Let’s All Agree with Mae West.
There is nothing like a good laugh to make you feel good. Or better. Or great. I am sure you have had this wonderful experience many times during your life. Suddenly, the room is brighter. You feel more comfortable. You have more energy and are relaxed.
The hilarious laughter in “I Love Lucy”, the longest running television show in history, is a force that can help us all today. That force is humor!
We have all heard the instructions – “Tell a joke to break the ice.” “Be funny and everyone will like you.” These do seem to be true. Yes, humor and optimism are great qualities to have. People love it. You can also learn to love yourself with your own humor.
When you step back with “The Wellness Agenda™”, do Breakthrough Breathing™ and become a bit more detached to allow yourself to see a new perspective, the humor in a situation can become obvious. What was first thought of as horrible can become humorous and even down right funny.
Each one of us has the ability to amuse ourselves. Happiness is something that is particular to you. The rain makes you happy while your best friend likes the snow. You love a good movie while your father luxuriates in reading a book and your child loves video games. This is what makes the world go round. Think about a few things that make you happy.
Making yourself happy is psychologically and even physically important.
The link between the body and emotions is definite. Just think of the possibilities that positive emotions can have for the body! I hope that by just thinking this wonderful thought, you are smiling a nice big smile. By merely smiling you are making a great deal of good for yourself.
In 1979 Norman Cousins wrote in his brilliantly pioneering book, “Anatomy of an Illness” that…”there is physiologic basis for the ancient theory that laughter is good medicine.” “What was significant about the laughter, I said, was not just the fact that it provides internal exercise for a person flat on his or her back – a form of jogging for the innards – but that it creates a mood in which the other positive emotions can be put to work too. In short, it helps make it possible for good things to happen.”
Endorphins are hormonal compounds produced in the brain which work like a relaxant or anesthesia. More are produced when you are feeling happy. The more endorphins, the happier you feel. You, yourself, know that you feel better after a good laugh.
You have to breathe deeply and correctly as in Breakthrough Breathing™ to have a good laugh. More oxygen enters your body. This form of stress reduction is as natural as a a good breath. Even if your ribs are splitting and your stomach is aching, you feel great.
The intensity of the moment, the release of tension and your own biochemical response move you into a greater level of joy, even peace.
Yes, just think of it. This is no joke or maybe it is the biggest joke of all – that after so much serious investigation and commentary and analysis, the old folk adage of “Just relax and enjoy yourself” is true!
The New York Times Health page (D5) had a short article about this on the 24th of April 2012. Under the title “Really?” the claim that “Optimism reduces the risk of heart disease” was validated. “Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health…Researchers at Harvard…found that traits like optimism and hope, and higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with one’s life, were linked with reductions in the risk of heart disease and stroke.”
Laughing your way to a loving relationship is easy. Laughing your way to help your own healing is something you can do. As you grow older, don’t retire your sense of humor. The positive power of humor is no laughing matter. Laughing really does matter, a lot.
Fun, enjoyment and a good laugh are becoming scientifically recognized as crucial for recovery and health. Finally science is catching up with what we all sensed and our intuition told us.
The pleasure principle is wonderful and should be indulged in. Creative Concentration™ and meditation can help intensify this experience for you!
Humor and optimism really do help us. They enliven the body and soul. Positive emotions are life empowering experiences. These affirmative emotions truly benefit us. They are healing in the deepest sense of the word. They rejuvenate our body, mind and spirit. They aid in a recovery from an illness and are part of preventive medicine. They also make for a happier – and possibly even longer – life.
As the great comedienne Mae West, said “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” Let us all agree with her for this is certainly true for humor and optimism.