Before you read this article, we would like to invite you to rate yourself, right now, from “0” to “10” on three qualities: Peace, Joy, and Openness. You can define for yourself what the scale of zero-to-ten means to you.
Got your data? Great. Alright, write that down somewhere, and then settle in to read on.
OK, did you hear the one about the two MSIA Discourse subscribers that go into a bar…?
Oh, you have…
Well, nevertheless, on Saturday July 19th, 2008, the message of the Spiritual Spa Day was that laughter can be used to assist you to lift your consciousness into God. Laughter often accompanies joy, and joy is a sign of the Soul.
John-Roger, Founder and Spiritual Advisor of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, says,
“Joy and happiness also come from within; they are attributes of God… A lot of the time, I do feel like I am going to crack up laughing because the energy of love and joy is as strong as the Spirit. The love and the joy are of God.”
– John Roger (From: Fulfilling Your Spiritual Promise).
It was a day of Light, Love & Laughter. Carol Jones, Director of Programs for Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens, introduced the Spa Day facilitators, Laren Bright (the author of Laughter — The Best Meditation) and Penelope Bright who are known for their subtle and often sly humor.
Right off the bat, we were laughing when our “comedy couple” came to the front of the room and planted themselves in their chairs. They stared out at the audience for a moment, and then Laren pronounced: “We don’t do stand-up. We are hilarious, funny people.” To which Penelope deadpanned: “I’ve never been more joyful in all my life.” (Ba-bump-bump!)
No standup? Could have fooled me! With just a few words, they had warmed up their audience and we were ready to begin. We invoked Spirit by calling in the Light and chanting the sacred tone, Ani-Hu. (“Hu” is an ancient name for God in Sanskrit, and “Ani” is a word that invokes empathy)
Then Laren began to explain his sense of just what MSIA was for him. Laren explained that MSIA is an ecumenical church; that we seek truth no matter what is present, including and especially listening to our own truth inside of us. Laren explained that MSIA is about having the experience of our connection to God.
From John-Roger:
“In MSIA there is so much joy and laughter, and people have so much fun. Sometimes it shakes people up a little when they come into our events because there are jokes and laughter and more jokes and more laughter, and some people think that
