Breaking News from Swami Beyondananda

Learn the Art of Situational Comedy From An Absurdified Foo Ling Master!
BeyondaNews Special Update:
Dear Friends:

If you want to learn how to use cosmic comedy to evoke healing laughter in just about any situation, Steve Bhaerman’s four-week Course In Laughter teleclass begins this coming Tuesday, August 10th. We are also doing a two-hour interactive intensive, Writing Your Laugh Story, on Wednesday, August 25th. Why write your Laugh Story? Well, you know the old saying … laugh at yourself, and the whole world will laugh at you too!

Still trying to make up your mind? Perhaps these FAQ’s will help:

Q. Does laughter really heal?

A. Absolutely. Studies show that just one Youngman of laughter – the comedy contained in just one one-liner – can heal up to a megahurt of emotional pain.

Q. Will taking either of these classes make me funnier?

A. God says we’re all funnier than we could ever imagine. Taking this class will help you see funnier, and see how funny we all are. In other words, life is a comedy of situations and we’re just having an episode.

Q. My co-worker is a jerk. Will I be able to learn a snappy comeback next time he acts jerky?

A. Better than that. You will learn to take full responsibility for everything in your life. That way, next time he bothers you, you can say to him, “Why did I create a jerk like you in my life?”

Q. Will I learn the secret to successful joke-telling?

A. That, we will give you for free. The secret? The punch line goes at the end.

Q. Will this class help me deal with my financial challenges?

A. It certainly will. To paraphrase the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, laughter will get us through times of no money better than money will get us through times of no laughter.

Q. Will you double my money back if I don’t like the class?

A. Being a Swami allows me to go one better: If not completely satisfied, I will double your karma back! People must love this class, because so far I have had no takers.

Seriously, don’t miss this opportunity to achieve your humorin’ potential.

Here are the details:

For those of you who want to take humor more seriously … and seriousness more humorously … here is your chance to do just that, and even do it in your pajamas if you like.

If you’ve wondered how to activate your own comic sensibilities, and bring the healing power of laughter to your inner and outer world, this will be a chance to spend four informative and highly-entertaining hours with Steve Bhaerman, the man behind Swami Beyondananda. The class will consist of four Tuesday evening sessions, running from Tuesday, August 10th through Tuesday, August 31st from 5 to 6 pm PT, 8 to 9 pm ET.

* Session 1. The Cosmic Joke, and the Fool’s Journey.
* Session 2. The Elements of Humor.
* Session 3. Humoring Yourself and Others.
* Session 4. Transforming the Trance.

You will learn about comedy from the inside out, and find out how even a non-comedian can practice “situational comedy” in almost any situation. As part of your registration fee, you will get:

– The Wake Up Laughing e-book free (or, you will get a $15 discount if you already own the e-book)

– The 32 page Course In Laughter “play book.”

– A chance to have your e-mailed questions addressed during the teleclass.

The cost is $69 for the four week session, $54 if you have already purchased the e-book.

Can’t make all four sessions? You’ll be able to listen to any session you’ve missed, as well as any other session as many times as you like during the course of the course, at no extra charge.

Don’t want a four-week class? Then register for a highly-interactive two hour intensive, Creating Your Laugh Story, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25th, from 5 to 7 p.m. PT, 8 to 10 pm PT. This class is limited to 12 participants, and the cost is $119. This class is perfect for anyone with a specific humor project they are working on, and includes a private 30 minute consultation (a $50 value). Participants will get a 25% discount for any additional one-on-one consultations they book during 2010.

To register for the A Course in Laughter and/or the Writing Your Laugh Story Teleclasses, please go here: https://www.wakeuplaughing.com/epistore/index.php?category=Misc

And invite your friends too because when it comes to laughter, the more the merrier. You’ll laugh while you learn, and learn while you laugh!

Swami’s Quick Links
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# Swami’s Ompage # Wake Up Laughing E-book # Spontaneous Evolution # Swami Products # Bruce Lipton’s Website

Contact Information
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email: info (@) wakeuplaughing.com web: http://www.wakeuplaughing.com
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Posted by Drs Julian and Susan Lange, OMD, L.Ac. Holistic Health Mentors www.ComediesThatHeal.com Tel: 310-395-9525 (USA)

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

Inspired by Larry Gassan

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

The results of the study, conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, were presented at the Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology on March 7, 2005, in Orlando, Florida.

The endothelium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and secretes chemicals and other substances in response to wounds, infections or irritation. It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease.

“The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” says principal investigator Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium.”

The study included a group of 20 non-smoking, healthy volunteers, equally divided between men and women, whose average age was 33. The participants had normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Each volunteer was shown part of two movies at the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum. They were randomized to first watch either a movie that would cause mental stress, such as the opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan” (DreamWorks, 1998), or a segment of a movie that would cause laughter, such as “King Pin” (MGM, 1996). A minimum of 48 hours later, they were shown a movie intended to produce the opposite emotional extreme.

Prior to seeing a movie, the volunteers fasted overnight and were given a baseline blood vessel reactivity test to measure what is known as flow-mediated vasodilation. For that test, blood flow in the brachial artery in the arm was restricted by a blood pressure cuff and released. An ultrasound device then measured how well the blood vessel responded to the sudden increase in flow.

Volunteers watched a 15-minute segment of the movie while lying down in a temperature-controlled room. After the movie was shown, the brachial artery was constricted for five minutes and then released. Again, ultrasound images were acquired. Changes in blood vessel reactivity after the volunteers watched a movie lasted for at least 30 to 45 minutes. A total of 160 blood vessel measurements were performed before and after the laughter and mental stress phases of the study.

There were no differences in the baseline measurements of blood vessel dilation in either the mental stress or laughter phases. But there were striking contrasts after the movies were seen. Brachial artery flow was reduced in 14 of the 20 volunteers following the movie clips that caused mental stress. In contrast, beneficial blood vessel relaxation or vasodilation was increased in 19 of the 20 volunteers after they watched the movie segments that generated laughter. Overall, average blood flow increased 22 percent during laughter, and decreased 35 percent during mental stress.

Several volunteers had already seen “Saving Private Ryan,” says Dr. Miller, but even so, some of them were among the 14 with reduced blood flow.

“The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise,” says Dr. Miller. “We don’t recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system.”

Dr. Miller says this study was not able to determine the source of laughter’s benefit. “Does it come from the movement of the diaphragm muscles as you chuckle or guffaw, or does it come from a chemical release triggered by laughter, such as endorphins?” he asks. Dr. Miller says a compound called nitric oxide is known to play a role in the dilation of the endothelium. “Perhaps mental stress leads to a breakdown in nitric oxide or inhibits a stimulus to produce nitric oxide that results in vasoconstriction,” says Dr. Miller.

The current study builds on earlier research Dr. Miller conducted on the potential benefits of laughter, reported in 2000, which suggested that laughter may be good for the heart. In that study, answers to questionnaires helped determine whether people were prone to laughter and ascertain their levels of hostility and anger. Three hundred volunteers participated in the study. Half of them had suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery; the other half did not have heart disease. People with heart disease responded with less humor to everyday life situations than those with a normal cardiovascular system.

So we get down on bended knees and beg you to keep checking in and stay tuned to our blog. Laugh, contribute your favorite inspirational comedy suggestions, stories  and clips and help us all stave off heart disease!

Contributed by Jeff Hutner of http://NewParadigmDigest.com

Edited by Susan Lange OMD, L.Ac      http://www.MeridianHolistic.com

To learn how to get the maximum benefit from Inspirational Comedy, sign up for our FREE Special Report on “The Healing Benefits of Laughter”  in the box on the top right of our blog  www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

Doesn’t his improvised Jitterbuging Lindy Fox Hopscotch Trot (or what ever it is) look like fun?  It kind of feels good doesn’t it?  He’s charming and a pleasure to watch.  Maybe he stirs up that innocent spirit of fun that made us run, jump, and skip when we were kids, just because we felt like it.

My wife, Susan Lange, reminds me that fun and play is a good thing because it puts us into a pleasure state.  Can you remember back to a time when you were so happy that you couldn’t physically contain it?  A time when your happiness just bubbled up and you “did” something physically with your body?  Maybe you “jumped for joy.”

This is the question: when was it that you last jumped for joy?  If it’s been a while, then it’s probably been too long and now’s just as good a time as any for you to spring to your feet and jump as high as you can with a loud YIPPEE!

Doesn’t that feel good?

The reason it feels good is that you can lead your mind to joy by going through the physical motions of joy.  Physical play will make you happier.  Maybe you don’t feel like it right now.  Maybe you are saying to yourself that you aren’t in the mood to jump around and play.  I’d suggest that you not listen to that voice and just pretend that you are “in the mood”, even if it feels silly.  Try it and you’ll find that even the gloomiest funk can be turned on it’s head with regular fun and play.  Even exercise (the “mature” way to play) works to improve our mood.

Isn’t it true that you do some things, “just for the fun of it”.  Maybe now’s a good time to start doing more just for fun.

My advice is to practice fun and practice play.  With practice you’ll get real good at it, maybe even become a virtuoso of fun.  And, by the way, isn’t there kind of a spiritual ring to that word “practice?”

Could a spiritual realization be found in fun and play?  Hmm….

So what do you do for the fun of it?

Let me tell you what I have been doing.

I bought myself a skate board for my 51st. birthday.  I haven’t been on one of those for 40 years.  It’s a blast, and I love it, even if my friends and family fear for the health of my bones.

I’m teaching myself to juggle.  I have no idea if I’ll ever perfect this art of levity but it’s fun anyways.

Once I wrote a 15 minute comedy skit for me and some reluctant friends to perform in front of a real live audience.  You know what?  It actually worked.  People really laughed and we were all so buzzed afterward.

The kids in our family love it when we do puppet shows for them.  We love doing this for them and then watch the shows they do for us in return.

And..

My wife Susan; she skips. She jumps up and down, spontaneously, and claps her hands with a huge grin on her face.  After all these years she still amazes me and my heart fills with love for her when she does this.  This feels extra good.

A friend of mine takes the warm freshly dried laundry from the dryer and envelops his little kids with it for a long cozy cuddle with their Daddy.  It’s a love fest and they all bond.

If you ask me, this is the memorable stuff of life.

Leave me a comment.  I would really like to know what you do for fun and how it makes you feel?

*****

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

To watch this clip click here:

http://101comedies.com/laughterandyourbody/in-a-funk-physical-comedy-feels-good-if-too-sedentary/

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

Smile, today is inauguration day, the 20th of January 2009, a day of change for all of us.  We are going to grow!

Today the United States transitions from the Bush era with it’s journey to “the dark side” to a time of “hope” with Barack Obama guiding us through change and towards a renewed unity between all folk.

Most of the world’s people are enjoying a sense of optimism with this change in the U.S.A. but some are not. Some will be nursing a regret as they witness the demise of an administration that represented a culture of entitlement and consumption.

It seems that a version of the American Dream is coming to an end, the version that encourages us to believe that the earth’s resources are everlasting and for us to use like the equity in our homes.

Over the coming years all of us will have to rethink our priorities and sort out our needs and our wants.

For some this will be a bitter task.

For all of you, who will shed a tear, rend your garments, and gnash your teeth at having to reduce, reuse, and recycle, I am pleased to offer the above item from a prior era.  An era perhaps similar to our own when our forbears had to tighten their belts and dig deep into their character: the great depression.

This familiar tune, sung here by Nat King Cole, was written by the comic genius, Charlie Chaplin with words by Turner and Parsons.

My hope today, is for all of those inclined to gloom on this occasion.  May this song inspire you to cheer up, like it must have for your own parents, grandparents, or great grandparents during their years of challenge and change.

*****

Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

To watch this clip click here:

http://www.101comedies.com/comedians/inauguration-day-2009-got-change-got-hope-got-a-smile

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

… were you laughing?  Were you outraged?  What’s so funny about that?

If you’re asking you probably didn’t get it and that’s okay.  But this made me laugh, I’ll admit it.  Kind of a guilty laughter, here, alone with my P.C., but laughter none the less and I’m here to remind you all that laughter is a good thing for lots of good reasons, one of which is to not take things too seriously.

Especially the things that are really serious, like cancer.

In his memoir, “Cancer On $5 A Day”, comedian, Robert Schimmel describes his experience facing stage III non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and all it’s vicissitudes with humor.  When his oncologist gave him and his parents, both holocaust survivors, the bad news, the first thing out of his mouth was a joke, to which the doc replied “you’re going to be fine”.  “Why do you say that” asked our potential victim, “because”, said the doc, “of your attitude”.

That was close to nine years ago and he’s even had a child since then.

“Going for the laugh was his survival mechanism” and I think it’s safe to say that Robert Schimmel feels great with us laughing at him.  In fact you can do just that by tuning in his new television show, “Life Since Then” on Showtime.

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

To watch this clip click here:

http://www.101comedies.com/laughterandyourbody/whats-so-funny-about-that

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

1. Ash Grey “You Rock” T-Shirt is the perfect holiday gift for anyone you hold dear. $17.99

2. Wassamatta U Hooded Sweatshirt is the perfect seasonal gift for a college bound senior or any academic type who could use a laugh. $36.99

3. If you or your friends are worried about how to survive the holidays, Comedy Kings offers endless hours of old-fashioned, side-splitting healing laughs with 50 classic comedy films digitally remastered in a 12 double-sided DVD set! Revisit timeless comedy legends Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Carole Lombard, Charlie Chaplin, Jimmy Durante and many more! Films include such treasures as The Inspector General, Life With Father, Nothing Sacred, Perils Of Pauline, The Kid, and Road To Bali. It’s an instant library of timeless fun! $20 at Betty’s Attic. This has to be one of the best buys in comedy DVD’s.

4.  Because Santa doesn’t have mapquest, this funny pillow makes a humorous gift that will become part of Christmas celebrations each year. $32 at Belmont Home Decor.

5. According to Jerry Seinfeld, Born Standing Up is one of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written. Steve’s memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time. If you’re looking for serious laughs during the  Christmas holidays, get this book. $13.50 at Borders.

To watch inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

(On Facebook? To view the original item pictures for this post go to the ComediesThatHeal blog post:    http://tinyurl.com/8lj6mk )

This post by Jeff Hutner (www.newparadigmdigest.com)

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

Is Christmas being exploited?

Has your Santa gone to the dark side?  Does he require rehabilitation from his selfish ways?  This year Christmas is all about giving and in “Bad Santa” a selfish St. Nick learns that, while it is nice to get (or take), generosity can feel strangely better.

Bad Santa – Willy (Billy Bob Thornton) is a lazy, alcoholic thief who exploits Christmas to pose as Santa Claus and rob shopping malls.  Over the years he and his thieving elf (Tony Cox) have stolen tons of money and merchandise but now as age is catching up with him he finds that he might be losing his criminal edge.  When the cops discover his motel room, he is forced to hide out with an odious 8 year old boy (Brett Kelly) who is so naive and full of the Christmas spirit that it almost drives Willy to insanity.

Memorable Quotes:

Willy: “I’m an eating, drinking, bleeping, bleeping Santa Claus.”

Sue: “So, do you like kids?”  Willy: “Bleep no, what do you think, I’m some kind of pervert or something?”

This adult comedy has been recomended by our friends Chelsea & Ed Turville.

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/9l5npd

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

Behold Selma Blair’s skill in dealing with her daily annoyances and stresses.  She could find herself overwhelmed but, no, as in the martial arts she engages the foe but without conflict.  She diverts attention with clever ploys that entertain the adversary but cost little in time or effort.  This savvy diva of both the silver and the small screen tosses this pack of hungry news hounds a bone and then slips away.

Like some aikido master she demonstrates that the worst events can be neutralized with charm, humor and a positive attitude.  These irksome paparazzi could have spoiled her day.  They could have been very overwhelming, but no, she ascends to a higher plane and does not identify with the circumstances.  Instead she becomes the defining agent of the moment discreetly revolving it to her command.

This is Dr. Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. reminding you that your laughter heals.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/6vg7v5

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.

In this week following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, let’s not forget that Mumbai is also the home of Laughter Yoga.   The people of this city have been demonstrating that they will not be intimidated, by going about their lives in as normal a way as possible.

Perhaps for some of them the influence of Mumbai’s Dr. Madan Kataria’s innovative Laughter Yoga therapy will have made it possible for them to deal with at least part of the trauma of this experience. Watch this video to learn more about Laughter Yoga.

We want to acknowledge Dr. Kataria’s pioneering contributions to the field of laughter therapy and his popularization of the health benefits of laughter.  In this video he tells Monty Python alumnus, John Cleese, that all of the health benefits of laughter can be achieved by simply laughing on purpose which he sums up with the slogan: “fake it, fake it, until you make it”.  He says that laughter, whether real or “fake”, makes the body produce what he calls “happy chemicals” that combat the negative effects of stress and trauma and boost the body’s immune system.

And, yes it seems a little weird, at first, to just laugh for no reason but what’s fantastic is that after a little bit of time something seems to kick in and it begins to feel like there is truly something funny going on that keeps you laughing.  It’s fun!  Especially with a group of people.  And after tragedies like last week there can also be healing.

To view the video for this post, click here: http://tinyurl.com/7lhmwt

PS  To watch other inspirational comedy video clips go to   http://www.ComediesThatHeal.com

Healing Laughter

Laughter heals! We provide healing laughter through inspirational comedy.