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my laugh from a flimsy perfunctory courtesy laugh into something enjoyable Now laugh
spontaneously heartily resolutely and much more frequently find laughing tremendously
gratifying and things that were barely amusing to me before are now hilarious
believe that laughing evolved to help humans let off steam It may have allowed instances
of camaraderie and social bonding to influence an individuals life strategy to place less value
on the adaptive aspects of trauma In other words the more conducive your environment is to
laughing the more your body assumes that your environment is a good one and that it is safe
to be optimistic A real laugh was probably designed by evolution to help us attain a fullrange
hard contraction of the diaphragm As with panthooting Exercise this contraction
relieves the diaphragm of the partial contraction caused by stress and shallow breathing
The more you rehabilitate your laugh the more you increase your diaphragms potential
for providing you with endorphins Remember that endorphins are most reliably produced by
grooming singing laughing and play These are addressed in Chapter Chapter this
section and the next section respectively
Some people with relatively calm nasopharynxes can clear their nasopharynx in the same
way others clear their throats It is like snorting except it involves breathing out rather than
breathing in Some people call it a nose laugh see it as a dominance signal conveying that the
persons nasopharynx is not tense When my nasopharynx was tense was incapable of
doing it Once you have compressed your nasopharynx using the exercises in Chapter
you can build the coordination to perform this empowering laugh
Some people use this signal to laugh at something they find inferior like rolling the eyes
Please dont use it derisively or to ridicule people Instead use it as a heartfelt laugh to
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
communicate that you are enjoying absurdity People usually find it exciting and it makes them
want to laugh along with you
Happiness Exercise Laugh through the Nasopharynx
Use a brief to seconds but powerful exhalation to force air out through your
nasopharynx with the mouth closed This snort is similar to a scoff or chortle It sometimes
arises when you try to withhold laughter First practice doing it in small short bursts to
develop the proper coordination so that you can build up to doing it in a prolonged way
With practice you will be able to hold convincing threesecond nose laughs It is a convivial
way to express amusement that improves quickly with practice
Be Playful
We dont stop playing because we grow old we grow old because we stop playing George Bernard Shaw
Play like laughter is a form of medicine but certain conditions must be met for it to be
genuine All stressors anger fear pain hunger and separation reduce play Animals must be
well fed comfortable and healthy for play to take place When these conditions are met rats
and mice chase and pounce wrestle pin nip poke and knock each other over This is the kind
of play that generates highfrequency laughterlike chirps at kHz Physical roughandtumble
play is the most fun of all At one point thought all aggressive acts were unpleasant but
judging from play in other mammals feigned aggression can be joyous
It is important to note that when mammals play rapid role reversal is a defining element
In other words they know it is friendly when everyone gets a chance to be on top Knowledge
of this should influence us to pass being dominant back and forth with our friends The rat that
ends up on top more often during pins becomes dominant The continuation of play
necessitates a willingness on the part of the winner to selfhandicap Dominant rats that go
easy on others always have playmates but those that bully are ignored when they try to solicit
play Play helps animals determine who to avoid and with whom they can develop cooperative
relationships They learn to dominate but also accept defeat without being defeated
Dominant animals would rather play but aggressive animals would rather fight Rats
involved in a fight bite each other and box This can lead to injury They stand on their hind legs
and strike each other with their front paws When they do this the kHz laughter turns into
kHz complaints This is similar to chimpanzees among whom play is accompanied by
wrestling panting and a play face whereas fighting involves boxing tearing scratching biting
and barking
Chapter Finding Happiness Through Playfulness Composed Kindness
Ilustration Animals playing
Rather than being based around wrestling human play focuses on verbal interchange and
banter Repartee involves provocation rejoinders biting commentary and if friendly laughter
As in other mammals this form of verbal jousting can engender friendship respect and
cooperation It can be made more fun with the use of bombastic quarreling absurd
braggadocio frivolous histrionics grandiose pretentiousness and ostentatious balderdash
When you do it be spunky employ exuberance and enjoy it You dont have to act excitable to
be sparkling and bubbly you just need to be playful Usually if you manage to entertain
yourself others will be entertained as well
Remember to be like the mice during play and allow others their opportunity to be on top
lest you risk losing playmates This includes giving others equal chance to talk and refraining
from dominating conversations A dog initiates play by crouching A monkey initiates it by
exposing its rear end Both of these actions involve selfdiminishment and vulnerability
Showing others that you dont take yourself too seriously or exposing a vulnerability can make
them want to play with you After experimenting with this for years now have concluded that
you can be as vulnerable and nice as you can and as long as you are playful it wont be
mistaken for weakness
Play ranks among the most beneficial neuroplastic interventions Placing rodents into
enriched environments where they can socialize wrestle and play with others results in
heavier brains and higher levels of dopamine endorphins and serotonin Studies have found
that rats deprived of play are more fearful and aggressive toward other rats Encouraging
playfulness in animals is one of the few behavioral interventions known to reverse anxiety and
depressive symptoms This is probably because it allows them to shift from the threat
response to the challenge response
Social play involves creativity and requires that we learn to approach others in diverting
and lively ways Imagination and fantasy can also facilitate play My favorite way to play with
people is to make up imaginary scenarios What would you do if am animated
shameless and immature when doing this My scenarios include helicopters ninjas dinosaurs
and hats with pinwheels on top of them When other people do this recognize it as play
participate and egg them on by laughing with them Whenever someone uses an analogy or
poetic license to describe a situation help them flesh it out until you have created a whimsical
comical cartoon world Feel at home with wordplay punning nonsense and silliness
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Ask outrageous questions set up outlandish hypotheticals and feel comfortable acting like
a kid If you have genuine heartfelt fun they will too so entertain yourself and your sense of
humor first
Reawaken Your Play Face
A simple openmouthed expression in primates called the playface communicates that play
is either underway or about to begin It often accompanies primate laughter The jaw is wide
open and sometimes the corners of the mouth are slightly drawn back Unlike the primate
sneer or grin the expression is relaxed and the teeth are usually covered completely All apes
as well as macaques patas vervets and rhesus monkeys use the playface Common during
play sessions in juveniles it is also an adult expression It is used to enlist others to play and is
accompanied by a jaunty sprightly air The display is usually reciprocated immediately It is often