Silly Therapy (tm)

[niffer]

You, me and we can dress Toonia's bunny up like Lagomorph. Yeah baby.

..hehehe oh yes..

 

[quietgirl]

What's the last silly thing you did?



What was the joke, Pinko?

I already told my mom the joke I'm going to (re)reveal on her death bed.

Edahn: Knock knock.
My mom: *looks puzzled*
Edahn: Say "who's there?"
Mom: Oh, sorry! "Who's there?"
Edahn: DEATH!

That reminds me of a Trigger Happy TV sketch where someone dresses up as the Grim Reaper & knocks on the doors of random people. Hilarious.

 

[Oberon]

I sang Patsy Cline’s classic “Crazy” to my children in the voice of Elmer Fudd:

Cwazy
Cwazy for feewing so wonewy...
I’m cwazy
Cwazy for feewing so bwue...

That was last week, though. I know I’ve done silly things since then.

Now I don't know about you, Edahn, but I think that's pretty silly.

 

[cascadeco]

My cousin especially (INFJ) is very serious about her relationships and about her reputation. I think the reason why serious people are serious is partly learned, and party because they need to maintain control by monitoring themselves to avoid being hurt, rejected, or embarrassed by the judgments/evaluations of others (family, friends, cohorts, lovuhs). It sucks because these people lose their spontaneity and joie de vivre in the process which makes life beautiful and satisfying. Enter Silly Therapy (tm!).

The concept behind Silly Therapy (tm). Silly Therapy (tm) is a simple technique for learning how to give up control and break free of burdensome self-monitoring.

I so need silly therapy. You have NO idea how tiresome it is to always self-monitor (or maybe you do), but I can't seem to stop doing it. I loathe that I do it, and it's not healthy for my body/spirit either.

But anyway, at times I can be quite silly - around my parents or my brother. My brother and I 'escaped' into silliness as kids. We had imaginary characters, although my brothers' were the most developed, and he was way better at it than I. So he'd be the character, and I'd just play along with it and interact with the imaginary character, because my characters were lame - at least compared to the one that he perfected.

These days we just make up silly 'dances'. For example, the hopping on one foot with crazed look on face dance. Or the carriage-driving dance (i.e. 1800's style, sitting in a buggy, with the whip to get the horses to start moving). Etc. They're quite silly, and we look like total fools and the biggest geeks doing it -- but it's fun. At my most silly I'll prance around the apartment doing my little jigs. Or I might randomly go 'Mooo..' like a cow - stuff like that - I have no idea why - just to be silly, I suppose.

Then last night I got to be a kid again with a grin on my face while I watched 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' on tv and cooed at the cute little animal characters.

 

[file cabinet]

I do sort of agree with the original sentiment of this thread. in my own experience I felt like I explored an element of 'silliness' (electronica-dancing-drugs-alcohol) and that it has probably benefited to me. Originally I felt awkward or extremely self-concious trying to dance. Eventually I moved passed the awkwardness and reached a point of comfort in it. I'd say this kind of silliness is best shared with other people.
what have anyone elses experiences been with dancing (if any)?

 

[wolfmaiden14]

I've always danced. That's usually how I retreated into my head, pretended I was dancing with someone or on stage performing to the radio. So I never really got that self conscious about dancing in front of people. Most don't pay attention to you anyway. School dances, I'd move to a corner so I had enough room to bounce around, and now I go to con raves and it's a whole lot of fun.

 

[cascadeco]

I think with dancing it helped that as a child I took dance classes and was pretty into it, so I wasn't ever insecure about my rhythm or anything like that.

I did a lot of dancing in college, and I LOVED it. I couldn't get enough of it, and every weekend for a couple of years I'd go out dancing. The only time I'd be uncomfortable was when I was one of the only people on the dancefloor; then I'd be really self-conscious. But otherwise if there's a decent amt of people out there, I'm fine.

I don't have any friends anymore who enjoy dancing, so I haven't done club-type dancing for a while. I rather miss it. It's probably mostly an age thing now...many people my age have families by now, and last year when I did go dancing, I felt almost 'too old'. Most people were a good 5 years younger than me, so I felt out of place.

 

[Jae Rae]

I love to go to kid parties like Bat Mitzvahs and do the YMCA song - talk about silly. Even the hokey-pokey! The Electric Slide is also fun. And dancing to 60s music or disco hits (think Donna Summer) is the best. Don't be smooth, let it all hang out.

Jae Rae

 

[Oberon]

Even the hokey-pokey!

You know, the guy who wrote that song died a few years ago. The funeral home guys had a terrible time getting him into the casket.

They put his right foot in, they took his right foot out...

Well, you get the idea.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I so need silly therapy. You have NO idea how tiresome it is to always self-monitor (or maybe you do), but I can't seem to stop doing it. I loathe that I do it, and it's not healthy for my body/spirit either.

I hadn't realized the OP referred to INFJs. I think that type can be too serious. I know I am much of the time. I am pretty silly in private, and actually kinda weird. Publically I am serious with an occasional, unexpected ridiculous behavior that shocks everyone. That is what makes being serious deliciously fun. There is nothing I enjoy more than letting people put me in a box only to pop out the moment they think they have me figured out.

 

[wolfmaiden14]

Publically I am serious with an occasional, unexpected ridiculous behavior that shocks everyone. That is what makes being serious deliciously fun. There is nothing I enjoy more than letting people put me in a box only to pop out the moment they think they have me figured out.

There's nothing better than showing people they've underestimated you.

 

[Domino]

An ESFP that I'm good friends with practically makes it his life goal to be a complete and total ass. I think one of my favorites is when he ran around jumping on chairs as a demented captain planet wearing a pair of tightie whities on the outside of his clothes and purple marker smeared all over his face.

LOL -- ESFPs, man. They really cut loose.

LOL @ Toonia's rabbit suit!!

 

[quietgirl]

I've always danced. That's usually how I retreated into my head, pretended I was dancing with someone or on stage performing to the radio. So I never really got that self conscious about dancing in front of people. Most don't pay attention to you anyway. School dances, I'd move to a corner so I had enough room to bounce around, and now I go to con raves and it's a whole lot of fun.

I looooove dancing. Sometimes, I feel a LITTLE self conscious, but the more I'm dancing the less self conscious I feel. If I'm in the corner, I kinda start bopping around... but then I eventually want to go on the dance floor and let loose. haha. I actually have the most dancing fun with my INFP cousin. We're kinda quiet at first... slowly start bopping around near the wall... and then we just go on the dance floor & go nuts.

 

[booyalab]

Disagreed! If you're practicing controlled silliness, it's tricky. But if you really let yourself go, you can absolutely change your mindset. The physical actions are just vehicles to help you let go.

So you didn't disagree with me. It starts with an open mind towards silliness, not doing silly things.



What makes silliness so much better than seriousness?


p.s. here's my contribution, picture-wise. I think this was taken a year or two ago. I'm not sure what I was saying, but I have a belt around my neck and that's the important thing.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

So you didn't disagree with me. It starts with an open mind towards silliness, not doing silly things.

Eh... being silly is a way to open your mind up. It's a way to build momentum, even if you're forcing it, that will eventually tear you apart from the non-stop judging of yourself, and of other. What sucks about seriousness (which as I see it, is mostly a result of judgments and self-consciousness) is most apparent when you actually stop judging things and yourself. Things become alive; you're able to express yourself fully and joyfully. You can see things more realistically when they're freed of your judgments, like other people and their worth, which is usually diluted by judgments and evaluations. It's a lot like turning yourself into a piece of music or a painting, where you seem to flow effortlessly with the beat of life, moment-by-moment, instead of hiding from it from fear of rejection. A great example is to think of some time you thought something bad was going to happen, got really awkward, and then suddenly released all that tension. I think about meeting someone I like and getting all awkward trying to maintain the flow of conversation, and then realizing they've got a boyfriend. There's a sudden release of anxiety that results in massive amounts of genuineness, self-love, and surprisingly (or not so much), empathy (in my experience). I know you're more confident in romantic situations than I am, so you'll have to find an equivalent mental laxative.

What makes silliness so much better than seriousness?

Eh, being silly is a way to open up -- just kidding. (See above.) The basic reason is that it promotes contentment (through genuineness, art, and self-love), friendship (through empathy), and wisdom (through non-distortion). I suppose the common denominator is intimacy (with self, others, and environment/nature). Judgments that are confused with reality only lead to distortion as they are absolutely 100% NOT REAL. There is no particle in the universe called good or evil, or sweet and mean. They're all projected from our minds. From what I recall, you're a moral objectivist, so we may butt heads here.

p.s. here's my contribution, picture-wise. I think this was taken a year or two ago. I'm not sure what I was saying, but I have a belt around my neck and that's the important thing.

Cute.

(P.S. That's not silly. )

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

I looooove dancing. Sometimes, I feel a LITTLE self conscious, but the more I'm dancing the less self conscious I feel. If I'm in the corner, I kinda start bopping around... but then I eventually want to go on the dance floor and let loose. haha. I actually have the most dancing fun with my INFP cousin. We're kinda quiet at first... slowly start bopping around near the wall... and then we just go on the dance floor & go nuts.

I love dancing too! It's a chore if I'm trying to appear to be a good dancer or get close to my date, but it's SUCH A BLAST when you just don't give a shit. It makes me beam.

 

[Oberon]

There's nothing better than showing people they've underestimated you.

Yes, actually... but only one.

That is showing people they've underestimated you, but when it's too late for the information to be useful to them and you've already won.

 

[booyalab]

(P.S. That's not silly. )

It is if I say it is, right?

Anyways, my picture is vastly superior to anything else that's been posted. Probably on the whole site.

 

[Forfe]

Anyways, my picture is vastly superior to anything else that's been posted. Probably on the whole site.

I beg to differ. Shameless repost from the picture thread aside, this is me being a little silly:



I let it out in tiny bursts though, I'm not nearly silly enough. Definitely gonna look into that 3-step program of yours.

On a related note, how about expanding it to a 12-step, similar to another certain reformation program.... Just making a very rough draft here:

#1: We admitted we were powerless over our own seriousness—that our lives had become unmanageable.
#2: Came to believe that a Power sillier than ourselves could restore us to insanity.
#3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our favourite silly friend as we understood Him (or Her).
#4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
#5: Admitted to our cat, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our insecurities.
#6: Were entirely ready to remove all these defects of character.
#7: Humbly asked aforementioned friend to help us remove our shortcomings.
#8: Made a list of all persons we had been serious with, and became willing to play practical jokes on them all.
#9: Made such people laugh both at and with you wherever possible, except when to do so - no, wait, without exception.
#10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were too serious promptly proceeded to sing Scissor Sisters' "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" in class or at work.
#11: Sought through silliness and raging extravagance to improve our conscious interaction with life as we understood it, only for knowledge of how to lighten up the very dreariest of situations, and the power to carry that out.
#12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other uptight, boring or otherwise overly serious people, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

 

[Domino]

Why is someone strangling Boo with a belt? This causes concerns of impending abrupt mortality.