1948 - 2024
God's Pocket
An Absolute Viewer
Serendipity
Visiting The Great Physician
EJ Shares
Playing Yo-Yo With The Principle Is A NO-NO!
Practitioner Letter
Ha Ha Said The Clown
We have been talking so much about laughter lately that this line of a poem keeps coming up in my mind. I do not remember any of the other lines, but clown and laugher go well together, don't they!
Yes, laughter is in my mind and heart and I find it anywhere I go. I hear it in the happy woof woof of our dogs; I hear it in the song of the birds as I walk the early morning paths. I hear it in the vibration of every blade of grass that pops its head up from the fertile grounds of spring.
I hear it from the people I meet. I hear them talk about laughter, and how this attitude changes their lives. I enter a store and here, grabbing a hold of each other two young ladies laugh and laugh. I meet them in the next aisle, still bending their bodies in laughter. I look into their faces and think, how becoming laughter is: Their cheeks are glowing, their eyes sparkling with the bliss of a joy to which they only for this one precious moment had found a secret entrance.
I enter a little country restaurant and as always am greeted by the gently beaming Shirley. How come you are always so happy and balanced, I ask her: "I have worked on it," she replies, "but I have always believed that with humor and a positive attitude I can master any situation in my life. I know it works," she adds with a sparkle in her eyes. "When I went through a very difficult divorce, I was diagnosed with cancer and my doctor wanted to give me chemotherapy medications. I said no thank you, I get well without. He insisted strongly that I take them, until I asked him how much stock he owned from the pharmaceutical company. He laughed and let me go. This was ten years ago and I still nourish my happy attitude by watching only positive, happy shows on TV, no news!, I listen to uplifting music and have a lot of happy people as my friends."
A reporter of the National Geographic wrote an article about centenarians from around the world. He said none of them was a grump - all had a happy outlook on life.
One of the oldest documented persons in the world, a French lady, who died at the age of 122 says she attributes her longevity in a big part to her humor. "I will die laughing," she said. She did!
So, what is laughter really all about? Is it science or fiction? Well science tells us of some well researched terrific benefits of laughter: it reduces stress hormones; it increases health enhancing hormones like endorphins and neurotransmitters. Laughter increases the number of antibody producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells. A good laugh is emotionally cleansing and releasing and brings the focus away from unbeneficial attitudes, like anger and guilt. Physically it is a wonderful internal workout for the abs, the diaphragm, shoulder muscles and the heart and the benefits are the same even if at first we have to fake it until we make it! Smile!
And what about the spiritual benefits of laugher? I think that the essence of spirit is laughter and to laugh is definitely an expression of my inner reality of joy. Ah, how often have I heard about the mystics and accomplished masters of all times who burst into laughter without reason and chuckle happily to themselves. Yes, bliss is the inexhaustible laughter of heaven! And - that to me is the most important aspect of laughing - it brings me each time a bit closer to my inner heaven.
A study found that pre-school children, (still living in their inner bliss) laugh about 400 times a day, while the average adult laughs about 17 times a day.
Ha, ha, says the clown? Ha, ha says I and heaven in me opens! Join me!
I have fun being me!
—Dr Sylvia M Enz