Your Invitation to a Party: Laughter Meditation

Your Invitation to a Party: Laughter Meditation

July 3, 2018 

Let’s have some fun! It is a popular misconception that meditation is a serious undertaking, with many rules. I am inviting you to a party – a Laughter Meditation on a beach. Please watch this video for at least 60 seconds and join the party! If the spirit calls, watch it for the full 5 minutes. 

How do you feel now? Are you present in this moment? Are you feeling lighter? Did you connect with your inner child? Did you have fun? I sure did!

Thank you, Corrinne Cosseron at www.laughterscool.org for the laughter meditation.

Because Laughter Meditation is unique, some background and warm-up exercises may be helpful. I found the structure and coaching in this short 3 minute video a very good introduction.  Essentially, the steps are:

1. Warm-up by stretching your body, making some funny faces and practicing animal noises.
2. Laugh for 5 minutes – fake it until you make it!
3. Relax and breathe

Thanks, Mandee Lee, “Laughter is the best medicine” produced by BigVisionShow.  

One of the real benefits of Laughter Meditation is that it may be easier to get into the fun and emotion and let go of our thoughts. Just recently, a well-respected meditation teacher and author, davidji,  posted this advice on Facebook: " Remember this -- If you're human, you'll have thoughts during meditation. Don't judge yourself for this. It doesn't mean you aren't meditating correctly. Just let the thought come in and gently return to the object of your attention." 

All stress starts with a thought – a perception that you are threatened, physically or psychologically. Whether the threat is real or imagined, it will trigger the Flight or Fight response. It happens to all of us. So, it is important to learn how to manage stress. There are many practices and tools available to us. A few examples are: exercise, whether that be walking, running, lifting weights, yoga, martial arts; sleep; massage therapy; breathing techniques, like the 7x -7x -7x Formula we discussed in our last Blog; watching a comedy or children at play and laughing; reading poetry; painting your masterpiece.   

Meditation is one of my favorite tools for managing stress.

I am going to introduce you to some of my favorite meditation sources, with links to videos and other resources. In my view, it is all about finding what approach fits for you. What “fits?” In my opinion, that is a combination of the type of meditation --- music only, guided meditation with visualization, mantra-based meditations, simple one-word meditations you can do anywhere, anytime – as well as the person’s voice – pitch, tone, pace and resonance. I encourage you to experiment and explore the tremendous variety of types of meditations available. The meditation community is very generous, giving…. gifting…. us with free samples.

Next let’s explore a meditation you can do on your lunch hour, on a plane, when you need to shift gears or as you go to sleep. I highly recommend the Release Meditation Technique from one of my mentors, Brendon Burchard, the world’s leading high performance coach and #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author.

If you are relatively new to meditation, you will want to watch the full 23-minute video because Brendon will review the benefits of meditation, show you how to meditate and answer questions he frequently hears. Even if you are an experienced meditator, and may be inclined to jump to the start of the instruction/meditation, I encourage you to fully experience the inspiration and energy that is Brendon’s gift. The background music during the meditation is wonderful. At the same time, this is a meditation you can do with or without the background music.   

A third meditation I would like to share is by Sarah Blondin, Accepting Change. This is a 9- minute meditation in her Live Awake Meditation Series. There are two phrases in her meditation that particularly resonate with me: “We cannot see the gift in what we resist.”; and, “Chose to love joyfully in your abundance.” 

I love Sarah's voice and her content which frequently focuses on how to deal with change as well as trusting yourself and practicing loving-kindness.

We have just begun to share the experiences and benefits of meditation. I first started a regular meditation practice myself about 7 years ago. The Oprah & Deepak 21-Day Meditation Experience was an early experience. They continue to release new meditations every year (FREE) and previous 21-Day Meditation Series are available for purchase. One of my favorites is their “Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude.” I remember I would wake up every morning and, very first thing, would listen to the wonderful introduction and story from Oprah, followed by the learned teaching of Deepak on the science and wisdom tradition of the mantra for the day, and concluding with a Sanskrit mantra-based meditation. I invested in the CD set and revisit this series often to continue and deepen my gratitude practice through meditation as well as daily journaling.

In addition, my meditation practice was deepened when a good friend (thank you, Donna) recommended the app, Insight Timer. You can access Insight Timer on  https://insighttimer.com/   or get it on Google play on your mobile. I prefer the mobile app on my phone, because of the flexibility.  There are many meditation apps available. I have gravitated to this one because there is a FREE version, there is an amazing array of teachers, and there is a wide variety of styles and content. There are literally over 10,000 meditations available. You can sort by the length of time, the name of the teacher, the subject matter, music only, etc. I “bookmark” my favorites – so I can easily return to ones I particularly enjoy. My list of “bookmarked” meditations include, in no particular order: Jonathan Lehman’s Morning Meditation with Music and Evening Meditation; Kenneth Soares’s I AM Morning Affirmations: Happiness, Confidence, Freedom, Love, Passion & Purpose; David Cole’s A Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer and Letting Go of Things You Fear to Lose; Cathy McDonald’s Hopes and Dreams Meditation; Glenn Harrold’s Mindfulness for Deep Sleep; davidji’s Getting Unstuck and Our Power to Heal & Repair; Tony Brady’s We are Blessed Today and Forgiveness Meditation; ; Guenther Goerg’s Theta Nature: Binaural Meditation Sounds; and Linda Hall's Meditation on a Smile. There are also meditations by world-renowned teachers such as : Tara Brach, Ram Dass and Jack Kornfield.

I welcome your input and selections of favorite meditations to share with our group.  Please email me at [email protected] and I will be sure to include your selections in a future Blog.

I will conclude with a personal note. My meditation practice has enriched my life. I look forward to my centering times and enjoy a wide range of types of mediation practices with teachers from all over the world. A smile comes naturally to my face whenever I share this passion. I wish you joy, peace and light as you create and expand a meditation practice that “fits” you.

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Till next time, 

May you be happy now and always, Alison 

P.S.: Here is a link from my website to preview and purchase our book, “Be Happy NOW!” https://www.alisonlanzafalls.com/p/be-happy-now.

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