Out of nowhere they appear, hoisting a banner that proudly displays their name in neatly embroidered letters, "Juhu Laughter Club," and below that their slogan: HO-HO, HA-HA - LAUGHING IS THE BEST MEDICINE   I'm in Bombay and the sun has not yet risen on Juhu Beach. I have come to see firsthand the work, or rather should I say play, of a most unusual doctor. Each morning forty or fifty men, women and children come to the beach for their daily dose of laughter. These people are members of one of India's almost 500 "laughter clubs"; groups which hold outdoor sessions that are free and open to everyone who believes in the therapeutic value of laughter. Madan Kataria, affectionately referred to as Dr. Laughter, is the founding force behind India's laughter therapy. A general practitioner and yoga expert, two decades ago he became interested in the physical and psychological benefits of laughter, and he has been meticulously researching its effect on the body ever since. Three years ago, when he set up his first laughter club, he was met with ridicule and bewilderment by his medical fraternity, but that did not stop him. Nor did it prevent the idea from spreading like wildfire. This year he is embarking on a worldwide "Laughter Tour" which will include Europe and the United States. "For many people stress has overtaken their lives. We have forgotten how to laugh," Dr. Kataria says. "We are living a very foolish life and we are not at peace with ourselves. We need to remember how to laugh. Laughter is a way to inner peace and relaxation." I watch as he takes his followers through their routines. It begins innocently enough, with hand clapping and a chorus of ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha. Then everyone forms a big circle and people take turns laughing, flapping their arms like a bird and performing other inane antics which, before long, have everyone giggling. And of course laughter is contagious; it feeds on itself. It lasts less than a half-hour but everyone, me included, has laughed a lot. And how does it make us feel? Well, great. Laughter is serious business to this Indian doctor. He has taken his clubs into factories where workers from the poorest city slums toil. They start the morning shift with a laughing session right on the shop floor. He takes it into schools, colleges, senior citizens homes. "There is no one who can't be helped by laughter," he points out. Laughter has become a science to him. He has already evolved 25 different types of laughter, including the Hearty Laugh, a deep, loud chuckle; the Gradient Laugh, which starts off as a smile, breaks into a titter and ends in a full-blown roar; and the Cocktail Laugh, emitting polite titters while moving the head from side to side, to name but a few. "The only factor in the therapy is that the laughter must be unconditional, like the laughter of children. We laugh [...]

The body has its own wisdom and ways of knowing, separate and distinct from that of the mind. The mind thinks while the body feels. From each of these ways of knowing we get valuable information. Just as seeing and hearing are two totally distinct senses that supply us with discrete sensations, so too the body gives us different feedback than the mind. Our bodies have a special and unique relationship with the vibrating matrix of our reality, one which we can learn to tap into and learn from. Table of Contents Why Is It So Hard to Listen to the Wisdom of Your Body? Scientific Insights Practical Benefits of Embracing Body Wisdom Integrating Mind, Body, and Soul The Heart Intelligence Why Is It So Hard to Listen to the Wisdom of Your Body? Unfortunately, our Western culture has a history of misunderstanding this relationship. Instead of seeing our body as special, unique, and a valuable part of who we are, we often dismiss the body as something less than the mind or soul. We have divorced ourselves from our body's wisdom; the body’s feelings are now ignored and dismissed as unimportant or irrelevant. How have we let this happen? Our religions are partly to blame; they mostly have been distrustful of the body, dismissing it as a temporary vehicle whose instincts and desires we must ignore and overcome. There are countless stories of mystics and saints who flogged the body in order to keep it under control, so frightened were they of its powerful instincts and urges. But this seems illogical. From a spiritual point of view, if God has put us in a body, it is probably not for the purpose of fleeing or transcending it, but rather to learn from its mysteries, absorb its great wisdom, and grow from it. But forget spirituality for a moment; just from a very practical point of view, if the body has access to wisdom and knowledge beyond what the mind can access, would it not be prudent to tap into this source of knowledge? If the body does have these capabilities and we are not listening to it, we are undoubtedly missing out on a lot. But does it? Scientific Insights Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has done extensive research on the body’s ability to feel and process information. “The body contributes more than life support,” he writes. “It contributes content that is part and parcel of the workings of the normal mind.” One of Damasio’s most startling discoveries is how the feelings of the body influence rational thought without us even being aware of the process. Damasio devised an experiment that he called "the gambling task." It worked like this: Each subject received four decks of special cards and with each card the player either won or lost money. The subjects had to turn over the cards one by one from any of the four decks. What they didn’t know was that the decks were rigged. Two of the decks [...]

People talk about living a happy life, a successful life, a meaningful life. But an authentic life? What is that? It's a good question, and one I would like you to think about. Just as “a successful life” can be defined in many ways, so too can an authentic life. For example, some people will define a successful life as one where one has earned a great deal of money and become financially affluent. For others it will be measured by their accomplishments. For still others it will be in the service they performed for humanity. Others again in the amount of happiness and peace of mind they have enjoyed. I have long taught that each of us defines success in our own way, and according to that definition, we set our goals and priorities on the way to achieving this success. So too with living an authentic life. Each of us must define what this means to us. For me, being authentic means being true to yourself, and living the truths and vision you find within. Being authentic means “living” your truths as a day-to-day practice, not holding them as mere “intellectual concepts.” All truths must be lived not just believed. That is why we are here in a body in time and space. This is what life is truly about. We each have an opportunity to practice what we believe. To act out our deepest visions. To have a life that is deep and rich and filled with meaning and purpose. Last month I wrote about knowing and understanding yourself as a prerequisite to self-actualization. It is also a prerequisite to living an authentic life. For how can you be authentic if you don't know and understand yourself? Being authentic means knowing and trusting yourself, honouring the conscious and subconscious minds. Being authentic means listening within to hear the truths that lay awaiting our discovery beyond the inner chatter of day-to-day living. Then once these truths are discovered, to bring them to life by living them through conscious action. It is through action not thought that one becomes authentic. For example, you may through contemplation, Mind Power, meditation, prayer, or whatever method you use to go within for guidance, discover that you feel an overwhelming oneness with humanity. You feel this as more than just a concept. Something deep within you resonates this as truth. In this case, to live an authentic life means to act upon that belief. It might mean donating ten percent of your income to charitable causes, or perhaps giving up a year or two of your life to work in the Third World for those who live in poverty. It could take many forms and all of them would be a reflection of living an authentic life. Being inauthentic would be to believe it but not act upon it. Maybe you don't act upon it because you're afraid or lazy or too busy, putting it off till a more convenient time. And here [...]

It takes courage To do what you want Other people Have a lot of plans for you. - Joseph Campbell The following is an excerpt from The Practice of Happiness, a book by John Kehoe. Yes I am a husband, a son, a brother, a writer, and a tax-paying citizen of Canada, and each of these roles has responsibilities and duties, but first and foremost I am me. And this role I will honour above all else. For if I don’t honour myself, my vision first, by what compass can I chart my life? To what allegiance can I swear other than to my own inner calling? We all have within us hundreds of possible destinies. Not thousands or an unlimited number of destinies. Not all destinies are ours to live and explore, but neither is there just one. Life gives you a choice. Depending upon your circumstances, your actions, and choices, numerous opportunities will be made available to you. To discover your destiny you must discover first what pleases you, where your heart leaps for joy. This is your first clue. Follow your instincts - these are in you for a reason. They are signposts to an exciting and fulfilling life. Choose a destiny that feels appropriate to you and follow it wherever it leads. There is a journey and an adventure ahead. I am speaking now to the twenty-year-old who is beginning his or her life and does not know which way to go - trust your instinct. I speak also to the forty-year-old who is at a midpoint of his life - have courage; there are destinies awaiting you if you heed the call. Listen to the voice within - it is calling you. I speak also to the sixty-year-old who has one last chance to grow old disgracefully. I love that expression. It has spirit in it. I read a book many years ago (the title I forget) about a woman who leaves her husband when she is in her early sixties. It was a true story, chronicling how she made the decision, the horror of the children, all middle-aged, as they tried to talk her out of her foolishness, her uncertainty as she left with only the clothes she could carry in one suitcase. She took only a few thousand dollars, leaving the house, the investments, all the valuables with her husband. The book told the story of her adventures both good and bad, including her lovers. It ended with her in Italy, married to a lusty farmer and living with him in his vineyard. She did not heed her friends’ advice that life was over, and so further destinies awaited her. She had the courage to leave a chronically complaining husband and a marriage that was barren, to trust the call within. That’s growing old disgracefully. There is a forgotten promised land somewhere here, no, not a land, not promised, not even really forgotten, but something calling to you. - Amos Oz When I was [...]