Laugh It Off

In this meditation, David creates an atmosphere of playfulness and acceptance. Too often we get stuck in seriousness and lose our sense of joy. If we attempt to hold our bodies hostage in meditation, it becomes difficult to embrace the moment. Can you allow yourself to sit, relax, and laugh it off?

Transcript

Hey,

Meditators,

Welcome to this meditation called Laugh It Off.

As you sit and close your eyes and step into meditation today,

I invite you to actually enjoy meditating.

And we're going to create some space today to let go of energy.

And we're going to do that by actually laughing or finding at least a sense of amusement and perspective around whatever it is that's been bothering us.

I work one-on-one with clients throughout the day,

And many times they'll come to me with their issues or problems,

And they'll take them so seriously that they'll lose perspective.

So as we start our meditation today,

To find some perspective,

I'm going to start us with a joke from Jerry Seinfeld.

One of the jokes I really like from him is about the news,

And he says,

It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always seems to fit exactly right on the newspaper.

There's no space left.

So settle in,

Relax your body.

You might find there is some frustration,

Some resistance,

Some stuckness,

Something that made you decide to want to laugh it off today.

So have a little compassion for yourself in meditation,

That whatever you're working on is important to you.

So we're not laughing at it because it's not important.

We're just finding amusement with how seriously we take things sometimes,

And how life tries to teach us lessons in all sorts of ways that we don't always pay attention to.

Allow your breath to move gently in and out of your body.

Enjoy whatever posture you're in.

There's no right way to sit and meditate here.

And take a moment and just notice if there's anywhere you clench,

If your fists clench or your thighs clench or your back or your jaw.

Often if we're working on an emotion or an energy or processing something,

We'll start to hold it in our physical bodies.

So let your body unwind.

Most of the things that stress us out tend to come from the outside world,

People's needs,

Their expectations,

Their beliefs,

Their ideas for what they think we should do or how we should solve a problem.

And everybody else's energy accumulated can cause us stress,

Frustration,

Resentment.

And if you notice a lot of that energy accumulated towards you,

Then you might look at it and go,

Whoa,

That is a big pile of doo doo.

And what I mean by that is you have to doo doo doo.

There's always something to do to change,

To heal,

To manage.

What I'd like you to do right now is imagine underneath you there's almost like a shower drain.

And any of that excess energy that you're experiencing begins to drain off down into the earth.

Okay?

And as you do begin to let go,

I want you to notice how intensely you've been holding onto this energy or fighting it or trying to solve it.

Can you put a light smile on your face and recognize maybe it's not as serious or maybe you don't need to take it as seriously as you have been?

And with that,

I'm going to share another Jerry Seinfeld joke with us.

He says,

I don't want to hear the specials at a restaurant.

If they're so special,

Then put them on the menu.

What's so special that it's on the menu of your consciousness when you wake up to meditate or when you go to sleep to meditate?

And you Is it a little crazy?

Sure.

That's okay.

As you sit here with me today,

Notice that whatever this energy is that you've been wanting to laugh off,

To let go of,

To work on,

To be free of is here to teach you a lesson.

But not a lesson in the sense that life wants to punish you.

Life wants to awaken you to something,

To some truth about yourself,

About your path,

About who you are.

And so with that,

One more Jerry Seinfeld joke.

And he says,

I was the best man at a wedding.

If I'm the best man,

Why is she marrying him?

With a little self-compassion,

See if any more of that energy wants to shake off,

Almost like cleaning a windshield and you can finally see out of the front of the car in a storm.

Right?

What it is that you have to do today or what your next step is.

And see if you can enjoy this process.

Enjoy the process of feeling something icky,

Laughing at yourself for how serious you've taken it.

And then start to shift it.

Start to shift it by shifting the attitude towards yourself and towards your perspective that you have of life.

And I'm going to end this meditation with a quote from one of my favorite authors,

Dr.

Seuss,

Where he says,

From there to here,

From here to there,

Funny things are everywhere.

Enjoy yourself.

Be free of all the energies that pull on you.

Awaken to who you really are and create the life path that you're meant to lead in meditation and out of it.

Go inwards,

Find out who you are,

And then express that into the world with joy,

Amusement,

Playfulness,

And sometimes even full on laughter.

You can laugh it off and then you can learn from it and share.

Thank you so much for sitting with me as always.

You can find me at groundedmind.

Com.

I'll see you next time in meditation.

Have a great day or evening.

Reviews

Perfect this morning for me! Certainly I need to laugh it off with the holidays and related stresses. This is supposed to be fun, galll darn it.

What a wonderful way to let go of things that I've made way too big or taken way too seriously. Very insightful and helpful, thank you! 🙏🏼😊

Subtile compared to other laughing meditations, who tend to go crazy to the max. I lijed it a great step up to a different look at the world with a different perspective

Exactly what I needed right now. ✨ Perspective! I just love your meditations. 🥰 Always so spot on. Thank you 🙏

I like him, he had a great message and he’s a good person. Peace and love

i loved this simple meditation. and i’m glad to find a teacher on it that values a sense of humor 🤭

Thank you! I was definitely taking things too seriously today. Meditating with you had helped! Namaste

David always brings sunshine to my day, however rainy it is outside in London, UK.

That’s one of the best meditations I’ve done in a long time thank you David. My mum died after living with end stage dementia and I’ve moved from working as a performer and playwright to writing long form a memoir about life after her. This practice delivers laughter in the sweetest way possible. Helen from Australia:)

I appreciate your perspective. As i age I find that I take life in a lighter way. Thank you.

David, this really reasonate with me today! 🙏🏼♾🌏

Excellent and very helpful 😊🙏 it is so easy to get into one's head and take things too seriously. Humor is the best. Thank you so much 😊🙏

Thank you David- I needed exactly this today. Namaste ☀️☀️☀️

Love this! Just what I needed, laughter with some tears too!!

This was excellent and is just want i wish for myself and so many others to hear, often. Thank you 😊 🙏.

Love this, such a joy!

I just enjoy this every time. Your laugh prompts me to laugh as well. Namaste brother!

This was fantastic, David! Sometimes meditation subjects seem so heavy and focus on “negative” emotions that become unpleasant. This perspective lifts that idea and points us into the direction we’re trying to go. Thanks so much for sharing your work!

This was great 😊

Excellent! I’m laughing at myself, and often do, about the pressure I allow myself to feel ‘to get things done’ and in the midst of it all create or commit to yet another thing to put on my list to do! Then I get distracted into a creative venture (not on my list) or drawn into natures beauty, or a warm connection with someone, and remember to Enjoy it all as it unfolds just as it should! 🙏☺️😊😃😅😂🤣