Friday, September 17, 2010

Gibberish and My Opera Debut

Have I told you yet about speaking gibberish? That's right, babbling nonsensical syllables. (Fibbu la dempo zee diligoo swarfles!)

Gibberish is... well, gibberish is a gateway to bliss, if you ask me! Ha ha!

However, I must admit that when I first heard about gibberish during my initial Laughter Yoga leader training, I was skeptical. The thought of babbling nonsense made me cringe, in fact! We did an exercise in which we practiced speaking gibberish, and when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out!

It turns out that language is typically associated with the left hemisphere of our brain, and so when we speak words, the sounds must first be generated in that part of the brain (called the "Broca's Area" of the left frontal lobe) that recalls grammar and vocabulary.

So what happens when we try to speak gibberish? We are employing the physical mechanisms of speech, using the vocal cords and mouth, but bypassing the language center of the brain. I don't know the precise physiology of the process, but I can speak from experience when I say that speaking nonsensical syllables somehow releases the grip of the left-brain on one's life, and opens up the creative, intuitive spontaneous flow of the right-brain experience! I would even go so far as to say that gibberish is a tool that can unlock a whole new perspective on life. But don't take my word for it; try it for yourself!

At first, I had difficulty creating gibberish syllables. The left brain had a fairly firm grip on my speech habits, as it does for most of us, I think. My solution was to pay closer attention to my toddler son, Cedar, who was 20 months old at the time.

"A goh dully godully goh," he said. I repeated it.

He continued. "Mek. Boo. Weh."

Got it. I was getting the hang of this. Before long, I was able to utter a few syllables, and then the flood gates opened: "A goo dully wempo la skoovitty bee!" Hey, that felt really good on the tongue!

Still, when my Laughter Yoga instructor shared that she'd had an "all-gibberish" birthday party, in which only gibberish was allowed for the entire evening, I must confess I didn't really get it. You wouldn't know what anyone was saying! What would be fun about that? I wondered.

Fast forward to Albuquerque and my week of Laughter Yoga teacher training. Gibberish prevailed! We had gibberish dialogues and group gibberish discussions and even a bit of formal instruction. Oh, this was getting fun.

There was one classmate, however, for whom gibberish seemed completely inaccessible. Working in a very left-brain dominant career by day, Joel had never been able to release the hold that the left brain had on his speech, and so no sounds came out whenever he tried to speak gibberish. I could relate!

One day during a break, I walked past him in the hall and heard that he was singing a little vocal warmup arpeggio, "Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Always eager to sing with people, I joined in. As we got to talking about the fun of singing "ha ha ha" as a warmup for a laughter session, it occurred to me -- hey! Why not try singing gibberish syllables? Singing is a right brain activity, so perhaps that would break through the hold of the left brain...?

I started singing some gibberish and invited Joel to join. Lo and behold, it worked! Nonsense syllables began to flow from his mouth--voila! In the giddiness of this discovery, we broke into song and sang an impromptu gibberish duet. Ohh, it was fun. After a few more rounds, we decided to add our new act to the upcoming Talent Night roster.

And so it was that I had, at last, my operatic debut. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present: Gibberish Opera!



Joel and I performed a glorious gibberish rendition of La donna รจ mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto. I am not kidding when I tell you that I have never had so much fun in my entire life! Gibberish opera! I've found my calling! HA HA HA HA HA!



As it turned out, we also had the privilege of attending an All-Gibberish party being held in the next room as part of the Laughter Yoga Conference. Imagine, if you can, seventy five people (many in costume) speaking only gibberish and gesticulating wildly. (I was about to write that there are no words to describe this effect, but... that's kind of the point, isn't it! HA HA HA!) It was just magical, really. When we left the room and returned to the realm of "normal" speech, I felt oddly stiff and somehow deprived. I would have much preferred to speak gibberish the whole night!

Gibberish is quite the fascinating phenomenon, I've discovered. It requires one to be so much more emotive than when we use traditional words, and so there's more intonation, facial cues, and body language through which to express oneself. In addition, it is a more spontaneous form of expression than language, in that you can't plan ahead what you are going to say! You just open your mouth and see what comes out. In this sense it anchors you firmly into the Now, the absolute present moment, and thus gibberish becomes a form of active meditation.

How to bypass the thinking mind? Speak gibberish.

How to be completely present in this moment? Speak gibberish.

How to access the depths of joy within yourself? Speak gibberish.

Really!

I might also add that gibberish has one more very practical benefit: it is a very effective telemarketer deterrent! HA HA HA!

Last month while visiting my parents, the phone rang and the caller ID indicated that it was a telemarketer. My mom groaned. I said "no problem! I'll take care of it!" I picked up the phone and answered "Kerflooga femzy? La skoo! Shaylu va bimitty jugalo vwem, sha lemti koshoo gwa mentwuffle ess toop!" And on and on and on. I am pretty sure that they won't call back. HA!

As for me, I am now in a perpetual search for opportunities to sing gibberish harmony! Shemphoo lee portemmo gla moo vwenda lim, cha logotu dimfle, la shwendula vim!

Who's in?

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