steve bhaerman

Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda Wake Up Laughing is where healing laughter and “new edge” comedy meet. For years we have been learning that laughter in and of itself has proven physiological benefits. Laughter produces endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller. Laughter improves immune function. Hearty laughter is literally good for the heart, because when we laugh it causes our blood vessels to dilate. And that is certainly better than having them die early! But laughter is medicine in the Native American sense as well, a transformational tool that used wisely can bring not just physical healing, but emotional release, mental flexibility and spiritual perspective. George Carlin once said that most people go to comedy clubs to release just enough tension so they can go back to their basically unsatisfying lives. Put all of these unsatisfying lives together and you get … well, just turn on the TV. What I call “new edge” comedy has enough of an edge to cut through the bull that lurks behind every sacred cow. But unlike the cynical (and even mean) comedy that our culture has cultivated over the past 30 years, Wake Up Laughing offers a healing intention designed to awaken joy, compassion, kindness, wisdom — and the innocent playfulness that so many of us abandoned when we were tricked into believing that life is serious. As Swami Beyondananda has said, “Life is a joke … but God is laughing with us, not at us.” And if God is laughing, who are we to not laugh? Wake Up Laughing is here to help you wake up to the Cosmic Comedy, and go forth and multiply playfulness and joy. May you wake up laughing, and leave laughter in your wake. And may the Farce be with you.

Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda Wake Up Laughing is where healing laughter and “new edge” comedy meet. For years we have been learning that laughter in and of itself has proven physiological benefits. Laughter produces endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller. Laughter improves immune function. Hearty laughter is literally good for the heart, because when we laugh it causes our blood vessels to dilate. And that is certainly better than having them die early! But laughter is medicine in the Native American sense as well, a transformational tool that used wisely can bring not just physical healing, but emotional release, mental flexibility and spiritual perspective. George Carlin once said that most people go to comedy clubs to release just enough tension so they can go back to their basically unsatisfying lives. Put all of these unsatisfying lives together and you get … well, just turn on the TV. What I call “new edge” comedy has enough of an edge to cut through the bull that lurks behind every sacred cow. But unlike the cynical (and even mean) comedy that our culture has cultivated over the past 30 years, Wake Up Laughing offers a healing intention designed to awaken joy, compassion, kindness, wisdom — and the innocent playfulness that so many of us abandoned when we were tricked into believing that life is serious. As Swami Beyondananda has said, “Life is a joke … but God is laughing with us, not at us.” And if God is laughing, who are we to not laugh? Wake Up Laughing is here to help you wake up to the Cosmic Comedy, and go forth and multiply playfulness and joy. May you wake up laughing, and leave laughter in your wake. And may the Farce be with you.