A Joke a Day Keeps Unhappiness Away

With an apology for yet another glitch caused by technology sabotaging my work, I am happy to report to you, Beautiful People, that our May Lasting Joy club get-together was successful, inspirational, and a lot of fun. In addition to club members who were physically present, the number of remote access participants has been growing steadily, from month to month. Unfortunately, only the first few minutes were recorded, and here they are:

The homework assigned for this month was to practice achieving success by visualizing yourselves having achieved it already.  One of the club members shared her experience: she envisioned completed a Spanish language course during the summer semester, and felt inspired, enthusiastic, and joyful when she actually enrolled and started taking the course. She is determined to see it to a successful completion. You should’ve seen her eyes shine when she was telling us about it.  Don’t be shy to give a high five! And if no one is around, give yourself a high five!

Did you know that in the 1950’s people laughed on average 20 minutes a day? Today we laugh about 3 – 6 minutes a day, diminishing our chances to enjoyment of life and to success. “This is so sad,” remarked one of the members present. So get those endorphins going: “If you are not happy inwardly, at least do something outwardly (power smile, power pose, power laugh, power song, power dance),” recommended Rabbi Dov-Ber of Lubavitch to a father who had lost his son. Physically connect with others, if you can. Research has indicated that physical contact during moments of joy almost doubles the joyous feeling – and it could be a cat or a dog, if there is no human available, and it could be a simple joke you are laughing at! So laugh more, laugh often, and share your joy with others.

The following videos are from last year’s get-together, making Fruit Rainbows.  

Notice all the adorable kiddies that come with their mommies every time and eagerly participate – they learn to strive for happiness from early age!

Happiness in the world depends on each one of us: you, and you, and you!

Your homework for next month is to practice strengthening your sixth sense – your sense of humor! – by making up or finding at least one joke a day. Put a check mark on your calendar each time you laugh at a joke!

Feel free to communicate with me in comments, by e-mail drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com, or by Skype drdolly613.

Remember: happiness is a choice; choose to be happy today!

 

Laugh to Success

Rabbi Pliskin recalls a school principal who had “an interesting school policy. His teachers had to promote laughter before giving tests. In his experience, the students invariably got higher grades when they were in a humorous state. Endorphins produced by laughter enable a student’s brain to work at optimal level” (Life Is Now, Chapter 26).

Your brain is busily working for you, manufacturing biochemicals called endorphins. Research has shown that those incredible little hormones infuse your blood stream and circulate through your entire body even when you act AS IF you were joyful, not only when you actually are happy. Think about it, says Rabbi Pliskin: your experience is totally imaginary, yet your endorphin factory, your miraculous brain, still produces a healthy doze of joy, entirely free!

Your homework for this month was to practice achieving ZERISUS (joyful state) by exercising Laughter Yoga. But how does laughter lead to success? How do you get from here

to here:

Get those endorphins going: recall at least one instance when you were successful in doing something. Picture yourself in that situation and feel some of the original pleasure. Share your story with us. Give each other high five! Watch the video of our April get-together to see this exercise in action.

Your homework for next month is to practice achieving success by visualizing yourselves having achieved it already. See you next month!

Recipe for Tropical Salsa is posted here.

You can always reach me at drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com and by Skype at drdolly613.

Happiness is a choice – choose to be happy today!

Let’s Go!

I hope you have practiced Laughter Yoga, Beautiful People, especially yesterday, on April 1st. You’ll share your fun with us tonight, at our get-together, where we talk, laugh, play music, and learn to make Tropical Salsa for Passover.

Here is your remote access information:

Tue, April 2, 2019 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM EST 

Please join our meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/870930901 

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (646) 749-3117 

Access Code: 870-930-901 

More phone numbers

Australia: +61 2 9091 7603

Austria: +43 7 2081 5337

Belgium: +32 28 93 7002

Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373

Denmark: +45 32 72 03 69

Finland: +358 923 17 0556

France: +33 170 950 590

Germany: +49 692 5736 7300

Ireland: +353 15 360 756

Italy: +39 0 230 57 81 80

Netherlands: +31 207 941 375

New Zealand: +64 9 282 9510

Norway: +47 21 93 37 37

Spain: +34 932 75 1230

Sweden: +46 853 527 818

Switzerland: +41 315 2081 00

United Kingdom: +44 808 178 0872 

First GoToMeeting? Do a quick system check:

https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check

To make Tropical Salsa, you will need:

• 4 Haas avocados
• 2 ripe mangoes
• 2 large ripe tomatoes
• 1/3 to 1/2 ripe papaya (2 cups finely diced)
• 1 red onion
• 4 – 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• Salt to taste
• Large handful of fresh cilantro (not on Passover)
• Optional: jalapeno or any other hot pepper
• Grated coconut or coconut shreds to garnish.

If you are in the area, do join us in person at 503 12th street, Miami Beach Florida 33139. 

No reservations are required, but feel free to drop me an e-mail drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com, or Skype Drdolly613.

Remember: happiness is a choice; choose to be happy today!

Stressed Spelled Backwards With Chocolate – LOL

Have you figured it out, Beautiful People? Credit for this brilliant linguistic discovery belongs to a little cute French bistro (unfortunately not kosher) called Otentic.

Hanging right over the counter, facing you when you walk in, is a sign STRESSED IS DESSERTS SPELLED BACKWARDS.  What better food idea for the Lasting Joy club March get-together than de-stressing while making this no-bake festive Purim dessert? My challenge in planning those get-together events is coming up with no cook, no bake, easy and fun to make dishes that could be tasted and enjoyed on the spot.  This one, before Purim, had to be Hamentaschen – what else do you do on Purim but stuff yourself with these scrumptious stuffed pastries! But before we got to the yummies, we practiced the best de-stressing technique of all, Laughter Yoga. We started with the 10 benefits of laughter, taken straight from https://thepurplealmond.com, and we thank lovely Tamara, an awesome blogger who promotes and inspires all aspects of wellness and happiness. We are delighted to welcome the newest club members – yes, Beautiful People, this get-together was attended by 28 remote-accessers, in addition to “live” members sitting around my table.

10 BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER – SHARES BENEFITS WITH AEROBIC EXERCISE: 

1. The movement of the diaphragm floods the body with oxygen.
2. Releases the same endorphins which cause the effect known as “the runners high” In fact, it has been found that endorphins increase by approximately 27%
3. Research shows that HGH (the anti-aging – human growth hormone) increased by 87% when subjects THOUGHT ABOUT watching a funny movie.
4. Reduces stress hormone levels, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
5. A good laugh burns 3 1/2 calories
6. Exercises the abs, as well as the shoulders
7. Laughing for 15 seconds adds 2 days to your life
8. Helps eliminate negative emotions such as fear, sadness, and anger
9. Improves circulation and cardiovascular health
10. 15 minutes of laughter is equivalent to 2 hours of sleep

We followed the order of this get-together by Laughing Out Loud – practicing the four-step Laughter Yoga moves:

LASTING JOY CLUB MARCH GET TOGETHER

Dear Beautiful People, today we are practicing yoga – Laughter Yoga.

The Talmud says that “the Shekhinah rests on man neither through gloom, nor through sloth, nor through frivolity, nor through levity, nor through talk, nor through idle chatter, but only through a matter of joy in connection with a precept, as it is said, “But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him (II Kings 3:15).” (Tractate Shabbat 30b)

“Focusing on joyful ZERISUS while taking action is at the root of creating a happy, joyful, meaningful, and fulfilling life” (Z. Pliskin, Taking Action). 

THE BENEFITS OF RUNNING WITHOUT HAVING TO RUN, IN FOUR STEPS

(from https://thepurplealmond.com/2019/01/22/how-to-do-laughter-yoga):

Step 1: Clapping and Warming-up Exercises – full finger-to-finger and palm-to-palm clapping, with movements, chanting and rhythm

Step 2: Deep Breathing Exercises – In between laughter exercises, participants do deep breathing exercises.

Step 3: Childlike Playfulness – Acting in a childlike way or swinging arms up into a Y shape with “thumbs up in childish exuberance and exhilaration“.

Step 4: Laughter Exercises – Three types of laughter exercises

• yogic laughter – based on yogic breathing
• playful laughter – Convert forced laughter into genuine laughter, as well as reduce shyness/inhibition
• value-based laughter – Increase positive feelings

Let’s make No-bake Hamentaschen!                

 As we are making No-bake Hamentaschen, please think how to inspire value-based laughter. We will share our thoughts at the end of our get-together.

Your homework for next month is to practice achieving ZERISUS (joyful state) by exercising Laughter Yoga.

Recipe for No-bake Hamentaschen is posted here.

You can always reach me at drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com and by Skype at drdolly613.

Happiness is a choice – choose to be happy today!

 

 

Come and Have Fun!

Tomorrow is the big day, and we are going to have fun, Beautiful People! We are going to laugh ourselves silly and make delicious chocolate no-bake pastries.

To give you a little taste of tomorrow, ponder this:

The image, as well as some other materials for this get-together are coming from a wonderful blog https://thepurplealmond.com, produced by lovely Tamara, who has embarked on a project Stress Relief.

To put yourselves in a joyful mood, you can already start laughing with Bobby McFerrin. And here are the requisites for free remote access:

Tue, Mar 5, 2019 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM EST 

Please join our meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/870930901 

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (646) 749-3117 

Access Code: 870-930-901 

More phone numbers

Australia: +61 2 9091 7603

Austria: +43 7 2081 5337

Belgium: +32 28 93 7002

Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373

Denmark: +45 32 72 03 69

Finland: +358 923 17 0556

France: +33 170 950 590

Germany: +49 692 5736 7300

Ireland: +353 15 360 756

Italy: +39 0 230 57 81 80

Netherlands: +31 207 941 375

New Zealand: +64 9 282 9510

Norway: +47 21 93 37 37

Spain: +34 932 75 1230

Sweden: +46 853 527 818

Switzerland: +41 315 2081 00

United Kingdom: +44 808 178 0872 

First GoToMeeting? Do a quick system check:

https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check

 If you are in the area, do join us in person at 503 12th street, Miami Beach Florida 33139. 

No reservations are required, but feel free to drop me an e-mail drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com, or Skype Drdolly613.

Remember: happiness is a choice; choose to be happy today!

Inner Coach

Happiness is trendy. Life coaches are insanely popular. They tell us that we must be happy and they teach us how to live happy lives.

Everyone seems to remember that the word HAPPINESS has been written into the Declaration of Independence.  Hardly anyone seems to remember that it reads “the Pursuit of Happiness,” rather than happiness itself.  In a dictionary, “The pursuit of happiness is defined as a fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don’t do anything illegal or violate the rights of others” (www.yourdictionary.com). Is there a difference between happiness and joy?

Good advice, but psychology tells us that “happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events” (https://www.psychologies.co.uk). Oops! So no matter how we pursue this elusive state, anyone or anything has power to rob us of it at any time, simply grab it and run – go pursue!

Wait, but doesn’t it clearly state that pursuit of happiness means to pursue JOY! Joy is an attitude; “it comes when you make peace with who you are, why you are and how you are” (ibid.), and the interesting part is that one cannot be happy without joy. How in the world do we manage to do that? Here is Rabbi Dr. Zelig Pliskin who “found a missing link”:

Imagine that you have your own personal life coach who has been extremely effective for you. Says Rabbi Pliskin, “We all have times that we have access to our inner knowledge and wisdom. And we all have times when we speak and act without this wisdom. When you have a dialogue with a wise virtual coach, you gain access to your subconscious wisdom” (Life Is Now, p. 209).

1. In any situation, when external circumstances threaten your happiness and you are about to lose your cool, ask your inner coach, “What should I do in this situation?”
2. Take a deep breath, switch emotional gears, and wait.
3. Response will come from within your joyful subconscious self!

Please note the change of address and day and time of our monthly get-togethers. As usual, requisites for remote access will come in a separate post tomorrow.

We are meeting the day after tomorrow, Beautiful People, and I am so very excited about it! If you are planning to make those yummy chocolate treats with us, you need:

• 1 cup of leftover cake, crumbled up, or any cookie crumbs
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon butter substitute or real butter, if you want to make it dairy (we will use Smart Balance)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• Sugar or xylitol to taste
• 1/4 cup minced nuts of your choice (we will use walnuts and cashews)
• 1/4 cup minced pitted Medjool dates or prunes
• Candy sprinkles or toasted shredded coconut for garnishing

This is a no-bake recipe, but make sure you have a mixing bowl, spoon, board, and knife ready.

See you live and on the screen, Beautiful People!

What Friends Are For

Our October get-together is dedicated to friendship.

“Find for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge everyone favorably” (Ethics of Our Fathers, 1:6)

To discover the magical powers of friendship, please join us tomorrow.

Remote access requisites will be given in a separate post.

You can always reach me at drdolly_lastingjoy@yahoo.com and by Skype at drdolly613.

Happiness is a choice – choose to be happy today!