Daily Practice | Kurilane

Day 304

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

– Charles Dickens

Laughter makes us feel good. Even when we’re upset, a good laugh can make a big difference. It’s usually the simplest, and silliest things that make us laugh the hardest.

Like yesterday, my BFF and I were texting, and he randomly asked if I’d just said something to him because he heard a whisper in his ear – which is very interesting, because unbeknownst to him, I’m in the middle of an energy experiment to do exactly that – send a telepathic message, but that’s a post for another day once the experiment is complete.

In the meantime, I responded with “not consciously, what did I say?”

“You called me a dufus.”

We often say silly things to each other for kicks and giggles – it’s mindless amusement.

We texted back and forth a couple more times, and every time I said goodnight, he sent another text. After about four rounds, I said “now it’s conscious.”

To which, he replied by calling me a more derogatory name, in humor of course, and I burst into laughter.

Silly. Nonsensical. Utterly Joyful Rolling-On-The-Floor-Tears-Running-Down-My-Face Laughter.

Laughter is not only good for the soul, but it’s good for the health – it can soothe pain, and heal ailments.

In her book, Happy NOW!, J. Belle Ortega describes how Norman Cousins used his “laughter cure” to relieve pain caused by inflammatory arthritis. Cousins found that by laughing for ten minutes by watching Marx Brothers movies, he was able to sleep pain-free for two hours every night.

Synchronicity Snippet: I made the feature image / affirmation card a few weeks ago, and just yesterday thought I should share it today. Today, I came across this passage on laughter.

She goes on to describe the health benefits of laughter:

“We all innately know that laughing will make us feel better. If we’re laughing, we are not dwelling on depressing topics or sad memories. We may be sharing that laugh with someone we care about, meaning we are spending time with loved ones. But when we are feeling down and just plain don’t feel like laughing, it can be hard to motivate ourselves to actively seek out something to laugh at in order to naturally self-medicate like Norman Cousins.

Laughing has many documented short-term benefits. The increased oxygen intake as you laugh stimulates organs and feel-good hormones (endorphins) are released by the brain. This automatically boosts your mood, energizes circulation, and relaxes muscles, which minimizes some of the physical effects of stress. The positive thoughts stimulated by laughter cause the release of neuropeptides and boost immunity. Like Norman Cousins, you may experience pain relief. At the very least, you can get in a quick ab workout and boost your cardiovascular health!

I love that so many things that boost happiness also boost health. While you experience the joy of laughing, you are helping your body stay healthy. Many others besides Norman Cousins have attributed joy and laughter to their healing. But even if it didn’t have health effects, the immediate happiness-boosting feelings make it worth it to make time for laughing.”

Have you had a good laugh today? If not, check out an image I posted on my twitter, Instagram and Facebook earlier today. 🙂

Make laughter a daily practice, it really is good for the soul.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!