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The Healing Power of Laughter
There is no better time to observe happiness and laughter than during the Christmas holiday season. The next time you are at the store, watch the children as they stroll by the Christmas cookies or the decoration aisle. They open up and smile with warmth and laughter. You should, too.
The holidays simply make you feel good; Christmas music piping over the speakers in stores, malls, and on the sidewalk cafes. The ringing of the charity bells outside storefronts with pots and baskets for your loving donations. The sounds in your own home during the holidays are, well, just different - they are lighter and more joyous than on an average workday.
Belly laughs are echoes of happiness. It is easy to laugh when you feel good, but when the world appears dim, that is when we need laughter the most in our lives. Our laughter resonates through our hearts, filling the empty spaces with pure, unadulterated joy. We regain our footing in the moment and remember that no sorrow is powerful enough to rob us of our inborn happiness. When we understand that uninhibited laughter is the food of the soul, nourishing us from within, we know instinctively that life is worthwhile. The holidays bring us back to this point; we need to remember to keep this in our everyday lives.
As children, we laugh hundreds of times each day, delighted by the newness of life's experiences. When we reach adulthood, however, we tend to be preoccupied with responsibility and the stresses that life can bring. We forget to let go and let out a good belly laugh. Inviting laughter back into our lives is simply a matter of making the conscious decision to laugh. Though most of us laugh only when exposed to humor or the unexpected, each of us is capable of laughing at a mere passing thought.
A laugh that comes from the belly carries with it the same positive effects whether prompted by a funny joke or simply from a simple thought. When our laughter comes from the core of our being, it permeates every cell in our body, and then, we are not merely belly laughing but body laughing. We have resonated a higher vibration throughout our entire being, and THAT my friends, is healthy.
Laughter was part of human expression long before speech. Just look at a baby! Through laughter, we communicate, and laughter allows us to enjoy positive shared experiences with everyone, strangers and loved ones alike.
When I have a wonderful thought, I laugh out loud, even if I am alone. Laughter carries with it a wealth of benefits. An energetic and enthusiastic bout of body laughter exercises your muscles, the lungs, and your mind in equal measure and at the same time, leaving you feeling more relaxed and content. When we laugh at life's absurdity instead of responding angrily, our focus shifts. Anger, stress, guilt, sadness, fear, and depression no longer dominate us, and we are empowered to make light of what we originally feared. Laughter also opens our hearts, letting love and hope in. Laughter changes our perspective, and enables us to focus our attention on what is positive in our lives.
Didn't just reading this article make you feel better? HA HA HA and HO HO HO!
Posted December 2009 | Permanent Link
Other Articles In The March Issue
- Introduction
- Healthy Feedback
- The Aspartame Train - All Aboard?
- What is a Hair Analysis?
- Child's Aspartame Case History
- Q & A with Dr. Hull
- Did You Know? About Chlorine In Splenda
- Healthy Recipes
- Big Corporations: Whose Interests Are At Heart? - Part 2
Other Articles In This Category
- What is a Hair Analysis? - March 2010
- Child's Aspartame Case History - March 2010
- Toxic Chemicals DO Affect Autism - February 2010
- I'm Nuts About Seeds - February 2010
- Equal® Case History - February 2010
