Clowns have been around for a long time. According to an Israeli study, that could be why the world is so overpopulated.This study, as reported in the Israel21c Newsletter, involved a group of 186 women who were undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. Half experienced just the standard treatment and routine – while the other half experienced induced laughter due to the addition of a 15-minute clown visit.
Although clown therapy had already become quite popular since the Patch Adams movie of 1998, this was the first time that it had formally been tried in conjunction with IVF. The original goal was to simply study the effects of clown therapy upon these women’s psychological states. While this was being determined, a completely unexpected side effect emerged: 33 of the women who ‘clowned’ around became pregnant, compared to only 18 women in the control group.
This raises some interesting questions: Are happier women more fertile? Is increased fertility a sign of increased health? How closely does laughter correlate with both happiness and health? Does it also correlate with spirituality?
Native Americans have long incorporated clowns into their sacred traditions. According to Peggy Andreas, these sacred clowns were as integral to everyday culture as the chiefs, shamans and dancers. Called “crazy” (Heyoka) by the Lakota and Oglala, and “holy idiot” by the Arapaho – they were nevertheless revered.
Sacred clowns often “exposed hypocrisy and arrogance” via their “portrayals of ridiculous behavior.” They were able to express things that others didn’t dare, and people loved them for bringing these innermost thoughts and feelings to light. Perhaps this dynamic is somewhat akin to the enormous popularity (bordering on worship) of comedians like Howard Stern and George Carlin. Many have claimed that this type of in-your-face clowning gets them through the day when nothing else can.
Resources
http://www.israel21c.org/health/israeli-clown-therapy-boosts-fertility-treatment-birthrate
http://dreamflesh.com/essays/clownpath/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pochinko
Copyright February 14, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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