What is a Laughter Club?*
A series of brief papers in which I share what I have learned from years of looking for the deeper philosophical dynamics behind the myriad, multifaceted manifestations of laughter, and its sometimes mysterious meanings.
Part 1: A Sanctuary of Sanity
A laughter club is a sanctuary of sanity in a world that so often seems to be spinning senselessly.
What is a laughter club? There are many correct answers to this question because there are many variations in the applications of therapeutic laughter methods. References to the earliest prescriptions of laughter for health and a good life tied the idea to the spiritual practices of certain monks, shamans, Buddha’s, and healers. Modern research in the biological, psychological, and social sciences continues to verify the wisdom of the ancient sages.
What is going on in these groups called laughter clubs? Why is there such a favorable response and growing demand for these programs as a therapeutic modality? As I continue my work with various laughter and humor therapy methods, which I started in
1984, and have experienced for myself, as well as receiving hundreds of reports of the results people achieve with it, deeper answers keep occurring to me. The method is revealing itself to me.
When the laughter club first appeared in India in 1995, it was a neighborly thing to do. Neighborhood people gathered to learn about a way that they could take responsibility for their own health and well-being. The altruistic spirit of helping one’s fellows while also being part of the cause of world peace was, and remains, very attractive in India and around the world.
The World Laughter Tour curriculum prepares Certified Laughter Leaders to do the neighborly thing as well as to bring more formalized --but still very much fun-- programs into controlled environments such as nursing homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and prisons. Certified Laughter Leaders are finding warm welcomes in so many places because they are valued for their training, ethics, knowledge, and ability to organize and
lead people in these methods. They have expanded the neighborly aspect to a multitude of health and social support groups including those for diabetes, multiple sclerosis,
fibromyalgia, cancer patients and families, cardiac recovery and rehabilitation, exceptional family members, and military family support groups. In addition to the original free laughter-club-for-the-public, the demand by specialized groups for these
programs to be available on a fee basis is growing exponentially. In this series of papers I will address the question which begs for an answer: why?
Members come together to laugh and have a good time, of course. An important role for the leader is to help create the environment of "community" (temporary as it might be) in
which everyone can contribute to help each other grow, relieve stress, find balance, gain a better outlook, have fun…whatever.
From time to time we hear about someone who attends laughter club sessions and complains, "I'm not getting anything out of this." That is a good opportunity to ask them,
politely of course, "What are you putting into it?" Whenever we are part of any group there is an equation of mutuality and reciprocity: what you put into it greatly influences
what you get out of it. One of the keys to getting the most out of a group laughter activity program is for the members to all contribute. It is not enough for the Certified Laughter Leader to know his or her “stuff” and do a good job of leadership and encouragement, the whole group plays a part. Among the things that members can contribute are:
• Good-will
• Sincerity
• Encouragement
• Smiles
• Mutual respect
• Help with the room set up or clean up....
For more information, contact Steve Wilson and World Laughter Tour at
www.worldlaughtertour.com, 614-855-4733.
