Ep. 94 (Part 1 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.

“The creator is watching the comedy channel and we decide what’s on.”

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1

Introducing Swami Beyondananda (the comedian Roger wanted to be when he grew up) who integrates humor, wisdom & spirituality (01:15)
What is Swami’s spiritual orientation? FUNdamentalism (05:27)
The Great Up-wising: wake up, wise up, grow up, show up (06:33)
Levity vs gravity: laughing creates endorphins, lowers blood pressure, and strengthens our immune system (08:23)
Crisis precipitates evolution: the challenge of our times (10:32)
Why is mindfulness so important? Because so many people are suffering from mindFULLness! (13:03)
How do you know if you are enlightened? (14:42)
How do you release the grip of the ego? (16:17)
Roger represents emptiness and John is full of it (16:55)
Whatever your problem is, nothing will help (17:45)
How to get beyond political polarization: leave the identity issues, focus on the identical issues that everybody faces (19:20)
Creating a sane asylum: developing cosmic comic consciousness and practicing tantrum yoga (22:58)
A story about praying for peace in the Middle East (24:59)
Instead of a tug of war, let’s have a tug of peace, where we all pull together (29:19)
What is Swami’s take on the climate issue? We need warmer hearts, cooler heads, and to restore balance on Earth (30:05)
What is the secret for human happiness? (32:09)
Introducing Steve Bhaerman, author, political humorist, and the story of how his character Swami Beyondananda came to be (34:05)
Pumping ironies and laughing together at human behavior (38:43)

Resources & References – Part 1

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 Wiki Politiki Radio Show
Bruce Lipton & Steve Bhaerman, Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There From Here*
Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness*
Arthur Deikman’s test of enlightenment: Ask the spouse
Common Ground was the San Francisco Bay Area’s Magazine for Conscious Community since 1974 (no longer in publication)
Yuval Harari, author of science bestsellers: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind*, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow*, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century*
12Habits4AllofUs.org: The 12 Practices of Unity

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

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Steve Bhaerman is an internationally known author, humorist, and workshop leader. For the past 36 years, he has written and performed as Swami Beyondananda, the “Cosmic Comic.” Swami’s comedy has been called “irreverently uplifting” and has been described both as “comedy disguised as wisdom” and “wisdom disguised as comedy.” Author Marianne Williamson has called him “the Mark Twain of our generation.”

As the Swami, Steve is the author of Driving Your Own Karma (1989), When You See a Sacred Cow, Milk It For All It’s Worth (1993), Duck Soup for the Soul (1999), and Swami for Precedent: A 7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile Dysfunction (2004). On the more serious side, he co-authored with cellular biologist Bruce H. Lipton, PhD, Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There from Here (Hay House, 2009). Steve is co-host of the Front and Center podcast (“from political battlefields to cooperative playing fields”), and is working with All of Us, Inc. to present and promote the 12 Habits of Unity). He can be found online at Wake Up Laughing.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

KESHA! PHILLY BOY ROY! MARY BRONSTEIN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRIMACE!