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"That precipitated laughter in the court room, facilitated by the judge himself breaking out into laughter and volunteering a humorous answer to Meloling's question: "Court: You win." This provoked more laughter. I then answered the question: "That's right. That's my recommendation also," and there was still more laughter. Ridicule is, of course, the most effective weapon against arrogant stupidity. The psychiatrists were not amused. Interestingly, Dr. Finney based his criticism of my testimony on a psychoanalysis of what he imagined was my personal history. " - Thomas Szasz, The Medicalization of Everyday Life: Selected Essays (Get the book.)

"The first evidence that the "laughter" treatment was working, he reported, came when he discovered that "10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep." This was just the beginning. Over a period of mere weeks, a combination of "the laughter routine" with massive injections of vitamin C led to a rapid remission of virtually all of his debilitating symptoms." - Anne Harrington, The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine (Get the book.)

"At the American College of Cardiology conference in 2005, researchers from the University of Maryland reported that laughter actually makes blood vessels work more efficiently. "Fifteen minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system," said the cardiologist Michael Miller. Miller and his colleagues showed two movies—violent scenes from the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan and the 1996 comedy King Pin—to twenty healthy volunteers and then tested the function of their blood vessels." - Stephen Sinatra, M.D. and James C., M.D. Roberts, Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late (Get the book.)

"However, in this case, laughter in the courtroom began—as the transcript shows—not because I said something witty. Instead, it began when I described how psychiatrists make and unmake diagnoses of mental illnesses, citing smoking and gambling as newly minted diseases. At which point Albert Meloling, the prosecutor, asked me, "How do you treat that, that is, gambling, do you take away the money?" That precipitated laughter in the court room, facilitated by the judge himself breaking out into laughter and volunteering a humorous answer to Meloling's question: "Court: You win." - Thomas Szasz, The Medicalization of Everyday Life: Selected Essays (Get the book.)

"I must confess that I am having a hard time being earnest about the power of laughter. Besides, you already know how you feel when you laugh: good. The Pulse c ??o ??o * ?o • Find a way to bring more laughter into your day. • Increase your restorative exercise to 40 minutes—if you feel up to it. • Get 30 minutes of sun today. • Take five. Before you rush out the door, sit for 5 minutes and watch your breath. O If you are still struggling with this and haven't tried our online tool, One Global Breath Meditation, go to www.spentmd .com and try it now." - Frank Lipman, Mollie Doyle, Spent: Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Feel Great Again (Get the book.)

"To incorporate more laughter in your life, go back to Chapter Two and re-read "Laughter Fake it. Your Brain Won't Know the Difference!" Chapter 7 Superfoods for Weight Management and Metabolism Planning proper exercise and good nutrition can seem daunting. Giving up our precious free time to jog, swim, do yoga or lift weights...and then...after all that, prepare a nutritious meal, discourages many of us before we even start. The reality, though, is quite different." - Jan Lovejoy, Get Balanced-the Natural Way to Better Health with Superfoods (Get the book.)

"Faillace casa, uno momento," Francis said, handing me the phone before he burst into laughter. "Hi, Marc!" I said, wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Linda," he began. "I tried to make this call short. I didn't want to run up your phone bill, and I got caught up in the phone system. The first guy put me on hold and then the second guy . . . well; I couldn't keep up with him. He spoke Spanish faster than I've ever heard." At that point I couldn't stop laughing. "It was Francis," I said. But Marc was still too busy apologizing to realize what I just said. " - Linda Faillace, Mad Sheep: The True Story Behind the USDA's War on a Family Farm (Get the book.)

"Average blood flow increased 22 percent during laughter and decreased 35 percent during mental stress. "The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis, 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," Miller said. In a second study presented at the forum, Wei Jiang, of Duke University, reported on the other side of the emotional coin: depression. The researchers followed 1,005 heart failure patients and also tested them for depression." - Stephen Sinatra, M.D. and James C., M.D. Roberts, Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late (Get the book.) "Among the leaders in laughter research is Lee Berk, of Loma Linda University in California. In one study, Berk divided in half a group of cardiac patients who had suffered a heart attack. Both groups received conventional rehabilitation care, but the members in one group also watched a humorous video or sitcom of their choice on a daily basis. After a year, the data showed that the comedy watchers had significantly lower stress hormone levels and blood pressure readings. They needed fewer medications. They registered healthier electrocardiograph readings." - Stephen Sinatra, M.D. and James C., M.D. Roberts, Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late (Get the book.) "Fifteen minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system," said the cardiologist Michael Miller. Miller and his colleagues showed two movies—violent scenes from the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan and the 1996 comedy King Pin—to twenty healthy volunteers and then tested the function of their blood vessels. The researchers looked specifically at the endothelium and found that blood flow was reduced in fourteen of the twenty volunteers after viewing stressful clips. But blood flowed more freely in nineteen of the twenty when they laughed at funny movie segments." - Stephen Sinatra, M.D. and James C., M.D. Roberts, Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late (Get the book.)

"Patch Adams, and learn about the healing power of laughter; how 30 minutes of laughter produces perhaps $100,000 worth of chemicals in your brain and body, which boost immune system function to prevent chronic disease. Hopefully, learn from people like myself as well about the toxic effects of food ingredients and the healing potential of natural foods. Investigate homeopathy, because I think that's one of the most promising areas of future healing. There is energy in water, and the nature of that energy greatly affects your mind and body." - Mike Adams, Spam Filters for Your Brain (Get the book.)

"Beyond creating laughter, part of Eve's work is helping peopie tell their own stories, giving them importance and purpose. She talks about one of her hundreds of patients, a middle-aged man hospitalized with heart disease. As she entered his room, Eve saw a frail, bent over, crestfallen person. He shared the story of his illness, about being a patient, his doctors, his prognosis, his medications. Then Eve helped him shift the story away from disease." - Rick Foster, Greg Hicks, M.D., Jen Seda, Choosing Brilliant Health: 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being (Get the book.) "Spiegel also reported a "good deal of crying in these groups, as well as laughter . . . the groups provided a setting in which they could deal with their fears." While long-term survival rates have soared for metasticized breast cancer in the years since this study was conducted, the findings of Dr. Spiegel's work are profound to this day. The group members, who actively shared feelings, lived twice as long on average as the control subjects (36.6 months for the group members versus an average of 18.9 months for the others). And the group members reported experiencing 50 percent less pain." - Rick Foster, Greg Hicks, M.D., Jen Seda, Choosing Brilliant Health: 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being (Get the book.)

"As the nuns heard this, there was a sigh of relief, followed by sporadic giggles that quickly led to a wave of laughter. Apparently my answer was typical of what might be expected from those who had learned of the revelations in the Buddhist scriptures; it wasn't one expected from a Westerner. The teacher smiled as he turned and slowly walked back toward the door. The conversations in the room settled back into the low drone that had been present only moments earlier." - Gregg Braden, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief: Shattering the Paradigm of False Limits (Get the book.)

"There were flashes of terror, laughter, crying, and shouting. Max revealed to Danielle everything about his life: the lies, the cheating, and the drug use. Once they got past the factual lies, he shared his interpretations, feelings, and thoughts about what had been driving him. And he listened, deeply, to Danielle's truth. The result was not just psychological relief. Amazingly, there was a stunning physical transformation as well. "I can't explain it," says Max about the aftermath of his truth-telling. "All my senses went into overdrive." - Rick Foster, Greg Hicks, M.D., Jen Seda, Choosing Brilliant Health: 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being (Get the book.)

"They gather in the street each afternoon to laugh with and at each other. laughter reduces stress, which can lower one's risk of cardiovascular disease. The Blue Zone in Okinawa Sunshine, Spirituality, and Sweet Potatoes THE SIMPLEST WAY TO IMAGINE OKINAWA is to envision it as a Japanese Hawaii—an exotic laid-back group of islands with a warm, temperate climate, palm trees, and sugar-sand beaches hemming a turquoise sea, where the cities ping and hum with an electronic din, and a favorite dish is a SPAM-and-vegetable stir-fry." - Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest (Get the book.)

"To incorporate more laughter in your life, go back to Chapter Two and re-read "Laughter Fake it. Your Brain Won't Know the Difference!" Chapter 7 Superfoods for Weight Management and Metabolism Planning proper exercise and good nutrition can seem daunting. Giving up our precious free time to jog, swim, do yoga or lift weights...and then...after all that, prepare a nutritious meal, discourages many of us before we even start. The reality, though, is quite different." - Jan Lovejoy, Get Balanced-the Natural Way to Better Health with Superfoods (Get the book.)

"They respond with laughter during my office checkups when I say to them, "The first time / ate broccoli, do you think I liked it? The next time I ate broccoli, do you think I liked it? The NEXT time I ate broccoli, do you think I liked it? Why did I keep eating broccoli if I didn't like it? Because people whom I knew and trusted kept saying to me: 'Broccoli makes you faster, makes you stronger, makes you smarter. Broccoli tastes great. Try it again!' Guess what? Now I love broccoli and I eat it every day. And you know, it really does make you stronger and faster and smarter." - Jay Gordon, The ADD and ADHD Cure: The Natural Way to Treat Hyperactivity and Refocus Your Child (Get the book.) "He was always full of giggly laughter and would dash around the house and make lots of loud noise. This childish behavior that the family always found endearing (if sometimes irritating), however, persisted past the age when other kids had seemed to gain more control of themselves. Because he was so young, What Does ADD/ADHD Mean? Attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) is a condition affecting children and adults that is characterized by problems with attention, impulsivity, and sometimes overactivity." - Jay Gordon, The ADD and ADHD Cure: The Natural Way to Treat Hyperactivity and Refocus Your Child (Get the book.)

"When the story is finally told to the group by the last person in the chain, the distortion of the original story is often so dramatic as to provoke laughter. The person-to-person transmission of stories of any complexity is just not very reliable. For this reason, pure word-of-mouth transmission of ideas, even if abetted by the telephone, is not likely to extend widely enough to infect an entire nation all by itself. The accuracy of transmission will falter long before that happens. In contrast, computer-to-computer transmission is unerring." - Brian Fagan, Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations (Get the book.)

"Was their laughter irrelevant? My past work told me it wasn't. Data from my published studies suggested that positivity could be a lifeline—an important way of coping with adversity. I regrouped and began to wonder how I could best test the idea that even now, in the midst of this national tragedy, positive emotions were still valuable. I was instantly reenergized. Then it hit me. We had just completed a large study in which we'd measured the purported resilience levels of more than 100 college students using a simple survey." - Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life (Get the book.) "Maybe it was witnessing your child's delight in taking her first steps, or playing a game of chase or, catch with your dog, sharing a meal and lots of laughter with a friend you haven't seen in ages, or playing touch football in the park during a family get-together. Maybe it was dancing with a group of friends as your favorite band played. Whatever comes to mind for you, take a moment to relive the experience in your mind, letting your joy rekindle. Consider how you felt and what you felt like doing." - Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life (Get the book.) "Whether it's fascination, laughter, or love, your moments of heartfelt positivity don't last long. Good feelings come and go, much like perfect weather. It's the way we humans were designed. Positivity fades. If it didn't, you'd have a hard time reacting to change. If positivity were permanent, you wouldn't notice the difference between good news and bad news, or between an invitation and an insult. If you want to reshape your life for the better, the secret is not to grasp positivity too firmly, denying its transient nature." - Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life (Get the book.) "Shared laughter signals that you find your current situation to be safe and lighthearted and that you'd like to use this blessed time to build connections with others.13 When was the last time you laughed? INSPI RATION. Every so often, you come across true human excellence. You transcend the ordinary, seeing better possibilities than usual. Witnessing human nature at its very best can inspire and uplift you. Perhaps you see a colleague step away from his own pressing schedule to patiently help a disoriented older man find his way through the labyrinth of the medical center." - Barbara Fredrickson, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life (Get the book.)

"Exercise, music, good sex, laughter, meditation, prayer, even the simple smell of an orange can all evoke beta-endorphin. We'll talk about each of these in later chapters. For now, all you need to remember is that there is life after addiction—and it's a very good life indeed. Chapter 6 Getting Started Now that you have a good sense of the science behind sugar sensitivity, you are ready to put your food plan into action. As you do this, you will be the author of your own healing process. You will use the recommended tools to make changes in a way that will work for you." - Kathleen DesMaisons, Potatoes Not Prozac: Solutions for Sugar Sensitivity (Get the book.)

"As people come up with new approaches to old problems, they become more animated, the vocal volume in the room soars, there's laughter even when the topic is serious, and everyone is engaged in the process. What we're witnessing in these sessions is the excitement generated when people begin to see the possibility of something better. Once again, medical research helps us understand why. Studies show that opening up new options leads to positive emotions and optimism, which have healthy biochemical and energetic effects." - Rick Foster, Greg Hicks, M.D., Jen Seda, Choosing Brilliant Health: 9 Choices That Redefine What It Takes to Create Lifelong Vitality and Well-Being (Get the book.)

"Attitudes of happiness, gratitude, thankfulness, love, forgiveness, patience, and so forth, are relaxing, stress-reducing, and supportive to all body functions. laughter is especially healing. Gratitude and Love Whatever we do, whether it is eating, working, or playing, should be done with gratitude and love. Both attitudes play large roles in our emotional well-being. Thankfulness is a feeling of gratitude and appreciation. And although we are most familiar with feeling love as an emotion, in its pure form, love is a way of being and relating to the world; it is an attitude." - Ron Garner, Conscious Health: A Complete Guide to Wellness Through Natural Means (Get the book.)

"Researchers at many medical centers have found that laughter also boosts the immune system. Although laughter has recently been encouraged for its healing properties by physicians-authors Bernie Siegel, M.D., and Deepak Chopra, M.D, to name just two, the idea is nothing new. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Since 1930, Reader's Digest has printed its popular column "Laughter, the Best Medicine." And Charlie Chaplin, known to the world as silent film's "funniest man," once said, "Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain." - Sheldon P. Blau, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.R. and Elaine Fantle Shimberg, How to Get Out of the Hospital Alive: A Guide to Patient Power (Get the book.)

"In later experiments, Berk reported that laughter boosted the activity of immune cells, which help you fight colds, flus, and other diseases. Laughter is a good way to gauge the mental health of other people, and I often say that you can't trust anyone who doesn't laugh. It's also important to pay attention to what someone finds funny. Racist and sexist humor is offensive and says a lot about the person making the wisecracks—and about the people laughing at those jokes. Conversely, wit or puns reflect a sharp perceptiveness about the common absurdities of life." - Jack Challem, The Food-Mood Solution: All-Natural Ways to Banish Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Stress, Overeating, and Alcohol and Drug Problems--and Feel Good Again (Get the book.)

"FREQUENT FARTING Farting probably provokes more laughter and embarrassment than any other normal bodily function. Because of the sounds and smells that often accompany farts, they're hard to hide. Excessive gas in the digestive system is medically known as flatulence or flatus. Gas can float around your in- SIGNIFICANT FACT þ testines, causing bloating and sometimes pain. When the gas escapes through the mouth, as most of it does, it's a burp. (See Excessive Burping, above.) But when the gas is expelled through the anus, it's a fart." - Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan, Body Signs: From Warning Signs to False Alarms...How to Be Your Own Diagnostic Detective (Get the book.)

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