Metaphysical Fitness

Sunday October 11th, 2009 - Kenosha, WI/Lake Villa, IL

Spirituality is one subject that doesn’t come up very often between comedians, and I’m surprised it doesn’t. Most of us are of above average intelligence and like to discuss many different topics but that’s one that usually gets avoided, or at least it has in my experience.

Religion gets brought up a lot, and many times gets skewered mercilessly. There are all kinds of bits making fun of Catholicism or Judaism but I’m talking about things we bring up offstage between ourselves. I’ve taken twelve hour rides with people I barely knew but that’s one thing that rarely if ever came up. As I get older I’m exploring that side more.

That’s one of the reasons I enjoy doing the Mothership Connection radio show as much as I do. I get to explore all kinds of topics I’m already interested in but bringing in experts in a radio studio makes it all the more worthwhile. Tonight we had a very exciting show.

We were supposed to have a guest named Janice Olson who does ‘oracle readings’ and has for many years. Her website is www.shininglite.com and she was found by my friend Shelley who wanted to have her in as a guest. We’ve been going back and forth on when both Janice and Shelley could make it on the same night and tonight turned out to be it.

Janice brought her friend Adam who owns a store called ‘Sacred Earth’ in Antioch, IL and both of them together were extremely interesting guests. They talked about topics like chakras and meditation and angels and all kinds of stuff my grandpa would have placed in the category of ‘moonbeams and stardust’. Sometimes it’s all a big joke but not tonight.

Janice and Adam were both very knowledgeable on the subjects they discussed and that made the show go by extremely fast. We had several new listeners call in for readings and a lot of things came up that sent us off into deep but fascinating tangents. It was really fun but also informative too. This show is opening my eyes to a whole new world of topics.

I’m not saying I’m going to enroll in warlock academy or start casting spells with magic potions but it makes logical sense to me that something is bigger than the physical part of life as we know it. Does numerology have something to do with it? Birth signs? Chakras?

Does the Chinese Zodiac really have an influence on life or is it just something to gawk at to kill time while I’m waiting for my egg drop soup to arrive? Chinese culture has a lot of spiritual aspects as does Native American. Egyptian too. Certain cultures embrace this.

Americans not so much it seems. I was force churched as a kid and most people have to follow along with whatever religious beliefs their parents have…or don’t. My church was very adamant about not exploring anything else because they thought their way was right.

Who doesn’t think that? Muslims think they’re right and so do the Jews. Christians are a whole different animal and they think Muslims and Jews are wrong. None of what I am talking about on the radio show has anything to do with right or wrong. I just want truth.

That’s what most comedians usually want too. We see the craziness everywhere and it’s our job separate the truth from the B.S. and make it funny in the process. Our minds think along those lines during the creation of comedy yet most of us aren’t very spiritual beings.

I’m sure there are exceptions but I can’t think of many. Most comedians I know have an aversion to having a serious conversation about deep things like this because their trained reaction is to start making jokes right when it starts to get serious. That’s how we think as comedians and it takes some effort to turn the comedian off and turn the spiritual side on.

Personally I’m really enjoying delving into this side of existence. I never really got into it as a kid because I was so forced into the church thing. I thought I believed it all without a hint of doubt and that was enough for me. Now, I’m not so sure. Everything is up for an argument and the more I look at everything the more I realize I have no clue on any of it.

Is there a God? I don’t know and nobody else does either. Having a hunch about it isn’t proof, and nobody has proof until we die. That’s when we find out the big surprise ending if indeed there is one. Do we come back? Do we go somewhere else? Are heaven and hell real? Is this the only place life exists in a universe chock full of zillions of other planets?

I can’t even begin to think of other planets because I still haven’t come close to figuring out this tiny one we’re on - for now. Everyone who comes here eventually leaves so that’s something to think about at some point. No matter how good or bad it is at any time it’s a temporary condition and eventually we all pass on, but where do we go? I’m way curious.

Janice Olson spoke about having a near death experience during surgery and that’s what made her get into this field. She said it was a wonderful experience and that she didn’t get any negative vibes at all. I’ve had two near death car accidents and both times I had a split second of extreme clarity before impact and I didn’t feel anything negative either time.

In fact, I felt very calm both times. I thought I was about to die and in my head I was not in a panic in the least. I remember feeling a sense of anticipation, much like going up that first big hill on a rollercoaster. I didn’t know what to expect but I expected it to be a blast.

Maybe that’s all part of the mystery of life. There are so many ideas I’ve read about I’m not able to remember them all. Some people swear we picked everything about our whole life from our parents to our problems before we even get here. Is that true? Who knows?

Others say the only reason we’re here is to learn lessons. That’s a bit hard for me to buy but again, who knows? Nobody has any proof but there are hints and bits and theories and gut feelings and somewhere in all of it the real truth exists. I’m getting hungrier to find it.

This is going to have an impact on my comedy too. I’m already bringing things into the mix I’ve never come close to touching before. There’s a depth to it and I have to say I am really comfortable with it all. The masses may stare at me like a car accident but that isn’t going to stop me from bringing it up anyway. Spirituality is part of the human mystery.