'Knock, Knock'

Laughter: a double edged sword. Positive humor engenders euphoria; negative, can humiliate. Triggered by the COVID quarantine, Therapist and Author Annette Poizner revisited the sitcoms of her youth - the Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda. Looking through the lens of the ancient Kabbalah, Poizner then performed an inquiry into laughter, examining the mystical infrastructure of this every day phenomenon and getting insight into the how, why and what of funny.

Can we find the root of all humor in the 'Knock, Knock' jokes of yesteryear? Or even further back, with the 'Peekabo' we play when interacting with babies? What is the reversal that characterizes the punchline of a joke? Does that reversal correspond with other aspects of day-to-day life? Where do we go when we laugh and what can we learn from that destination - about ourselves, life and transcendence?

Reaching into mystical teachings, we will find a frame that allows us to understand Mary Tyler Moore and her unique accomplishments, as well as the women's movement and its place in the cosmic dance between Masculine and Feminine, a dance that has its origins in Genesis. The humor of a handful of funny Jews who brought Mary, Rhoda and friends to life will provide fodder, letting us analyze and access the Divinity that rests at the core of the laughter mechanism.

We'll consider how to prime that mechanism, ensuring its optimal and healthy use, reducing toxic forms of laughter and helping readers access the inner mansion, a world of unity which makes life funny - but also meaningful. In what promises to be an expose in an area of life rarely unpacked for its hidden meaning and metaphor, join the author for a look behind the screen, pun intended. What starts as a quest for euphoria leads us simultaneously on a journey to self, to the oceanic consciousness where everything connects to everything and finally, to nothing at all, your ultimate and best destination. Who knew all of this and more occurs in that ephemeral moment when a punchline does its magic.

Annette Poizner, MSW, Ed.D., RSW, is a counselor and executive coach who completed a Doctorate of Education from the University of Toronto, specializing in Counseling Psychology. Her work has been featured in dailies across Canada, in trade magazines across North America, in her blogs on Medium.com and the Times of Israel, as well as in other publications. Her other titles related to Kabbalah and psychology are The Kabbalah Caf: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Minds, and Reading the Soul: Kabbalah & the Psychology of Handwriting.

Poizner is a cofounder of the Milton H Erickson Institute of Toronto. She was the Chair and Founder of the Jewish Health Alliance, a continuing education organization which explored the connection between Jewish thought and the healing arts, for 11 years. She practices in Toronto Canada.

Her other books include: 'A Practical Summary for Using Jordan Peterson's 'Maps of...