LAFOLOT

This is a TRIBUTE to a Healthy Happy Hour Laughter Club attendee.
I held a ‘Healthy Happy Hour’ Laughter Club at a local, highrise retirement apartment building.
It was a wonderful location, but I couldn’t get regular attendance. The last three months I held the club – my main attendee was HELEN D.

Helen D. was about 96 years old,
full of LOVE, SMILES, LAUGHTER and SPARKLING EYES!
She had a wonderful, scratchy, high-pitched voice – which happens as we age.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED that Helen D. would show up and she didn’t mind if it was just us laughing together!
I said to her: I find it amazing, that the people that show up regularly at my laughter programs at Senior Centers are those over the age of 90! I said: THAT says something for laughter and longevity!

She agreed.

Well! Of all places, I ran into two women that also lived at her apartment building 2 days ago. It was at the DOLLARTREE store where I get supplies – a FUN PLACE. So it was APPROPRIATE that I should hear about my LAUGHING friend Helen D. when I went there.

Evidently, Helen D. had to have the last laugh!
Helen died in her apartment on THE FOURTH OF JULY (Independence Day!)
I’m sure Helen D., sparkling eyes, laughter and smiles is thrilled that

SHE GOT TO GO OUT WITH A BANG! I think her spirit flew to the heavens with all the Fireworks displays going on and she was LAUGHING WITH GLEE!

I miss her greatly, but just thinking of her brings smiles and laughter to my heart and soul!

FLY FREE LAUGHINGLY HELEN D!!!!!!

Just like you to have the last laugh and GO OUT WITH A BANG!

Live Life! Laugh Often! and maybe you’ll live to the ripe age of 96!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Living Life! and Laughing Often!
Next time you see fireworks – think of Helen D – laughing freely!
www.lafolot.com

[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blog name: Helenoflafolot

Not being funny, I was very excited about having completed a milestone in my dental improvements when I was about 42 yrs old.
I was dealing with a realtor at the time -
when she came over to my house, I announced:

I GOT MY IMPLANTS TODAY! and SMILED!

She looked at my chest (in question, since I’m short, overweight and not ‘very defined’ in that area … eh hem….)

NO! I said: DENTAL! DENTAL IMPLANTS!

…COMMUNICATION is a curious creature, is it not? ;o)

Needless to say – my implants will never be featured on the cover of any magazine when I become famous. [unless it's the American Dental Association magazine!]

Or should I say they will – but no one will notice them … other than DUE TO MY FABULOUS SMILE! ;o)

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
and SMILE! and show off that dental work!

[I told my one friend, I'd WILL the implants and crowns to her due to the cost incurred!] ;o) ashame to bury them!
this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blog name: Helenoflafolot

WOW! I just LOVE ‘Magical Synchronicity’!

It is a HOT, HUMID, MUGGY 90 degrees fahrenheit outside today! One of those oppressive type days! Sun beating down relentlessly! The kind that makes you grateful to have air conditioning, shelter, etc.

So, by now, you can imagine how I was feeling when I left a restaurant and was walking back out to my car, thinking “OH MY GOSH! I’M GOING TO PASS OUT! THIS HEAT IS SOMETHING ELSE!” I am grateful to have air conditioning in my car as well as to have a car. I start driving down the road after making a second stop at the grocery store – the heat/sun was beating through the windshield. I look at the license plate on the vehicle in front of me:

OHMEOMY

I laughed out loud! My sentiments, exactly! I was finally able to RELEASE a LAUGH about the weather!
What synchronicity! What Magic! Some ANGEL or FLUKE put that license plate in front of me to express what I was holding in about the weather! OH! ME! OH! MY!

Then, a car drives by in the lane on my left and I see the license plate:

MY3STRZ

I think, God, the Universe, Spirit, Angels, who knows – were REALLY starting to mess with me! I laughed out loud!

MY STARS! IT WAS HOT! OH! ME! OH MY! WAS IT HOT!

Then, I got another laugh and smile, remembering how my dad used to make words out of interesting license plates he would see while driving. This was WAY before PERSONALIZED license plates got popular!

I recall him saying, when I bought a new Subaru JUSTY and the license plate was: BYZ (he walked out to the car to give his nod of approval and announced BE WISE! BE WISE!) ha ha ha

The year he died (August 11, 2000), I got a new car/license plate and the first 3 letters were: DAD [how appropriate!] I kept the license plate, even though I have since upgraded my vehicle and now have a HA-HAHA license plate; of which I feel he would approve!

So, in all this heat and humidity, I once again was reminded how to: DRIVE MYSELF HAPPY!

You can read more about my new DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY! Campaign at my website.

Too HOT? Too much traffic? Too agitated about life’s challenges while driving?

Turn off your cell phone, focus on the road, and SEE HOW MANY FUN WORDS you can make out of the license plates driving by you!

DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY! and KEEP SPREADING THOSE SMILES BY THE MILES!
Stay Sweet!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com
[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blogger name: Helenoflafolot]

I have been having a lot of people share with me lately:

1) I was sitting at a funeral for my mother. They started to play a church song that my mom, disliked. They reached one particular line that she especially hated – I BURST OUT LAUGHING!

2) I was in a very serious situation, I had not been dealing with it well, it’s not a situation where you would normally laugh; and I BURST OUT LAUGHING!

3) I was working on a mechanical problem, lying flat on my face, trying to unscrew a difficult nut and bolt and, suddenly, I BURST OUT LAUGHING UNCONROLLABLY!

As a trained, certified laughter leader – I am required to keep abreast of new studies on laughter and smiling benefits and impacts on the body and mind. I also do a lot of my own observations and testing when I am out and about in public. When I give my laughter wellness talks or motivational-inspirational speaking, I share information and experiences people have shared with me.

When my father was dying, I was blessed with being with him at his last coule breaths. I was also blessed to be from a large family. My mother or other siblings would be with him, at the hospital, during the day; then I would come in the evening. My dad LOVED to joke around, clown around, with kids as well as adults. He had his standard set of jokes. When a non-denominational minister came into intensive care to visit, she started out serious and my dad made a joke. She was so focused on the ‘Here’s a dying man with a family member, I better show respect…’ she didn’t realized he had joked with her. I let her know he was joking. She stopped and looked at me. I said, my dad loves to joke around, and I smiled. ‘WELL THEN, SHE SAID! I CAN STAY RIGHT IN THERE WITH THE BEST OF THEM!’ The rest of her visit was LITE and FLUFFY and my dad had a smile on his face at the end of her visit, giving her a thank you.

When my dad passed on, I went to tell the nurses. They were ready to console me. I said, ‘Oh No! I’m great! It was wonderful to be here, see him let go so peacefully.’ We started to talk about a funny fishing story where my dad had put a safety pin on the end of a string so I could FISH at the canal near our home. We were laughing out loud when my mother arrived. She was also at peace that he had been able to let go and pass on peacefully.

EVERYONE GRIEVES and LETS GO of their own life and of their loved one’s lives in a different way.

I have had more and more people tell me how they laugh and smile when they MISS and GRIEVE their loved ones. I have a minister friend tell me a woman said to her: ‘IF YOU’RE HERE TO HELP ME DIE, DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE A** ON THE WAY OUT! IF YOU’RE HERE TO HELP ME ENJOY LIFE WHILE I’M STILL BREATHING, COME ON IN AND PULL UP A CHAIR!’

I had a representative of a Hospice, at a networking event, tell me yesterday (when I was at the event wearing my tinsel deely bobber headband): ‘YOU CAN’T WEAR THOSE AT THE HOSPICE!’ I was instantly shocked. I told her the story I noted above.

I respect everyone’s wishes and beliefs in grieving. Everyone’s wishes and beliefs are different and personal. I know MANY people that would be THRILLED to have me show up wearing Tinsel Deely Bobber Headbands if they were wanting to LET GO LITELY!

I heard of a family who lost their mentally/physically disabled son. They had a PARTY with BALLOONS at his viewing! Why? Because he LOVED PARTIES and BALLOONS! I wore PINK to a friend’s husbands funeral. He was a FUN LOVING FAMILY MAN and HUSBAND! He was KIND and CARING and FULL OF LIFE! He knew how to make you feel better when you were down, just by a kind word. I celebrated his LITENESS by wearing a LITE, BRIGHT COLOR to his funeral.

As for me – I want to LET GO LITELY and be seen with a SMILE on my face as I’m going to my next exciting adventure!

It’s OKAY to LAUGH at a funeral. Laughter isn’t all about responding to a joke. It’s OKAY to SMILE at a funeral. I tell people all the time – GRIEVING sometimes gets STUCK inside your body. Sometimes – planting a SMILE on your face or OPENING your MOUTH and LAUGHING allows the STUCK GRIEVING FEELINGS to SPILL OUT! I have had this happen to me on many occassions. When I feel STUCK – I open my mouth in a grin and sometimes start a tone to help my body let out, whatever it needs to process. Some cultures call this WHALING. It’s a healthy thing, to LET IT OUT and LET IT GO LITELY.

It may not be for everyone, but for those that wish – it should be allowed.

One of my favorite writings is by S.H. Payer: ‘Live each day to the fullest… be yourself, but be your best self… look forward with confidence and back without regrets…’

Another writer I like is: Don Miguel Ruiz who notes: Each day do you best. Each day your best is different, based on how you are feeling. So there are no regrets, because you are always doing your best.

If you need to LAUGH, laugh. If you need to CRY, cry. If you need to make a crack in your face with a smile to start a process, do it. No regrets – it’s your way of processing your feelings.

LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN! until your breath stops -
May you live till you LET GO LITELY with a smile on your face –
May you have the chance to make all your amends, forgive freely and know that you have done your best – and when you are ready to LET GO – LET GO LIGHTLY in the brightest of light with that smile emanating even after your spirit has left your body.

…with peace and a smile Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life in A-MAZE-MENT and make them wonder WHY you were smiling when you left.

[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blogger name: Helenoflafolot]

I was also going to title this blog entry: THEY REMEMBERED!

When I was first starting my LAFOLOT business back in May of 2008, I hit the ground running with marketing and advertising. I made use of keychains from A.C. Moore Craft store that allow you to unsnap the circle shape, place your own printed design inside and snap it closed/sealed.

When I was entering an Olive Garden Restaurant near me, and a crowd was outside, one particular man stood out. He was Laughing Out Loud, surrounded by several other people. I whipped out one of my: I Love to LAFOLOT keychains, walked up to him and said: ‘HERE, YOU NEED THIS!’ When he read it, he Laughed Out Loud! His family got a chuckle out of it.

Well! Zoom forward to June 30, 2010 -
I’m walking out of Olive Garden Restaurant -
I see an older couple and a younger girl standing around my car, looking at the HA-HAHA license plate;
Live Life! Laugh Often! Bumper Display; and
magnetic side panel advertising: LAFOLOT – Laughter Clubs and Talks; Motivational Speaking…

I was REALLY tempted to use my cars ‘help you find you car in a crowded parking lot’ feature and press the button to set all the lights flashing. The young girl was at the back of the car looking at the license plate.

But, when I’ve done silly stuff like that in the past, it has backfired on me. I thought, watch me do this and it won’t stop! HA HA

So, I crossed the parking lot, they saw me coming (AND THEY DIDN’T RUN! THAT WAS A GOOD SIGN! HA HA).
They had big SMILES on their faces.
I told them what I had planned to do with the car alarm system, they laughed.

The older woman told me: ‘DO YOU REMEMBER US? YOU GAVE MY HUSBAND A KEY CHAIN YEARS BACK!’ ‘YOU SAID, -HERE, YOU NEED THIS!’ when we were standing outside the restaurant talking with our sons!

I laughed, I HAD REMEMBERED! I said: ‘It’s only been since May 2008!’ The lady laughed and said, ‘That’s YEARS ago to ME!’ I guess they were telling their granddaughter about me, the keychain, and she was getting a kick out of my car advertising.

I told them, ‘Well, you made my day!’ You not only remembered me, but gave me the gift of letting me know you remembered!’ I told them how I teach ‘Good Hearted Living’ by Steve Wilson as well as Laughter Therapy/Wellness. I said: I tell people all the time how it doesn’t cost anything to share a compliment or kindness. I asked them if I had given them a bookmark back then and did they each want one? They did! So I gave them each a SMILEY face, bright yellow LAFOLOT bookmark.

So –

THEY REMEMBERED!
They had a PHOTOGRAPHIC memory of the event and it brought them laughter and smiles!
The young girl was PHOTOGRAPHING my license plate! (HA HA)

So I had to: SMILE! It was a PICTURE PERFECT moment!

Share those SMILES BY THE MILES, share your wonderful thoughts, moments and memories and make people’s days. Remind yourself and others how special they have made your life!

Live Life! Laugh Often!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
www.lafolot.com

[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blogger name: Helenoflafolot

Whenever I present a ‘Laughter? Let’s Get Serious!’ talk, I also present ‘Good Hearted Living Principles’ based on a book by Steve Wilson, CSP. I talk about how you don’t need money to give a gift!

1) Give the Gift of Laughter!
2) Give the Gift of a Smile!
3) Good Hearted Living deals with giving the Gift of: Compliments, Flexibility, Gratitude, Kindness and Forgiveness.

None of the above require the exchange of paper money or the economy to be boosted in order to BOOST SOMEONE’S SPIRITS!

Instead of business cards, I give out Business BOOKMARKS! My bookmarks are bright yellow (yellow agitates the brain and inspires learning!). I included a silly, smiley face on all my bookmarks as well as ways to create a happier, more positive life through my list of suggestions on the back of the bookmark.

Whenever I am out and about, I LOVE sharing my SMILES (part of my SMILE CAMPAIGN) as well as my Bright, Yellow, Silly, Uplifting Bookmarks to brighten people’s days!

I always ask permission from a nearby parent; but when a child is crying, fussing or having a bad day – or bad time communicating their needs; I walk, run, or waddle over – put a silly smile and big eyed look on my face and ask: WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HELP GETTING YOUR SMILE BACK?

Usually, the child gets quiet (probably out of the shear fear of encountering a strange adult! HA HA HA), the parent askes if they would like the bookmark, they nod or reach out and I ask: Has this helped you find you smile again? Can you show me you smile? Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t and THAT’S OKAY!

So COMICALLY, ECONOMICALLY it doesn’t cost even a PENNY for me to make these colorful business bookmarks that – in a PINCH (if you are PINCHING PENNIES) – BOOST THE SPIRIT, MOOD, DAY of the recipient.

So, one silly, smiley, yellow business bookmark at a time – I’m doing my part to comically boost the Emotional Economy of the public.

It’s a SILLY JOB, BUT SOMEONE’S GOTTA DO IT! Who ‘da THUNK a little piece of yellow cardboard could have so much comical-economical power!

Have a silly, smiley, laughter filled, comically-economically boosted kinda day –
HEY! Why Not? It’s HEALTHY!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Spread those SMILES BY THE MILES and make the inner light SHINE of everyone you meet!
www.lafolot.com
[this blog can also be seen at VIBRANT NATION under blogger name: Helenoflafolot]

I was blessed to have the opportunity to give a LAFOLOT Laughter Wellness demo at our local ‘The Healthy Grocer’ store this past Tuesday. They open their lunchroom to ‘alternative healers/wellness’ folks to demonstrate their gifts.

I entered wearing my ‘now unofficially trademarked’ Tinsel Deely Bobber Headband. A store clerk approached me as I went up to talk to my contact and asked: ‘Are YOU the laughter wellness person?’ I said: ‘What makes you say that?’ Greg, ‘The Healthy Grocer’ wellness program coordinator said: ‘She asked how she’d know you. I told her, don’t worry, you won’t miss her!’ HA HA – Good thing I remembered to wear the tinsel deely bobber headband into the store!

I encountered a blonde hair, blue eyed, wide-eyed with a BIG SMILE little toddler as I was waiting for folks to arrive. Kids tend to think I’m a clown just because of my head gear! I had one of my LAFOLOT Stress Reliever Pinwheels with me, and I was making it twirl around. The little girl was EYEing it. When she and her mom and grandmom went to check out – I held the pinwheel out towards her. (I had already given her a smiley face bookmark.) It was hilarious – we started a TODDLER vs. SILLY ADULT PERSON – dance. She took two steps forward, two steps back! So I did the same. She giggled. I started a sideways crab walk movement, continuing to hold out the pinwheel towards her – then I’d step back. She mimicked me. She giggled. So we shimmied forward and back, sideways and back till I finally stretched long and forward so she would take the pinwheel. She accepted it with a big smile! Her ‘mommy’ told her to say thank you! It was the funniest thing! I love playing with kids and their shyness…OR WAS SHE PLAYING WITH ME AND MY ADULTNESS?

I had two wonderful attendees at my program. One was named IDA and she was professionally trained as a clown known as CHARITY! We had healthy fun and they took smiley bookmarks to pass around, LAFOLOT pamphlets, LAFOLOT canvas shopping bags, as well as wanted to bring me to their church to do a program or a Full Belly Laughter Club! It was a success!

When I left, I stopped at our local ARBYs. I ordered a small drink and decided to order the cheese sticks. When I got to the window to pay, the guy asked: ‘Did you get your drink yet?’ Well no – so I answered. (this made no sense but I just went with the flow) I had agreed to donate a Dollar to Big Brothers Big Sisters so I was gathering my quarters together. A girl came to the window and asked if I was a motivational speaker? She had seen my LAFOLOT Magnetic advertising panel on the side of my card. I said YES! and gave her a few SMILEY FACE bookmarks (I don’t use business cards). I let her know it would be fun to bring me in for an emloyee meeting, etc. She was excited. Then, the young guy who had asked about the drink gave me my ‘BAG’ with my order. As I pulled forward I reached into the bag and it didn’t feel like cheese sticks. I had been given a roast beef sandwich! HA HA HA – I just continued on home! There was too big a line of cars at the drive thru to go back and I was tired!

I had to drive through the GIANT Food Store parking lot to get to an exit with a traffic light, for ease of getting across the roadway in the opposite direction. I had paid for Shopping Cart advertising at this store for two seasons, but had to stop due to lack of funds. As I stopped at one of the ‘customer crosswalk’ indicators, a mom and her little girl were pushing their cart across the road into the store. The little girl turned and smiled at me. I got a laugh and smile! I saw the cart she was pushing had my LAFOLOT Laughter Wellness big AD on it! I guess they didn’t have an AD to replace it and let mine on the cart from the last season! WHAT A GIFT!

So! Between the little girl toddler who PLAYED with me to get her pinwheel and the little girl showing me that I was getting FREE Advertising – they BOOK-ENDED a perfect evening of healthy laughter, fun and play!

SOMEONE OUT THERE IS LOOKING OUT FOR ME – THANKS! ;O)

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Living Life in Amazement!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
…and don’t be afraid to do the crab sidestep with a toddler once in awhile
[this blog can also be seen on Vibrant Nation under blog name: Helenoflafolot]

The subject of this e-mail is a motto on my website (-when I’m not menopausal and acting like a fruitcake!) ;o)

I got to share my Helen of LAFOLOT Variety Show Singing and Humorist stories at a Mother’s Day event at Country Meadows Senior Living. There were only about 12 to 14 people there. The smaller audience was welcome, since larger audiences can’t always hear the karaoke and microphone combo unit I use.

There was a man named Marty and a woman named Mary sitting side-by-side. No connection, just happened to be sitting next to one another. WELL! They were singing out loud, right along with me! I sing songs from the 20s, 30s, 40s through the present. They know the words better than I do!

At the end, I had a spontaneous thought – I said: ‘I’m going to make t-shirts for the two of you! They’ll say M & on one t-shirt and M on the other!’ Marty and Mary LOVED the idea! They said they would wear the t-shirts and make sure to sit side-by-side if I came back to sing.

I made sure to tell them it would likely take a week, but I’d get the shirts to them. I got their sizes – L and M.

So, I DESIGNED the M&M logo – I made it a little different and with more color. One note: Marty of M&M with dancing musical notes underneath and the other said: Mary of M&M – it was within a red outlined circle with my LAFOLOT logo underneath.

WELL! I drove down and dropped them off this morning. I thought I’d just give them to the Activities Director but there sat a group of seniors waiting for an activity to start. MARTY’S EYES BEEMED! He even got a little teary eyed!

He was so thrilled! He said: ‘I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU REMEMBERED!’ I said: ‘I WOULDN’T HAVE PROMISED AND NOT STUCK TO IT!’

He was soooo moved – he shakily stood up out of his chair – used my hand to steady himself and ASKED if he could thank me with a hug! I thought that was so nice that he ASKED – I said sure!

Then – they told me where Mary’s room was – I encountered Mary in her wheelchair – heading back towards her room. Mary is very hard of hearing – so I bent towards her ear and HOLLERED that I had made her the shirt. She was ECSTATIC! She was so thrilled and couldn’t thank me enough! Mary told me, once again, how much she enjoyed my singing and hoped I would be back soon! WOW!

AW SHUCKS! I did it because I thought it would be a fun idea – and might get me back for more singing!
The reaction was PRICELESS! What a GIFT!
What more can I say!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com
[this can also been seen at Vibrant Nation Blog Circle name: Helenoflafolot]

Friends and family have been encouraging me to put my creative characters and motivational/inspirational messages out on You Tube.

I talk about appreciating life in ALL its forms of expression; being in AWE of it ALL!

I have been hearing back from women, men and teens all over the world about their appreciation of my self-expression in video and blog form.

It’s funny, because I look at the videos and photos and see a short, fat, woman with no lips, a big menopausal abdomen, large forearms and gobble gobble neck –

BUT! When folks see me they say: YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!

So I KEEP ON spreading my message of ACCEPT LIFE in ALL its forms of expression –

don’t crawl into a hole because you don’t FIT THE NORM.

GET OUT THERE AND BE THE ‘ME’ YOU WERE MEANT TO BE!

Here’s my Creative, Menopausal Woman over 50 video I submitted to The ELLEN Show for her: Write a World Domination Theme Song contest.

Not bad for a White Hungarian Rapper? My darker complected friends get a kick out of my rhythm and rapping abilities! I get it from my HUNGARIAN ANCESTORS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Gm37ku7zw

I hope you can get to the video link, above! If not, my channel on You Tube is HELENOFLAFOLOT – just type it in the search box and look for the video called: DomEducate

I’M VERY PROUD OF IT!

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often! (Live in AWE of it ALL! and Make Life a Song!)
www.lafolot.com
This blog can also be seen at Vibrant Nation under blog circle name: Helenoflafolot

These are my “personal thoughts and observations” on SMILING.

What I’ve come across in my training and research is that SMILING has many wonderful health benefits. One of them is opening communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain! A smile naturally UPLIFTS and LIGHTENS not only the face, but the heart, soul, spirit, health, and demeanor of a person!

Before I became a Certified Laughter Leader, WLT; people would pass me and ORDER … SMILE! I would wonder why they were doing this? It instantly made me ‘irritable’, having the opposite effect of the intention of the sender. I would say, ‘What? This is my face, I’m just thinking, what’s wrong?” I have one of those ’small mouths that naturally turns down’. I would say: ‘This is my God-given face, what’s wrong with it?’

Then, I figured: ‘Well, If they WANT me to walk around with a smile all the time, I will!’ So, whenever I passed someone, I would INSTANTLY put a frozen GRIN on my face, then close it. Some people started to say: ‘WHAT’S WRONG?’ ‘Gheesh! I thought. They’re never happy!’ Some people would say: ‘DO YOU HAVE GAS?’ I couldn’t win! Nothing seemed to make people happy with the look on my face!

So, once I learned more about the mental, spiritual, physical health benefits of smiling, I started an experiment! EVERYONE I met at work, or grocery shopping or at Stop Lights while waiting at a busy intersection got a close-mouthed smile from me. SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENED! I started to get automatic, mirrored smiles in return! “Wow! I thought! This is amazing!” I started to make a game of it. If I gave a close-mouthed smile and received an automatic one in return from whomever I was passing, I gave myself ONE POINT! Something MORE MAGICAL started to happen! I realized I not only got a REFLECTED smile back at me; but I would sometimes receive a verbal ‘Hi! or How Are You?’ “WOW! I once again thought, now I’m going to give myself TWO POINTS!

So, I started totalling my points whenever I went out anywhere. I started to notice something even MORE magical! Total strangers would be walking with their head down, look up, see my closed-mouth smile, and 1) Smile Back at Me 2) Say Hello, and ask how I was doing, 3) START TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH ME! Besides the previous three reactions, I would VISIBLY NOTICE 1) Their posture got taller, 2) Their face lit up, and 3) They were still smiling when they passed me!

I went from: Irritible, to Faking a Smile, to Experimenting and Playing a Game with Receiving a Smile to, seeing the VISIBLE WARMTH and ENLIGHTENMENT that was produced by acknowledging a person with a look and smile!

I started to get a warm, fuzzy feeling and couldn’t wait to go out and share smiles! I started to call this my: HA HA HELEN’S SMILE CAMPAIGN and posted it on my website! I made buttons that read: ‘I JOINED HA HA HELEN’S SMILE CAMPAIGN!’ I started to incorporate the observations and experiment in my: ‘Laughter? Let’s Get Serious!’ talks and programs!

I started to notice more and more, how our bodies NATURALLY use SMILING and LAUGHING as natural responses to:

HAPPINESS
EXCITEMENT ABOUT LEARNING and DISCOVERING
FEAR
HESITATION, etc.

For example, watch a baby when it first smiles or giggles; they don’t understand language but they smile and giggle with EXCITEMENT at NEW things seen or NEW self-discoveries. I started to realize; if smiling opens communication between the left and right brain hemispheres, then this act of a baby must be helping the child to learn, about these new discoveries!

I met a young girl in a Sunday School class who talked to me about a fear of riding a roller coaster, but her friends were insisting. In relaying the story, she sucked in her breath to show me hesitation and fear; made a frozen grimmace or grin, released the sucked in breath, letting all the air out and released the frozen grin or grimmace. I WAS AMAZED as I OBSERVED this! The girl was using NATURAL body functions of DEEP BREATHING, pulling the mouth back and up to OPEN THE MIND AND RECEIVE and then RELEASE THE FEAR!

I started to realize another action when a person is entering a SCARY situation in a horror movie. I noticed they would walk low, stealthily and PULL THEIR MOUTH OPEN AND UPWARD in a FEAR / CAUTION produced GRIN or GRIMMACE! What was happening? I thought. Well, from what I’ve learned, they were in HIGHTENED reaction mode and they were INCREASING the communication between their left and right brain hemispheres with this action, to be READY TO RECEIVE THE INFORMATION and REACT!

Think about the Holiday story ‘The Grinch That Stole Christmas’. Did you notice whenever the Grinch had a clever idea; he PULLED THE CORNERS UP on his face into that GRINCH CLASSIC SMILE! How appropriate! Did you notice how Dr. Evil (Austin Powers), or Vincent Price would LAUGH DIABOLICALLY when they had an EVIL idea? Isn’t it interesting how laughing and smiling would apply to THE CREATION OF AN IDEA – in opening communication between the left and right brain hemispheres?

The health benefits of laughing and smiling are NEUTRAL when it comes to causing many physical, mental, emotional reactions in the body in order for us to develop an idea, deal with fear, deal with stress or express excitement and joy!

I invite you to continue your own research and continue your own observations with how smiling and laughing are used in your own, daily interactions. I invite my workshop attendees to prove me right or wrong by going out and SMILING to see what they observe. I am a natural, nervous laugher and use it to deal with life situations. I have become an AUTOMATIC SMILER.

I now use SMILING before I answer the phone or door. I use smiling to CAUSE me to PAUSE; so I don’t over react, and allow myself time to be OPEN and PROCESS what I am ABOUT TO RECEIVE.

Try it and let me know what you think or observe… you may like it and find it fascinating. Either way, join my smile campaign and see how many points you earn! It makes shopping and other chores go a lot faster; and brings in the FUN!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
Live Life! Laugh Often! … and SMILE, too!
www.lafolot.com
[this blog can also be found at Vibrant Nation under Blog Circle Name: Helenoflafolot]