Charlotte Joko Beck 469 words, 27K views, 16 comments
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On Jun 23, 2015Cynthia wrote :
What immediately comes to mind for me is that laughter enlarges the container. I know this viscerally (heart knowledge, not head knowledge) through two recent experiences. The first experience was a guided meditation to find the animal spirit for my heart chakra. Once the animal (a whale) appeared and the facilitator asked me to look into its eye, I saw the tiny reflection of myself there and was struck with uncontrollable laughter at the hilarity of the sight -- me, breath-holding/cheeks bulging/bubble-blowing me, with my long hair swirling around my face like kelp, with my arms and legs madly waving to maintain position in the water column and move yet closer to this giant creature. What a gift it was to literally be able to see myself in the eye of another -- as I now realize from this article, to become for a moment the observer of myself -- such that I was able to experience self-compassion and self-love in a powerful way. The second experience was participating in a "laughter circle" with about twenty women at a retreat. Again, with a gifted facilitator. To sweep my eyes around the circle and witness the faces of each and every person so bright and beautiful in laughter, including (I knew) my own... To hear and feel and co-create the laughter energy upwhelming and overflowing was to enlarge the container of the self and of the group. Reflecting on this now, I see that to "practice" this kind of laughter daily would be very helpful to me on the journey. Thank you. Thank you.
On Jun 23, 2015 Cynthia wrote :
What immediately comes to mind for me is that laughter enlarges the container. I know this viscerally (heart knowledge, not head knowledge) through two recent experiences. The first experience was a guided meditation to find the animal spirit for my heart chakra. Once the animal (a whale) appeared and the facilitator asked me to look into its eye, I saw the tiny reflection of myself there and was struck with uncontrollable laughter at the hilarity of the sight -- me, breath-holding/cheeks bulging/bubble-blowing me, with my long hair swirling around my face like kelp, with my arms and legs madly waving to maintain position in the water column and move yet closer to this giant creature. What a gift it was to literally be able to see myself in the eye of another -- as I now realize from this article, to become for a moment the observer of myself -- such that I was able to experience self-compassion and self-love in a powerful way. The second experience was participating in a "laughter circle" with about twenty women at a retreat. Again, with a gifted facilitator. To sweep my eyes around the circle and witness the faces of each and every person so bright and beautiful in laughter, including (I knew) my own... To hear and feel and co-create the laughter energy upwhelming and overflowing was to enlarge the container of the self and of the group. Reflecting on this now, I see that to "practice" this kind of laughter daily would be very helpful to me on the journey. Thank you. Thank you.