Many years ago, Norman Cousins was diagnosed as "terminally ill." He was given six months to live. His chance for recovery was one in 500.
He could see the worry, depression and anger in his life contributed to, and perhaps helped cause, his disease. He wondered, "If illness can be caused by negativity, can wellness be created by positivity?" He decided to make an experiment of himself.
Laughing was one of the most positive activities he knew. He rented all the funny movies he could find - Keaton, Chaplin, Fields, the Marx Brothers. (This was before VCRs, so he had to rent the actual films.) He read funny stories. He asked his friends to call him whenever they said, heard or did something funny.
His pain was so great he could not sleep. Laughing for 10 solid minutes, he found, relieved the pain for several hours so he could sleep. He fully recovered from his illness and lived another 20 happy, healthy and productive years. (His journey is detailed in his book, Anatomy of an Illness.) He credits visualization, the love of his family and friends, and laughing for his recovery.
Some people think laughing is a waste of time. It is a luxury, they say, a frivolity, something to indulge in only every so often. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laughing is essential to our equilibrium, to our well-being, to our aliveness. If we're not well, laughing helps us get well; if we are well, laughing helps us stay that way.
Since Cousins' ground-breaking subjective work, scientific studies have shown that laughter has a curative effect on the body, the mind and the emotions. So, if you like laughing, consider it sound medical advice to indulge in it as often as you can. If you don't like laughter, then take your medicine - laugh anyway.
Use whatever makes you laugh - movies, sitcoms, Monty Python, records, books, New Yorker cartoons, jokes, friends.
Give yourself permission to laugh - long and loud and out loud - whenever anything strikes you as funny. The people around you may think you're strange, but sooner or later they'll join in even if they don't know what you're laughing about.
Some diseases may be contagious, but none is as contagious as the cure. . . laughter.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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8 comments:
I remember reading somewhere that there are 3 things which are the best medicines:
1) laughter
2) hugs
3) pets
... although at times, two frogs and two bitter gourds would be best. *laughs*
Andrea,
*cringe and shudder and weak laughter*
Eeeeeew LOL! Yes, I have to agree with you!
cheers
Laughter Is The Best Medicine.
"(two frogs and two bitter gourds would be best.)"
This indeed seems strange to me, so I had to look it up. One must remember that in nature, God has given us a cure for all things, if we are willing to seek them out. Quinine that no doubt helped save millions of lives; was not discovered in some modern laboratory, it came from illiterate jungle medicine men using powdered Cinchona bark.
Deaths from dengue fever in Malaysia have risen. I took the 3 options for 2-3 days and the rashes were gone by the second day. The fastest working remedy was the soup, I felt "recovery" almost immediately. So, here's the public service announcement about the remedies:
1) Papaya Leaves - Put the 4-6 papaya leaves" into a blender plus half a cup of water. You won't be able to blend the fibrous leaves totally, so just filter it and drink a couple of table spoons twice a day. Tastes very bitter but not that bad actually.
2) Replenishing Liquids - Blend bitter gourd, green apples, starfruit with a dollop of honey. Make a liter a day and keep it cold as the concoction will turn brown after a day. Drink throughout the day - it actually tastes very nice. I think Jusco prepares the same fresh juice mix for sale. Naturally also drink lots of water and 100 Plus in between.
3) Bitter Gourd & Frog Soup - To me, this had the greatest immediate relief. Cut up one bitter gourd and boil with three whole frogs (getting fresh frogs from the markets was the difficult thing and get them to de-skin for you). Use 8 bowls of water and boil till you get 3 bowls over low heat half-opened top, season with salt. It actually tastes pretty good and the frog tasted well. Do that once a day. Eat some of the bitter gourd as well.
Most of the remedies are based on the concept of heatiness, which western medicine cannot and do not accept as a valid condition. Like I say, these remedies will not kill you and the fact that friends who have had dengue also gave similar remedies (esp the soup) lends credence to the remedies.
Hey, you are supposed to have a no cure sickness, why not try a no-side-effects remedy!? Of course, you should do that and check into the hospital at the same time as they need to do a blood count thing regularly to see if the count is dropping. If it drops to a precarious level they may have to resort to some blood transfusion - so its not a small matter. With or without the remedies, one MUST take a blood test every day to check the count. If its dropping, its not good.
Wow! Walt! You really know lots of stuff...and never cease to amaze me.
Thanks so much for sharing the info.
I heard about the papaya leaves but not the other stuff...
Indeed, dengue is on the rise.
Take care and have enough rest, Walt.
Thanks for popping by and for taking the time to share your ideas.
cheers
Another alternative for that 'frog & bittergourd soup': Crab soup.
Those infected with dengue fever must try eat this.
Dear Chahya,
Great to see you here again. Thanks for sharing..How do we cook the crab soup then? Is it plain or should we add other stuff like ginger? How I wish I knew all this before...
cheers
Ha, I love sea food! Maybe my Lobster Newburg would be just the thing. sometimes I will add a little something green, like pea pods. Bon appetit!
Oh dear! Walt...you are making me hungry for seafood and at my age it is an absolute nononono...
Cheers
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