Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Madan Kataria in person, on his brief visit to New York. To be in the presence of such a highly evolved person was truly amazing. His humility and ability to connect with each of the almost 100 participants in his workshop, is testament to his high positive energy flow that was palpable in the room. He spoke of his development of Laughter University, where his vision is to bring all forms of creativity and flow together. Life is meant to be enjoyed and fun and anything that contributes to our wellbeing, physical, emotional or spiritual is to be embraced and promoted. Lighten up, let go and celebrate your existence.

Michael Neil, coach extraordinaire and author of several books, outlines his formula for increasing one's happiness levels in his book "Feeling Happy Now".

The first is to learn how to create more positive feelings for yourself, by deliberately creating a positive physical reaction in your body. This can be easily done by placing your hand on your heart, closing your eyes and imagining a pleasurable time or situation.

The second aspect is to learn how to tell yourself better stories. We cling to beliefs and ways of thinking that keep us stuck in the rut of negative belief systems. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, then clinging to the pervasive but unconscious belief that you cannot actually succeed in this endeavor, will inevitably create the reality. Beliefs create thoughts, which create emotion and actions which then serve to reinforce our original belief.

The third aspect is to act on your inner knowing or quiet smart voice within each of us that we drown out with our constant mind chatter and busy-ness. Allow yourself a daily practice of quieting the mind and simply allowing yourself to create the space for your inner guide or GPS to surface and find a voice. It is this inner wisdom that we are imbued with which when revealed will guide you to your "North Star", as Martha Beck calls it.

Labels: happiness; joy; accessing happiness; happiness inside job

A businessman of multinational company from Sweden was having a morning stroll on the beach at Kovalam, near Trivandrum, Kerala, India. He was enjoying a free morning from the Business Strategy seminar being held in the luxury hotel.

As he walked along he came across a fisherman lazing on the warm sand between two large fishes and he stopped to chat with him. He asked him what he was doing on the beach. The guy said he was waiting for customers to come to the beach in a couple of hours to buy his fishes, for which he would get $5 profit.

The businessman, a little surprised at this intelligent man wasting his time lying on the beach, asked him why he did not go out and catch more fish before the customers arrived. The fisherman queried him as to what he would do with more fish.
He said that he would get more money if he sold more fish. The fisherman appeared confused and asked what he would do with more money.

The smart man explained that he could buy a small boat, go out to sea and catch more fish. The confusion of the fisherman appeared to grow. He asked what he would do with even more fish.
He told the fisherman that he could catch more fish and make more money. In fact, he could become a rich man. The fisherman was quite taken aback. He asked them what he would do with all the money he got.
The Swede was quick to tell him that he could form a multinational company, get others to do his work while he relaxed on the beach, enjoying the sun and the sand. The fisherman looked at them incredulously. He asked them a simple question - "What am I doing here just now?"

For many of us, happiness is a destination rather than a state of emotional well being that we can access in the here and now. We postpone joy in the mistaken belief that when I ..... then I will be happy. For example, when I have a million dollars, or lose 35 pounds or find the perfect mate... then I will be happy. In reality, when we are happy, the rest will ensue. Access your inner joy that is waiting to be revealed by loving what is and savoring the here and now.

Labels: happiness; joy; accessing happiness in the here and now, laughter

"If you are too busy to be happy.... you are too busy" Robert Holden

The Holidays, meant to be a time of joy and celebration, often land up causing anxiety and stress. Simple strategies that you can employ to reconnect to yourself and the true spirit of the Holidays include:

Labels: happiness, joy, laughter, stress reduction; holiday stress

L aughter releases endorphins, giving us the 'feel good factor'


A cts as aerobic exercise and is like 'internal jogging'


U nleashes inhibitions, breaks down barriers


G reat team building tool encourages better communication

H elps boost our immune system, which helps us resist disease


T ones muscles, improves respiration and circulation


E ncourages positive thinking and creativity

R elaxes the whole body by reducing stress and tension

Sebastien Gendry www.laughangeles.com

Labels: health benefits, stress reduction, stress; laughter; best medicine

Laugh Your Way to Health
Read how Laughter Yoga really is a key element is reducing stress and improving health.


A recently published article shows that mental health is positively enhanced by laughter. In fact, even the anticipation of laughter alters the biochemistry of the body and increases a sense of well being. According to the report the ability to laugh has important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer. Laughter Yoga helps relieve stress and increase positive well-being.

Labels: health, positive mood, stress; laughter; best medicine

 Today I went to the dentist to get a crown fitted for my molar. I was innocently sitting, mouth wide open,when all of a sudden I felt something in my throat. I thought it was saliva, and was about to swallow, when my dentist sounded the alarm. Instinctively, I coughed, and the crown, which I was about to swallow, propelled out of my mouth at lightening speed. The dentist paled at the prospect of what could have happened, but it looked so ridiculous as it hurled out my mouth that .... I HAD TO LAUGH! I laughed so hard, partly out of relief, partly out of the humor of it. The fact that I could laugh, diffused a potentially stressful situation for us both. Thanks to the laughter practice, I am able to gain perspective in a situation. After all, if I will be able to laugh about it in a year's time, then I may as well laugh about it now. The dentist was relieved and wanted to hug me for my understanding. I was not the least bit upset. Rather, I am grateful that I was able to avert a potentially problematic situation. Laughter is a great tool for stress relief and helps me glide through my day with joy instead of oy!

Labels: happiness, stress; laughter; best medicine