Smiles, Joy and Wonder

emotional intelligence , emotion
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Bringing joy for others is my thing. From my eulogy - Igor lived to see eyes go wide and mouths gape with wonder. Igor especially loved it when strangers got drawn in against their inner objections, or when a kid having a meltdown, or a grown up looking miserable, forgot their troubles.

Completed Projects

Magic

Straight from my eulogy:

Making cards change colors at a spectators command or passing coins through a spectator’s hand – Igor lived to see eyes go wide and mouths gape with wonder. Igor especially loved it when strangers got drawn in against their inner objections, or when a kid having a meltdown, or a grown up looking miserable, forgot their troubles. Once Igor learned magic, that consumed his free time and became his favorite tool.

Smile Startup

Juggling Fire

My well worn Juggling fire:

Bubble Bike

See my family journal about the [Bubble Bike](https://idvork.in/ig66/583.:

Also

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Ballooning

My early ballooning adventures:

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Chocolate Balls and Bells

  • Giving out chocolate balls
  • Giving out bells

Theory

Attributes of Joy

Joy is an involuntary experience that acts on you. You can be more receptive to joy, but even when you’re not you can experience joy against your will.

Increasing the receptivity to Joy

TODO Use Lens of Self/Other/Process

Safety the precondition for Joy

  • Don’t want to look stupid
    • Think about teenagers wanting to look cool
    • This is why sing in the shower
  • Don’t want to be ripped off
    • Is this a conn?
    • What’s your angle for doing this?

  • You can increase someones comfort by getting validation from others

    • Someone else doing it before you
    • Reassure person
    • Smile
    • Start with a small commitment
  • Performers spend lots of time building the first follower
  • The most important guy is The First Follower

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Build rapport to make people feel safe

Check out the the like switch to see how an FBI agent builds rapport and makes peope feel safe.

Also look at notes from Avner class - who was all about building rapport with a stage audience

Why kids are more receptive to Joy

  • Thing are more novel
  • Naturally feel safe
  • Less need for validation of peers
  • Except things to be wholesome and good

Other things to file

  • Concerts
  • Figgie Pudding
  • Christmas Carols
  • Can’t help yourself but to sing along

Joy and Wonder

  • Some connection between joy and wonder
  • Some say when you clear your mind you feel joy (or bliss)

Joy and Overwhelming kindness from a stranger

If a stranger does something really kind for you unexpectantly, that’s kind of like joy

Joy versus pleasure

Pleasure is the release of tension. The going from anticipation of something positive to getting it. Eating chocolate cake, orgasm, getting to pee when you have to go. Eating a very tasty cake. Joy isn’t like that.

Things that bring most people joy

  • Babies (especially smiling, or holding your finger)
  • Baby Animals
  • Bubbles
  • Reacting to a smile
  • Beautiful singing
  • Singing out loud
  • Christmas Carols
  • Dancing

Manipulation vs Augmenting Experiences

This is especially relevant to magic. I think this depends on intent.

Many techniques in magic are around managing attention and molding the experience. You could look at these as manipulative. The test for manipulation vs augmenting experiences, is the intent. If the intent is personal gain it’s manipulative, if the intent is the experience of the spectator it’s master.

It is not manipulation if your intent is bring the other person pleasure.

It is manipulation if your intent is to take advantage of the other person.

Imbalance of Impact

Often the impact of magic (or Joy) can be intense, especially relative to the act.

I need more thinking here but something like.

  • Measure happiness in Moodles (Mu) see discussion in happy.
  • People have a happiness set point (SP) So
    • Default Happiness = SP
  • Doing something wonder/joy isn’t additive, it pushes someone to just above their SP, say SP+K.
    • Before - Happiness = Z
    • After - Happiness = SP+K
  • If the person is already close their set point, they don’t move their happiness much e.g:
    • Before - Happiness = SP
    • After - Happiness = SP+K
    • Delta Happy = (SP+K) - SP) = K
  • If the person is depressed, say half their set point, then the impact is huge:
    • Before - Happiness = SP/2
    • After - Happiness = SP+K
    • Delta Happy = (SP+K) - (SP/2) = SP/2+K (!!!!)

Future Projects

Here are some projects I’d love to get into

Smile box

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Bubble Show

Put on a magic show

Put on a kids birthday party

Crazy Dream Projects

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually get around to doing these.

Become an executive producer for shows

Own a vaudiville theatre