INTENTION
- The intention of expressive meditation is to first release mental, physical and emotional tensions from the body/mind and then, sit in silence.
- By taking the lid off the proverbial pressure cooker and dumping out inner turmoil in a meditative context, you can then more easily access inner peace, clarity of mind and joy.
BENEFITS
- These techniques, for example the Laughter, Tears, Gibberish, Dancing, Shaking, Dynamic and Humming Meditations allow you to transform anger, sadness and fear into emotional stillness, love and wisdom.
- Expressive Meditation offers an alternative to taking out your stress on others or yourself.
HOW IT WORKS
- All these techniques start with the body or its physical activity
- Movement allows for the cathartic or physical release of tension and emotion from the body/ mind and helps you transition to sitting or lying down in stillness and silence.
- Drawing on such traditions as Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism, Hotei the Laughing Buddha, and such teachers as the 20th century mystic Osho, Expressive Meditation techniques emphasize expression, rather than repression, of emotion.
“When I first heard about the Laughter Meditation I thought it was the craziest thing I’d ever heard. I thought I can’t laugh for no reason. Then gradually it just came, easily and naturally. I had forgotten how to laugh spontaneously… just because. Now my laughter, sense of humor and creativity are readily available to me. I have a deeper connection to my inner stillness and wisdom”
“Laughter Meditation is wonderful. In the first stage laughing together with others feels so good. Then in the second stage, it is profoundly inspiring to be in silence together with others. The process to inner stillness is suddenly easy. It’s amazing how you can feel energy in your body when sitting still. It’s like a silent joy, an aliveness yet calm and peaceful at the same time.”
Step One: (One Minute)
Step Two: (One Minute)
Laughter is one of the easiest ways to free yourself from the mind’s constant thought process and find inner peace. It will make you more alive, more healthy, more creative, and more silent. Simply relax into the enjoyment. You will discover in yourself a tremendous natural talent for rejoicing in life. You may even laugh your way to enlightenment. Yes, it’s that good. Remember to laugh, a lot, every day!
“My daily life is transformed by laughter meditation. This week, on Tuesday, I did a short laughter meditation before going to work (I’m a nurse in a hospital). The situation became quite chaotic and the office staff complimented me on how calm I remained through the storm. I told them I had done my laughter meditation and that’s what I attributed my calmness to. On Thursday I was awakened by a dream at 4.a.m. (25 minutes before the alarm was set to go off) In the dream I was doing a laughter meditation, and the vibration in my body caused me to wake up. The beauty of it was I awakened in a happy mood, not caring it was early…..off to work I went…..enjoying my day with lightness and laughter. I have discovered the more I laugh the more I want to laugh making my life increasingly enjoyable and fun.”
“Laughing or even just thinking of laughing melts away stress. I become amiable and I can actually feel the body chemistry changing, just like an internal wash from negativity or stress. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I just laugh out loud, especially when I’m around my kids. They start to laugh along with me which we all find very funny. That is how contagious laughing is. Sometimes when there are people around they also start to laugh. I find when I laugh like this sometimes tears of joy come.”
“Laughter meditation clears my mind and creates a space for complete peace, a beautiful silence that I have not been used to. I also get a rush of vitality that brings in all positives and eliminates all negatives. It helps heal pain and is extremely beneficial for my overall well-being.”
“Every time I do the laughter meditation I come out of it refreshed and with more energy than I had before. As a mother of three I notice my heart opening and I’m able to have compassion and a sense of humor in even the most difficult family situations.”
