Laughter is Good Medicine
A priest, a rabbit, and a minister walk into a bar. The rabbit says, “I might be a typo.” Did you laugh? Studies have shown that laughter releases endorphins that reduce pain and the symptoms of stress, can increase job performance, and connect people emotionally. In addition, laughter has a beautiful way of pulling one into the present moment, dissolving thoughts, and propelling us into a state of joyful bliss.
The NeuroLeadership Institute tells us, “Laughing swaps the cortisol in our bloodstream with highly sought-after chemicals in the brain: dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins.” Dopamine can enhance learning, motivation, and attention, oxytocin creates feelings of relatedness, and endorphins trigger feelings of pleasure.
Laughter is a great spiritual practice to balance the solemnity of our life experience as spiritual beings having a human experience. So call your funny friend, watch a funny movie or your favorite stand-up comedian, read some funny jokes, and let yourself laugh.
Or you can set a timer for sixty seconds and laugh continuously until the timer goes off. We practiced this at our gathering last Sunday, and it was beautiful. You can engage in this practice with your family and friends. I encourage you to check in with yourself before practicing – what is your mood, and what are the sensations felt in your body? Then check in again after your laugh session. Notice how a little bit of laughter transforms you. At our experiment on Sunday, we all noticed a lightness of being and a magnificent shift in the room’s energy.
You can also practice laughter with laughter yoga – it’s a thing. There are online and in-person classes available, as well as YouTube videos that will guide you in the practice of laughter. Get creative with activating joy in your life through laughter. Take giant steps or small steps with a friend, blow some bubbles, or make something else up to laugh.
Did you hear about the Buddhist monk who leaned over to another and quietly asked, “Are you not thinking what I’m not thinking?”
We are all disturbed by the Russo-Ukrainian war and the horror that war brings, and we do not forget about the suffering of the Ukrainian people. However, we can hold multiple Truths at once. We can hold and know peace for the world and at the same time take ourselves a little less seriously.
If we take ourselves too seriously, our grave and somber disposition will lead us straight into the gates of despair and depression, which is not helpful for us or the world.
Laughter is good medicine for the soul. If we can learn to laugh at ourselves, not only will we experience less stress, worry, and fear, we will never cease to be amused!
Dr. Ernest Holmes wrote, “Have the will to be well, to be happy, and to live in joy.” Happiness is your natural state, and it’s a good day to let it be present in your life.
And so it is.
