The Healing Power of Humor

Author: Allen Klein
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0874775191
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
“Provides practical advice as to the fundamental importance of humor and laughter.” —Steve Allen Science has proved, although we knew it all along, that humor is our best medicine. It reduces stress, promotes physical healing, is essential for mental health and can add years to one’s life. But how do we learn to lighten up and take the first step toward finding the humorous side to our troubles when what we really feel like doing is crying? Allen Klein, who has successfully taught thousands to find the humor and consolations in life’s tribulations, shows us how. Brimming with pointed, humorous anecdotes and learn-to-laugh techniques, The Healing Power of Humor combines the wisdom of the world’s great spiritual teachers with the insights of famed humorists, comedians, and others to help you turn life’s negatives into positives. It is the ideal book for anyone going through troubled times—whether it’s the loss of a wallet, the loss of a job, a spat with one’s spouse, or a stay in the hospital.

Laugh Your Way to Grace

Author: Rev. Susan Sparks
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1594733430
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 173

Book Description
Laughter—the GPS System for the Soul Laughter was honored by the ancients as a spiritual healing tool and celebrated by the world's great religions. So why aren’t we laughing along the spiritual path today? What would happen if we did? In this personal and funny look at humor as a spiritual practice, Rev. Susan Sparks—an ex-lawyer turned comedian and Baptist minister—presents a convincing case that the power of humor radiates far beyond punch lines. Laughter can help you: Remove the fearful mask of a God who doesn’t laugh Debunk the myths that you don’t deserve joy Find perspective when faced with adversity Exercise forgiveness for yourself and others Reclaim play as a spiritual practice Heal—emotionally, physically, and spiritually Keep your faith when God is silent Live with elegance, beauty, and generosity of spirit Whatever your faith tradition—or if you have none at all—join this veteran of the punch line and the pulpit in reclaiming the forgotten humor legacy found in thousands of years of human spiritual history.

Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived By the Patient

Author: Norman Cousins
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393326840
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
The story of a recovery from a crippling disease and the physician patient partnership that beat the odds by using the patient's own capabilities.

When Life Gives You Pears

Author: Jeannie Gaffigan
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 1538751038
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
The Big Sick meets Dad is Fat in this funny and heartfelt New York Times bestselling memoir from writer, director, wife, and mother, Jeannie Gaffigan, as she reflects on the life-changing impact of her battle with a pear-sized brain tumor. In 2017, Jeannie's life came to a crashing halt when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. As the mother of 5 kids -- 6 if you include her husband -- sat in the neurosurgery department in star-covered sweats too whimsical for the seriousness of the situation, all she could think was "Am I going to die?" Thankfully, Jeannie and her family were able to survive their time of crisis, and now she is sharing her deeply personal journey through this miraculous story: the challenging conversations she had with her children; how she came to terms with feeling powerless and ferociously crabby while bedridden and unable to eat for a month; and how she ultimately learned, re-learned and re re-learned to be more present in life. With sincerity and hilarity, Jeannie invites you into her heart (and brain) during this trying time, emphasizing the importance of family, faith and humor as keys to her recovery and leading a more fulfilling life.

The Laughing Cure

Author: Brian King
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1510702504
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Dr. Brian King is a psychologist and stand-up comedian whose humor therapy seminars are attended by more than ten thousand people each year. In The Laughing Cure, King combines wit with medical research to reveal the benefits of laughter and humor on physical and emotional health. King’s language is humorous and uplifting, and his advice is backed in science. The Laughing Cure features clinical studies and interviews with some of the nation’s top doctors that prove that laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, boosts immune systems, and triggers endorphins. It’s been shown to relieve depression, to produce a general sense of wellbeing, even to make us more productive, loving, and kind. The Laughing Cure presents step-by-step guidance and proven techniques to embrace laughter as both medicine for current conditions and preventative medicine. This highly unique and enjoyable read explains why much-talked about, but little understood methods of therapy like those embraced by acclaimed humor doctor Patch Adams—played by Robyn Williams in a 1998 film—and laughter yoga actually work. Growing up, King wanted to be a stand-up comic; his PhD. was his backup plan. Little did he know, the impact his unique situation would put him in, the way it would allow him to help others. Very few doctors have the ability to heal the way that King does; his method is cheap, easy, chemical-free—even fun. With The Laughing Cure, readers will learn how—and why—laughter saves lives.

Laugh After Laugh

Author: Raymond A. Moody
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780932428073
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
Assesses the medical implications and uses of laughter and humor, citing numerous modern examples of the healing power of laughter and the diagnostic importance of a patient's sense of humor

Laffirmations

Author: Joel Goodman
Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
ISBN: 1558743464
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 390

Book Description
This rich collection of quotes delivers 52 weeks of ideas to strengthen your sense of humor. Each day of the year includes a thought-provoking quotation or question designed to help readers discover where humor already exists in their lives and where they need to add a dash. Includes quotes by Bill Cosby, Lily Tomlin, Jerry Seinfeld and many others.

Compassionate Laughter

Author: Patty Wooten
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
ISBN: 9781881394440
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
The author presents "the healing power of humor," including anecdotes and conversations with Nancy Nurse and Nurse Kindheart.

You Can't Ruin My Day

Author: Allen Klein
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1632280221
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
You Can’t Ruin My Day contains 52 themes to help readers take back their power and not let other people or other situations ruin their day. Each of these themes has three sections: Wake-Up Call (the potential day-ruiner); Follow-Up Exercise (practical steps to turn it around); and Lighten-Up Laugh (gaining a fresh perspective and moving right along). Keep these tools in your arsenal of things to help you maneuver around roadblocks, setbacks, or upsets you might encounter on any given day. Each of the 52 stories and wake-up calls in the book are amazing and inspiring. One couple lost almost all of their money to Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme; instead of bitterness, they chose to learn from their mistake and move on. From getting a parking ticket to family squabbles to life-changers such as the loss of a job, Klein offers wisdom, good humor, and coping skills that improve the quality of life. You Can't Ruin My Day is designed to help you unload the burdens you have been carrying around with you. The book is not only filled with wise words but also inspiring stories and anecdotes, insightful and motivational quotations, and lighthearted and laugh-producing material.

Surprised by Laughter

Author: Terry Lindvall
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc
ISBN: 1595554785
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 498

Book Description
Surprised by Laughter looks at the career and writings of C. S. Lewis and discovers a man whose life and beliefs were sustained by joy and humor. All of his life, C. S. Lewis possessed a spirit of individuality. An atheist from childhood, he became a Christian as an adult and eventually knew international acclaim as a respected theologian. He was known worldwide for his works of fiction, especially the Chronicles of Narnia; and for his books on life and faith, including Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed, and Surprised by Joy. But perhaps the most visible difference in his life was his abiding sense of humor. It was through this humor that he often reached his readers and listeners, allowing him to effectively touch so many lives. Terry Lindvall takes an in-depth look at Lewis's joyful approach toward living, dividing his study of C. S. Lewis's wit into the four origins of laughter in Uncle Screwtape's eleventh letter to a junior devil in Lewis's The Screwtape Letters: joy, fun, the joke proper, and flippancy. Lindvall writes, "One bright and compelling feature we can see, sparking in his sunlight and dancing in his moonlight, is laughter. Yet it is not too large to see at once because it inhabited all Lewis was and did." Surprised by Laughter reveals a Lewis who enjoyed the gift of laughter, and who willingly shared that gift with others in order to spread his faith.