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Overview
Laughter was honored by the ancients as a spiritual healing tool and celebrated by the world's great religions. So why aren’t we laughing along the spiritual path today? What would happen if we did?
In this personal and funny look at humor as a spiritual practice, Rev. Susan Sparks—an ex-lawyer turned comedian and Baptist minister—presents a convincing case that the power of humor radiates far beyond punch lines. Laughter can help you:
- Remove the fearful mask of a God who doesn’t laugh
- Debunk the myths that you don’t deserve joy
- Find perspective when faced with adversity
- Exercise forgiveness for yourself and others
- Reclaim play as a spiritual practice
- Heal—emotionally, physically, and spiritually
- Keep your faith when God is silent
- Live with elegance, beauty, and generosity of spirit
Whatever your faith tradition—or if you have none at all—join this veteran of the punch line and the pulpit in reclaiming the forgotten humor legacy found in thousands of years of human spiritual history.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781594732805 |
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Publisher: | TURNER PUB CO |
Publication date: | 05/01/2010 |
Pages: | 176 |
Sales rank: | 1,120,011 |
Product dimensions: | 2.36(w) x 3.54(h) x 0.44(d) |
About the Author
Rev. Susan Sparks is available to speak on the following topics:
- Transform Your Life, Work and Spiritual Path Through Laughter
- Life Transitions and Finding Your Path
- Humor and Life Crisis
- Presentation Skills Using Wisdom from the Courtroom, the Pulpit and Comedy Clubs
- The Power of Humorfor Clerics, Chaplains andCaregivers
Click here to contact the author.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
We Are Hot-wired for Laughter xiv
Why "Grace"? xvi
Where Are We Going with This? xviii
A Letter from God xxiii
Disclaimer xxv
Part I Why Aren't We Laughing?
1 Humor and Holiness Are Not Oxymorons: Finding My Way as an Ordained Comedian
God Is Not Funny 3
Laughter Is the GPS System for the Soul 5
It's All Holy 7
Practice, Practice 9
Reflections 11
2 The Lost Branch of the Family Tree: Remembering Our Legacy of Laughter
The Pete Townshend Question 13
Why Is Everyone Else Laughing? 14
Enlightenment through a Smile 15
My Kind of God 17
Laughing in the Ear of God 19
Sacred Clowns 21
Reflections 23
3 Spiritual Geliophobia: The Fear of Laughing in the Presence of God
The Legend of Mad Dog Murphy 25
Mad Dog Returns 27
The Legend of Mad Dog God 29
And God Smote Them with Hemorrhoids 31
The Man Behind the Legend 32
The God Behind the Legend 34
Reflections 36
4 Eating Dessert on the Titanic: The Opportunity for Joy Is Now
You Can't Laugh Until... 37
We've Been Plutoed! 39
Human Lowriders 41
The World's Greatest Buffet 43
Reflections 45
Part II What Would Happen If We Laughed?
5 High Places of the Heart: Finding Perspective through Laughter
A New Way to See 49
Helium for the Heart 50
A View from Kilimanjaro 51
Up High, the World Seems Less Scary 53
Up High, We Can Appreciate the Little Things 54
Up High, We Can See Our Way Through 57
Reflections 59
6 We're All Hells Angels: Using Humor to See Past Our Differences
Too Funny to Believe 61
Whatever Happended to "Love Thy Neighbor"? 63
Humor Is the WD40 and Duct Tape of Life 64
Is This Some Kind of Joke? 65
We All Laugh in the Same Language 67
There's a Little Hell in Every Angel and a Little Angel in Every Hell 69
Reflections 70
7 Burping in the Pulpit: Rediscovering a Fresh Spiritual Practice through the Eyes of a Child
Left, Right. Left, Right. 73
Ranger at the Helm 75
You Gotta Get Real 76
A Real Live Chat with God 80
Get Out of the Living Room 82
Reflections 85
8 Breathe, Just Breathe: The Healing Power of Breath and Laughter
Bursts of Laughter 87
Not a Good Sign 89
The Grief Trip 91
A Joke a Day Keeps the Co-Pays Away 98
Reflections 101
9 Into the Ark: Laughter in Times of Crisis
The Lifeboat of Laughter 103
Precious Cargo 106
Tears of Laughter 107
Rising Above the Flood 109
Humor as a Second Chance 111
Reflections 113
10 A Leo's Search for God: Laughter Helps Us Keep Faith When God Is Silent
God Is a Scorpio 115
We Don't Know 117
Let Go and Laugh 119
When All Is Gone, All Is Possible 123
Reflections 126
11 The Dash In Between: How We Live and What We Leave
The Critical Part of the Formula 127
How's It Going? 128
Change the World One Smile at a Time 130
Just-In Time 133
Reflections 135
Suggestions for Further Reading 137