Pragito Dove’s accessible, innovative methods allow users to reap the benefits of meditation wherever and whenever, in thirty seconds, four minutes, or twenty-four hours. Emphasizing expression, rather than repression, of emotion, these dynamic practices can begin with a variety of movements and sounds, or with silence. Meeting the practitioners where they are in sadness, fear, stress, anger or joy — the techniques can be done in the midst of work, play, or home life, and either alone or with others. Drawing on traditions and teachers including the twentieth-century mystics Osho and Gurdjieff, Sufism and Buddhism, Dove’s synthesis meets the needs of contemporary life with attention to the full range of human experience and reverence for the peace and joy possible in every moment.

PRAISE FOR LAUGHTER, TEARS, SILENCE

EXCERPT FROM PART 1: LAUGHTER

I start this book with the topic of laughter and with laughter meditations, because this is how I discovered that meditation can be fun. In my experience the laughter practice is one of the easiest ways to get into meditation. Even if this is the only technique you do, it will transform your life and your world; in fact, this technique can transform the whole world. You can start with a smile or a chuckle, and even if you just do one minute each day, you experience profound benefits. You attract good things, improve your health, lower your stress level, open your heart to more love, and unleash your creative juices. We’ve all felt it, haven’t we—that overwhelming sensation of laughter when each fiber of our being pulsates with joy, bringing on a deep feeling of relaxation? Out of this easiness everything is possible, because instead of a lack of energy, you experience the fullness of energy without tension. The more relaxed you become, the fresher you feel, full of potential for creativity. Laughter is an immensely valuable activity; it is life, love, and light. When real belly laughter happens it comes from your very core. Have you experienced this? From your very center ripples start spreading outward. It is almost like an earthquake! Laughter brings energy from your inner source to your surface. It is a mystery, and it’s better to experience it than to hear someone talk about it, isn’t it?

Most of us hope for these moments of happy abandon, and we may tell ourselves that they don’t happen often enough. The truth is, we don’t have to wait to be happy. The concepts and practices I’ve included here are designed to help us relax, loosen up, and enjoy life. They provide an opportunity for playfulness and a reminder that life does not have to be a constant struggle. Even when we are not feeling happy, these techniques can help energize us and move us forward in difficult times. They help coax to the surface our inner happiness, serving as a vehicle to awaken us to our innate joy.

Happiness is our essential nature. Rather than waiting for events outside us to determine our happiness, we can find deep inside the happiness that is our essential nature. Perhaps we think that we have to be relaxed and calm, and that all sorts of conditions need to be there for us to be happy. This is not the case. Happiness can be there for no reason. The more we make a practice of smiling, laughing, and enjoying ourselves for no reason, the more we discover we already have what we are seeking.

Meditation isn’t something you have to work at with a straight face. Be sincere about meditation, yes, but not serious, because then you will be forcing yourself to achieve. This only creates more tension. The more fun you have with the various techniques — the more playful you are as you approach them — the more relaxed you are and the more you will want to keep meditating. In his book Laugh after Laugh: The Healing Power of Humor, Dr. Raymond Moody explains: “Laughter is a good natural tranquilizer. It can stimulate the brain to produce hormones called catecholamines which may then trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins have been described as a natural valium and foster a sense of relaxation and well being. Catecholamines also enhance blood flow and thus may speed healing, reduce inflammation and stimulate alertness.”

Laughter’s Benefits:

Laughter is good for us in every way: physically, emotionally, spiritually.

• Laughter stimulates physical healing. If you can laugh when you are sick, you heal faster. If you cannot laugh, sooner or later you will become ill. Laughter brings energy from your inner source to your surface. • Laughter enhances our creativity.I have noticed, after numerous episodes of laughter, that I become flooded with creative energy. As old conditioning is released, the unconscious opens and insights come. The relaxation of body and mind provides a gateway for inner wisdom to be expressed.

• Laughter is rejuvenating and regenerating.When we laugh and smile we loosen up and generally feel better. The face collects stress, and when we laugh we release a tremendous amount of tension, giving us a more youthful appearance. Laughing reminds us to have fun. Today, do something just for the sheer fun of it.

• Laughter is sexy.Laughter helps attract people who are good for us and is very beneficial for anyone who is sexually blocked. It releases inhibitions and opens us up, bringing us directly in touch with our life force energy. Many people have reported improved sexual responsiveness after doing the laughter meditations.

• Laughter is good for relationships.Humor draws people together. Many couples who do the Laughter and theOsho Mystic Rose meditations tell me that they find a tremendous improvement in their relating. They discover another side of each other, the playful, humorous side, which brings relief to the more serious parts of life concerned with work, money, housework, the kids, and so on. Remember the old adage “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? Well, it doesn’t do much for Jill either!

• Laughter opens the heart. Laughter creates an opening to the love, compassion, courage, trust, and intuitive wisdom that vibrate within you.

• Laughter activates the Law of Attraction. Laughter fills us with warm, positive vibrations that activate the feeling state we need to attract good things to us.

• Laughter gives us a glimpse of freedom from the mind.For those moments when you are totally laughing, you are free of the mind. You are brought from worry to humor, from tension to relaxation, from fear to trust, from timidity to courage. In other words, you move from the mind to the heart. You cannot think and laugh at the same time. In those seconds when you are out of the mind, you are in meditation. In those seconds the mind is not and you are.

You can even laugh your way to enlightenment. Laughter serves as a bridge to our inner silence. It is an ordinary experience that can give you an extraordinary experience, a glimpse of no mind. It can be used as a preparation for meditation. There is hope. There are solutions to depression, fear, and pain. We can experience our emotions in a safe,meditative context, so that we can be refreshed and renewed.

In this part I’ve included many techniques that helped me transform my anger, pain, and fear into love, creativity, and joy. The same can happen for you. You can do these meditations alone or with friends. Just do them. One minute a day is a good start.

Be kind and gentle with yourself. If you don’t feel like laughing, practice smiling more often, read some joke books, or watch some comedies. As you do, what is naturally inside will begin to surface more and more easily. And remember, if you are going through a difficult time, you can also give an equal amount of time to allowing your sadness to be there. It is the balanced awareness and expression of both these energies that will bring you to a deeper harmony and peace within yourself.

Copyright Pragito Dove 2010