Wednesday evening a group of us attended the YukYuks show at the casino here in Langley. We laughed for an hour and a half! As we left the theatre we joked about the endorphins we’d stirred up. We all had great big smiles and the world felt good.

We humans take ourselves way too seriously. Granted there’s lots going on in our world that takes serious consideration – however, Joy is one of the attributes of The Divine – therefore, one of ours. We want to live a balanced life and incorporating joy into it is part of the balancing.

One day years ago I was swimming in the hot ponds in Kapoho on the Big Island. As I floated in the warm water I was contemplating a challenge in my life. I was thinking of all the “coulds” and “shoulds,” just like I had been doing for a few days. I had gone to the hot ponds to relax, and it just wasn’t working. I remember telling myself “just let it go” and suddenly a child’s laughter rippled across the surface of the water dancing into every atom of my being. I could feel myself smiling in response, and suddenly the “challenge” didn’t seem so big at all. I let this child’s laughter, and the ensuing laughter from others fill me and lift me up.

Science is recognizing the importance of laughter. We’ve all heard how Norman Cousins healed himself of a terrible disease by watching slapstick movies in his hospital room. Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India, recognized the need for more laughter while on his morning walk one day in 1995 and created Laughter Yoga. It caught on so well that he and his wife now travel the world setting up Laughter Yoga clubs, teaching people how to laugh intentionally. This is wonderful, yet it’s also kind of sad, as it speaks to the idea that somewhere, somehow, as we grew up, we lost the ability to laugh naturally … or maybe we don’t feel like we have permission.

A Pranic healer once wrote: “Laughter comes from the center of our Being, the core of our heart. Our belly is so full of laughter that it permeates every cell in our body. True laughter is true prayer. When you laugh, the whole of nature laughs with you. It echoes and resounds and makes life worthwhile. When things go all right, everybody can laugh, but when everything falls apart, and yet you laugh, that is evolution and growth.”

Laughter is a sacred experience. It brings people closer. It relieves physical, mental and emotional pain. It makes our challenges shrink in size. Its like an internal aerobics session for our organs. It removes stress, enriches our blood with oxygen, and helps boost our immune system. Laughter really is the best medicine for mind, body and heart!

Smiling Blessings, Rev. Angelica

SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT

Oh Great Spirit of Joy, fill my heart with laughter!

Today I choose to take myself lightly. I recognize The Power Within and how easily I can direct It into a negative or positive experience with my dominant thoughts. Today I choose to laugh, to be joy filled, and to experience the delights of being alive.

As I make these choices, the whole Universe responds. I have let my Divine Child out to play. Joy is the sign of my alignment with and as God. How happy I am to be able to do this!

Gratefully, I celebrate Divine Joy today. And so it is.