Friends! Earthlings! Humans! Who are we, how did we get into the mess we’re in, and is there any hope for us and our species? In this comic monologue, Wes Nisker explores the foolish human condition and the joys and sorrows of living in the modern age. He will reveal the secrets of anti-matter and tantric sex, explore the issues of war, species extinction and global warming, and expose the true heart of the New Age spiritual movement. Mr. Nisker places today’s headlines in the context of biological evolution and all of human history, and thereby offers us the relief and laughter that only vast perspectives can bring.

“His performance, laced with his original songs, manages to make suffering a knee-slapper. He delivers Zen zingers with Borsht Belt timing.”
New York Times

“This show is fantastic and hilarious.”
Ram Dass

“Confirming, uplifting, enlightening!”
KFOG-FM, San Francisco

“Scoop Nisker is the missing link between sit-down meditation and stand up comedy.”
Paul Krassner, editor of the Realist

“Deeply wise, wonderfully insightful, delightfully humorous.”
Utne Reader, review of Mr. Nisker’s book Crazy Wisdom

Wes “Scoop” Nisker is an author, radio commentator, Buddhist meditation teacher, and performer. His books include The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003), the newly edited version of his national bestseller, Essential Crazy Wisdom (Ten Speed Press, 2001), and Buddha’s Nature (Bantam, 1999). Mr. Nisker is also the founder and co-editor of the international Buddhist journal “Inquiring Mind.”

WHY AREN’T YOU SMILING?
A Buddhist Workshop for Cynics in Recovery
Taught by Wes Nisker

“Oh wondrous creatures,
by what strange miracle
do you so often
not smile?”
Hafiz, Sufi poet

In this daylong workshop we will make creative use of some of the most important Buddhist meditation techniques, as we explore the experience of being human. With an attitude of curiosity and playfulness, we will examine the workings of our bodies and minds, our nature "as" nature, and our place in the grand scheme of things. In the process we will hopefully find some relief from our personal dramas, and a new sense of value and meaning in our lives. The workshop sessions will include guided meditations on the life of the body; on our vital "animal" conditioning; on death and dying; on the nature of consciousness. The talks and discussions will present both traditional Buddhist views of self and reality, as well as some of the latest information from evolutionary biology and psychology to support and guide the meditations. The workshop will include plenty of poetry, and a little crazy wisdom as well.

Wes “Scoop” Nisker is a Buddhist meditation teacher, author, radio commentator, and performer. His bestselling books include Essential Crazy Wisdom, The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom, and Buddha’s Nature. He is also the founder and co-editor of the Theravada Buddhist journal “Inquiring Mind.” Mr. Nisker has studied Buddhist meditation for three decades with teachers in Asia and America, and for the past 15 years has been leading his own retreats and workshops in Buddhist insight meditation and philosophy at venues internationally. He is an affiliate teacher at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and regularly co-leads retreats with Ram Dass, Joanna Macy, and Jack Kornfield.