Daily Life Meditation Reading Time

Dear Healthy Wealth reader, you are welcome to join us in this daily life meditation reading time. It only takes 11:25:24 minutes:

Happiness is my birthright. I embrace happiness as my set point state of being. I feel joy and contentment in this moment right now.
I awaken in the morning feeling happy and enthusiastic about life. I can tap into a wellspring of inner happiness anytime I wish. By allowing myself to be happy, I inspire others to be happy as well. I have fun with all of my endeavors, even the most mundane. I look at the world around me and can’t help but smile and feel joy. I find joy and pleasure in the most simple things in life. I have an active sense of humor and love to share laughter with others. My heart is overflowing with joy. I rest in happiness when I go to sleep, knowing all is well in my world. My partner and I share a deep and powerful love for each other. I respect and admire my partner and see the best in my partner. I love my partner exactly how my partner is and enjoy my partner's unique qualities. My partner and I share emotional intimacy daily through talking, texting and touch. I have healthy boundaries with my partner. My partner and I have fun together and find new ways to enjoy our time together. My partner and I communicate openly and resolve conflict peacefully and respectfully. I am able to be fully myself and completely authentic in my love relationship with my partner. I communicate my desires and needs very clearly and confidently with my partner.
I want the best for my partner and easily go out of my way to support my partner. I expect to be successful in all of my endeavors. Success is my natural state. I easily find solutions to challenges and roadblocks and move past them quickly. Mistakes and setbacks are stepping stones to my success because I learn from them. Every day in every way, I am becoming more and more successful and significance.I feel successful with my life right now, even as I work happily toward future success. I know exactly what I need to do to achieve success. I see fear as the fuel for my success and take bold action in spite of fear. I feel powerful, capable, confident, energetic, and on top of the world. I have an intention and inspiration for success and know it is a reality awaiting my arrival. I have now reached my goal of Self I-Dentity and feel the excitement of my achievement. Today I am successful. Tomorrow I will be successful. Every day I am successful.When I breath, I inhale confidence and exhale timidity. I love meeting strangers and approach them with boldness and enthusiasm. I live in the present and am confident of the future. My personality displays confidence. I am bold and outgoing. I am self-reliant, creative and persistent in whatever I do. I am energetic and enthusiastic. Confidence is my second nature. I always attract only the best of circumstances and the best positive people in my life. I am a problem solver. I focus on solutions and always find the best solution. I love change and easily adjust myself to new situations. I am well groomed, healthy and full of confidence. My outer self is matched by my inner well being. Self confidence is what I thrive on. Nothing is impossible and life is great. I always see only the good in others. I attract only positive confident people. I approve of myself and love myself deeply and completely. I am unique. I feel good about being alive and being me. I trust myself and know my inner wisdom is my best guide. I have integrity. I am totally reliable. I do what I say. I act from a place of personal security. I fully accept myself and know that I am worthy of great things in life. I choose to be proud of myself. I find deep inner peace within myself as I am. I fill my mind with positive and nourishing thoughts. My confidence, self esteem, and inner wisdom are increasing with each day. My immune system is very strong and can deal with any kind of bacteria, germs and viruses. Every cell in my body vibrates with energy and health. I am completely pain free, and my body is full of energy. I nourish my body with healthy food and water. All of my body systems are functioning perfectly. My body is healing, and I feel better and better every day and every night. I enjoy exercising my body and strengthening my muscles. I love to walk. I love to laugh.With every breath out, I release stress in my body. I send love and healing to every organ of my body. I breathe deeply, exercise regularly and feed only good energy and nutritious food to my body. I pay attention and listen to what my body needs for health and vitality. I sleep soundly and peacefully, and awaken feeling rested and energetic. I am surrounded by lovely caring beautiful endearing people who encourage and support healthy choices. My world is a peaceful, loving, and joy-filled place to live. I sow the seeds of peace wherever I go. I surround myself with peaceful people. Peaceful people love to surround me. My work environment is calm and peaceful. I breath in peace, I breath out chaos and disorder. My home is a peaceful sanctuary where I feel safe and happy. In all that I say and do, I choose peace. I release past anger and hurts and fill myself with serenity and peaceful thoughts. Peace descends all around me now and always. I send peace from myself into the world. I respond peacefully in all situations. I am grounded in the experience of the present moment.
I am focus and engaged in the task at hand. All is well right now. I am grateful for this moment and find joy in it. I gently and easily return to the present moment. I observe my thoughts and actions without judging them. I am fully present in all of my relationships.
Life is happening in this moment. I accept and embrace all experiences, even unpleasant ones. I observe my emotions without getting attached to them. I meditate easily without resistance or anxiety. I release the past and live fully in the present moment. Calmness washes over me with every deep breath I take.Every day I am more and more at ease. Being calm and relaxed energizes my whole being. All the muscles in my body are releasing and relaxing. All negativity and stress are evaporating from my body and my mind. I breath in relaxation. I breath out stress. Even when there is chaos around me, I remain calm and centered. I transcend stress of any kind. I live in peace. I am free of anxiety, and a calm inner peace fills my mind and body. All is well in my world. I am calm, happy, and contentment. Thanks, I love , Peace of I.

Why Cry , When You Can Speak Words Will Change Your Life

If you believe the phrase you are what you think, then life truly stems from your thoughts. But we cannot rely purely on thoughts; we must translate thoughts into words and eventually into actions in order to manifest our intentions. This means we have to be very careful with our words, choosing to speak only those which work towards our benefit and cultivate our highest good. Affirmations help purify our thoughts and restructure the dynamic of our brains so that we truly begin to think nothing is impossible. The word affirmation comes from the Latin affirmare, originally meaning “to make steady, strengthen.”

Affirmations do indeed strengthen us by helping us believe in the potential of an action we desire to manifest. When we verbally affirm our dreams and ambitions, we are instantly empowered with a deep sense of reassurance that our wishful words will become reality.

Affirmations are proven methods of self-improvement because of their ability to rewire our brains. Much like exercise, they raise the level of feel-good hormones and push our brains to form new clusters of “positive thought” neurons. In the sequence of thought-speech-action, affirmations play an integral role by breaking patterns of negative thoughts, negative speech, and, in turn, negative actions.

The art of the spoken word is critical in crafting our futures. As a teacher of spirituality, it is my firm belief that we influence the universe word by word. If we dictate to it our wishes, it will respond. When we utter a sound, we emit a sound wave into the universe. This sound wave pierces through the air and becomes a real object. It therefore exists in our world, intangible and invisible. No words are empty words, as every syllable we speak engages energy towards or against us. If you constantly say “I can’t,” the energy of your words will repel the universal force against you. But if you say “I can!” the universe will endow you with the abilities to do just that. If you are not sure, just say "How can I afford?", and your subconscious mind will get to work to align you with the Divine Intelligence for inspiration and answer. So speak away; relinquish your fears and purge your anger, prepare your own future and live up to your potential with the positive affirmations that will change your life:

1.) I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents.

2.) Today, I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy.

3.) My body is healthy; my mind is brilliant; my soul is tranquil.

4.) I am superior to negative thoughts and low actions.

5.) I have been given endless talents which I begin to utilize today.

6.) I forgive those who have harmed me in my past and peacefully detach from them.

7.) A river of compassion washes away my anger and replaces it with love.

8.) I am inspired and guided in my every step by Divine Spirit that leads me towards what I must know and do.

9.) (For married reader) My marriage is becoming stronger, deeper, and more stable each day.

10.) I possess the qualities needed to be extremely successful.

11.) (For business owners) My business is growing, expanding, and thriving.

12.) Creative energy surges through me and leads me to new and brilliant ideas.

13.) Happiness is a choice. I base my happiness on my own accomplishments and the blessings I’ve been given.

14.) My ability to conquer my challenges is limitless; my potential to succeed is infinite.

15.) (For readers presently unemployed) I deserve to be employed and paid well for my time, efforts, and ideas. Each day, I am closer to finding the perfect job for me.

16.) I am courageous and I stand up for myself.

17.) My thoughts are filled with positive words  and my life is plentiful with prosperity.

18.) Today, I abandon my old habits and take up new, more positive ones.

19.) Many people look up to me and recognize my worth; I am admired.

20.) I am blessed with an incredible family and wonderful friends.

21.) I acknowledge my own self-worth; my confidence is soaring.

22.) Everything that is happening now is happening for my ultimate good.

23.) I am a powerhouse; I am indestructible.

24.) Though these times are difficult, they are only a short phase of life.

25.) My future is an ideal projection of what I envision now.

26.) My efforts are being supported by the universe; my dreams manifest into reality before my eyes.

27.) (For readers who are single) The perfect partner for me is coming into my life sooner than I expect.

28.) I radiate beauty, charm, and grace.

29.) I am conquering my illness; I am defeating it steadily each day.

30.) My obstacles are moving out of my way; my path is carved towards greatness.

31.) I wake up today with strength in my heart and clarity in my mind.

32.) My fears of tomorrow are simply melting away.

33.) I am at peace with all that has happened, is happening, and will happen.

34.) My nature is Divine; I am a perfect spiritual being.

35.) My life is just beginning.

You can utilize any of these affirmations alone or create your own unique combination based on your personal wishes and needs. What is most important is to establish a profound communication with the universe — so say it with conviction, say it in your own unique voice, and make it happen in the real world.

Affirming my love,
I Am

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Laughter is the Best Medicine

More than just brightening up your day, sharing a good laugh can actually improve your health. The sound of laughter draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, strengthen your immune system, and diminish pain. As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. By seeking out more opportunities for humor and laughter, though, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness—and even add years to your life.

What you can do

1. Share funny moments—even if they are embarrassing—with friends
2. Host a game night for friends
3. When you hear laughter, move towards it
4. Seek out playful people who laugh easily
5. Learn to laugh at yourself

Why is laughter the sweetest medicine for mind and body?

Nothing balances your nervous system faster than communicating face-to-face with another person. Add laughter to that communication and you have a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, pain, and conflict. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you to release anger and be more forgiving.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

Laughter is good for your health

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system.Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter burns calories. OK, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.

Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don't laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

The benefits of laughter

Physical Health Benefits

Boosts immunity

Lowers stress hormones

Decreases pain

Relaxes your muscles, burns calories

Prevents heart disease

Mental Health Benefits

Adds joy and zest to life

Eases anxiety and tension

Relieves stress

Improves mood and mental functioning

Enhances resilience, improves self-esteem

Helps overcome anger and resentment

Social Benefits

Strengthens relationships

Attracts others to us, reduces loneliness

Enhances teamwork

Helps defuse conflict

Promotes group bonding

Laughter helps you stay emotionally healthy

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

The link between laughter and mental health

Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.

Laughter helps you relax and recharge.It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.

Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and diffuse conflict.

Laughter draws you closer to others, and increasing social engagement can have a profound effect on all aspects of your mental and emotional health.

The social benefits of humor and laughter

There’s a good reason why TV sitcoms use laugh tracks: laughter is contagious. You’re many times more likely to laugh around other people than when you’re alone. And the more laughter you bring into your own life, the happier others around you will feel.

Sharing humor is half the fun—in fact, most laughter doesn’t come from hearing jokes, but rather simply from spending time with friends and family. And it’s this social aspect that plays such an important role in the health benefits of laughter. You can’t enjoy a laugh with other people unless you take the time to really engage with them. When you care about someone enough to switch off your phone and really connect face to face, you’re engaging in a process that rebalances the nervous system and puts the brakes on defensive stress responses like “fight or flight.” And if you share a laugh as well, you’ll both feel happier, more positive, and more relaxed—even if you’re unable to alter the stressful situation itself.

Laughing and relationships

Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.

Incorporating more humor and play into your daily interactions can improve the quality of your love relationships—as well as your connections with co-workers, family members, and friends. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:

Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget resentments, judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.

Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Bringing more laughter into your life

Want more laughter in your life? Get a pet…

Most of us have experienced the joy of playing with a furry friend, and pets are a rewarding way to bring more laughter and joy into your life. But did you know that having a pet is good for your mental and physical health? Studies show that pets can protect you depression, stress, and even heart disease.

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.

Here are some ways to start:

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter and like laughter, it’s contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Instead of looking down at your phone, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a morning coffee, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect this has on others.

Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

When you hear laughter, move toward it.Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

Spend time with fun, playful people.These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don’t consider yourself a lighthearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.

Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Creating opportunities to laugh

• Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video
• Invite friends or co-workers to go to a comedy club

• Read the funny pages
• Seek out funny people
• Share a good joke or a funny story
• Check out your bookstore’s humor section
• Host game night with friends
• Play with a pet
• Go to a “laughter yoga” class
• Goof around with children
• Do something silly
• Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke)

Simulated laughter

As proponents in “laugh therapy” and “laugh yoga” have discovered, it’s possible to laugh without experiencing a funny event—and simulated laughter can be just as good for you as the real thing. It can even make exercise more fun and more productive. A Georgia State University study found that incorporating bouts of simulated laughter into an exercise program helped improve older adults’ mental health as well as their aerobic endurance. Plus, hearing others laugh, even for no apparent reason, can often trigger genuine laughter.

To add simulated laughter into your own life, search for laugh yoga or laugh therapy groups. Or you can start simply by laughing at other people’s jokes, even if you don’t find them funny. It will make both you and the other person feel good, draw you closer together, and who knows, may even lead to some spontaneous laughter.

Develop your sense of humor

An essential ingredient for developing your sense of humor is to learn to not take yourself too seriously and laugh at your own mistakes and foibles. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, we all do foolish things from time to time. Instead of feeling embarrassed or defensive, embrace your imperfections. While some events in life are clearly sad and not opportunities for laughter, most don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life—giving you the choice to laugh or not. So choose to laugh whenever you can.

How to Develop Your Sense of Humor
Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about times when you took yourselftoo seriously.
Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, and uncover the irony and absurdity of life. When something negative happens, try to find a way to make it a humorous anecdote that will make others laugh.
Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.
Remember funny things that happen.If something amusing happens or you hear a joke or funny story you really like, write it down or tell it to someone else to help you remember it.
Don’t dwell on the negative. Try toavoid negative people, those who are unable to see the humor in any situation, and don’t dwell on news stories, entertainment, or conversations that make you sad or unhappy. Many things in life are beyond your control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic and unhealthy.
Find your inner child. Pay attention to children and try to emulate them—after all, they are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing at ordinary things.
Deal with your stress. One great technique to relieving stress in the moment  is to draw upon a favorite memory that always makes you smile—something your kids did, for example, or something funny a friend told you. While stress can be a major impediment to humor and laughter, laughter can also be a great stress reliever.
Don’t go a day without laughing. Think of it like exercise or breakfast and make a conscious effort to find something each day that makes you laugh. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes and do something that amuses you. The more you get used to laughing each day, the less effort you’ll have to make.

Using humor and laughter to overcome challenges and enhance your life

The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.

Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.

Here are two examples of people who took everyday problems and turned them around through laughter and play:

Roy, a semi-retired businessman, was excited to finally have time to devote to golf, his favorite sport. But the more he played, the less he enjoyed himself. Although his game had improved dramatically, he got angry with himself over every mistake. Roy wisely realized that his golfing buddies affected his attitude, so he stopped playing with people who took the game too seriously. When he played with friends who focused more on having fun than on their scores, he was less critical of himself. Now golfing was as enjoyable as Roy hoped it would be. He scored better without working harder. And the brighter outlook he was getting from his companions and the game spread to other parts of his life.

Jane worked at home designing greeting cards, a job she used to love but now felt had become routine. Two little girls who loved to draw and paint lived next door. Eventually, Jane invited the girls in to play with all the art supplies she had. At first, she just watched, but in time she joined in. Laughing, coloring, and playing pretend with the little girls transformed Jane’s life. Not only did playing with them end her loneliness and boredom, it sparked her imagination and helped her artwork flourish. Best of all, it rekindled the playfulness and spark in Jane’s relationship with her husband.

As laughter, humor, and play become an integrated part of your life, your creativity will flourish and new opportunities for laughing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Laughter takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, and joyful perspective.

Resources and references

General information about health and humor

Articles on Health and Humor – Psychologist and humor-training specialist Paul McGhee offers a series of articles on humor, laughter, and health. (Laughter Remedy)

Laughter as medicine

Laughter is the "Best Medicine" for Your Heart – Describes a study that found that laughter helps prevent heart disease. (University of Maryland Medical Center)

Laughter Therapy – Guide to the healing power of laughter, including the research supporting laughter therapy. (Cancer Treatment Centers of America)

Laugh lots, live longer – Details Norwegian study that found having a strong sense of humor may extend life expectancy. (Scientific American Mind) 

Laughter-Based Exercise Program for Older Adults has Health Benefits – Research that shows the health benefits of simulated laughter. (Georgia State University)

No joke: Study finds laughing can burn calories – Outlines a small study that found laughing raises energy expenditure and increases heart rate enough to burn a small amount of calories. (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)T

The social benefits of laughter

The Benefits of Laughter – Article on the social benefits of laughter and the important role it plays in the relationships between people. (Psychology Today)

The Science of Laughter – Psychologist and laughter researcher Robert Provine, Ph.D., explains the power of laughter, humor, and play as social tools. (Psychology Today)

Bringing more laughter into your life

Humor in the Workplace – Series of articles on using humor in the workplace to reduce job stress, improve morale, boost productivity and creativity, and improve communication. (Laughter Remedy)

What other readers are saying

“I love this article on laughter. It is so thorough. Super good job.” ~ Canada

We Are Going To Fake It Till We Make It

 laughter yoga is forcing oneself to laugh, and the silly, forced laughter becomes real laughter that gets blood flowing and endorphins released into the body 

Cliock Here Only To Laugh At Any Thing In Your Life ...for no reason at all ...

20 Ways to Laugh

By Mark Nichol

Go ahead and try this (if you’re alone, that is): Explore all the varieties of laughter you can produce, and label each one. There’s an often-distinct word or phrase for each type. Here are 20 ways to laugh, and some related expressions.

1. (Be) in stitches: to laugh
2. Belly-laugh: to laugh in a deep, hearty manner, as if from the abdomen or in such a way that one’s abdomen moves from the exertion
3. Break up: to laugh as if helplessly
4. Cachinnate: to laugh loudly and/or obnoxiously
5. Cackle: to laugh harshly or sharply
6. Chortle: to chuckle or to otherwise laugh to express satisfaction or triumph
7. Chuckle: to laugh mildly and/or quietly
8. Crack up: see “break up”
9. Crow: to laugh derisively or gloatingly
10. Giggle: to laugh with short, repetitive sounds
11. Guffaw: to laugh boisterously and/or loudly
12. Hee-haw: a synonym for guffaw
13. Horselaugh: To laugh in a way suggestive of or in imitation of a horse’s neighing or whinnying
14. Jeer: to laugh disrespectfully or mockingly
15. Scoff: to laugh derisively or dismissively
16. Snicker: to partially suppress a laugh, as if to conceal one’s mirth
17. Snigger: an alteration of snicker, with the additional connotation of mischief
18. Split (one’s) sides: to laugh convulsively, as if continuing to do so will cause one’s body to rupture
19. Titter: to laugh in an affected manner, or nervously; also a synonym of snicker and snigger
20. Twitter: a synonym of giggle or titter, but also means to chatter or to tremble as if agitated

One can howl, roar, scream, shriek, snort, or whoop with laughter. One can also be said to burst (or bust) out laughing, to convulse with laughter, to die laughing, and to be helpless with laughter, as well as to roll in the aisles (as if unable to keep from falling into the aisle while seated at a humorous performance). Other idioms include “laugh your head off” and “laugh yourself silly.” Can you think of any more words or idioms?/

The Role Of Laughter  Anthony McCarten outlines the importance of humor and laughter in today's world.

Lee Sok Lian , HAPPINESS COACH ON SUN ISLAND SHANGHAI

Lee Sok Lian , HAPPINESS COACH ON SUN ISLAND SHANGHAI,

Lee Sok Lian holds a BA (Hons) in English literature from the National University of Singapore, and though she worked as a copywriter for four years in her late twenties, she has been an English teacher—her first love and true calling—for most of her life.

Less than ten years ago, she was introduced to meditation and began taking courses in healing, Reiki, Quantum Touch, yoga, laughter yoga, hypnotherapy, intuitive counseling, relaxation techniques, and other meditation subjects, including a two-month stint at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America, where she learned from Tim Simmerman. That’s when her life took a surprising turn: instead of returning to Singapore, she was asked to transfer to Sun Island Shanghai to use her newfound healing skills in addition to her teaching skills.

Now, she is the resident meditation and laughter yoga teacher of Sun Island. She is also the editor of the English segment of The Mahota Quarterly and teaches conversational English as well as personal mastery classes.

Lee’s first book “If You Think The Water Is Cold”, available at Amazon.com, is based on the true story of a cancer survivor Tan Siew Khim, a Singaporean who, after facing her initial fears and conquering her reaction to “leave this world quietly,” decided that she wasn’t ready to quit this just yet. Siew Khim embraced the different forms of medicine and treatments available. When she was invited to Sun Island Shanghai to convalesce, Siew Khim discovered the power of wellness activities such as mindfulness meditation and laughter yoga. This is where she met—and inspired—her biographer, Lee Sok Lian.

IF YOU THINK THE WATER IS COLD

A Cancer Survivor's Story

by Lee Sok Lian, illustrated by Tan Siew Khim

KIRKUS REVIEW

In this memoir, a Singaporean woman addresses her cancer diagnosis with family support, Western and traditional Chinese medicine, and other means.
In January 2010, Tan Siew Khim, in her late 40s, discovered a lump in her right breast while taking a shower. Though single, Siew Khim was part of a large, close-knit ethnically Chinese family, which rallied to support her once she got up the courage to tell them. Her sisters first took her to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, then older family members arranged for her treatment at a Singaporean government hospital, where she eventually received chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. At a family-owned golf/holiday resort, Siew Khim learned the ancient Chinese techniques of physical exercise, breathing and meditation, as well as “yoga, laughter yoga, walking meditation, driving a buggy, photography, dancing, cycling, golf, English, and public speaking.” Two years after the initial diagnosis, she describes her recovery as “a personal choice to get well.” In her debut work, Lee’s thesis is that recovery is a choice: “Any cancer patient can—if he or she chooses to do so—learn to slow and even reverse cancer’s progression in the body.” While some readers may find their experiences or hopes resonate with Siew Khim’s, many more will find the arguments presented here both pernicious and insulting because they continually express the idea that cancer is the patient’s fault: “Instead of letting cancer triumph over her, she reclaimed her life”; “The perfect patient, and one possessed of an inordinately strong will, Siew Khim follows prescribed dietary guidelines”; by “changing her internal dialogue…[t]he cells in her body have started believing it too.” A list of references is supplied, but the ideas are presented uncritically; for example, poor diet and bad mental attitude don’t explain why world-class athletes (who must cultivate both diet and attitude) or infants contract cancer. Nor does Lee take into account the roles Siew Khim’s chemotherapy, surgery and radiation must have played.
While Siew Khim’s recovery is to be applauded, this book is poorly supported and full of magical thinking.

MY STORY --- TAN SIEW KHIM

BY TAN SIEW KHIM

My name is Tan Siew Khim. I am from Singapore. I am a cancer patient.

I first discovered that I had cancer in 2011. I had the operation in January 2011. My mother was ill at about the same time. She did not know that I was going for chemotherapy treatment at the hospital.

I visited my mother in hospital once. She was very ill then. We did not tell her about my condition. I wore a wig to cover my baldness. My mother did not know this.

On one of the visits, my mother said: “Qin, your new hairstyle is very nice.”

I did not say anything.

Mum’s condition was growing worse. When she passed away in hospital, I felt very sad because I could not be there. I was undergoing therapy at that time. The doctors thought I should stay away to avoid infection.

All my family members were there. Except for me.

During this time I lost my appetite. No matter what I ate, the food always tasted bland. I think my taste buds were not working. The doctor told me that I must eat. So I watched cooking programs on TV. And DVDs of cooking classes. The delicious food I saw on TV helped a little. I was able to eat a little. I gained a bit of weight. I knew I had to heed the doctor’s advice if I wanted to get well.

When you have cancer, you lose interest in many things. In food. In life. In the things that you used to do.

You lose hope.

After Mum passed away, my uncle persuaded me to come to Sun Island. I followed his advice. I came to the island in March 2011. On the island, I learnt qigong and ba duan qin. I also learnt swimming, meditation, walking meditation, driving (buggies), yoga and laughter yoga. My health improved.

I am under the care of the Chinese doctors here. Recently I went to see the doctor in Shanghai. The results of the checkup are very good. My family and my friends are very happy for me. I am still taking the Chinese medicine every day. I know that I will overcome cancer. I am confident that the cancer will not return. I continue to live each day fully, doing exercises and laughing every day.

I know that it is important for me to stay positive. To have hope in the future.

I should also exercise and take in sufficient oxygen. The doctors have told me that when we take in enough oxygen the cancer will go away. I am confident that I will get well one day. I will be better and better.

I wish all of you the best of health! I hope that you will always be happy and healthy too!

- TAN SIEW KHIM

Pub Date: July 24th, 2014

ISBN: 978-1492345558

Page count: 108pp

Publisher: CreateSpace

Program: Kirkus Indie

Review Posted Online: Oct. 9th, 2014