Beware: Laughter Is Highly Contagious.

Laughter can elevate the entire mood of a group of people, because it being highly infectious . It has been proven that far more can be achieved through laughter, than any other method. Connectivity is improved, social interaction heightened and stress levels lowered. In a world reeling from financial crises, laughter is one of the few commodities that is still free.rnrnWhen the world comes plummeting down around your ears laughter plays a very important role. Laughter is able to turn your focus off more negative emotions such as anger, guilt and stress. It is so important as human beings that we learn to embrace both tears and laughter.rnrnIt is the illogic of a situation that causes you to laugh, for a life full of only logic is boring to the end degree. It is laughter that can make the difference between seeing a situation as either a threat, or a challenge, for laughter completely alters your perspective. Many a catastrophic situation has been turned into a gale of laughter as it is repeated as entertainment, at a later date, to friends and relatives. It is truly a case of �looking back and laughing’. This kind of laughter is invaluable.rnrnLook how infectious a happy person is? Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself, a recent study showed .rnrnPerhaps it would be helpful if you spent some time in front of a mirror looking at how you present yourself. You may find it would be an advantage to lighten up your general presentation. �Did you know that we often mimic a person we are talking to and mirror their behavior?�Says Sophie Scott, a researcher of University College London. rnrn\”Your emotional state depends not just on your actions and choices you make, but also on the actions and choices other people make. Many of which you don\’t even know,\” said Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a physician and medical sociologist at Harvard.rnrnWhile laughter has many healing properties, discovering laughter in daily life profoundly enhances healing and the quality of life. Laughter has been used to aid in the reduction of symptoms of allergies, abdominal pain and digestive problems. Laughter also can be used to assist you control emotions of anger and fear. rnrnAs well as all that, a good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm, tightens the abs and even works out the shoulders. It also leaves muscles more relaxed afterward and provides a good workout for the heart. Many say a good ten minute laughs is seen to be better than a 20 minute jog. Perhaps the old saying should be changed to: �a laugh a day keeps the doctor away.’rnrnYou may not feel like laughing, but laughter is something you can contract without even asking for it. Ever tried to stay serious while everyone around you is crying tears of laughter?rnrnHigh on the stress relieving list is laughter, along with sex, prayer and meditation, music therapy, and progressive muscle relaxation exercises. It is so true that to laugh is to see the whole world laugh with you, but cry and you cry by yourself .Here are some people’s personal thoughts on laughter.rnrnDiane Bodein Walters rnrnI’m sure that we’ve all experienced the fine line between laughter and tears. I see people flip quickly from one emotion to the other. There’s a quote of Oscar Wilde �Where there’s sorrow there’s holy ground’ so we have to be prepared for people to either cry or laugh . I feel they come from the same place, deep within the heartrnBill Beagley, Anglican PriestrnrnA joke is funny because you suddenly realize it’s impossible. Humor by its very nature asks you to look beyond the logical realities. rnrnLaibl Wolf, Rabbi and educational psychologist rnWe say laughter takes place when the soul tricks the mind, bypasses it and short circuits the thinking process. Laughter is one of the most mystical expressions of a human being. True laughter that flows from the intuitive self is the most beautiful expression and purpose of the joy of creation.rnrnLama Choedak rnrnTo experience happiness through laughter, in many ways brings us closer to the basic values of our existence. rnrnNarrrnrnThe idea of subverting reality through humor met its ultimate challenge in the horror that was the Holocaust. For Auschwitz survivor Abraham Ckyiert humor was not only a way of enduring the moment but it ultimately became the means of his survival. rnJenny Thompson Richards (working in a terminally ill hospice)rnrnI think here people do really value laughter because of this very special situation where are knowing that their life is limited. The kind of humor that we choose is the humor that actually allows people to embrace the deep things and to be connected together with each other. It is still the best ice breaker in town . rnrnDr Fry, a psychiatrist at Stanford Medical School, rnrnChildren laugh an average of 300 times per day, though children cry at least as often as they laugh. To many people there is no tighter link to the innocence of childhood than that evoked by the vision of a clown.rnIt is definitely time to begin to concentrate on having more fun in your life.