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DMT and the syntax of the common joke

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Glossolalia

Glossolalia

Rising Star
I've been making a few observations about DMT's effect on the mind.

As we know, it can induce visions, but it's not for the sake of visions that I ingest DMT. The visions, at least for me, are a synesthesiac merging of language, symbols, colors, and geometries. One of the amazing aspects is that these symbols/geometries take on a very specific form, which I believe is related to language.

While they are presented in what has the outward appearance of language, upon close inspection it seems to be syntactic communication devoid of meaning. (That is, by the way, a good definition for the term glossolalia.)

It's as if concepts and symbols and being juggled around following very specific rules (syntax) but without much regard to the overarching meaning of the message. What has come to my attention recently is the nature of some of these rules; i.e., the syntax of the DMT language.

It is my thesis that the DMT language takes on the form (sometimes) of joke motifs. What do I mean by "joke motif"? Take this as an example:

An (A) and a (B) walked into a bar. (A) told the bartender, ______. The bartender said ______. Then (A) told the bartender ______. Once again the bartended replied _______. Finally (A) told the bartender ________. The bartender said, a third time, _______!!! Just then, (B) looks confused and asks __________?
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A comedian would find this structure pleasing. The fact that (B) is mentioned and then not mentioned again until the punchline is what you could regard as a small "callback." The joke also follows the rule of three, which stretches the joke out, but for some reason we're conditioned to find the whole affair funnier when we do that dance. And of course, it has to have a punchline.

Or even simpler,

A man is trying to _____ but can't. So first he tries ____. That doesn't work because of _____. Then he tries ____. That doesn't work because of _____. Finally he tries _____. That too fails. Suddenly it hits him: " ________!"
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The rule of three is not an absolute requirement, although the repetition lends a pleasing aspect to the telling. It becomes like a dance, a cadence that lets us merrily skip through the telling.

However, one aspect of all jokes is an absolute requirement: the punchline must be a surprise. In order to find a joke funny, you must not see the punchline coming, but once you realize it, it's hilarious.

Now I'm not saying DMT presents me with a rabbi-and-a-priest-walk-into-a-bar style joke, but it does present me with an incredibly cosmic joke. The joke has a syntax; not the ones I outlined above, but just as specific.

I wish I could put the lead-up of the DMT joke into words, however, I can tell you the punchline!

When the joke unravels itself, what the entire thing was leading up to, is ... me. This reality is the punchline. I am the punchline. The joke only works when you don't see the punchline coming, so DMT places me in a frame of mind where I do not see "this" reality coming. I am so far gone that I've forgotten about planet earth entirely. I'm just gone. While I'm gone, the narrative of the syntactic joke resonates through my being.

And then it all re-integrates: the punchline of the cosmic joke is revealed. Upon a silver platter, presented before me, is all of God's creation in all of its splendor. That's usually when the tears well up in my eyes.

Peace,
Glossolalia
 
Wow! This describes very accurately how I've subconsciously felt for a while now, but only fully realized once you put it into words. Whenever I am coming down from a breakthrough and returning to consensus reality, I always break a huge smile and start to laugh, finding the whole affair rather comical yet not funny at all. It's strange. Almost as if it's the physical embodiment of the idea we know as "joke". :shock:
 
There are some interesting resonances to your thesis. Many times I have run across clown/jester type entities (the ones so commonly discussed here) and other ones that are right out of a carnival.

On various journeys I have literally had realizations and have written down, "My life is a joke," so it's fascinating that you bring this up. At the time this is a very painful realization, and I believe that a lot of this pain stems from our egos forcing us to take both ourselves and our worlds much too seriously. DMT in particular has helped loosen my tight grip on life, thus allowing me to become "more ok" with my reality being the punchline to some ultimately meaningless joke.

Do you think this joke stems from an embedded irony for those of us who believe that life is meaningless? As in, could the critical state that DMT puts us in force us to laugh (or just be gleefully surprised) at everyone who does search for a meaning and the societal forces that promote such behavior?
 
There's a theory in cognitive psychology that the experience of something being humorous is a combination of the experience of 1) forming a connection between two previously unrelated conceptual objects, and 2) the realization that the connection is nonthreatening, or actively beneficial.

If this framework for humor is accurate (and that's a big IF), it would make sense that DMT might produce an experience of hilaritiy, as the brain forms massive numbers of new connections (see the work by Carhar-Harris for more about that).

Blessings
~ND
 
Like others I know this feeling when coming back as well.

Usually I am laughing at myself for the apprehension and anxiety I felt leading up to blast off.

After my first ever psych experience with 5-MeO I was laughing at something so funny when I came back. Of course I couldn't remember what it was, but I remembered the feeling of a joke between me and the universe. What you say fits perfectly.
 
ehud said:
Usually I am laughing at myself for the apprehension and anxiety I felt leading up to blast off.
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Yes!

A common motif I have is that I am 99% free of worries, except for a few tiny concerns. One tangible concern that I can put my finger on is the minimal worry that I might clumsily drop my glass pipe in the process. More than once, as I take off, the absurdity of that concern hits me upside the head as being so hilariously naive. It's like somebody about to parachute out of an airplane being obsessed over whether or not their hair is well-combed.
 
I usually ingest dmt when I am trying to figure out or relax about life problems and on multiple occasions, I have seen clowns/jesters. They always perform a hilarious skit that shows me how miniscule my problems are, and I always come back laughing hysterically. In my experience, they are trying to teach me not to take things so seriously.
This is a very interesting topic, thank you for starting it up!
 
yes yes yes

"God has a sense of humor"

I have always liked that phrase, it speaks of the same thing IMO. (if you want to imagine, a omniscient God with a beard chuckling, oh those silly humans

Recently I was considering the 'trickster' motif as well... And that goes WAY back in religion and folklore..... comedy seems to be fundamental. Satyr, irony...

It's not just the DMT experience either. Perhaps its like a condensed version. I look back on my own life, the events, where I lead myself with my own thinking, my silly, silly thinking. Tragically hilarious. It could be a play written by Shakespeare.
 
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