Is there anything better than sarcasm?

(See?! I’m diving right in!)

Yes, that first remark was sarcastic. And it was fun. (At least, for me.)

For those of you who are not (yet) amused, hear me out.

Of course there are things better than sarcasm.

Like sunsets. And the purr of a cat. And cats who purr when they see a sunset.

It’s not like sarcasm is really the best thing ever.

But sarcasm can have its place in spiritual practice.

I was first alerted to this idea by a woman who told me that when she’s out driving, and other drivers make her mad, she’ll say I forgive you in a totally sarcastic voice.

She said that, surprisingly enough, this totally works.

Even though she’s not opening her heart chakra and chanting Namaste in a super earnest tone, her snarky expression of forgiveness still manages to shift her energy in a positive way.

How cool is that?! (And no, I’m not being sarcastic when I say that!)

A few years ago, Melissa and I had an experience that perfectly illustrates the Hidden Ninja Power of Sarcasm.

We were on our way to visit Melissa’s mom Connie at a rehabilitation facility and we were bringing our dinners with us. There was only one extra chair in the room at the facility, and given that we were going to need an extra chair to sit and eat our meals, we started joking that Connie’s roommate would surely bring us a chair.

This was said with great sarcasm, as Connie’s roommate was a woman who, thus far, had always greeted us with a scowl. In fact, she had yet to speak one word to us in all the weeks we had been visiting.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, Connie’s roommate not only perked up with a big smile when we arrived, she noticed we had brought our meals and asked if we would like to borrow her chair.

We could hardly believe our eyes. And ears.

And yet, we were not totally surprised.

Melissa and I know the power of language. And thought. And we had certainly paved the way for what had happened, even though it was offered in a sarcastic manner.

This is not to say that sarcasm can’t be hurtful, especially when it’s used as a way to close your heart in response to a heart-opening possibility. Sarcasm can certainly be a flow-blocking, namaste-shrinking tool.

But it also has its place.

In both examples I gave, sarcasm was used as a way to shift in a more positive direction. Even though the tone was sarcastic, the words were not.

Sometimes, jumping right into a full-on, heart-blasted-open response is too far to go.

In times like that, you may want to employ the Hidden Ninja Tool of Sarcasm.

As a extra bonus to this week’s post, I’m including one of our Joy Jams videos, which is about how to turn your Road Rage into Road Rapture. The short video offers 3 different ways to do this, one of which includes sarcasm. Check it out!

How do you employ sarcasm in your spiritual practice? Share your comments below!

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