Let’s Hear it for Laughter!

Live well, Love much, Laugh a lot – This much co-opted line from Bessy Anderson Stanley’s poem, ‘Success’ speaks to the essence of what constitutes a healthy outlook on and relationship to life.  So if you are someone who values the place and importance of endorphin-releasing laughter in your life, then pull up a stool, put your smiley face on and let’s take a gander at the healing gift of spontaneous joy and laughter in God’s infinite dream of humanity…

A friend of mine, Fr. Sean O’Laoire, Ph.D whom I will be featuring in an upcoming post, has a particular ‘take’ on what physicists call the ‘Big Bang’ – that nanosecond of explosive light-energy that erupted into existence the known universe in space-time.  Sean refers to this moment as God’s rip-roaring, rapturous laughter at Her newest creation!  And I happen to think the man has a point: laughter is a consciousness impulse of epic and cosmic proportions.  I’ll revisit this; but first –

What is Laughter? Essentially it is a spontaneous consciousness response to the incongruous meeting
of two people, events, or incidents that, in their absurdity and apparent dissonance, make us fall over laughing.

The Ripple Effect: This rippling effect is experienced in all highly evolved species – and yes, believe it or not – that includes us!  It eliminates stress.  The ‘ripple effect’ is felt over the diaphragm which guards the heart (seat of the emotions) and nervous system.  But it doesn’t stop there!  Because it’s a consciousness impulse it also ripples across the skies, bouncing interplanetarily and intergalactically out into the furthest reaches of infinity!  And to think you thought you had snuffed it out in your Kleenex when you let rip (momentarily) at that hilarious moment at your friend’s wedding when the bride slipped on her train and disappeared unceremoniously into the priest’s vestments!  Oh no – laughter reverberates on, and on, and on…

Gift of Love: Laughter is a gift of love to a human community drenched in self-indulgent ego drives.  The more your spiritual consciousness evolves, and the lesser the grip of these ego impulses on your consciousness, the more plentiful and spontaneous will be your moments of joyous laughter – and these dear friends – are the moments when Divine Consciousness breaks through your human consciousness to lighten you up!  Ginormously and immeasurably so…  And the more you invite and allow this inflow of Divine Consciousness, the more centered, kind, compassionate, and less reactive you become to the world around you.  And that’s Good News for all of us!

Until our next yarn: my hope is that the next time you feel exhausted, it is the result of prolonged, uproarious laughter – what a gift: Let’s hear it for laughter!

Peace – G

Cover Photo: Pixabay