What Is It That Makes You Laugh?

The answer to the question, "What makes you laugh?" is one that there is no scientific answer for. There is no mechanism in your physical structure that induces laughter. Your mind does not produce laughter, it only responds to the images that you find amusing. Something or someone triggers an image, you find the image funny and you laugh. With there being no scientific explanation for laughter we then have to look for an explanation outside the confines of science. Different people laugh at different things, events or circumstances. You may laugh at the unexpected just as readily as you laugh at something occurring that was expected. What one person may laugh at another may not find funny at all. So, what is it that makes you laugh?

Children laugh with far greater frequency than adults do.  The laughter of children is infectious and they innately know how to share a laugh.  A room full of children laughing is one of the most uplifting sounds there is.  My youngest daughter used to take great delight it scaring me out of my wits.  She used to look for opportunities to do so only because it made her laugh.  However, she did not have the viewpoint that she was scaring me, she looked upon it as startling my body.  She used to love to be pushed on a swing, as high as possible when she was a little girl.  The minute her feet hit the ground she would announce, "That was great, it scared my whole body!".  At about two years of age she climbed up on the kitchen table and as I admonished her to get down she pointed a chubby finger at me and announced, "You don't scare me, I scare you."  Then with palms up towards the ceiling she pronounced, "I'm an nut!"

Not only is what we find funny an individual thing so to is the sound of our laughter.  My son has one of those laughs that no matter where you are or what you are doing you would find yourself laughing along with him whether you knew the source of his amusement or not.  Shortly after he turned fourteen something happened in his life that threatened his beautiful laugh.  I missed it so much as I did not have the training then that I do now I was at a loss as to how to help him get his sense of humour back.  My solution was to rent every Peter Seller's movie I could get my hands on and it did the trick. 

My oldest daughter has such a quiet sense of humour that I often find myself chuckling quite sometime after she has let loose with the funny.  My step daughter, who has a degree in music sounds like an orchestra when she laughs.  Her laughter has a range from kettle drum to chimes.

If you were to walk around the corner into our family room you may find the sight of a rabbit sprawled out in front of the television funny.  In our household it is normal to see Tibbar (rabbit spelled backwards - my eldest's humour) either laid out on the floor or the couch eyes fixed to the tube.  Often we find the abnormal funny and at other times it is the absolute normalcy of a situation that causes us mirth.  There are people I have met in my life who only laugh at the discomfort or at the expense of others.  Other than that they display not one ounce of what could be considered a healthy sense of humour.  Sometimes we laugh when we are frightened or nervous and at other times we laugh when a situation is extremely serious or dripping in pomp and circumstance. 

What makes you laugh, makes you laugh and although you may share the same sense of humour as another, the things that make you laugh are as unique as your own laugh.

It may not be someone's telling of a funny joke or a humorous situation that causes you to laugh.  When you have a realization, a cognition wherein you recognize that you have been operating on a false, negative or limiting belief or precept you may well respond with laughter.  Laughter frees up your life force and sets up a new vibration as you let go of what you now know to be false.  This allows you to move forward in life with greater truth and accurate perception as your laughter has set you free from the limitations of the previously held misunderstanding or downright false concept.  Whether you have an 'aha' moment or an 'aduh' moment it is very often highly amusing.

We have all heard that laughter is the best medicine and the fact that it is goes beyond the fact that it lifts your spirits and provides relief in a stressful situation. Laughter has a beneficial effect on your mind and body too. Laughter increases your mental and physical energy; it boosts your immune system, increases blood flow and diminishes pain (that is of course unless you are in stitches when you've got stitches). Laughter can move you from a negative mind set or emotional state and roll you over onto the positive side of the split. Laughing your 'head off' lifts you out of your mind and into the realm of spirit wherein you are able to be more fully you. A you that is creative, confident, playful and dynamic.

So next time you are letting someone or something get you down, make more of it and have a good laugh.