36)
- The shadow side of well meaning liberal progressives (02:20)
- The trans-humanist movement: don’t neglect real intelligence (04:37)
- Believing in the primacy of the human mind is as dangerous as right-wing totalitarianism (05:17)
- Steve never does comedy to hurt anyone, but Swami knows how to insult people when necessary (05:32)
- How the progressive movement has heightened sensitivities to the point where comedians won’t perform on college campuses (09:55)
- Breaking the trance of people believing insane things (11:42)
- Humor disrupts dualistic thinking and puts things together in a new way—we like it when our mind is tricked (13:27)
- Steve’s podcast, Front and Center: From Political Battlefields to Cooperative Playing Fields (16:26)
- Lesser evil politics always empowers evil (17:08)
- As spirituality evolves, it recognizes everyone has to have a relationship with the transcendent (17:59)
- Reuniting the cosmos in love and practicing virtues can bring heaven to Earth (20:21)
- The future of spirituality combines walking the talk, being the love that you are, and releasing the grip of the ego with all of its insecurities and paranoias (21:49)
- How humor evolves in 4 stages: what we laugh at as we develop (23:31)
- With laughter we can release emotions, trauma, and mental structures because truth is being liberated (24:20)
- Comedy has always been anti-authoritarian and why there are no humorous right-wingers (29:26)
- People don’t want to be canceled by their tribe, and the casualty of nuance (32:48)
- The high level of public intimidation going on, transgenderism, and how the left is the new corporate party (35:39)
- Steve’s mission is to bring people together to work for what everybody wants (38:04)
Resources & References – Part 2
- Voltaire, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
- Henny Youngman, comedian and musician, master of one-liners and famous for his “wife” jokes
- Swami Satchidananda, “Nothing will make you enlightened.”
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Giggling Guru
- St. Maximus the Confessor, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar who coined the phrase cosmic love in the 8th century
- Elaine Park, The Habits of Unity: Twelve Months to a Stronger America… One Citizen at a Time
- Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man (YouTube video)
- Bill Maher, comedian and political satirist
- Jimmy Dore, comedian, political commentator, conspiracy theorist, host of The Jimmy Dore Show
- Stephen Colbert, comedian, producer, political commentator, TV host
- Charlie Chaplin, The Great Dictator (1941 trailer on YouTube)
- Groucho Marx, Duck Soup (1933 trailer on YouTube)
- George Carlin, comedian, actor, author, social critic
- Martine Rothblatt, From Transgender to Transhuman: A Manifesto On the Freedom Of Form*
- 12Habits4AllofUs.org: The 12 Practices of Unity
- Richard Flyer, created the conscious community network in Reno, Connecting the Good, a radically inclusive group
- Martin Luther King, Jr., “Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”
- Swami and Steve’s website: Wake Up Laughing.com
- Steve’s podcast, Front and Center with Steve and Michael: From Political Battlefields to Cooperative Playing Fields
- Steve’s
