A few weeks of working from home had a surprising effect on me.  It wasn’t until my spouse and I had what was probably our first fight in many years that I realized how I had been relying on my commute for much of my laughter. Red light laughing wasn’t just helping to destress my commute, but was helping calm my work and home nerves as well. 

It was a hard lesson, but I knew I had to laugh more while in the house. To that end, I’ve:

Laughed during meditation - specifically at the conclusion of an audible Ohmmmmhahahaha

• Laughed in the shower (likely you’d laugh too if you were in there with me)

• Laughed when I’ve misplaced something (last night it was my glass of water)

• Continued laughing into my other foibles, mistakes, and challenges 

I also took a refresher laughter class from Sebastian Gendry at Laughter Online University. After a bit more practice I’ll do some online laughter classes for neighbors and anyone else. A friend in my AATH Humor Academy is doing just that here.

And speaking of Humor Academy, the AATH conference in May was cancelled, but there will be a virtual Humor Academy the 3rd weekend of May. I’ll be sad not to see these folks live in person, but will be happy that we’re staying healthy and alive (and we’ve been laughing online all year during our monthly meetings). Email me if you’re interested in starting level 1 and I’ll e-introduce you to the person in charge. 

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy. And if you really need another reason to laugh more, please read this article on the benefits of laughter to our respiratory systems.

Stay safe and keep laughing!

When the universe tests you - laugh

The universe likes to test you from time to time. Or maybe all the time an we only notice it when it’s a big one.  I had an unexpected test this morning going from swim class to work. There’s one left turn on the way and, depending on the time of day and weather and who knows what, you might have to sit through more than one light cycle. Sometimes more than 3 cycles. That one left turn has only one turn lane and it can be frustrating - if you’re not laughing. 

My trigger in the past was when someone intentionally decided to cut that line, and in turn, cut someone off as they were turning. When that person was me (at least 3 times), I turned into a honking hulk. Sometimes a little bit of speeding to catch up with the perpetrator and make sure they knew what they did was wrong. My rage made me need to teach them a lesson. My rage wanted to shame them. And my rage exhausted me. 

As I was doing my EMDR for many past traumas, I discovered laughter therapy (aka Laughter Yoga, aka Joyology, aka WTFL!!). In my heart, laughing and EMDR have some common thread of neutralizing negative emotion. I’d love to see more research on laughter and trauma. On his research poster for the AATH.org Humor Academy, Dr. Lee Berk indicated that “humor may attenuate negative emotions as a result of cognitive distraction.”* And I’m a believer. 

On this morning’s left turn test, someone tried to trigger me. Fortunately, they triggered my laughter. This put me in a semi-mindful state to not run into them while delivering a mindful honk, just in case they weren’t aware (but they were). I felt no need to rage. No need to speed up. No need to run them off the road. No need to teach a lesson except to laugh and to be mindful. 

The thing about tests is that they’re easier when you practice the material. Laughing becomes easier and becomes the norm when you do it even if you don’t feel like laughing. And if you really feel like crying, try the laughing-crying exercise:

Laughing-crying

1. Take a deep breath in

2. Laugh as you raise your hands above your head. 

3. Switch it to crying as you bend over in tears.

   Repeat. 

Laughter, Love, and Light to you. 

*Dr Berk’s comment relates to this research paper: “Finding comfort in a joke: consolatory effects of humor through cognitive distraction.”

Problems are like red lights

If you’re laughing at red lights, consider laughing when trouble strikes. Red lights can be just like problems.  When an obstacle presents itself, many of us react with anxiety, anger, frustration, and more. These are many of the same feelings we feel when the red light slows us from reaching out destination. 

It’s easy to beat yourself up when you make a mistake, but it feels so much better to laugh. And laughing can help you remember next time. The other day I was going to work and I forgot that same breakfast, but I didn’t realize it until I got to work. Fortunately my partner put the breakfast in the refrigerator and I could forget it again tomorrow. But I laughed when I realized I forgot it. 

The next day, on my way to a day class for work  (which completely throws off my normal schedule anyway), I left early because I learned the lesson of my previous class that leaving earlier would cut the overall trip by 20-30 min and I could eat breakfast or do some walking or working before class. Four blocks from home though, I laughed as I realized I forgot to bring the breakfast I packed. So close to home, it’s easy to turn around and get the breakfast. Laughing the day before I think helped with remembering the mistake sooner. 

Life and work present us many problems every day. How we react to it can impact how or if we learn from our mistakes. The mistakes I presented here are somewhat simple, but the lessons apply to more complex and critical mistakes. I hesitate to use term “Lean in” but that’s what I see myself doing when presented with some mistake or problem: I lean in with laughter. 

If you find yourself in an improv class. you’ll find that many celebrate failure with what is known as a failure bow. Your fellow classmates applaud as you take a bow, celebrating your mistake. Imagine your laughter is your class applauding as you accept the fact that you, as billions of other people in the world, realize you have made a mistake. 

You don’t have to do this with every mistake - though I encourage it. Try it out with easy mistakes. As with any muscle, it takes repetition to build. And as you build the muscle, it becomes easier to push harder. 

Mindfulness from intentional laughter can help break the Fight, Flight, or Freeze cycle

Fight, flight, or freeze (FFF)? Whichever one occurs, your brain triggers a release of chemicals designed to help you survive. Sometimes, especially life threatening situations, that’s a good thing. 

Out modern society though gives us many opportunities to experience FFF and those chemicals in cases that are not life threatening. Our brain hasn’t fully caught up with many of our lives. These chemicals, including including cortisol, norepinephrine, endogenous opioids, and oxytocin, can lead to chronic stress and anxiety when not used as they were intended. 

Instead of FFF, we’d like to offer another option in cases where FFF may not be appropriate - Laugh. Laughing can help to break the FFF instinctual reactions and it can help consume or neutralize those chemicals (maybe even stop there release in the first place if you are quick enough). 

Laughing in the moment of such a situation though may be challenging. Red Light Laughter is meant to help train your brain and body to be quicker to react. And for the times when you're driving when you're not able to laugh quickly, Red Light Laughter can help with mindful driving and help neutralize your emotions so you arrive at your destination refreshed. 

Check the Resources tab to learn how to do Red Light Laughter. Check the Training & education tab for other therapeutic laughter resources.

Thanks for visiting. Rah Rah ah ha ha ha!