How valuable is our sense of humor?

[metaw3]

Excerpt from "Ultimate Journey" by Robert Monroe, 1994

(The author is guided in his travels out of the body by an entity he calls INSPEC whose comments are in italics.)

Chapter 4, Hail and Farewell

[...]

Then a new question came immediately to mind, which had much to do with my own physical experience in the Here. I asked the INSPEC if I could be shown one nonphysical, nonhuman intelligence which I could talk with easily. Somewhat to my surprise, my friend offered to lead me to one and we set off through the darkness. In what seemed only a moment we flashed into a space filled with stars. Just below us was what I recognized as our moon and in the near distance was the huge blue and white marbelized globe, the Earth.

I looked around. Where was this super-nonhuman intelligence? Reading the question, the INSPEC told me to look behind and above.

I was astonished. Just twenty feet above me and stretching for what seemed to be miles was a huge, circular, saucershaped object, a typical "flying saucer" as so often described, but a thousand times larger. Much too big to credit — but as I had that thought, it shrank instantly to some two hundred feet in diameter.

Then a door in the bottom slid open and a figure... a man... a very human-looking man, emerged and walked — yes, walked, across to where I floated. As he approached, I recognized him. Short, round, and chubby, dressed with a sort of shabby gentility and wearing a gray top hat, his nose red and bulbous, his mouth a leering grin, he was an exact replica of the star of so many comic movies I had enjoyed in the physical when I was young — W. C. Fields!

This replica, projection, hologram — whatever it was — spoke like Fields as well, with the same intonations and repetitions. He invited me aboard, and showed me into what appeared as a large, domed room with pictures on its walls of every comedian I had ever heard of, and many more of whom I hadn't, together with thousands of scribbled jokes and cartoons. He described all this as his cargo.

I framed the question in my mind.

"Cargo? What do you mean, cargo? And," I continued, "you can drop the impersonation. I can take you exactly as you are."

"You really mean it, don't you... But I'll keep it if you don't mind. It helps me to think like a human. Or would you prefer someone else? Groucho Marx, perhaps?"

"No, no. Stay as you are. Tell me, what are you doing, hanging around Earth?"

"My boy, I'm an exporter."

"I see. What do you have that we need — apart from this spaceship?"

"I must have used the term wrong. I export from here, not to, my friend."

"What possible thing could we have that is valuable to you? You're obviously way ahead of our technology. You use thought communication. We have nothing you could want or need."

He scratched his nose. "Well, sir, it's not easy to get it, but I do, yes sir, I do. We don't have any, and you can't imagine how valuable something is if you don't have any."

"Don't have any what?"

"I've been gathering it for ages. It used to be very rare, but there's more of it about now."

"You've lost me."

"Sometimes you need to know the civilization to understand it, that's one of the problems."

"I still don't see..."

"You humans have it, and it's very rare and valuable among the rest of the intelligent species in what you call the physical universe — and elsewhere. Very rare and valuable, sir. I'm a specialist in collection. You don't understand, I see! Let me explain."

"Please do."

"It's a one-in-a-million product and you humans have it. A sense of humor! Jokes! Fun! The best tonic there is for overloaded mind systems. It auto-erases the tension and pressure almost every time it's used!"

"So... you cruise around among us looking for the newest and latest... ?"

"Exactly! You humans catch sight of our collection units every now and then and get the wrong idea. You even make UFO jokes about us! All we want to do is look and listen — nothing else. Apart from the odd practical joke — just to keep in training. And now, if you'll excuse me, sir, I must be on my way."

Suddenly I found myself outside the spaceship, which was rapidly diminishing into the far distance. I homed in on my INSPEC friend, who was waiting for me in the deep darkness. Now I knew that at least humans have one unique quality.

You managed that well. But there is another matter that occupies your mind. You have a hidden desire that you are trying to express.

Yes... there is one that I would like to visit. You know what I mean.

The most mature and evolved human in physical earth, living in your time reference.

That is so. Can it be done?

Yes, but the result may not be what you expect.

I wish to try, all the same.

I shall lead you.

[...]

Today I was reading the great thread "Do ufo's have toilets" here:
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20545
and it reminded me of the passage I quoted above.

It just shows how important is our sense of humor. Humor, whether it's adolescent humour, sarcasm or any other humor, will be at the forefront of any New Paradigm for humanity because it's one of our best products!

[Jnana]

I love it. I've wondered about this very thing because of some of my own interactions with ETs. I never quite know if they will take something we find humorous as offensive.

I'm sorry to see that the other thread you referenced has been closed. I don't think that was necessary. I hope the mods will reconsider. A bit of humor is needed here right now.

[Halcyon]

I agree. I found myself chuckling out loud last night after reading some of the replies to this thread "What would you ask God". If you take things too serious all the time then you just DON'T GET IT. No words should offend anyone - they are just that "words".

[rhythm]

absolutley essential



if you want a real

good laugh

watch out for

[I][B]rhythmms spelling

[Kulapops]

I'm sorry but having visited cakewrecks.com... the tears are just rolling down my face.. I don't think I've laughed so hard in ages.

A helpless, gurgling puddle of pure joy. I don't know why I found it sooo funny, but it just gets me. Each scroll down would produce another howl.. the frogs on the home page... and the balloons with 20010 on... I mean...

life.. does... not ... get any better than this....

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/searc...tive%20Grammar

thank you for making my whole year worthwhile so far...

K x

oops... meant to post this on the "laugh..." thread... but it's probably not out of place here.. I wonder if aliens would see the funny side....

[Harper]

Too valuable to lose ..............I'm embarrassed by the latest show of displeasure.

the arrogance

[Harper]

Bumping


Because a sense of humour is the only thing that most of us will have when we cease to take all of this personally.

We are going to have to understand that that is the the humanity we may have to tune into to in order to be able to watch what is going on. To show up in front of our real faces. I have mentioned this before, but if we cant observe and be aware of the things we are being DRAWN into then we will be continuously be DRAWN into other peoples story lines.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that is asked of you in this world, but to be kind.

Stop the banning, its either really wrong or on purpose, either way is it what you want?

[Harper]

bump

Kind, nothing else

[Harper]

Bump

[Kulapops]

Mr Bump ! One of my favourite Mr Men Characters...

What are we talking here , Harper ?

I'm all for humour... but I don't quite understand your point here. Can you elaborate please ?

K

[Harper]

Hello,

Im speaking of the banning of dondon, who asked if there were toilets on space ships and what would you say to god?


WHY?

[Harper]

bump

[Harper]

bump

[feardia]

Humour is what comes out of humans, I love laughing with my fellow humans. We are amazing the way we can go from deep depression to raucous laughter in a couple of seconds, it is what we are all about. Our emotions are our greatest resource, we just have to learn how to manage them.
One love...

[Kulapops]

Originally Posted by Harper

Hello,

Im speaking of the banning of dondon, who asked if there were toilets on space ships and what would you say to god?


WHY?

Ok.. yes I see where you're coming from now.

[feardia]

Originally Posted by Harper

Hello,

Im speaking of the banning of dondon, who asked if there were toilets on space ships and what would you say to god?


WHY?

Well, I had a problem on t3j's thread about how the numbers of aliens orbiting the planet stayed the same over a weekend despite the fact that there was 314,159,265 of them, you would have thought at least one of them would have got drunk and been sucked out the toilet duct. btw i never got an answer.

i don't think you should be banned for starting nonsense threads, but it is a silly thing to do if you have just joined the forum, why not just let them wither on the vine, there are plenty of nonsense threads that have flourished on avalon too, while good ones have been choked.

[Harper]

so be it feardia,

Lets just see, instead of the precrime aspect of the whole thing.

Terribly disenfranchised at the moment, but maybe since thats the word I chose, its not a bad thing.

Take care, slainte mo chroi

g

[feardia]

Originally Posted by Harper

so be it feardia,

Lets just see, instead of the precrime aspect of the whole thing.

Terribly disenfranchised at the moment, but maybe since thats the word I chose, its not a bad thing.

Take care, slainte mo chroi

g

We were born to be disenfranchised, we are gaels, but we should always stand against injustice,
one love...

[Harper]

cushla mo chroi

one love, the morning hastens and I must chase sleep

gearodin

[Tango]

Doin' the Bump... Hold On...




Just helpn' out with the Bump... Or, did You mean the Dance...



Trooly,



Tango


.

[Harper]

bump... on my last legs

[Tango]

The way the Bump is suppose to be done buddy... LOL





Come On Harper... It's the Bump


Trooly,


Tango

[Kulapops]

And I on mine ! Yet it's an hour later in Paris...

yeah.. I think we definitely should not outlaw humour at Avalon.. then I definitely WILL be outta here

well, there'll be nothing left for me to do for a start.

But I agree with feardia. Perhaps dondon meant well, but there was a lot of posting in a short while, and maybe someone got the wrong end of the stick.

there are lots of threads about banned members.. you don't have to search too far. I would just say we can't do much about what happened, only about what happens...

I don't get that exact number of aliens either. can you get like, an alien counter to sit next to the GPS? Now I feel sheepish because I felt the Thuban thread tickled me too, and it's been the source/catalyst for a whole heartache. A shame that something can make someone laugh can make some one angry about that laughing. I hope we all can laugh at ourselves more as our consciousness expands...cos if it goes the other way, we're all in for a lot of Eastenders moments...

So I'm not about to take myself too seriously.. not now... not later.

I hope I'm on the right track...

K

[Fredkc]

My sense of humore is precious to me.

Sadly it hasn't turned me a dime, yet.

[metaw3]

Thank you everyone for the funny bumps.

Originally Posted by Halcyon

No words should offend anyone - they are just that "words".

Important point. If you make a joke about UFOs, your theme is aligned with this forum, and your style is your own business.

Same thing with the Thuban material. I don't know if this style even has a name, but it's using the right words to be on topic.

If it had been a joke about marriage, then it's off topic unless the member has an history here like feardia said. Then it's just an exception for that member and it's fine.

If the Thuban material was written using a terminology borrowed from Harry Potter, then it would be off topic.

Isn't that enough to be on topic? So what if I'm funny or confusedly poetic?

I had no problem with the Thuban material being criticized because I don't care for that style. But I actually love jokes so it made very uncomfortable when I saw a joke on topic being terminated. How can I feel free to express myself when I see a joke I could have made, because it's my style, causing someone to be banned? I actually wondered about giving up on this forum, but decided to start this thread instead. I was not going to bump it. Just to know it is there was enough. My point was made. Have I got in trouble later on for a joke, I would have bump this thread to defend myself. Now that Harper seems determined to bump it all the way, we'll see what happens.

Humor is integral to my happiness, and I don't care if someone hits me hard with sarcasm. Be my guest. I love that. It's just words as Halcyon said. I can take it even if the joke is on me. Laughing with others about yourself means you really learned what it means to be in the observer mode.

My favorite comedians are Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. They both could have made the joke about UFOs having no toilets. Would we ban them if they ever come to this forum and make jokes as their first threads? That is something to ponder