The Healing Power of Sarcasm

Some claim that sarcasm is dangerous, that it can erode faith and perhaps even love. It is my observation that sarcasm is an indicator that something is amiss, like a warning dashboard light on your car, or a swollen lymph node indicates
an underlying unaddressed health issue.

Click Here for New Research on the Power of Snark

Psychology experts advise us to avoid or eliminate sarcasm, without providing effective strategy for quitting other than “Cold Turkey” or biting your tongue, which almost always doesn’t work. When we are sarcastic, we identify unresolved problems or resentments. To simply not voice sarcastic thoughts or words might ease social relations with others, but it does nothing towards ameliorating the underlying source of this existential acid.

This is not surprising, as it follows the same line of reasoning as the allopathic medicine model – make the symptoms go away and the disease is considered cured, even if the treatment causes other symptoms to arise. This kind of thinking is two-dimensional – black or white, without seeing the whole spectrum of color in between the two extremes.

This perspective focuses with laser-like focus on the minutiae while ignoring the Big Picture.

It is this ignoring of the Big Picture that is endemic in our paradigm. And this is the root cause of sarcasm, for sarcasm seeks to remind us that there are always other dimensions to consider in our plans and relationships.

Sarcasm alerts us to the unconsidered, the denied, the feared and the hypocritical. As such, it can be seen as an opportunity to give closer attention, to exam our motives and to enlarge our perspective. It irritates our complacency, our cowardice and our self-pity, pointing out the absurdity of the matrix of consensus reality. The most annoying thing about sarcasm is how often it proves to be true, especially when our hypocrisy is exposed.

Often, only sarcasm carries the necessary edge to cut through our self-deluded bullshit. This is why we hate it. And yet, we can learn a lot from sarcasm, if we are willing to let it diagnose the corrupting disease of conveniently limited perspective. We must be willing to listen to the warning sirens of sarcasm without taking personal offense.

Here's more research on the benefits of Sarcasm

If we are open to look where sarcasm points, instead of biting at the indicating finger, we can heed the warning that we might be taking either ourselves or the storyline of the holographic universe we inhabit (or both) too seriously.

Sarcasm is healing when it exposes corruption, egotism and cowardice. Although we might not like what sarcasm has to show us, denial of its truths will not save our planet or sustain our desired dream-state.

At the same time, we cannot allow sarcasm (or fear of it) to limit our Self-expression and exploration, but rather take it as a signal that something vital has been left out in our understanding. Just like we might not like the empty gas tank indicator lighting up on our car dashboard, this is vital information that we need and should address in a timely manner if we are to reach our intended goal.

What do you think about the healing power of sarcasm in your own life?

Return to
Province Of The Mind