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Sacred Guru, Sacred Clown
"If the Fool Persists in Her Folly, She Becomes Wise" ~William Blake
Who is the Sacred Guru?
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A Sacred Guru is an intellectual and/or spiritual teacher who counsels and advises others to achieve deeper meaning in their lives. The Guru's role is to provide others with important, philosophical teachings and mentorship. Ideally, he/she is wise, conscientious, knowledgeable, and honest. The Guru may advocate traditional spiritual philosophies and rhetoric, or they may espouse their own cultivated beliefs and teachings. Ultimately, a Guru will guide you on your path and empower you to become a self-sufficient, content person with strong moral beliefs and a desire to cultivate inner peace while doing good in the world.
Who is the Sacred Clown?
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A Sacred Clown is an intellectual and or spiritual person whose job in life is to reflect back to the world the absurdity of life. They use humor and satire to poke fun at people in order to get them to witness themselves and to change their ways. They teach people to see beyond the literalness of rituals and roles and to dive deeper into the mysteries of the sacred.
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Traditionally, they were trusted healers, interpreters of dreams, and people of great medicine. In indigenous Native American society, Sacred Clowns acted in ridiculous, obscene, and comical ways, especially during sacred ceremonies. They were thought to be fearless and painless and often dressed in bizarre and ludicrous manners. Yet, Sacred Clowns were highly respected, initiated people of great insight, wisdom, and radical intelligence.
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Perhaps, one could conclude that sacred gurus and sacred clowns are one in the same- exceptional, brave heroes and tragic characters aspiring to act in accordance with their highest sense of truth and integrity. Living by example and paving the way to new frontiers, they walk the road less traveled and follow their own inner heart-star compass.
Jesus and Buddha- Sacred Gurus
Jesus: "Ok Buddha, let's get this straight. Are you saying that we have the same holiness status as that Heyoka below?"
Buddha: "Yes JC, apparently so. This clown seems like the real deal to me despite her attire."
Jesus: "Well, that clown has a hell of a lot of guts! She also has wisdom, speaks the truth, and is a bit childish and cheeky too.!"
Buddha: "I agree! I just wish she would take things more seriously... She's always playing the fool!'
Jesus: "I have a feeling that that's her point... You know we tend to get hung up on the "suffering" thing. Maybe the clown is on to something."
Buddha: "Yes, perhaps when we truly let go of our attachments, we are liberated to the realms of the universal sacred clown. Perhaps it is THAT easy after-all!'
Heyoka- Sacred Clown of the Lakota People
The clown wearing the red nose represents the idea that when we become too identified with our personas, our experiences, and our stories, we can become overly attached and serious. We become heavy, weighed down, and armored in our constructs.
So what to do? Let yourself be serious about not becoming serious. Let yourself be something important and something ridiculous at the same time! Build yourself a strong foundation through your spiritual practices and let one of them be the practice of laughing and crying at the same time!
The sacred clown is not there to poke fun at any of this but rather to remind us to lighten up, dance in the face of change and let go of our need to control. The ability to laugh at ourselves and our foibles is a high-level spiritual practice.
"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness." Aristotle
Have the strength of a great warrior and the wisdom of a great guru while seeing life through the eyes of the innocent child. Understand the importance of balance and that we are always both tragic and comic, serious and playful, wounded and healed,
Sacred Clown Messages:
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"We are reflections of each other. When we begin to take ourselves too seriously, there is the clown to give us a laugh! When we become too heavy with self-importance, there is the clown to knock some of that load away and lighten us up! Peggy Andreas
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"Do something backward, turn it inside out. Destroy your own definitions and traditions and suddenly the barrier breaks! We destroy the illusion of our separateness, our brokenness, and the world as we know it when we stand on our heads. The clown will help you let the new in.” Barbara Dametto
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"Clowns are dangerous to tyrants and exploiters because they are so disorganized and so completely honest. They have the eyes of a child, and the minds of a wise guru, and because of this, they can spot a phony a mile away. They are sometimes called, “destroyers of heroes.” Peggy Andreas
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"You know when you're onto something real when not acting on it seems unimaginable." Barbara Dametto
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"The power of the Void is in us all, it's the power of true creativity. Being open is sometimes regarded as a weakness, but the sacred clown gives us this paradox: The weakest can be the most powerful. The dumbest can be the wisest." P. A.
“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.” Charlie Chaplin
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