to develop a state of emotional fluidity where worries and intense goals that have driven their lives become less important.
It is important that as we seek our happiness, we must be mindful of bringing happiness to others, too. Laughter has taught me the true meaning of spirituality, that is –”if you can raise your spirits by yourself and raise someone else’s spirits, you are spiritual.”
In The Zen of Joy, written by my personally trained Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, Matti Anttila, you will discover tools and techniques or “protocols” that support and nourish this “Inner Spirit of Laughter.” The Zen of Joy Protocols are complementary to Laughter Yoga. They help to systematically build an inner joy that serves as building blocks to finding our calm, undisturbed centre in the middle of storms of everyday life.
Just like Laughter Yoga is an efficient form of exercise (One minute of hearty laughter is the equivalent of 10 minutes on a treadmill as reported by Dr. Fry in the Journal of Psychology, 1938), The Zen of Joy protocols are time-efficient. They are designed so that the busiest of us can implement them and thereby gain their benefits.
We do not all have many hours a day to devote to spiritual practice. These protocols start with literally a few minutes a day, slowly building positive habits to as little as 22 and a half minutes a day to as much time as one needs or wants.
These protocols can quickly produce immediate results while at the same time teasing us of their long-term potential benefits if practiced faithfully. “Rewiring the Brain for Joy and Bliss” is in itself a joyous journey. Because we can feel the joy immediately, we are more easily motivated to continue the practice. We are painlessly asked to take “baby steps,” allowing joy to seep into our cells at a speed that is comfortable for us.
The Zen of Joy may well prove to be a “Journey of Joy” as well as potentially allowing us to reach our full potential as loving, spiritual, awakening humans learning more and more to dance blissfully and cooperatively and ushering in a new era for our new century.
In Joy and Laughter,
Dr. Madan Kataria, Founder of Laughter Yoga,
Author of: Laugh For No Reason and
The Inner Spirit of Laughter, Five Secrets from the Laughing Guru
http://www.laughteryoga.org/ Mumbai, India, March 2012
Preface by Dr. Terry Willard, ClH, PhD
Congratulations to you on picking up this manual. You are about to take a “Sacred Journey.” What makes it sacred? Your intent of course. And what could be more sacred than Joy, Happiness and Laughter. The intent of your approach to the material in The Zen of Joy may well determine how much you get out of it. If you rush and just skim the material, you may get a surface understanding of the processes or protocols involved in accessing your inner joy.
If you set the intention of “sucking the marrow out of the bone,” or getting the maximum value from this manual, then you have the best chance of allowing a major positive transformation or shift in your life. Matti has organized this course of study (or play) in such a way as to give you the best possible chance to deeply integrate the material. He reminds us that this is not a race and recommends that you read and apply one protocol per day, or better a week. This allows each protocol to take firm root. Of course at first I got impatient and wanted to move forward faster, but slow and steady improved my Joy faster.
In other words, you will be adding one easy-to-follow habit per week. As I tried it, I found that each protocol or habit takes only minutes and, in some cases, only seconds. This also is by design. The Zen of Joy is organized so that no matter how busy your schedule, you will be able to benefit from the material.
I am joyed to take some credit for pointing Matti in the direction of this work. We have known each other for several years, becoming good friends and sharing many journeys together. We first crossed paths when he showed up at a herbal course at Wild Rose College of Natural Healing during the 1978-79 session. We have kept in touch over the years and regularly compared notes and I am delighted to see that he is sharing his knowledge and wisdom in this manual.
The Dalai Lama is quoted as saying that the purpose of our lives is to be happy. This is perhaps easier said than done. Many may think this is hard in the modern world, with all the challenges we face. The Zen of Joy is easier than you could ever think. In fact thinking is what might slow you down.
The Zen of Joy is more about doing and feeling,not thinking. One may even sense guilt about feeling good or happy when so many suffer. After all, there are wars, famine, environmental degradation and a host of ills we read and hear about daily. However, the latest scientific studies show that we may have our best chance of addressing the challenges of the modern world by first being happy.
For example, Shawn Achor, in his book The Happiness Advantage, quotes studies showing that doctors make 19% fewer errors in diagnosis when they are happy, there is a 31% boost in productivity in workers who are happy, administrative personnel have 19% fewer mistakes when they are happier and salespeople make 37% more sales in a happy state. So, it turns out your best chance of really making a difference in this world may well be focusing on your own happiness or joy first.
This is not to say that we should become selfish in a way that excludes others. As Matti shows in one of the protocols, the process of giving to others is one of the sure-fire ways to quickly increase our own joy. Remember to set your intent, dive in and have fun. Bon voyage on your very own “Sacred Journey” into deeper levels of Joy.
Terry Willard ClH, PhD. Director of Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Author of 12 books. https://wrc.net
Calgary, Alberta, Canada. April 2012
Prologue: The Purpose of Life is to be Happy
As you read this prologue, you will find yourself becoming more joyous. You will feel as if you have found the answer to the age-old question: “What is the purpose of life?” No less an authority than the Dalai Lama spells it out clearly and unambiguously:
The purpose of our lives is to be happy. -Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
No matter what you want in life, feeling good is the first step. Everything flows from feeling good. It’s really important that you feel good. Because this feeling good is what goes out as a signal to
