In honor of this issue of OutReach spanning Easter and April Fools Day, I will suggest a resurrection of foolishness. This can be accomplished in 3 days or 3 seconds or it might become a lifetime project. A common question is, "Why would one choose to be foolish?" In fact, what I am about to invite you to explore is considered very politically incorrect by some involved in the serious study of the metaphysical. Foolishness has been much maligned in our culture, so it falls on me to come to its defense. A sincere inquiry into foolishness (and anything else for that matter) can set us free. I could attempt to legitimize this by examining the Fool of the Tarot, blindfolded and empty handed leaping into the void, but I'm much more familiar with my "inner fool," so I will start there. First, a little background.
I spent many years playing music professionally, and consequently had to deal with the phenomenon of stage fright. I'd get butterflies, my palms would sweat my mouth would dry out and it not only made it very hard to sing or play, even just being on a stage was a challenge. Then you might say I "stumbled on" a solution. Literally, after a particularly clumsy entrance in which I tangled myself in a microphone cable and proceeded to lurch around the stage juggling the several instruments I was carrying. When I ended up flat on my butt in a tangle of cords, the audience couldn't resist laughing and either could I. I now call it my "One Stooges Routine." Yes, I looked and felt very foolish, and I was quite embarrassed, but I noticed an interesting side effect. When the laughter had subsided I realized I felt relaxed, and present. My stage fright was totally gone. A small miracle had occurred. So, from that moment onward, foolishness became a kind of hobby. It seemed if I could experience what I was fearing, I could make it to the "other side" of the fear into a welcomed state of clarity and calm. I started looking for opportunities to "make a fool of myself," which turned out to be easier than I'd expected. In some ways I appear to be a natural at this. (Not much help on a resumé I might add.) Now when I commit an embarrassing act, like walking into the wrong restroom, I confess it, and the ensuing laughter melts away my fears. People appreciate human flaws, like the weather, it connects us.
Have you ever been afraid of making a fool of yourself? Has the fear of embarrassment ever stopped you from participating in something? Has fear ever prevented you from stepping into an opportunity... or from clearly speaking your truth?
When I examine my fear I find resistance to an imagined future experience.
In the case of stage fright, it was embarrassment, "making a fool of myself." Thinking..."They might laugh at me." I've learned this kind of laughter isn't the end of the world. In fact, it often reveals a profound empathy, as when we are confronted abruptly by a person in a predicament, we are reminded of our own humanity... we are laughing at ourselves. Clowning relies on this empathic reaction.
You've probably heard of a highly respected and feared warrior caste in feudal Japan called Samurai. Legend has it that they were invincible on the field of battle because they had fully experienced their own death. They walked into battle as dead men, and consequently they were fearless. Fearlessness is another way of saying clear, confident, capable. Without fear, all our attention can be in the present moment. How might our lives be different if we had fully experienced our fear of embarrassment? Our fear of looking foolish?
I'll assert that fully experiencing the imagined object of a fear can set us free. Psychologist make use of this phenomenon with phobias, through what they call systematic desensitization or extinction through saturation. It involves gradual exposure to the fear object, first in the imagination and later in "actuality," while in a state of deep relaxation. So, the good news is we don't have to "actually" make fools of ourselves (like I do), we can do it in our imaginations.
An aside to all our
"creative visualizers" out there. Please don't panic
at the suggestion that we imagine something we fear, and start saying
"cancel, cancel!" We needn't consider ourselves some creative god energy run amuck.
It's actually a cinch to create an experience that manifests only in our
minds. We do it all the time. Here's the formula. Imagination minus
intention equals fantasy. This way we can gain the benefit of certain experiences
without mucking up our physical reality. It takes no great training. It's
literally child's play. (If you do discover a dream you'd like to make
real, throw in some intention, then jump back.)
Archetypal mythology gives us the clown, the trickster, the jester
and the fool. Though we most frequently think of them as entertainers,
they often play a teaching role as well. One of my favorites is Nasrudin,
a kind of wiseman/ village idiot of the Sufi tradition. A classic Nasrudin
story has a neighbor, upon spying the man crawling on his knees under a
street light, offers to help Nasrudin find his keys. After searching for
quite some time without success, the neighbor asks. "Nasrudin, are you
sure this is where you dropped them?" He replies, "Oh no, I dropped them
by the door of my house, but the light is much better here." This is so
obviously absurd that it becomes humorous. But is there another lesson
for us? Have you ever found yourself looking for something somewhere you
knew you couldn't find it? Ever awakened from a trance standing in front
of the refrigerator with the door open... trying to fill in an empty space?
How's the old song go? "Looking for love in all the wrong places..."
Fools sometimes appear crazy. "Out of their minds," we say. Their antics
fly in the face of reason. It may be that reason is a tool of consciousness
that is highly overrated, and our thinking capacities over developed. As
Wes Nisker says in his book, Crazy Wisdom,
"Sometimes it feels we are locked into the prison of our mind and given a life sentence. Our punishment is to suffer under a life of sentences. The train of thought runs over our lives."
Fools often embody a childlike innocence that may be one of the easiest ways to access foolish wisdom in our lives. To this end, I recommend the use of props. By this I mean dime store toys like... bubble blowers, balloons, hoola hoops, squirt guns, whoopy cushions, paddle balls, funny hats and clown noses. I share boxes of such toys at some of my workshops, and I'm always amazed at how easily most of us will leap into an opportunity to "regress" (progress?) and play like a bunch of 5 year olds.
Speaking of five you olds, did you ever notice in video stores, if you browse the exercise videos, no one makes one for kindergartners? Did you ever try to keep up with one? They are little dynamos of wonder, awe, and glee and as a rule run circles around adults. I believe it's more then metabolism. Children are radically present and are literally transformers of energy. Their tendency to be fully in the moment lets them channel their life energy into curiosity, movement, laughter and play. Their imaginations are engaged. They are not playing because they should be, or it's good for them or it's the right thing to do. They couldn't care less about aerobics, or target heart rates. They're just having fun "fooling around." I would wager that if we gave ourselves permission, even if for only a few minutes a day, to reconnect with our inner foolish five year olds, we might rediscover a measure of fitness, a quality of fearlessness and a little laughter and fun that could brighten our world. Who was it who said...
"Lest you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."
So, in honor of April Fools, I invite anyone interested to invent
ways to explore the energy of the fool. Whether it involves fitness, fearlessness
or fun, please share your results with me. Not only would I love to add
your stories to my growing archive of foolishness data, it also will give
you an ìout.î If you get yourself into a situation where people seem to
be thinking, "What is this person doing?" and you're about to just die
from embarrassment, you can always say, "You see, I'm participating in
this research project on foolishness..." This will instantly legitimize
your antics and bail you out. Of course you could just fully experience
death by embarrassment... hmmmm.... I wonder... If you run out of
foolish ideas... remember, just take an "empty handed leap into the void."
Happy fooling around.
Yours in the mystery...
David J. Beede
(a.k.a. The Cosmic Fool)
You can contact me at david@fools.net or snail mail at:
115 Cygnet Lane
Melrose, FL
32666