Laughter & Our Health

Silliness can be therapeutic, and laughter healing. There is a time and place for everything, and is not funny if at someone's expense, but is helpful to be able to laugh at yourself, and with others. I personally like to lighten serious topics with a little humor, when appropriate. It brings me great joy to make someone laugh or, at the least, smile….and it can be very contagious!

Even more importantly, there is so much medical and scientific research backing up the importance of laughter in our lives. Can it literally help our health!?! Doctors say yes!  Great news for some of us clowns!   Ha Ha  I will share a few simple tips and benefits.  Search for yourselves, it is the best medicine I know! The following came from one of countless websites and gives great links to more detailed medical research, suggested tools, etc..

http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm#author

Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor

Physical Health Benefits: Boosts immunity Lowers stress hormones Decreases pain Relaxes your muscles Prevents heart disease	Mental Health Benefits: Adds joy and zest to life Eases anxiety and fear Relieves stress Improves mood Enhances resilience	Social Benefits: Strengthens relationships Attracts others to us Enhances teamwork Helps defuse conflict Promotes group bonding

The link between laughter and mental health

• Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.
• Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.
• Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Bringing more humor and laughter into your life

Anyone can join the laughter movement. All it takes is a willingness to risk some loss of control. The timid may start with a few shy giggles. The courageous may jump in with deep belly laughter. A sense of humor is not required. There’s more than enough stress to go around and absurdity abounds in our daily lives. All we have to do is believe, let go, clap our hands and laughter will live again. So will we. Laughter is feeling deeply which allows us to live fully.
Source: We Need to Laugh More, Enda Junkins, LMFT.

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.
Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.
Here are some ways to start:

• Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.
• Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When in a state of sadness, we have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.
• When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”
• Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.
• Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

One of my favorite ways to laugh is through making a child laugh. Their laughter is so pure and seems to consume their whole being. It becomes impossible not to grin from ear to ear, chuckle along with them and then, to top it off, fills your heart with one of life's truest joys! But, that is a whole topic in itself!  May you find laughter each day, sing, dance, and play, see your beauty and all you are, dream big, dear shining star!

Abundant blessings to you,

 Janine Rillo  

Posted via email from ja9online

Toomer's Corner poisoning should enrage all fans, not just Auburn - Andy Staples - SI.com

Toomer's Corner poisoning should enrage all fans, not just Auburn - Andy Staples - SI.com

This is such a shame! Life is too short and it is heartbreaking that one man can ruin a beautiful tradition for countless people, through bitterness over losing a football game.
Great article Andy! Thank you!
God bless that man who is obviously very ill!
Abundant blessings to all!
Janine

Moving Through Challenges

I am grateful for my challenges reminding me of, and affirming, my faith time after time. I obviously was a slow learner with some important lessons, but have studied hard! lol  When the student is ready the teacher will come...there are so many examples I could share showing the blessings in these lessons.  The most recent one was me agreeing to work on my writing, something I have felt led to do for a few years, all the while arguing why I shouldn't...never did I entertain the idea prior to this...yet here I am. I have had book ideas I tried to give friends who are published authors...all said I would have to write them, they were "my books."  I thought they were nuts...this was THEIR job...I loved my jobs and this wasn't one of them! However, I have been humbled, and deeply blessed by making wonderful friendships from researching & posting heartfelt prayers, encouraging words, or sharing tidbits of my thoughts like this.

At one point, within a few days, I had 3 different messages saying I should write...one was even from a fortune cookie of all things... all after years of boohooing to God asking Him what He wants me to do, even joking at times with Him about a neon sign being a nice method of answering me.  Always trusting He would lead the way, one goal I knew would be the best for me! Am I saying get a fortune cookie?...no, unless hungry, some are really good! I am saying I hindered my way, often I might add,  by refuting some pretty loud, and one tasty, messages I received.  I allowed others opinions to taint mine as well. You may have a moment or two you can relate to...I have many! I think most of us do. It is the key that sets "the few" apart from "the many", so to speak. 

When I studied how to's of success, being a better me, parenting help, etc., all say to focus on the positive, your goals, surround yourself with like minded people, basically fill your life and mind with that which you want in it. Well, there goes some of our acquaintances...ha ha, but most importantly, and a lobotomy isn't an option, our thoughts can be bad enough on their own.  We forget how beautifully and wonderfully made we are, and the challenges lie in remembering that, then living the life we were created for. Success lies in getting that, letting go of the negatives implanted in our lives and programming truths...all the blessings. After a time, which varies for each of us, we can see beauty in all situations and people, most importantly for some of us, in ourselves! Then...watch out world, here we come! I can do all things through Him who strengthens me...Christ is my greatest help, strength, in whom I put my hope and trust. Let His love fill your life, and may you always know He is by your side!

By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

Abundant blessings to you,

Janine

So Much More!

Beauty surrounds us, if only we choose to see it!  But, beauty is so much more than a visual observation, it is far deeper and encompasses our hearts, minds, bodies, the core of who we are, and all that surrounds us. Even in a dark moment there can be a beautiful lesson to guide us up toward our pressing goals, or further along in our journey.  Through our pains we can find comfort in the beauty of a smile, hug, or encouraging words. To set our sites on things beautiful, right, true, lovely, & worthy of praise are key elements to becoming aware of all the great things in our lives and dispelling all that is not!  Our focus becomes centered on that which we want in our lives and eventually, blurs out the challenges.

I was blessed to be referred to an amazing Doctor last Friday, what an answered prayer he was! Dr. Greg Funk, DO (osteopath) affirmed my deep beliefs and challenged me further not only to set my focus but direct my spoken words to counter the difficult moments. His main prescriptions for me were to dream big, write out all my goals, & to read a book he gave me...all which have closely related to how I have coped with the past few years. I do have goals written and posted, yet a reevaluation of old and creating new ones could prove a welcomed activity for me! I left renewed and inspired, with regained hope for my main goal, to heal, to be of help to others, & live life to the fullest 

Staying focused on the goal, NOT the challenges you may face getting there, really makes a difference! We must have faith and believe, then passion forms to attain our desired results...the key is asking yourself where your focus lies and what is it you truly desire?! ...then keep your sites set on that! The levels of focus, faith, guide the actions we make...the doors then can open, and miracles flow! There is no secret here...God says with faith the size of a mustard seed we can move a mountain! What mountains need to be removed from your life? Believe in yourself, set your sights on that which are lovely, admirable, and worthy of praise, then courageously move forward on the path as the mountains are cleared! It is when we let doubt, fear, and negativity from life, ourselves or others in, that we can build mountains instead of removing them. 

You are beautiful, treasured, and made for so much more than this.

You Are More!

Abundant blessings to you,,

Janine