A funny thing happened….

Dr. Kluane Spake is a close friend of mine. She is a Pastor and I get her periodic newsletters. I read them with gusto. However, this one really, really got my attention. It is unusual to put overtly religious material to my subscribers but this one gave me a very different perspective. Enjoy!

Please feel free to contact her at: htttp://kluane.org or email her at spake@mindspring.com.

Laughing Toward a Happy, Abundant, and Meaningful Life

In the beginning was the Word (logos, Jn. 1:1). Logos can be understood to mean “the word, speech, or conversation” such as when God SAID, “let there BE.”

Another long lost implied Greek definition of “logos” in this context is that it means telling a joke! Well– that idea makes me happy just to think about. It forces me to look at life from a different vantage. It causes me to consider how much the Lord God wants us to be happy. Even within this idea contains a hint of how life should be.
From original creation, God’s cosmic laughter still resounds. Can you hear it?

Laughing from the beginning shows that God unconditionally accepted us right off the bat. In spite of our mistakes and pratfalls. We were created for HIS pleasure (Rev. 4:11). Yes! God actually created us to freely be joyful — that makes Him happy too! The reason we get confused about the meaning of our lives is because we forgot that God gave us a choice to be joyful WITH Him. The spiritual  flash point of creation seems to be pleasure and joy (both for God and for us).

Augustine, John Chrysostom,  and Gregory of Nyssa (early church fathers) spoke of how God played a surprise joke on the devil when He raised Jesus from the grave. Since earliest times, Protestant Easter sermons started with a joke. The Greek Orthodox Church sets aside 24 hours of continuous joking and humor because of the joke of Resurrection.

The Greek Orthodox Church named Easter laughter “Risus Paschalis” (Segal 2001, 24). Dante’s most famous work was called the “Divine Comedy.” Dante told about how the nearer we get to heaven the wider the smile, and the greater the laughter.

Those who followed St. Francis of Assisi were so outlandishly happy about their salvation they were compared to jesters, street comics, circus performers and were known as “le Jongleur de Dieu” or the tumblers of God.

Laughter is the first thing that babies learn to do. The quality of our abundant life depends upon being able to laugh and find joy. Learning to laugh again is a major factor of greater internal enlightenment and vitality.

Most believers take life too seriously, they have the stoic part figured out – they think they need to be aesthetes to walk in God’s favor. There’s kids, careers, deadlines, pressures, degrees, disappointments, relationships, and endless demands. Do you view life as abundant or a prison sentence? Many of us may need a “Laugh track” to accompany our  life — just to recognize what is joyful.

As the saying goes, “Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and they think you’re a Christian!”

“We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk – and the next 12 years telling them to sit down and shut up.” Phyllis Diller

The first mention of  laughter in the Bible is when God told Abraham that he would be a father and Sarah, his 90 year old wife, overheard the conversation and laughed. Perhaps we know the story to well to see something else? What if the name Issac (Laughter) was chosen because Sarah’s laughter was from the astonishment of the promise? What if Laughter became his name to remember that moment of discovery? Surely her gladness was unimaginable. Her conception was a miracle.

This response caused a spiritual portal of release and acceptance of the impossible promise! Then, they named their son “Isaac,” and his name meant “laughter.” And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me” (Gen. 21:6).

I like to think about the conversation in that family. “If I told you once, Laughter, I’ve told you a thousand times., quit the rowdy laughter, Laughter. Sit down and stop laughing – be still.” “Laughter, be serious.”

Now, imagine taking Laughter (the child of promise and hope) to the mountain to sacrifice him. Genesis 22:5  “I and the lad (Laughter) will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.” Did he laugh all the way there?  Here, offering up Isaac (Laughter) by pulling a knife up to slay him according to God’s command is called “worship.”

The average Believer thinks of the Sunday morning “Worship Service” as singing music with your eyes closed and both hands in the air. But, the worship Abraham was talking about is “Shachah ” which means to yield and prostrate oneself in reverence.

It’s giving everything in joy, trust,  and expectation!

All the all the fancy music, all the processional banners, all the graceful dancers, and all the preaching in the world cannot make worship happen. But willing sacrifice with laughter IS worship. There was no promise of reward, no recompense – just do it. No wonder there was a ram in the thicket! It epitomizes the response to authentic worship!

Ask the Lord to show you how to worship in the dimension of joy and laughter -  allow His Love to spill out all over you. After all, God sits on His throne and laughs (Ps. 2:4). We’re sitting next to him on His right side.
Why would our latest revivals contain so much Holy Laughter? Because laughter heals us. Laughter spontaneously connects us one with another. People rarely laugh alone. it gives us a shared sense of understanding the world – the essence of the awareness of life.

I had a pastor friend who made me laugh. Sometimes I would fly long distances to minister for him – and he always was outlandishly funny. Laughing with that church made that place one of my favorite places to go. Laughter is a healthy response that provides us with a mini-vacation from stress and difficult emotional situations.

“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” Mark Twain

Laughter is the great communicator. It is a witness of our faith, even in hard times. You can’t be unhappy and laugh at the same time. Laughter is a joy INSIDE – it is both a physical and an emotional experience. It is a magnet that draws others to us. It creates relationship bonding. It is contagious and often uncontrollable.

Great friendships are only as memorable as the history of laughs together!

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

HEALTH – Countless advantages of laughter are said to help health issues. The August issue of Ode Magazine also tells us of some of the extraordinary health benefits of laughter:

People who laugh seem to have longer attention spans.
Immune cells become more activated. It helps us fight disease.
Laughter cleanses the body of cortisol. (Cortisol is the stress hormone that deposits fat in the abdominal region of the body.) Laughter eases anxiety.
It reduces chronic pain and these are as follows:
Laughing increases blood circulation. It pushes blood and oxygen though the coronary  arteries – reducing strokes and heart attacks.
Laughing is calming. It releases an endorphin rush that produce pleasure sensations. Endorphins reduce damage to the increases pain tolerance.
It adds higher levels of melatonin to breast milk of mothers and reduces fetal eczema.
It reduces inflammation thought to be linked to heart attacks, allergies, and arthritis.
It is an escape from stress and emotional situations.
It causes better respiration function.
It invigorates hormones called “catecholamines” that raise an alertness of our present moment in tim
It keeps us from becoming bogged down with the circumstances of life. Plus it burns more calories than worry. Laughter helps control stress.
Many cancer centers use laughter (old movies, etc.) as a coping and curing mechanism.
Gastronomical troubles are thought to be related to uncontrolled anxiety.
Stress is related to damaged endothelium (inner lining of blood vessels – arterial stiffening) that leads to heart attacks. Athens Medical School published results that confirmed the beneficial effects of laughter on arterial stiffness.
Japanese research shows that laughter helps stabilize blood sugar in diabetics.
Peter said in Acts 2:25-28:  “I saw the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad (leaps for joy) and my tongue rejoices. –You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

So try these experiences just for fun. Make the sounds.
EXISTENTAIL laugher: Subdued wary laugh in seemingly uncertain or inappropriate times.

GIGGLES: Contagious response.

CACKLE: Cartoon villains, comic scoundrels, and evil entities.

CONTEMPTUOUS: Scoffing ridicule at those in authority or power. Contemptuous, bullied, or scornful response to idea or person who is deemed worthless.

NERVOUS laugh: Awkward moments, nervousness.

SOCIAL laughter: General invitation to collectively relate socially.

CHUCKLE: Briefly acknowledge comprehension of joke, pun, or event

BELLY laughs: Involuntary explosive response. Guffaw, chortle, or snort.

We are told in Scripture to not be filled with foolish talk or crude joking (Eph. 5:4). While inappropriate  humor seems to be rampant these days, we want to laugh WITH God. We are told to not overly jest or mock, but it is wonderful to be happy, amused, celebrant, rejoicing, and smiling. God even laughs at the enemies of Israel (Ps. 59:8). Israel praised God for the gift of laughter (Ps. 126).

My friend, laugh joyfully at appropriate times and put your trust in the Lord  and His Word — nd you will have abiding  joy and a leaping up of the Holy Spirit in your heart. There is certain victory in Christ that is accompanied with eternal rejoicing and laughter.

Heb. 12:2 says, ” Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.” Jesus could endure with joy because God’s people have the last laugh that never ends.
Selah –

The number one problem in the Church today is that believers don’t fully know our identity. Can we learn to laugh and be joyful over who God has made us to be.

Life Lessons from Billionaires

I woke up this morning to hear that German billionaire Adolf Merckle committed suicide after he faced huge financial losses. He was 74 years old and survived by a wife and four children.

Later in the day, I watched Oprah’s first show of the year that I had previously recorded. Oprah discussed her recent weight gain and her desire to make an authentic change about her body.

She said that all her success and visibility meant nothing if she could not fit into her clothes. Ouch!

I was startled as to how negative her self talk was initially but she got better and eventually said, “God blessed me in THIS body” so she was going to spend more time loving herself.

Mr. Merckle’s family issued a statement: “The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life.”

I was struck as to how two of the world’s billionaires have still not figured out how to be happy. Given the media report and constant status updates about the world’s current state of financial affairs, it is a little baffling to read about this. Or is it?

However both billionaires are going to have different outcomes.

Power and Money:

First of all, people that have made a lot of money tend to also enjoy, and many times, abuse, the perceived power that comes with it.

Abuse? Yes, abuse. If you wield that perceived power over others, it is abuse. If you somehow believe that your power is equal to money or your financial status, then you are abusing your own self.

Truth: Money does not equal true power and does not equal happiness.

Let me say this again in case you are not perfectly clear. If you think that your value as a person is based on how much you earn, you can easily end up like one of these billionaires. Unhappy!

Does that level of financial accrual bring a sense of power? Yes. That power comes from feeling accomplished and probably feeling that you have met or exceeded some of your goals. That feeling, consistently over time, becomes a belief that you can do anything.

Is anything wrong with that? No.

I am talking about the abuse of power.

The belief that you can do anything is good. Its great. But when you are faced with a situation where you now have to yield your resistance and let go, it is more difficult for those at the “top,” the billionaires in this case, to yield and let go.

Different outcomes:

I commend Oprah for asking for help from Bob Greene. I commend her for going public about what she perceives as a personal failure. What excited me the most was Bob Greene said he had a theory that he had not discussed with Oprah and that he believed that Oprah had never learned to be happy; she had only learned to survive.

Billionaire Adolf does not appear to have asked for help. His body was found by the railroad tracks. He was alone and not in a familiar place when he died. His children and wife were left with anguish. I believe that given his long expertise in business, that this opportunity of financial challenge could have opened new doors for him.

Who do I identify with?

I can identify with Billionaire Adolf as he obviously did not believe in himself that he could pull through this and be better for it in the end. I have been there.  I did not know how to ask for help. I did not know how to say enough is enough. In many ways, I committed little acts of suicide. When my father died, I felt a piece of myself go with him. I never talked about it. I hurt a lot about it. In a sense, an act of cutting myself off. That is a form of emotional suicide.

When my mother died, I experienced the same thing. I did not ask for help.

When my 14 year old law practice died, I cut off a piece of myself as well.

I identify better with Oprah though because I did come around to asking for help. I asked for help and I got help. I realized that my problems were really not that bad and that I could turn lemons into lemonade. I realized that my self talk was feeding that part of me that wanted to give up instead of finding my authentic self. I worked on myself. I got a coach. I got my family involved. I leaned on my husband somemore. I spent more time alone. I self nutured more. I cared more for my soul.

That is how I became the authentic change coach. When I embraced authentic change in my life and made those changes, I tapped into happiness, got a hold of it and soared. Now, it is not just lemonade, it is champagne and caviar for me. I started to see myself as a person that I valued far more than my title as an attorney, far more than money or any of these accomplishments. I started to see myself as who I am: Precious.

That is how I gained more happiness in my life.

That is why these two billionaires and what happened to both of them matter to me.

I hope it matters to you too.

Seven Lessons learned:

1. Know when you are in trouble

2. Ask for help.

3. Get it. Money does not preclude you from life’s problems.

4. Happiness solves a lot of problems.

5. Money does not buy happiness.

6. You are precious. Not what you are or what you do. Who you are is precious.

7. From this place of value, you can get a proper perspective of what you are and what you do.

Questions:

Oprah asked four questions at the end of her show. Whatever your issue is, substitute it for the weight issue and see what comes up with you and please share.

Why are you overweight? Ask yourself what you are unhappy about.

What are you hungry for? Nurturance, acceptance?

Why have you been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?

Why do you want to lose weight? If you say you will be happy at a particular size or weight you are on the wrong track.

I am looking forward to your responses.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness is actually a misnomer. This term from the US constitution is often quoted. The constitutional foundation of the United States is built on the premise that we are ensured the freedom to pursue happiness. However, in 1776, the term pursuit meant to practice something regularly.

The traditional definition of pursuit of happiness gives the image of a horse and carrot stick where happiness is out there somewhere and we may find it but we should keep chasing after it. If this is the definition of the pursuit of happiness, it would be self defeating as we would never get it.

The pursuit of happiness is a preoccupation for many of us and has probably been since the dawn of mankind. People feel that when they get married, win the lottery, lose 50 pounds, then they would be happy.

For many, happiness always feels like something in the future. Well, we all hear that we should not think this way. So how should we think about happiness?

If we replace pursuing happiness with practicing happiness, it changes our whole understanding. It means happiness is something that we can actually do instead of just perpetually chasing after it. Practicing happiness, however, is a daily, moment by moment choice that each of can make and turn into a habit.

The best way to think about happiness is to think about it as something you can control and achieve and that it is a possibility that can happen right now, no matter what is going on around you. Happiness is pursuable: It just takes practice. Practicing happiness, however, is a daily, moment by moment choice that each of can make and turn into a habit.

How do you practice happiness?

What does happiness mean to you?

The intersection of happiness and creativity.

As you make moment by moment choices to experience and embrace more happiness, you are developing your happiness muscle.

You get to experience more happiness now by developing skills within yourself that will more likely lead you to happier thoughts and choices.

Let us first define happiness and get familiar with how it feels in the moment.

Happiness is a state and pleasure is a fleeting moment in that state.

Happiness may be best described as pleasure without desire, a state of contentment and indifference.

What this means, is that you get to define your own pursuit of happiness. No one else defines it for you. For you it may be knitting; it may be greater work satisfaction.

So as you can see, I am not talking about ecstasy or feeling high and overly energetic. Neither am I talking about doing cartwheels down the road.

Have you ever asked yourself what makes you feel happy?

For me, I have never seen a flower in bloom and not smiled. No matter what is going on.

At my mother’s funeral, as tears streamed down my face, I smiled at all the flowers at her site. They were beautiful, lying against the backdrop of the white snow that had fallen the previous day. Even now, I smile as I remember those flowers.

Why is it important to experience happiness often?

For one thing happiness has been proven to improve health. However, in addition to that, it helps with your creativity. Therefore, it can help with your job.

Another more obvious reason: Others like being around happy people.

According to research by Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School, happy people are more creative:

If people are in a good mood on a given day, they’re more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the next day, even if we take into account their mood that next day.

There seems to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking, and there’s actually a carryover, an incubation effect, to the next day.

To pursue happiness, you have to deliberately practice positive emotion. What that means is for you to check in with your yourself, your emotions and thoughts and ask yourself what you are feeling.

Take simple steps like just smiling more, listening to music, watching or listening to comedy, practice gratitude and random acts of kindness, forgive others, and notice life’s small pleasures.

What are unusual ways that you have experienced happiness?

What does happiness mean to you?

Do you want to develop more happiness skills?

Do you believe that experiencing more happiness before the good stuff shows up can enhance your life?

A Century of Authentic Living