Humor Reduces Stress

Prices lower than your Self-esteem!

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I can’t even express how much this event touched my heart- Elaine did a much better job than I could.

What I will say is the experience will stay with me for quite awhile.

The children were fabulous and sooo grateful and kind- even though they have gone through so much in the very tiny little life’s they have lead so far.

I hope you all mark your calendars for next year- you don’t want to miss this.

I wish I could have been there the whole week- but know I would have gotten very attached to the children….

Mark your calendars for next year!!!!!

DotJ

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Hi Everyone:
Did anyone see the recent column by Andy Rooney titled “Writing on my Mind?” A magazine editor wrote to say that they were doing an article on the healing power of laughter and asked him to please write back giving some examples of the sort of thing that makes him laugh.

To this Mr. Rooney said, “I throw this out, resisting the temptation to say that people who believe that laughter cures an illness make me laugh.”

We all know about the beneficial effects of laughter, therefore Mr. Rooney’s laughing at us and the work of AATH may actually be keeping him healthy, and he doesn’t even know why!

Best to all,
George Scherer

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A baby seal walks into a bar and orders a Canadian Club…. Think about it!

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I second how rewarding this day was, I also used a vacation day from work and I have to say it was well worth it. The children, camp buddies and the entire volunteer staff were wonderful.

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Dear Members,
On Wednesday, July 22nd, myself, Dot Hardy, Donna Onifer and Julie Gola spent the day working the carnival at Vision Hope’s Challengers for Life camp. As I am sure you all remember, this is a camp for foster children. Some of our previous fundraisers helped to sponsor several of these children and the grant Dot got from her employer helped to fund the birthday party that was given for all of the children.

I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful day this was for the 4 of us! We arrived at the camp at around 10:30am. We were asked to watch a training video that would help us understand the trauma that some of these children have been through in their short lives. It was heartbreaking.

We were then taken on a tour of the camp. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures. We were also taken on a tour of the “Sunshine Store”. This is a store that is set up by Vision Hope with all kinds of new and used clothing as well as some accessories. Each child is allowed to go in to the store and choose whatever they would like. A shoe store from Clinton Township was also coming on Thursday to fit each child with a new pair of shoes.

After the children ate lunch, the four of us worked the various carnival games that had been set up. These children were so sweet, so polite and so thankful to have the opportunity to be at the camp and to be a part of this day. It was so sad to see their sweet faces and know that they have endured so much pain already in their short lives. During these games, EVERYONE won a prize. In spite of some bad weather, we worked the carnival until about 5pm.

We left there wet and tired but so happy talking about the day. We will talk about it more at the meeting in August. I know the four of us plan on attending this camp again next year and we would LOVE to have any of you that are available to join us. It was one of the best “work vacation days” that I have ever taken.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Elaine

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Today I was busy running around trying to get things done in the office and at home. At the end of the day I went fishing with my daughter. We had a laugh filled relaxing experience.

There were a bunch of boys with their dads on the dock who had been fishing for hours and didn’t even have one nibble from a fish. We were there about fifteen minutes when my daughter pulled in a large mouth bass.

She has caught Perch and Blue Gill in the past but never a large mouth bass. When it hooked on the line it surfaced and tried to get loose. I quickly grabbed the net and lifted it out of the water. All the boys and their dads were congratulating her and a little envious at the same time.

I grabbed the fish out of the net, held it in my hand and used my ventriloquist skills to make the fish talk. My daughter was laughing; the parents were laughing but the boys were a little spooked.

See it is so easy to have a laugh and have some fun.

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Here are some some fun ways to add some daily humor in your workplace…

“The Success Bell!” When someone in the office helps a client or makes a new sale they ring a bell and everyone cheers and laughs.

2) “Funny Name Day!” Everyone gets to think up a funny name for themselves and puts it on a name tag and all through the day they are called that name. (Example: Bart Simpson, Daffy Duck, Kermit The Frog…_)

3) “Red Nose Lunch Day!” This can be a day or a week when the employees wear a red nose during lunch and are instructed to find a joke on the internet and share it during lunch for some fun laughs. (I can give links to where the can buy the red noses for very little money.)

4) “Time to Laugh!” There can be a bell or a laugh bag and when it is heard everyone stops what they are doing, stands and lets out a loud laugh for a couple seconds and then goes back to work.

5) “Wear Something Funny Day!” This is where the sky could be the limit. They can set up theme days like clown day or cartoon character day where they could wear something to represent the funny theme.

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6) “Celebrate a silly holiday!” This could be a holiday like Ground Hog Day, for example. Everyone asked to bring in a Ground Hog dish, tell Ground Hog jokes and sing Ground Hog Songs. (Everyday is a silly holiday I will have a link up on my site with ideas)

If you have more ideas feel free to share them with us….

Copyright Richard Paul 2009

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Dr. Deepok Chopra has said that “we think 65,000 thoughts in the course of a day.” A majority of those thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday and we will carry them along with us tomorrow and the next day and the next day. My friend Melody Haines, of Mind over Matters wrote “Our minds get on a treadmill of letting our thoughts think us, so to speak, it happens in the background, unconsciously.” The point is, unconsciously we are reliving the same fears, worries, angers and problems over and over again. A perpetual stream of uneasiness and stress that weakens our immune system, raises our blood pressure, messes up our arteries and causes illness and disease.
In his book Stress Less Dr. Don Colbert MD, talks about a psychiatry professor who was a former dermatologist that shared about the many patients he treated for psoriasis. He told him “that treating so many people with skin disorder led him to the conclusion that people were actually weeping through their skin.” If our mind is continually replaying the same negative story over and over we will always be tense and feeling sick. Unless we make a choice to break the cycle by changing our thoughts we will become part of the 75 to 95 percent that the American Institute of Stress says visit there primary care physician’s office for stress related disorders.

The secrets to reducing our stress:
1) You have to want to change
2) Be committed to change
3) Believe that changing your thoughts will change your life

Wanting to change:
If you want to change you have to consciously think it and say it. It is all about making up your mind that today is the day I will focus on my blessings rather than the so called misfortunes.
Robert Frost put it brilliantly, “I make my bed and make up my mind it is going to be a great day.”
I read about a woman who lost her house and everything she owned in a tornado and while all of her neighbors were complaining she was singing praise that her husband and children were alive. It’s your choice; to sing the blues or be grateful that you are alive.

Be committed to change:
You have to be committed to do what ever you can do to break the negative thinking cycle. One of the easiest ways to take a detour from stress promoting thinking is with a smile. Research has found that smiling is a great way to quickly change attitude and relax us. Mark Shibich PhD writes “smiling can work to counteract the effects of stress.” Scientific American Minds Magazine in its May 2009 issue talks about a studies where patients who smiled actually showed more pain tolerances than others that were frowning. By committing to smiling in the morning and throughout the day you will as Shibich writes “ trick: your body into believing that everything is good.” This will eventually create a new thought learning curve that can help reduce negative thinking and promote a more positive thinking process. My friend Susan Stewart from Live Well Laugh Lots says, “When we are experiencing joy even for a few moments through laughter, our minds are completely focused on the present moment rather than regurgitating the past or predicting the future. Smiling promotes laughter and laughter is what Milton Berle called “the instant vacation” or as Steve Ayan writes, create a cognitive distance between yourself and the circumstances in a way that can be psychologically protective.”

Lastly is that you need to believe that changing your thoughts will change your life….
I am living proof of someone who wanted to change his thoughts and changed his life; someone whose mind was filled with pessimistic thinking and failure driven thoughts. When my wife almost left me along with our first born, I had to make a choice-continue to ruin our lives both physically and emotionally or make a commitment to change.
Was it easy? No! Do I sometimes drift back? Yes! But everyday in good times and bad I still want to be better. I am still committed to smiling, laughing and healthier happier thinking.
Change your thoughts, change your attitude and you will change your life.
Don’t wait start today!
Copyright Richard Paul 2009

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We have been taught that the best ways to reduces stress is to exercise, meditate, eat right or add things like Yoga to our daily routine. But, if we take along our problems into these practices, we are defeating the purpose. I have a good friend who watches what he eats, exercises religiously everyday and his blood pressure is still going through the roof. Why? Because he mixes his salads with worry and brings his fears and doubt with him on the tread mill. I am not suggesting you give up good eating and exercise habits. What I am suggesting is that you think about adding laughter as part of your daily health and wellness mix. Laughter has been clinically proven to quickly reduce cortisol while at the same time releasing endorphins, which are in the same chemical family as opiates heroin and morphine, natural painkillers. Laughter also will boost our immune system and help us to relax and think clearer. So if you want to relax, lower your blood pressure, and have a healthier immune system I suggest you add laughter to your daily routine.

“A giggle a day keeps the blues away” Unknown

Laughter Exercise:

Here is a little exercise you can implement daily before you begin your morning workout or if you find yourself in a stressful situation.

1) Sit up straight in your chair and start with a simple Ha Ha Ha, then add a He He He and finally a Ho HoHo Now mix them together Ha Ha Ha, He He He, Ho Ho Ho.

2) Take both of your hands and put them on your belly and shake your body up and down as you Ha Ha Ha, He He He, Ho Ho Ho.

3) Now stand up putting your hands on your belly, shaking up and down and rocking back and forth going Ha Ha Ha, He He He, Ho Ho Ho.
Right now you may be thinking this is silly but it is the silliness that will promote the laughter which reduces the cortisol, increase the endorphins, boost the immune system and add several years to your life

So don’t wait now is the time to HA HA HA, HE HE HE, HO HO HO.

For more ideas click here…

Copyright Richard Paul 2009

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