Monday, 30 December 2013

What a difference a year makes!

Looking back over the year 2013 I am bewondered by all the amazingness that has happened in my life and in the lives of the ones I have been blesssingly connected with - either personally or professionally.

Although, having said that, the professional connections in so many ways are personal, too - it kinda comes with the work that I love so much and feel so truly blessed being able to conduct full-time.

You are all my people.

Yeah, it seems 'blessed' is a red thread through my year...

But life was and is ALWAYS a blessing - even when it comes in great disguises as challenges and hardship. As long as there is life - there is hope for the dreams we visualise in our mind's eye.

So what happened in 2013?

Hm. Where to begin...
  • This is the first full year of running Laughter Yoga Teacher Training and I love it, I love the impact this amazing way of being has on everyone it touches
  • Dr. Madan Kataria agreed to be summoned for the 2014 Laughter Festival which includes an Advanced Training Day for Laughter Yoga Professionals around the UK and beyond
  • Unfolding business relationships and development of great new courses - a great year for laughter
  • It was also a challenging year as it has been for many small businesses but as a true laughter spirit no challenge is too big and UnitedMind pulled through thanks to lots of enthusiasm and will power plus action and great support
  • Radio, TV and news press mentions and appearances
  • Mummy Mikkelsen came to visit
  • Friends are the wonderful base for any life in both directions
  • Two of my besties got married
  • The year my little girl turned 18
  • And with 18 came a drivers licence and a car
  • My little girl, now 18 years old, received two university offers and one interview for early 2014
  • 30th March was the official first date and love flourished into free flowing life
  • 25th December - engaged - with a ring and a wonderful man!
So the year is not just about bling and growing business - all the things that come from putting your life at stake and make a stand for what you believe and what you dream are just things, but the true blessing and the true magic lies in the feelings, the sensations, the emotions all of this creates in you and in the people who are touched by your miracle of being.

On that note I wish you a very happy New Year with great health, love - and all of it in abundance!

Monday, 23 December 2013

A secondhand dream

Dreaming begins...
The strange dream wasn't mine - it was Dodo and the Dodos'...

But it made me think a lot of thoughts about dreams we all have. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes...they just seem like a load of nonsense and we think and think and think and try to work out what is the meaning. Yeah, I've had those dreams. I still have those dreams.

Sometimes dreams are like ripples and reflections - and that is what they cause, reflection. And what is it to reflect? Relection is as a mirror you look into where the mirror looks back at you checking you got what it was all about - isn't that what we do when we reflect? Checking our lessons and checking the mirror for any escaped wisdom.

Another dream?
We bare ourselves for ourselves. Wisdom happens when we let go and look at the nakedness of ourselves.

Often we put things in boxes and try to make reality of unreal events and miracles instead of letting the magic unfold and become from the thoughts and ideas of a million lifetimes, lessons we forgot about letting be, teachings of mindfulness and a loving stateful peace or a peaceful loving state.

Yet another dream
Reminding me of the undying words from Michael Jackson, 'if you wanna make this world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change'.

A dream come true
Shedding all pretence and seeing what's there without the dramas and added stories and meaning we often apply to situations in order to make them fit into our reality. Imagine being free of all this and just be who we are. Imagine, if we could see each other just like that, see each other for who we are when no one looks - for anything else (just another paraphrased thought from Dodo).

We all dream when we sleep but we don't all remember our dreams and we don't remember all our dreams either.

Another beautiful dream come true!
Another reason it is important to dream when we are awake - and dream big!

Dream big - and even if only a fraction of the dream comes true, then it is still a dream that's been lived.

I had a strange dream, my head was a square.

Monday, 16 December 2013

19:56.


Where to start when life just flows as a natural stream?

It doesn't matter who says what or who does what or who is what - what matters is that everything is perfect the way it is.

This time of year frustrations and stress seem to be thrown about as if it was a matter of life and death getting those exact presents of getting somewhere or perhaps the turkey is too small...

Well, if you are a believer of Baby Jesus then he arrived at the exact time he arrived and it didn't really matter if it was too early or too late plus the latest games and gadgets were merely wrapped in fragrance and soothing oils for people to invent thousands of years later.

If you don't believe in the story of the Christ that's perfectly so, because this is not about religion but about being in the flow instead of forcing our way upstream.

The past few years have been a mix of challenge and flow and it is amazing to look back and review all the times where the challenges have forced their way to the surface and it has in fact been because of trying too hard. But what IS 'trying too hard'?

When you are passionate and compassionate about life, laughter and love then there should be no 'trying too hard' - it is all about sharing it all and not forcing it onto people.

I love what I do and sometimes it may seem that it is just too much but isn't that just because we all carry our own stuff around that cause us to react to certain stimuli in certain ways and sometimes it is contrary to our conditioning and our sense of 'over the top'.

OTT!

Cheers to Over The Top and sort-of-apologies if you feel I am too much but I really don't think I can help it much. Not because I don't care but because I do care about people, about you, about life, about love and about Laughter Yoga!

That took up up to 20:06.
Wishing you a great rest of Monday.

Monday, 9 December 2013

The Seven Giant Dwarfs of Indulgence and Spenditure

Garbage, Rubbish, Junk, Litter, Debris, Waste and Scrap.

Re-Cycling (courtesy of someone else)
Today's blogpost is a little moan and a sigh...

Who on Earth teaches children to throw their food wrappings, cigaret packaging, drink bottles and other stuff in the street instead of in a bin?

Trash!

Where did people pick up that habit of infesting our world with filth instead of being mindful and holding onto their junk until the nearest bin appears and it can go in there instead of out of it? Well, they didn't pick it up in the bin because that is seemingly foreign ground...

Even so, it seems the bin in many cases has been within reach and yet the garbage is littered just few feet away. It really hurts my eyes and my heart that there is so little consensus for using bins instead of the big space around them.

When did we agree on this meaningless wasteland of rubbish to be the standard learning environment for young people, grown-ups, adults, seniors?

A little thought and thinking here, please.

With pleasure comes mindfulness - when we enjoy we also contribute. Or have I got it all wrong?

I don't think so.
It is a shame and the shame is on us in our society and our communities.

Binned Water???
I grieve for the Earth as I pick up one piece after another on my 5-minute walk from Sainsburys to home, the road is littered with McDonalds packaging, cigaret packs, chocolate wrappings and other items that should be in the bin. As I extend a regretful glance toward the retail park I sigh and dig my hand full of other people's junk into the bin - and... let it go.

Even if I picked it all up the road would be the same tomorrow. BUT this is where we start - with our own consciousness, for me - I start with myself!

So that was my little heartfelt moan.

On the other hand, the day was beautiful, the grass was green, and we have Litter Heroes amidst the trash!

Monday, 2 December 2013

Burumbubumbum...

Peace on Earth - can it be...

On the 1st day of December I was listening to Michael Bubble sharing his favourite Christmas songs. You don't have to like Christmas songs or even Christmas - and you can do all you want in your own way to avoid feeling December.

However, it is practically impossible!

With all the street displays, TV shows, radio programmes, smiling strangers, stressed people, overcrowded parking lots... well, how do you plan on avoiding it all?

It may not be to everyone's liking but if people would only let go of the 'stuff' that prevents them from experiencing the December-feeling then we are one step closer.

And I am not being disrespectful to anyone who is going through some of the challenges in life where Christmas may be the time of year it gets a little big tougher. All I'm saying is to keep an open mind and there is love in all hearts - especially useful if we have to dig a bit deeper past the shopping-stress and planning-panick because that is probably when it is most needed.

Seemingly impossible to avoid and if that really is true just make sure you extend your December goodwill - a smile really can create a bridge between a bad day and a good day.

Be gentle with the shopcrew - they are doing their best and tackling all possible situations with a smile even when it is sometimes a stiffened one. Smile on the phone, smile in the car, smile with other people, smile, smile smile...

Even if Christmas is not your celebration, have patience with everyone else who is amindst the seasonfrenzy of food, outfits and whatever else we focus on.


So, live a little peace on Earth and share some goodwill to men and women, animals and plants.

We are in it together - Christmas or no-Christmas.

Wishing you a wonderful December!

Monday, 25 November 2013

Love is just a four letter word

Weed and seed  - another few beautiful four letter words!
A four letter word is defined to be a word that is coarse or offensive... effing and blinding in those one-syllable terms.

Doesn't it seem great though that nice words are also numerous and maybe even more so than the 'bad language' ones?

Words such as good, love, life, true, give, care, ease, mate, wish, kind, home, Moon, star, hope, play, free, epic, dear, luck, glad, soul, hero and lots of other amazing words that inspire with their simple four letters, keeping us motivated and cheerful.

My heart is bursting with the feel-good sensation all these words create and I wish for the miracles of them all to flow into your life, dear Laughter Blog reader, as well as the lives of those who don't read these thoughts but who are touched by four letters every day, touched by life.

Amidst baubles, icicles, past events, one-syllable words, and confidence discussions it seemed that the essence came back to one thing, love.

Irrespective of what goes on for me, there is no way I can change another person into being the way I would like - this is probably one of the key reasons why some relationships failed in the past, because I wanted so badly for the other person to be like I wanted the other person so badly to be... But it really isn't how life works, is it? Or how love works...

Acceptance, compassion and unconditional love!

Being in the flow of life.
Flowing with life.
Living on the tide of life.

There is nowhere more enriching to be in life than in the space of trust and honesty.

That goes for friendships, family, work relations, and that true love connection.

Se here we are, 2013 drawing towards the end of November and soon towards the end of the year and has anything changed in the way of perceiving life?

I'l like to think so.
Every day represents new life, new beginnings, new ends, new love - and even if all of that is still the same as yesterday, well, it is still brand new and fresh.

Look at life with bewonderment and awe every day and I guarantee that these four letter words will flow like magic in every area of life. 'Flow' - another wonderful short word.

Joan Baez 'Love is just a four letter word'.

But it isn't just a four letter word - it is a positive four letter word.

So, live your life...
...and laff!

Monday, 18 November 2013

A Laughter Flashmob???

DUCKMOB 'Quack quack quack ahahahaha quack quack hahaha'
What the...??? How did that happen???

Numerous times over the past many years someone has said 'Laughter Flashmob' and everyone has excitedly joined in celebrating the excellent idea...

However, when it has come to realising the goal of flasmobbing a city with a laugh...well, that is a different story and the reason you are reading these lines in their current form and shape.

It so came about that I decided to spearpoint this event seeing that everyone thinks it is a superb idea but no one has taken the time to action it yet. The best thing about forefronting great ideas is that your team really quickly becomes a more-than-one-person team because the commitment to doing it, setting a date and getting the wheels moving makes it a possible happening and everybody LOVES that.

So, Laughter Network's Lisa Sturge and Lotte Mikkelsen (that would be me) are taking the idea to exciting reality - but let's all make it happen!

Does that make sense? Well, for me it does, because I have done that many times - agreeing to good ideas, nodding in the best-of-intention-type-of-agreement-nod and then doing nothing because no one ran with it and dusted the sneezy-dust off the project.

  • Time has come to change things!
  • Time has come to take action!

A good idea only lives when we act and when we act in unison there is a higher change of success, and when we act in a multitude of voices then we cannot fail!

So, here we go.
Somewhere in London on 5th July 2014 - and only the members of the club will know where exactly!

Rarely do I promote events on this blog but this is not only about the event but moreso about the courage and the will to take action on a good idea.

When Dr. Madan Kataria had the idea of starting a laughter club back in the 1995-days it took him 3 hours of action to kick it off - and yes, they were only 5 people on that day 13th March 1995 but things changed.

With willingness to put the bottom on the line and with a bit of cheeky courage and conviction we can overcome the worst cases of laissez-faire and boredom, stand-still and tiresome lack of urgency.

The support for this project is only a £2 donation which may cover our costs and the proceeds will be donated to our chosen charity!

It will be amazing to kick off the summer with a great and resounding laugh, echoing through London's touristfilled squares and streets.

Next stop...
World Peace!

Monday, 11 November 2013

Something about cold...

The beauty in frozen windows, icy feet and cold hands only reaches as far as to clattering teeth and a dripping nose.

However, going beyond personal discomfort with the approching winter chills there is just something life affirming and profoundly vitalising in spending time on a wave-ridden beach on a windy day.

Even the drip-dropping rain on a Monday afternoon seem to be infusing the mind and body with energy and my purple fingers on the keyboard are just a minor obstacle to feeling all great.

So what if there are a few freezing digits? My lungs are breathing the fresh November air - erm - fresh-ish I believe would be the proper term when thinking of the traffic frolicking down the road, but nevertheless, I am part of this wonderful breathing planet, breathing along at my own pace.

Why so cold then? Well, even after one year in this house, I still haven't quite grasped the heating technology of the boiler timer.

Somebody had a sense of humour...
No matter how cold it gets there is an extra pair of longjohns and gloves (unless they got lost in /the park...)...

...plus a hot cuppa to celebrate that the weather remains outside again today.

On that note, I am aware that not everyone is as fortunate and that some people may be even colder than I am, and may be without the comforting shelter of a home and added value of extra socks and jumpers - and that nice warm cup of tea with a dunking biscuit.

My heartwarming and heartfelt thoughts go to all of you out there who are starting to feel the wintry sensations!

I remain as always freezingly your pocket philosopher on a cold November Monday with the outlook of a starclimber - never losing sight of the miracles of this existence.

Graciously, gracefully, gratefully.

Monday, 4 November 2013

Homage to Friendship.

1974 Thorvaldsenskolen Class 1a
We are a sum of lots of different elements of the life we lead and live and yet we are not all that at all...

My past with all the ups and downs and mainly wonderful memories came into my mind big time this week and I was reminded that sometimes holding on to things that need to be let go is a way of holding onto something that is a moment of the past and best left there even if it is a great past in the present.

That may not make sense but that is okay - it is just my mind-toggle that is currently working overdrive-frequency on this topic.

Sadness when you say goodbye to people and things that really have meant the world in the past is a natural way of the grieving process and it is what made me think about this whole past subject and how it impacts everything we do - if we allow it.

Friendships happened in the past and they happen in the present.

2000 Ottar's virgin trip - vikings of the past in the present
My memorylane is full of precious images spent with my wonderful friends and some of them I have been fortunate to maintain even after moving country but on occasions time catches up with friendships - the moments they burst or come to a halt.

I experienced one of these changes and it saddened me to the depth of my heart. Distance had put a friendship in a time capsule for a later revisit or maybe never again.

Good friends will always be in my heart and I will probably shed loads of tears over the absence of the fun, laughter, love, tears and times we have not spent and that I thought we would spend together in the future.

Letting go of what we think is our make-up is a daunting thing and it is okay to keep holding onto when the make-up is willing to stick... At times it is time to let go.

Everything happens for a reason and when it happens it is that moment the reason became a reason.

You always have a place in my heart, my friends, new ones and old ones - those from the past and those from the present.

Those who said 'goodbye' and those who said 'hello'.

No matter what, I will always be there if you need me - I may not be just around the corner but I am only a phonecall away.

You are my homies!

Monday, 28 October 2013

The 1987 crash and life on the motorway

1976 Opel Kadett - 1987 Crash Version
When I was 19 years old I crashed my first car quite seriously. It was the year's first snow storm - in April - and I was driving from Copenhagen to my home in Vordingborg, about 80 miles, late that evening. This was before the motorway was extended between Rønnede and Udby, and on this particular stretch on the way the snow was wooshing across the road (which wasn't even a dual carriageway but just a plain small-size A-road). I was tired and to keep myself awake I had windows down and was smoking heaps of cigarettes - yup, I used to do that yonks ago...

Really cold it was! So windows closed again. I must have just blinked very very slowly becuase at that moment my car went over the edge of the road, onto the frozen field and took a few rolls before landing on the side - me inside.

I was lucky and I count my blessings every day.

I got myself unstrapped from the seat and climbed out of the window which was now above my head - in heals and very tight skirt, those were the days of those outfits...

When I got onto the road there were very few cars and a few that passed me as I was waving my arms vigorously, finally someone stopped. Those were the days before mobile phones and before dodgy drivers taking advantage of stranded people on the highway. A nice angel who drove me home and everything got sorted, a nice person who along with my universal protectors got me home safely.

Nice people exist - and there are plenty of them when you expect nice!

For many years I had an ingrained concern about long drives and being tired on the road. I still have ever so much respect for the hours we spend on the road because if heads are not clear... Well, split seconds happen in moments of weariness.

However, years later I realised that if I wanted to go places, I just had to deal with it and get going.

So, I started venturing out on day breaks where I would drive for hours and hours in order to beat my fear of driving lenghthy stretches on my own.

The great thing about cars is that they pretty much do what you tell them to do... This is also the case if you want a break then it will in fact drive the way you turn the wheel, e.g. into a resting area or so.

Cool stuff, eh?

I went to Glastonbury, Bamburgh Castle, Manchester, other places, and most importantly to the North-East Coach where I now drive almost every weekend.

These days, every week I spend between 8-10 hours driving to Co. Durham and do you know what? It is kinda recreational in a strange way.

Some would say it's a waste of time, and I guess you could argue that it is but on the flipside, I get to spend those hours in the company of Thomas, Sanne, Gabrielle, Heather, Kim and my love songs, and although they have been in the car for a long time - isn't it just great to spend time singing along to familiar tunes, knowing the lyrics, and enjoying the trip? Yup, I think so, too and best of it all - it leads to love!

The most important thing, though, is that no matter how many miles and hours we spend on the road, there really is no need to rush and there is always time to take a break! I've had a few close ones over the years and I am thankful they were only close. Being respectful of other drivers, the weather and road conditions is key to living many moments on the motorway - whether it is in the fast lane or the granny lane.

Take a break!
Break away from the rush!

As for the miles...
Never underestimate the power of love!

Monday, 21 October 2013

Defiance.

Btw, this is not about the TV series from 2013 - this is about life!
  • Too short for the rollercoaster of a lifetime
  • Too young for travelling the world
  • Too heavy for Cloud 9
  • Too old for playing
Whether it is our personal or our professional life the majority of us encounter stops and opinions non-stop.

Add caption
...and yet! we defied all the adult settings of our childhood and brought ourselves to this moment in time.

When I first started running UnitedMind full-time back in 2010 (mind you, I had been running my business part-time since 2002) I was met plenty with the comment 'So, when are you going to get a real job?'

It didn't faze me, just made me even more determined to ensure the success of laughter as a tool for creating greater health in all areas of life, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing - on a personal as well as a professional level.

Yes, Laughter Yoga really is the root of all good.

Well, just re-capping on the 'fazing-bit', to tell you the truth - sometimes it did in fact faze me - in particular when it was comments made by friends, but do you know what? Those are the times you make decisions everywhere.

A big and life-changing decision doesn't just pop out of nowhere, there are often prices to pay and many choices to make. Does that make you, make me a bad person? Not really, just someone who stands up for values and beliefs, AND makes that extra move that gets the ball rolling.

How do you know when to give up? Well, I don't know. Do you?

Someone who didn't give up on the job...
If you don't know when to give up that is, in my opinion, rather extra-ordinary and superb, because it just means that you haven't met that point where it became unbearable and you had to throw the towel in the ring. And how cool is that for starter?!?!

The essence of my words today is just to go for it, if you don't give it a chance and stand back with other people's opinions, you never get to shape your own meaning of life and you never get to succeed on your own terms.

I hope I am never perceived as arrogant or better-knowing or just better, because I am not, I really am just a person on a mission to create a better world for those people I love and for those who are willing to come on the journey with me as well as for those who don't know this is the mission haha...

I am truly grateful and feel humbled by the trust individuals, teams and organisations have placed in my ablility to provide a platform for making a difference within themselves.

Thankfully I have had amazing teachers, mentors, tutors, my loved once who have stood by their words and enabled me to do the same.

Every day is full of fun, play, laughter, love and joy - and some of the serious adult things but they are carried out with fun, play, laughter, love and joy in mind which makes it a whole lot easier and enjoyable.

Believe, trust, act, love, live, laugh - some great key-words to play by.

Just go for it!
And if you ever feel too heavy to bounce on Cloud 9 - start counting your blessings and you will see that there is always room on that pink cloud and the minute cos the minute you realise and remember the good fortune of life 'too-heavy' becomes light and floaty.

Monday, 14 October 2013

How long is short?

I bet we are all guilty of using the expression 'juuuust around the corner' from time to time - or have done in the past.

Whether it is that place we are going to, or being late for an appointment... we are juuuust around the corner or 5 minutes away even though the timer says 10 or 15 - always certain that we'll make it within the 5 minutes.

No excuse, though.

Why not be honest and apologise for being late or having miscalculated the time and distance? It happens in even the best of families (another Danish expression? or just another expression)...

So how far is a short distance?

Does it matter when it is taking us where we need to go? I guess it is just young people's wish to be there NOW that created the 'Are we there yet?' when it comes to going places in the physical realm. 

Sometimes, though, it is as if time is on a stand-still when short is really long. The wait! Waiting for results, for that one thing, event or person that this 'short distance' has been all about.

Don't give up. Please don't give up when there is only a short distance, it is within reach and you are the one person that makes it happen.

The final push, that drive that keeps the spirit going is what it's all about - no matter how long the short distance seem to be. The trust and the belief that everything will come together as wished for.

Even when the end result may look and feel different from the initial request - well, we don't always know what's best for us until we get what really is the best, and perhaps we were not quite specific enough with our wishlist when we entered to soul supermarket and decided for that unique experience which was only a short distance away.

It doesn't matter.
With what we have we can make it all that was ever perfect.
Your own Universe of uniqueness and special perfextion.
Be happy here and now - happiness is not a strive.

My life is brilliant...

Monday, 7 October 2013

The day we all grew up?

One for the road and one for the teenager - Haribo is just too good
How amazing it is to be a witness to the whole growing up process - not just from a personal perspective because somehow that experience tends to only show its face when thinking back to 'how it was when I was young' so it is moreso from a perspective of someone who plays a vital part in a young person's life - a mum or a dad for example.

I'm not a dad so for me it has to be as a mum (helloooo, Captain Obvious!).

And so it happened that my little girl turned 18 - last week, last Tuesday on 1. October 2013. An adult with adulthood benefits as well as responsibilities.

The touching moment when you know you can still say 'be careful out there' but you are no longer as in charge yourself as you used to be up until 17 years and 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minites and 59 seconds plus a whole lot of milli, micro, split and nano seconds.

However, the day we grow up is not when we turn 18, it is maybe not even when we become a parent but it happens so subtly in those years between 0 and 18 that we may not even notice it - that is the 0 to 18 years of our children, not our own age. Because what is more important in these 18 years than to maintain a glossy overview and keep calm and collected in all situations that may occur at any time. Calm and collected?

But, let's face it, who is grown up at 18 anyway?

Hopefully for everyone, we manage to maintain a tiny fraction of the fun loving and playful side we much to soon grew from when we became invincible teenagers, and somehow stored away for years until at a much later stage we manage to dig it out and become grown up children who can laugh and play in later life.

That's me anyway - and that's what Laughter Yoga did to me - or rather I did to myself by taking on the promise of change that Laughter Yoga presented to me so many years ago. Wow! 

Dreams are made of Laughter Yoga and a bit of glitter, rainbow dust, shooting stars and lots of unicorns, our favourite superhero, and kisses.

That's what my dreams are made of - and every day they grow even brighter and more glorious!

It is AWESOME to dream!
It is even AWESOMER to live the dream!

Never give up! Never surrender!

Monday, 30 September 2013

I am - but we are!

When I received the email telling me that I was a Finalist in the Mumpreneur's Awards I was excited and totally over the moon!

The work I do is amazing and the lives that are moving on to be changed following the encounter with Laughter Yoga can never be belittled or underestimated. I have seen changes that have touched, moved and inspired me deeply and it is often a real mind-challenge to try and pass that across to anyone who has not experienced the changes.

However, Mumpreneurs know about change!

Someone mentioned in their talk that the term 'Mumpreneur' had been suggested changed to just be 'Entrepreneur' but in the discussion the person making the request completely missed the point of what Mumpreneurs in fact are all about. Who we are!

We are entrepreneurs and we are mums doing what entrepreneurs do plus all the things mums do. That should put the name change discussion to rest I imagine.

The really big deal is that there is an organisation who recognises the extraordinary in being just that person, these people.

So I came to the Mumpreneur's Conference and Awards on Saturday being 'just me' with a vision, a dream, and a drive...and I left being part of a bigger scheme of things called 'Mumpreneur'.

Being a Finalist in the Mumpreneur's Awards is humbling in many ways. Until Saturday 28th September 2013 it completely escaped my attention what the women who make up the network have in fact achieved so when I sat there listening to the Award Winners' names being called I felt so proud and so full of love that these amazing women were chosen to represent us. I also felt a big chunk of deepfelt gratitude that someone saw something in me and my business that placed me in the league of these unbelievably fantastic Mumpreneurs and I had a brief and passing moment of 'I'm not worthy'.

It was indeed a rapidly passing moment because if I made small what I do I would make small any step my students, friends, colleagues, clients and business partners have taken in the direction of bringing more laughter into their lives, and, good people, those steps may be babysteps in the world of doubters but they are gigantic leaps of faith that someone is there to support them in grabbing the moment and the laugh.

Even my little girl (18 tomorrow) was nodding in agreement that it was quite exceptional to be a Mumpreneur Finalist and who am I to belittle that feeling of awe which my daughter expressed to eloquently?

No one who has a passion and moves forward on their dream is small!

It really is moving to feel the love and gratitude from everyone who believes in what I do and what we do together and it is reciprocated big-time on a multitudal scale.

The Mumpreneur Award for Most Inspirational Mum went to one woman but I have no doubt that every one of the Mumpreneurs are fully emerged and embedded into the ethos of being a Mumpreneur and completely inspires those around us.

The Mumpreneur Award was not for me but I feld awarded and rewarded in such a big way that it was perfect just the way it was.

Besides I don't need an award to know the difference what I do makes in the world and coming home to knowing that in his eyes and arms I am the best of the best and leave the rest inspires me to continue the journey of bringing about positive change no matter what the challenge is.

Mumpreneur forever - I salute you all, us all!
Laughter Ambassador forever and a day!

Monday, 23 September 2013

A Joke

The work I do involves no comedy, humour or jokes - it is all about laughing for no reason and it is great! As you laugh more your sense of humour develops and you find more things funny - your laughter and joy become more easily accessible to you and lurks just under the surface.

Today I share ONE joke.

Often in life when we are facing challenging times we use humour to counterbalance the stress of the situation and avoid being upset all the time.

Too many of these?
Now, my situation is a tiny issue compared to lots of other people's stuff - I have a really achy tooth and my dentist has no time for me until midweek.

Friday was when I discovered the culprit - when it in fact decided to break.

Ouch!

I can cope, I thought, it is not painful...

Yeah, weekend! Woohoo! Toothache - boohoo!

So this is where I was reminded of a pretty poor joke that I will now share with you:
Question: When is the best time to go to the dentist?
Answer: 2:30 (tooth'urty)
Get it?

Well, the big thing about jokes is that they require the intellect to actually get the punchline - and do we all get it? Here's the issue, not getting it does not mean that we are less intelligent than those who do get it, it only means that our minds may not be focused on the track of the joke and so what.

Perhaps you recognise the situation where someone tells a joke and everyone laughs including yourself, but you mind is working overtime, steam rising 'what the h... was that all about - I really didn't get it' - you don't say, you just laugh politely with the others 'ha ha ha, yes, that's funny' - recognise it? How many of the group do you think have similar thoughts?

That thought alone would have me howling - never mind the joke, life is what's really great and fun!

Good jokes depend on your sense of humour and essentially 'sense of humour' is defined as the following in the Unabridged Dictionary:
the faculty of perceiving and appreciating the humorous
Many people come to the Laughter Club telling they don't have a great sense of humour but that is great news because Laughter Yoga does not require humour!

And just to recap, when you laugh you develop your sense of humour and start seeing the funny side of more situations and things in life, a really helpful and useful tool in this day and age where things seem to be more serious than ever.

So reminding you and myself...

Live well - love much - laughter often!

Monday, 16 September 2013

Sickening...

'...when I hear myself talk about how tough it will all be...'

More wants mooooore...
The raindrops were tapping on my windscreen last night as I was making my way from the north to the south to the beat of Steffen Brandt's voice from the 90s consumeristic Danish paradise where everyone was trapped in the dreaming of a better life - the pre-stage to dotcoms booming, rise and fall...

An easier way to make an easy life... So many opportunities, goodness knows how many people have spent the money I have on trying for that one glossy solution...

My heart bursts with love and hope when his voice proclaims 'I'm saying this again and I shall say it only once - it is now in the now that everything happens now' - my clumsy translation doesn't really cut it but the beauty in those words from 1995 is everlasting yet we have a long way to go.

So many still trapped in the dreams of yesterday's glory of the future 'hidden at the bottom of the soup' - once again his cynical words hit a button and I am thinking of the many people who lost their mojo because of recession, circumstances or lack of inspired drive owing to leaving responsibility behind.

Forced into the unnatural social stress of appropriateness and political correctness where we forget the moment we should reach for the sky and kiss the stars. Looking for solutions outside the self... the lyrics keep flowing and inspiring my mind...

My thoughts are drifting to my weekend spent celebrating love, dreams, hope, and more love, knowing this is the future and the future is here and now. I know that everything does not happen overnight but I know the image and the pictures of how it will all be, and have the confidence and certainty that it is not from a hope perspective but from real knowing.

Visualisation of dreams is beautiful and with a bit of motion, action, and trust in the process the visualisation becomes real-life happenstance with all its amazingness and bold truths.

Never underestimate the power of your mind and your thinkings - whether you believe or don't believe, perhaps the things that happen in your life are based on thoughts from yesterday...

Time to move the boundaries of what we think we know and how we were told to think!

I've said it before and I shall say it many times again, I'm sure - life is now!

Monday, 9 September 2013

To status

I was inboxing back and forth with my Australian Laughter Friend, also touching on the subject of holidaying, and language (once again) popped into my mind...

Since when did 'inbox' become a verb? Well, it has been for quite a while and I believe it was my daughter who introduced it to me years ago when she stated that she would inbox me a link. That was my first introduction to the fact that you don't 'email' on FaceBook, you 'inbox' when using the email facility... Der???? Same with holiday - to holiday???

Well, not necessarily having thought it through I started thinking about how I am statusing daily to inspire and lift spirits. I hope my aim is achieved and that no one feels let down or undermined or even uninspired.

So, now introducing:

To status
- verb I status, I statused, I have statused, I have been statusing, I will status (won't status)

Okay.

Now, I have been going on quite a bit in my past blogposts about language but in all fairness I find it invigorating and interesting, exciting and exuberanting to explore communication. Afterall, it is one of our methods of interaction and it can either be exhilarating or it can be downright depressing.

Share wisdom but don't point fingers - be the centre of exploration and make sure people are left empowered in a conversation.

It is all in our words, posture, attitude and expression and it comes across the moment we open our mouth and let it out. Don't tear it all apart.

Create the world!

Words - where creating magic begins...

Have fun statusing and beeeeee gooood.

Or as we say in Gibberish: Glysdi snoogle abishpiboop!

Monday, 2 September 2013

Future footsteps in the past

As I am sat here on Friday afternoon pondering on next Monday's Laughter Blog post it feels as if I am writing in the past for the future which reminds me of selfhelp books and personal development trainings teaching to write a letter to the future self about all the achievements and the journey getting there, then open the letter ten years from now.

Haha, I've done that!

My future footstep in the past...

The reason I am writing now is simply because I am away next week and want to be well-prepared before heading off to the beautiful North-East England to run Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher Training - did I mention that I am the only person in the UK who is proper qualified to run this training? Yeah, I think I did - once or twice in the past - but I am everso proud of this achievement.

So back to the future and yesterday's typos and scribbles...

The sun is out and it is a beautiful day outside my window so I want to make lighthearted sense of what I write and I don't know yet what it will be.

Empty stare - waiting for thoughts!
Every Sunday evening or Monday morning my head is ready for The Laughter Blog and I don't have to think too much - it kinda just spills but this time, I am 2-3 days early and my mind is not yet tuned in!

It is funny how the mind works and I have been doing Ahhh in the morning just to build my manifest and clear it at the end of the day with Ommm in the evenings.

Just wondering if this will work for blog ideas...

Smiling slightly with my own thougths of manifestation and cosmic ordering. There are so many books, CDs, DVDs, workshops, courses etc. to help us all get to the essential state of abundance, both physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - and all I can do is smile.

I already have an abundance of resources and I love my books and CDs because they are elements of de-stressing. But, you know what?

What I have found to work the best of all of these gazillions of wishful and positive methods - one way that works in an instant and is not even listed in these categories - Laughter Yoga - Laughter Therapy - Tao of Laughter!

Laughter! It simply does the trick every time!

Laughter is attractive when it shared freely and isn't used in a controlling and manipulative way.

When we laugh there is no pretence and hate, anger and suffering - we simply are right there in the e-motion of chuckles and self-expression.

Ho ho ha ha he he hu hu guffaw!

Monday, 26 August 2013

Draft

One of these word-things again...

Er, no.

Well, yes, but only because it is writing and therefore it is with words.

Initially, however, I thought of bringing up all the things about my draft blogs and why they remain drafts etc.

But then I thought of the word 'draft' and 'draught' and my mind drifted off to the thought of wind sweeping through the creaky windows in old houses.

Alas, this is not about any of those things. It is in fact the past tense of to drift.

I drift, I draft, I have druft.

No? Well, it could have been if no one checked the dictionary or other books for word origins.
So let me keep it at the past tense of 'to drift'.

This is only a thought up idea and complete nonsense with a bit of a chuckle in the background as I am smilingly writing these sentenses.

And why not? Why not I may ask again? Can we not make up words just like any other slang-swirling swinger who joins words and make up language progress. Why not 'normal' words with new bends and twists?

So back to draft.

My thoughts draft as I sat down to focus on serious admin stuff... Yeah, I can see why drifted is a much better word cos it may seem I have a drafty mind.

Alright, let me return to what it really is about. Drafts. The sketches that remain sketches because the outcome is yet to be completed.

I was looking through my documents, my scribbles and all my glossy plans of passionate writing. The only thing that sprung to my mind was 'Get on and finish the work!' instead of keeping drafts floating all about with ideas instead of realisations.

So much babbling to get to the point, wouldn't you agree?

The point is that I have so many ideas - so many ideas that are still ideas after all these years of thinking them up. I talk about taking action in my trainings and my workshops, and I do take action but I leave the toughies for later. Later being 'a timeless draft'.

Sincere apologies to everyone I have involved in my endless ideas and to those who have been involved in endless drafts and booked in the diary's One Day or Some Day.

The only way to move forward is to openly and officially stating the commitment and committing to taking the spoon in the other hand (Danish for 'turn over a new leaf').

I am ready to act instead of react! Are you?
All you good folk, I am ready for change! Are you?

Monday, 19 August 2013

Jack my swag!

Evolution of language...

The New Scientist states the following about language:
Linguists define language as any system which allows the free and unfettered expression of thoughts into signals, and the complementary interpretation of such signals back into thoughts. 
Our minds are amazing and awesome!

To be able to do JUST that and then change what other people say, write, express, suppose, think, etc. and develop it into something new - it is just beyond fantastic.

For a bit of hip chat it is advisable to engage in top convos with young people who totally speak the Urban Dictionary lingo.

Yeah. I don't quite speak it... Just saying - in case you didn't notice...

It is fun to play with language!

After a week with my lovely mum and her very advanced crosswords I learned a lot of new OLD words and latin phrases I will never use in conversation but how sad it made me to think that young people will probably never know the extent of language and its expansion over hundreds of years. But then they have the opportunity to extend and expand it in ways still unimaginable.

Word!

This weekend no one followed troop when the word was 'I dare you to...dip in the ocean' except for us two - but what does it matter if people don't 'jack your swag'? It only means a bit of individual power and nonsense that only you buy into ha!

Or perhaps a bit of competitive 'don't think you can dare me' consequential attitude...

Praise individuality - that was the reason I showed up on my first day of 6th Form, barefoot and black nail varnish.

No one saw that coming and no one saw it catching on in the posh Frederiksberg Gymnasium.

Oh well - you win some, you lose some and in the end it is all about being comfortable in own skin and letting the swag-jackers do what they do best in the world of fashion statements.

Language is here to stay in whichever shape it develops - as is black nail varnish but that is an entirely different story...

I dare you to go Gibberish!