LANSING LAUGHTER CLUB MEMBERS APPEAR IN LEVITY PROJECT VIDEO

Five members of the Lansing Laughter Club appear in a brand new video called Bubbles of Joy. It was released by The Levity Project, a social movement which works to create a more buoyant society through laughter, play and celebration. I participated in a Levity Project event in New York City on World Laughter Day in 2010 (read about that here). In addition to such events, they regularly create micro-movements by ask people around the world to film themselves doing a particular joyful activity. The Levity Project, then, brings together these video clips and makes a short film to put on YouTube.

Katie West and Ina Lukas, co-founders of The Levity Project, have dedicated the Bubbles of Joy video to their mothers, who both made their transition out of the physical world within a few months of each other this past year. In their honor, we are invited celebrate each precious moment that we have here on Earth. The playfulness of blowing bubbles really invites that kind of mindfulness.

Our group decided to blow bubbles in the sanctuary of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, where the Lansing Laughter Club meets. We wanted to make a statement about the joy of our faith. 

I was so inspired by the fun footage I got of Lansing Laughers, that I put together an addition film of these follies, backed by some songs from the Holy Hysterics CD. Enjoy!

Remember that enrollment is still open for both the Laughter Yoga Leader Retreat and the Laughter Yoga Teacher Retreat, which begin on March 30 (information at www.LaughterYogaIowa.com). If you are already a certified Laughter Yoga Leader, either through the Iowa School of Laughter Yoga or another program, you are eligible to receive a huge discount. Consider coming just for fun! You’ll make new friends and renew your zeal of the life-changing power of laughter. What could be a better way to spend April Fool’s weekend? E-mail me for details: laughterlaura@yahoo.com.

WORLD LAUGHTER DAY IN NEW YORK CITY

To celebrate World Laughter Day, which was established by Dr. Madan Kataria and is observed around the globe on the first Sunday of each May, I went to New York City. I participated in two exciting events designed to bring about world peace through joy, laughter and celebration.

The idea behind this day comes from this famous quote by Dr. Kataria.

The first event on World Laughter Day was The Levity Project (www.thelevityproject.com)

The Levity Project is a movement to create social change through play, laughter, and celebration. This is how their Web site explains their mission:

We engage in public acts of levity in which people gather in a flash setting to en-lighten the energy of a public place and those within it. They are designed to foster a sense of lightness and connection to all who are present.

"Our goal is to inspire people to see themselves as agents of change and to help create an upward spiral of positivity in our world. We want to create a deeper global understanding that joy, play, laughter, and freedom are integral to our individual and collective success.

Below is a picture of Katie and Ina, the two power-house laughers behind the Levity Project.


For the New York City event, we gathered at Union Square and did a "Smile Freeze" where we all froze in a happy pose for about 3 minutes. It really took the onlookers by surprise and gave them lots of smiles.

Then, we proceeded to laugh on the subway to Grand Central Station, where we laughed and invited others to join our laughter party. This was a huge hit.

After this, we all took another train to Times Square and laughed even more as we rode the train and as we ascended the escalators at the end. It certainly brought levity to the city of New York.

This event got national news coverage on CNN. Click here to see the video.

The second event on World Laughter Day was a peace march from Times Square to the UN Building—a 2 hour journey in which we laughed the whole way, stopping frequently to engage in various laughter yoga exercises and encourage passers by to join us. What a hoot! The symbolic march was a powerful experience reinforcing the idea that laughter yoga is more than just fun—it is an agent of social change. Laughter unites hearts and minds across cultures, races and languages. It does, indeed, have the power to move our world toward peace.

Below is my video slideshow of the entire day. I encourage you to click this link to YouTube so you can view it full size.