A Little Laughter Goes a Long Way

"Laughter is not just to be seen as a therapy, but as a way of life."

Have you ever met someone who was a beaming light of joy? My mother, Marion Jane Oneaka, was one of those people.  She loved to sing, tell jokes, tease my friends and her laugh you could hear blocks away.  I never worried about finding her in a crowded room, just had to stand still and wait for the laugh.  It was like a joyous laser cutting through the ongoing din of compressed sound.  Her energy didn't just make those around her smile, it allowed them to loosen up, get out of their stuffy identities, relax, and become a little more goofy.  This is what I call therapy.  That healing power that she was gifted with is within everyone's reach. It is the healing power of laughter.

'If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it..." Thich Nhat Hanh

Laughter has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, increase muscle flexion, boost immune function, trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produce a general sense of well-being.  And if that is not enough there is laugh therapy used in many different settings from hospitals as a supplement to regular treatments, to businesses, and schools as a way to discuss things that normally would be difficult.  There is even a Ha Ha Institute, dedicated to teaching people to approach life with a sense of laughter.

What they all have in common is taking a lighter approach to living which gives people access to spontaneous joy.  I remember when my girlfriends and I would "fake laugh" until we actually were laughing.  Sometimes laughing so hard we would pee our pants.  Ha ha ha ha, Hee hee hee hee, Hi hi hi hi hi,  Ho ho ho ho,  Hu hu hu hu.  Try this for five to 10 minutes and tell me if you are not just falling apart laughing at the end of it. This technique is also known as the Laughing Meditation and can be practiced upon waking, or anytime you need a feel-good boost.

This of course appeals to me since anyone that knows me, knows that my absolute favorite thing to do is to laugh.  I really can find the humor in anything.  As my friend Johnny B, loves to say, "You Romanians would kill your grandfather for a good joke."....Well, maybe not, but pretty darn close.  What feels better than laughter?  Anything?  Not in my book.  Spending my life playing, creating and traveling with musicians, who I think are the funniest people on the planet,  was something that was a part of my daily life for 40 years.  As a performer, I understood and still do that the ending is always the most important part. You have to leave them with your best material. Even if you bombed in the beginning of the set, if you leave them laughing in the end, that's what they will remember.

"Treat everyone you meet like God in drag...." "The game is not about becoming somebody, it's about becoming nobody...." (Humorous quotes by Ram Dass)

But now that I have switched gears from musician to sometime teacher to doing healing work, it seems, that the seriousness of what is at stake seems to take over, not to mention how sacred the work is supposed to be.  I have been comparing how I approach this work alongside the people I admire most and  have to say that I am having trouble with the more somber/sacred approach as it just isn't well, fun.  I never want to be disrespectful in my work but if I know anything, I know that the Great Creator, has an amazing sense of humor. C'mon, just creating the human race, is pretty darn funny.  Forget the giraffe, hippopotamus and the looney bird, we humans are a slam dunk when it comes to funny behavior.  But who else in their spiritual teachings is full of humor?  And just how funny is this world of healing, spirituality and even religion?    

That would bring me to the enlightened and joy filled Dalai Lama.  The Dalai Lama, maintains a message of peace, love, compassion and understanding with a self-effacing dose of humor.  He is even a little goofy - especially if it helps get his point across.  He makes frequent references to his age, 77, and laughs at his own jokes, many times needing prodding to keep his answers focused, which does not come naturally to the man known around the world for his thoughtful wisdom.  The audience seems to most enjoy the times he lays both hands on his stomach and belly laughs; or slaps his knee and throwing his head back in a wide-mouthed, frozen-in-time chuckle.  He says repeatedly that greater peace can be achieved by finding inner peace.  A peaceful mind and body promote health and happiness.  "It's our duty as human beings to help one another, Your happiness is my happiness.  Your unhappiness is my unhappiness."

"In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight." (Humorous quote by Ram  Dass)

But let's not forget the Saints, Rabbi's, Buddha and numerous sacred teachings, not only in spirituality but in religion.  As a matter of fact there is a funny quote defining the two.  "Religion is for people that believe in hell.  Spirituality is for people that have been there."  Humor has often been the vehicle for teaching the spiritual and/or religious message.    In the third century, St. Lawrence was burned to death on a gridiron over hot coals and called out to his executioners in Latin, "Turn me over and take a bite, I'm done on this side." Or St. Augustine who famously prayed, "Lord give me chastity...but not yet."  Consider John the 23rd, who was pope from 1958 until 1963. His most famous joke came when a journalist innocently asked him, 'Your Holiness, how many people work in the Vatican?' And he said, 'Ah, about half of them.'  Or A guy goes to a Jesuit Priest, knocks on the door, the Jesuit answers, the guy says, "Will you say a rosary for me for my intention?" Franciscan says "Sure, what's your intention?" Guy says, "I want a Lexus." And the Franciscan says, "What's a Lexus?" And the guy says, "Well forget it, I'll go to another church." Goes to the Jesuit church, knocks on the door, a Jesuit opens up and he says, "Father before I ask you something, can you tell me, do you know what a Lexus is?" And the Jesuit says "Sure, top of the line car. A lot of my parishioners drive it." He says "I want one." Jesuit says, "I don't blame you." He says, "Will you say a rosary that I get one?" The Jesuit says, "Sure...what's a rosary?"

 In a perfect world Monty Python teaching Taoism? I say, we can only hope.

I can't think of anything more powerful for the healing of not only ourselves but the planet than laughter.  Laughter, joy, happiness  all releasing stress, diminishing fears and allowing us to drop our guard and see how truly connected we are.  With laughter, we are no longer strangers but a group of people who have shared joy seeing how much we are all the same. In a perfect world Monty Python teaching Taoism?  I say, we can only hope.

And just because we need it after these stressful weeks, I will leave you with a good chuckle so you can take your mind off of everything you have to do or worry about who is doing what......A lady goes to see Rabbi one day and tells him, "Rabbi, I have a problem. I have two female parrots, but they only know how to say one thing." "What do they say?" the Rabbi inquired. "They say, 'Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?' Isn't that awful?" the woman laments. "That's obscene!" the Rabbi exclaimed. Then he thought for a moment. "You know," he said, "I may have a solution to your problem. I have two male parrots who talk, and I have taught them to pray and read the Torah. Bring your two parrots over to my house, and we'll put them in the cage with Francis and Job. My parrots can teach your parrots to praise and worship God, and your parrots are sure to stop saying... that... that indecent phrase...in no time." "Thank you," the woman responded, "this may very well be the solution!"  The next day, the woman brought her female parrots to the Rabbi's house. As he ushered the woman in, she saw that his two male parrots were inside their cage, holding the Torah and actually praying, their pious little faces upturned toward heaven with beaks moving slightly as they prayed intently to the the Almighty. Very impressed, the woman walked over and placed her parrots inside the cage with these very devout parrots. After a few minutes, sure enough, the female parrots cried out in unison: "Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?" A long moment of silence ensued. Shocked, one male parrot looked over at the other male parrot and exclaimed, "Put the book away, Frank. Our prayers have been answered!"

Like I said, a little laughter goes a long way..

From my garden to yours........

Cricket Garden - Welcome Winter