by Jo-Dee Walmsley | December, 2018 | Uncategorized
It is important to understand our emotions, to feel them and possibly to shift them. I have been researching how measuring emotions can make a positive difference in our well-being. Of course Laughter is the tool I use to help make that shift. As I have mentioned before, being able to control our fight or flight responses using laughter is important for many reasons. 3 Reasons to control your fight or flight responses To bypass the sympathetic nerve and activate the parenthetic nerve allowing us to remain calm To stop the release of cortisol (stress hormone) into the blood stream which is toxic To make sure you control your breathing so you exhale more to get rid of all the stale air replacing it with clean air while oxygenating the cells Another big reason this is so important is that if we are constantly faced with emotions like fear and we are not shifting them we become fearful. Laughter actually helps us move that negative emotion and process it which then releases it. Have you ever found yourself faced in a scary/uncomfortable situation and you start to laugh? This is your body’s natural response to helping you deal with it. We were born perfect knowing how to control our stress levels then educated out of it. Time to bring back the laughter! Laughter therapy and artificial intelligence We’ve known of this for a while but we can’t stand still. So I’ve been pushing boundaries and mixing Laughter Therapy with artificial intelligence to fix problems which bug me. Here are my thoughts – see what you think? We want to...
by Amy Poole | November, 2018 | Amy Poole, Health
Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are the recommendations grounded in theory and empirical validity that are designed to enhance our personal wellbeing and experiences of happiness (Lomas, Hefferon & Ivtzan, 2014). PPIs include: meditation practice, creating gratitude journals and practising acts of kindness (Lyubomirsky, 2007). Whilst such tools could, arguably, make the transition from occasional lifestyle activities to everyday routine a lot easier than what we tend to assume, I feel one PPI in particular could be practised every day with little effort nor major adjustment. Laughter is the best medicine Most of us are familiar with the phrase ‘laughter is the best medicine’. Laughter has been found to ease the mind and relieve tension, however, in a corporate, overworked, tired, 9-5 world how often can you honestly say you share a giggle with a colleague, neighbour or friend? Do we make enough time to laugh? Do we prioritise seeing the people who we know are going to make us smile? Who can we be silly with? This year, I have aimed to prioritise spending time with friends who make me feel the most empowered, motivated and happy. I have noticed a strong correlation between how comfortable I am with someone to how often I laugh around them. I wonder if this is because humour is buried so far deep from what we allow people to see in our day-to-day lives? To be able to freely laugh do we need to be around those who allow us to be comfortable and perhaps the most authentic versions of ourselves? From the occasional hard day at work, I have no shame in...
by Julie Ostrow | November, 2018 | Gratitude, Julie Ostrow
As I was sitting here thinking of what to write, the words, “taking goodness for granted” popped into my mind. Not knowing exactly what those words meant, I decide to just start typing and see what would land on the page. I know I am not the only who has the ability to start conversations with strangers. I like to take advantage of an opportunity to strike up a conversation with someone, give them a smile, help them out a bit, or share a laugh with them. Just yesterday when I was at the grocery store, I found myself automatically lending a hand to two people who seemed to need a little assistance. As I was walking toward the door, I noticed an elderly gentleman, whose car was parked in the handicap parking spot, struggle with walking. He was using a grocery cart to hold himself up as he walked toward the door. I walked up to him and gently asked, “Shall I walk alongside you?” I wanted to be sure he was safe walking across the cross walk. He gently replied, “That would be nice.” And so, I walked with him to a scooter just inside the door. Acknowledge other people I like to think that we could all pause our lives for a brief moment to acknowledge other people. I know…we are all busy and we have extremely important information in the devices we clutch in our hands. But, what if…just what if…we make a point of lifting our heads up so that we can see one another? Look at others and notice how they are feeling....
by Jo-Dee Walmsley, | August, 2018 | self-growth
Staying positive when life throws you a curve ball is not always easy. And I was reminded of a video I made a few months ago and maybe you can relate to it in some way. Maybe you can laugh yourself a bridge? Where it all started to make sense Imagine just how bad it must have been that I chose to leave my 2 small children when I left their father and divorced him. I left them all alone in a country where I had no say, no choice, no voice. I could have waded through that feeling of devastation. That deep sense of depression. And the feeling of total loss. I could have walked along the banks using my tears to fill the river but instead I chose to laugh myself a bridge and cross over it. Laughter has really changed my life and I would love to share my story with you today. 3 Bridges to help you 1. Laugh yourself a bridge to better self-esteem This is something to do with acceptance and self-love. Even though things may be falling apart around you, you can chose to love and accept yourself unconditionally. We all make mistakes or have ‘lessons’ as I call them. It’s best not to dwell on them, rather find out how to overcome it. Once you remove judgment from yourself and others you will feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. I felt guilty for years about leaving my kids, but when I realised I did everything in my power to get to see them, support them and love them I was...
by Dan Collinson | July, 2018 | self-growth
Wow!! What a roller coaster of a week, full of highs and lows, its all overwhelming. I saw a good friend of mine for the first time in 15 years. I was made Vice President, which means I am the future President of an association I love and respect a lot. I was signed exclusively to a global speaker management team and I ended a long term relationship with the love of my life and the cherry on top …. I was told I have a terminal kidney condition that would end in dialysis and /or a kidney transplant in the next 5 years…. Breathe. Yes, that all happened in the past 7 days. Now as you know I am the laughter lady and I always say to laugh at life and sometimes that is a real challenge. Oh boy, that was put to test this week. Did I laugh? Actually No I didn’t at first BUT I would like to share how laughter did help me and how it will keep on getting me through this: Getting through the initial shock Being able to feel the joy and the sadness of all is very important and laughter has helped me be true to my inner feelings. I think the best thing to do when you have an emotion is to feel it, understand it and yourself and then process it. For so many years I just planted my emotions and hid them but seriously there’s is only so much a human can take before they will over flow with unprocessed baggage. So laughter has helped me do just...
