A lighthearted and endorphin-producing interview with the Cosmic Comic, Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda, an internationally known author, humorist and workshop leader.

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Steve Bhaerman, aka Swami Beyondananda, is an internationally known author, humorist and workshop leader. Since 1990, he has written and performed as Swami Beyondananda, the "Cosmic Comic." 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). Swami Beyondananda will deliver an online, updated version of his 2013 State of the Universe Address on Monday, April 1st at 5:30 pm US Pacific time / 8:30 pm US Eastern time. (UPDATE: 7500 listeners attended from 50 countries. The show was recorded, and it will be rebroadcast on Wed. April 3.  To listen, go to the webcast or dial 206-402-0100 [find your local number here] and enter the PIN 498523#) Beginning on April 15th, Steve and Swami will be conducting an 8-week teleclass for the Shift Network on The Alchemy of Humor to help you develop YOUR cosmic comic consciousness ... so that you not only wake up laughing, but you leave laughter in your wake. Info here.

Struck by Enlightening

MAB: Thanks for joining us, Steve. I've enjoyed many presentations by your alter ego, Swami Beyondananda, and I'm looking forward to asking him a few questions later, but first I'd like to ask you, how did you get started with the Swami, and with your unique focus on spiritual humor? 

SB: I like to say I got struck by enlightening during a brainstorm.

Actually, humor has been a part of my life since I was the class comedian in elementary school, and the "sign from God" that "this is your calling" is the first time you make a kid laugh so hard that milk comes out of his nose.  But like everyone else, I was told to "get serious," and I tried.  I went to college, then started an alternative high school in Washington, D.C.  I taught labor history and ethnic studies at Wayne State University, and then "a funny thing happened."  I got laid off and the only job I could find was as an equipment operator for the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, taking down trees with Dutch Elm Disease.  I had written a book on education published by Simon & Schuster, had taught at two universities and  suddenly I was in a jumpsuit and a hard hat and working the chipper.  I felt like I'd hit a low in my life ...

And then another funny thing happened.

SB: The new guy they teamed me with turned out to be a brilliant psychologist disguised as a truck driver.  He suggested that we start an anonymous, humorous paper for the guys at the shop, and it changed my life.  It helped me realize the power that humor had to open both the heart and the mind.  I realized I was good at it.

Later when another friend and I began publishing a holistic publication called Pathways, the fictional Swami Beyondananda had an article,  or mock ad in every issue.The first one was a parody of the old Famous Artists School, "We're looking for people who want to draw ..."  Our ad was for "Famous Gurus School:"  "We're looking for people who want to draw ... on higher consciousness."   The "testimonial letter" said  "Dear Swami ... Loved your leadership training, please send followers."



The Swami quickly became the most popular feature in the paper, and we followed up with "Teach Your Dog to Heal," "Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Sects," "Tantrum Yoga" (use your anger to heat your home) and many others.  After we stopped publishing, the East West Journal picked up on the feature, and I began to syndicate the columns.

In late 1984, I attended a life-changing seminar that challenged me to do that which I was here to do, and I decided to pursue comedy as a full time (or better yet, "fool time") career and the rest is "mystery."

Having spent my "deformative" years in New York City, my sense of humor -- while witty -- was a bit crude.  When the Swami character became my vehicle, my humor naturally changed to fit the character.  For example, very early on I was playing a mob-run club in Chicago as the Swami, and three inebriated guys began heckling me.  I stopped, looked at them and said, "I think you are baiting me.  And when you bait a great spiritual master, do you know what that makes you?  That's right.  A master-baiter!"

Everyone laughed and the three guys slunk off ... and that's when I made another decision.  While I could be insulting if circumstances required,  at that moment I decided that I would cultivate venues with higher expectations.   Laughing at heart-opening material requires vulnerability ... the humor that I've developed over the years is designed not just to leave 'em laughing, but to leave 'em smiling.  



I know you've written several books, including one with one of my favorite authors and speakers, Dr. Bruce Lipton. Can you give us a just a bit of info about your books? 

Regarding writing, I started at the top by being in the right place at the right time with the right theme..  My first book was published by Simon & Schuster. No Particular Place to Go (with Joel Denker) was our account of running a unique, pioneering alternative high school,  My next "serious" book, Friends and Lovers:  How to Meet the People You Want to Meet, was published by Writers Digest, and what I learned by writing it led to meeting my future (and present!) wife, Trudy.  




In 2005, I met cellular biologist Bruce Lipton (author of The Biology of Belief) and we began a spirited conversation about applying his ideas from that book -- that our beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings determine our reality -- to human society at large.  Our book Spontaneous Evolution:  Our Positive Future and A Way to Get There From Here, weaves together biology, world history, psychology, politics, economics and spirituality with Bruce's unique perspective as a cellular and evolutionary biologist.  



To boil it down to one idea -- crisis precipitates evolution, and when we look at the world today we see the chances of "precipitation" are 100% ... in the face of these multiple crises, the next phase of human evolution is recognizing that we are each and all cells in the body of a super-organism called Humanity.  Only by "thinking like a species" and gathering all good intentions under one "big intent" -- "thrival" for all -- can we navigate this unique passage in human history.



MAB: That's fascinating, Steve.  One last question for you before we ask the Swami to join us. We all enjoy a good laugh, but what are the further benefits of humor for individuals, and are there also benefits for the global community?

SB: Humor is a playful and magical tool that uses the mind to trick the mind -- and stop the mind, so that a new thought, idea or pathway can take hold.  Have you ever wondered why so many jokes are structured in 3s?  A minister, a priest and a rabbi ... A minister, a priest and a rabbi were each asked the question, "When you are in your casket, and friends, family and congregants are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say?"

The minister replied, "I would like to hear them say I was a great family man, and a pillar of the community."
The priest said, "I would like to hear them say I was a humble servant of God who served his flock well."
The rabbi said, "I would like to hear them say, "Wait, I think he's moving!'"



In the one, two, three rhythm, number one sets up the premise.  Number two reinforces the premise.  And number three upsets the premise -- AND points us to a third way.  So, in our individual lives and collective reality during these evolutionary times, we need to do whatever we can to see beyond "dueling dualities" to find the third way, or fourth way or fifth way solutions.  Humor is practice that propels us -- using the power of laughter -- out of the this-or-that box.

MAB: Thank you so much, Steve!  And now I understand that I may ask the Swami three questions. 



MAB: Swami Beyondananda, thank you for visiting with us today, and for letting me ask a couple of questions.  Lots of people are stressed out these days. What do you recommend? Meditation? Yoga? A particular spiritual practice or religion?

SB: "Ah yes, stress.  Stress can be stressful.  I cannot stress enough how stressful stress can be, particularly in this information age.  We are inundated with so much BS (belief systems) that our skeptic system can very easily overflow, resulting in irony deficiency and truth decay.  So, I recommend a very simple practice.  Mental floss twice a day, and you will release any excess "flossify" that got stuck in your brain.  Hey, it's not just me.  Four out of five transcendentists recommend mental floss to prevent truth decay."

MAB: Thank you Swami! Many readers here at Opednews are upset and concerned about what our country's political process has turned into, with politicians who don't seem to listen to the 99%, corporations which are allowed to effectively buy elections, questionable voting integrity, and  disregard of civil rights and the environment. It seems like a big mess. Do you have suggestions?

SB: Yes, we have a deeply divided body politic.  Half the population believes our elections are broken, the other half believe they are fixed.  Meanwhile, we have been divided into red tribe Republicans and blue tribe Democrats spending all their energy arguing about whether it's worse to kill the born or the unborn.  Meanwhile our commonwealth has been hijacked by the uncommonly wealthy.  So now it is up for we the people to higher-jack it.  To do so, we must bring red tribe and blue tribe together in sacred circle to talk until they are purple in the face.  For only by standing together as One Purple People will the peeps outnumber the perps.

MAB: Thank you, Swami. And lastly, can you tell us:  what is the secret of life?

SB: Life is like photography.  You use the negative to develop.



When the Shift hits the Fan ..."Attune in" to the Swami

Swami Beyondananda will deliver an updated version of his 2013 State of the Universe Address online on April Fools' Day, Monday, April 1st at 5:30 pm US Pacific time / 8:30 pm US Eastern time on Shift Network.  The event is free, sign up at http://cosmicrelief2013.com/CosmicRelief   

The Swami notes, "And what better day to achieve fool-realization than April Fool's Day?

May the farce be with you."

Note: Beginning on April 15th, Steve and Swami will be conducting an 8-week teleclass for the Shift Network on The Alchemy of Humor to help you develop YOUR cosmic comic consciousness ... so that you not only wake up laughing, but you leave laughter in your wake. Info here.

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.