What UCB HLF Students Are Saying

"The more I came to this class the more I laughed and it made me feel good about myself. It gave me a good feeling."

P. Carrion 02/27/10

"I liked the way the students were talking about how their lives have changed from this class."

C. Smith 3/21/02

"I am very happy with this class. It really changed me. Now I am able to take things that happen not to serious and always look for the funny side of things."

J. Road 12/15/05

"I came to class very sad and I went home very happy because of so much humor used in class."

M. Figueroa 3/31/05

"I was really stressed out before I started this class. Now I am not stressed. Laughing has really help me cope with stress."

D. Brison 6/14/04

"I came to class with a headache. In fact I had that headache all day. Before leaving class I was fine. I laughed and relaxed in class. Laughter is the best medicine."

C. Capitolia 9/24/03

"After my day with my son I was going to drop this class but I'm so very glad I was able to get someone to watch him. This class has taught me how good it is for me to laugh and to make sure my son laughs and stays happy."

A. Spencer 2/05/04

"I like this class because I found some good techniques of humor to confront with tragic situations."

J. Hung 02/02/03

"I enjoyed every minute of it. I observed how you can make something out of nothing and really find it humorous."

B. Rodriguez 9/22/05

"I like that this class is teaching, encouraging people to laugh because people don't do it as much as they should."

E. Rosa 10/29/03

The Sixth Sense

As children we are taught about the importance of our senses. We are socialized to believe that as human beings our five senses sets us apart from the animal kingdom. Our sense of hearing is important. The sense of hearing is very important. The ability to hear what is going on around you and to respond appropriately is key to communication in all of our relationships! The sense of sight is a beautiful thing. To see the beauty of nature is awesome. The picture of the baby shows us this. Our sense of taste is vital to our existence. Nature provides us with the necessary natural foods to sustain our bodies. We have an infinite bounty of food on this planet. Our sense of smell allows us to be ever alert to dangerous odors that may be offensive, deadly or toxic. We are taught a very early age the dangers of the smell of smoke which could lead to fire. So we are very cautious around fire and smoke. Our sense of touch is totally undeniably something to treasure. We long to be touched by our loved ones and friends we haven't seen for a long while. We can be touched by a poem, a song, a story or the kindness of a stranger. But the one sense we are not encouraged to cultivate and nourish is our sense of humor. Why not? Isn't the ability to laugh just as important as seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling? I bet you could remember something funny that happened when you used a particular sense. I know I can. So I am encouraging you to use humor and laughter when you are facing a challenging time in your life that may be frustrating, frightening, or stressful.

"From here to here and there to there, funny things are everywhere"
(Dr. Seuss)

Short video clips to make you laugh, smile or giggle!

Laugh Those Pounds Away

Take two chuckles, a belly laugh, a few giggles and you too can lose weight. Don't believe me. Read the following article.



By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent 
Published: 11:23AM GMT 12 Jan 2009

Laughing 'can help you lose weight' Laughing intensely for an hour can burn as many calories as lifting weight for 30 minutes, scientists have found. Laughing out loud also makes the chest rise and fall, which in turn means that stomach muscles have to work harder, which can help to tighten them. Laughter gives the body a "mini aerobic workout", they believe. It causes the heart to beat faster, sending larger amounts of blood around the body. Laughing out loud also makes the chest rise and fall, which in turn means that stomach muscles have to work harder, which can help to tighten them. The act of laughing can even help the skin, by using up to 15 facial muscles, helping to give the face a work out. Laughing can also bolster the immune system, aiding the body to fight off infections like coughs and colds. Dr Helen Pilcher, a neuroscientist who also works as a comedian, who carried out the research, said: "We're not advocating you watch sitcoms 24 hours a day, but laughing away excess Christmas weight is a great way to stay in shape. "But you've got to avoid the temptation of consuming extra calories whilst you are laughing - chomping on a Kit Kat or supping a quick half whilst watching your favorite sitcom." Her research, commissioned by UKTV Gold, found that an hour of strong laughter burns off around 100 calories, the equivalent of a small bag of crisps or small bar of chocolate. The same amount of calories could be worked off through half an hour of weightlifting or by vacuuming for almost three quarters of an hour, the research found.

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Laughter is The best Medicine

I want to devote this section to affirming that laughter, smiling and your sense of humor are very therapeutic. There is evidence from studies and research on the benefits of laughter. But I want you to seriously take at look at how you can truly create the quality of life you so richly deserve. I want to borrow a powerful quote from Charles Swindoll about attitude and its importance. He said:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,than successes, than what other people think or say or do. it is more important than appearances, than giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company..a church..a home. The remarkable thing is we have a chance every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."

If you approach life with the attitude that you are going to make every effort to enjoy life, to laugh at life, to embrace life and use your "gift" of laughter to survive and cope with the stress of everyday life, you will be a much more productive, happier and healthier person. I will endeavor to challenge your values, beliefs and standards about humor and laughter. But your attitude is key, tee hee, ha, ha!

The humor quote for this week is: "An optimist laughs to forget; a pessimist forgets to laugh."
The question for this week is "What is one thing you can do to remind yourself to laugh on a daily basis?