Maggy Whitehouse           

  I've learned through many lessons with my clients that laughter is a healing gift.  More often than not, it's not so much for my clients but to keep me off my high horse or from taking myself too seriously.  It's as though those who work through me in God's name are willing to share some of their lightness of spirit to relax me and help the healing come across.

  There was the case of 'Philippa', emotionally wound up but not receiving or releasing anything.  Reaching her ovaries area I laid my hand on her body and was struck by a feeling of creaking in my palm. "This is new," I thought.  "How fascinating.  The chakra is so tense it groans like ship's timbers.  What does this signify?"  "Lighten up Sunshine," said the voice in my head.  "It's her corset moving."  I pressed a little in disbelief.  The voice was absolutely right.

  A well of giggles began to bubble up inside me no matter how I tried to keep them down.  My hands trembled - and the energy changed.  Philippa had received the laughter and was now receiving healing.

  I had always hoped that there would be a place for humour in my work as a healer but the first year or two I took everything very seriously because it felt so important.  Often I had wanted to interrupt the energy with a little lightness.  This was rarely encouraged although I was never flippant or disrespectful.  Then I decided to change the technique I use to balance the chakra energy centres and started the process with people's feet instead of their head.  I did what I intuitively felt was right to do instead of relying on systems which worked best for others.

  It was then that everything shifted.  For a start, you really do have to have a sense of humour when your clients have smelly feet.  The first pong was a subtle one.    For some reason as I said a prayer before beginning the work, an image of the hamster I had had as a child came into my head.  Thinking this was an important insight into the man's emotional condition, I tried to let the picture unfold.  The hamster whiffled its nose at me as though it were sniffing.  "Breathe deeper," I thought wisely, and inhaled a lungful of dirty socks.  I'd never before met anyone with feet that smelt like the bottom of a hamster cage.
         
  I've now learnt that smelly feet can be a sign of toxins in the body and people receiving healing are wise to wash their feet regularly to help disperse energies that are clearing.  (Jesus washed the feet of his disciples).
 
  This is all well and good, but it doesn't help concentration when your nose is assailed with the noxious result of the process.  Now I use lavender or rose oil on my hands to aid my distressed nostrils.  Clients often benefit from the essential oil as well.

  I ask my angel of laughter to help in situations when the client is tense or needs a release of emotion.  There is a particular hand hold on the brow chakra and at the base of the skull which can often cause them to break into spontaneous giggles.  Otherwise a silly situation will come either into my head or theirs.  It's lovely to see their face twist with the effort to resist a grin and to let them know that laughter is fine and please can I share the joke?

  I'm still learning to trust these expeditions into giggle territory.  While on the one hand it's important not to appear in any way to belittle what occurs during the healing process, on the other hand there are lessons and messages even in the jokes.  The man who had hamster socks did live his life as though he was running around on a little wheel in a cage.  While healing a girl there rose within me a picture of a Tom and Jerry scene where Tom shattered into pieces after falling a hundred feet and then bounced back to life.  The girl I was giving healing to suddenly remembered that she had fallen out of her pram onto flagstones as an infant.

  Sometimes it's worth asking people their favourite joke or comedy series and with which character they identify because it can tell you so much about their personality.  The man who told me a ream of Essex Girl jokes did have problems with his sexuality.  Even more revealing is the character they can't stand.

  I wish we accepted laughter a little more in our houses of religion and in the healing arts.  A good belly-laugh is one of the most healing energies there is.  I've seen bouts of cystitis clear because the sufferer suddenly saw the funny side of something she had previously seen as a trauma.  I frequently suggest to people that they should imagine seeing someone they can't stand in a ballet tutu.  You would be amazed how that can shift energy along.  While life is a serious business, we should not forget that a smile can move mountains.

  There was huge furor at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles when a commissioned statue of Jesus was unveiled, showing him with a broad grin on his face.  People thought it was sacrilegious and demanded it should be taken down. The sculptor stood his ground.  I think he summed it up when he said: "You can't tell me a man who loved kids and people so much never laughed."
 
Maggy Whitehouse is a healer, co-editor of The Tree of Life (a Midlands holistic directory) and coordinator for the Midlands Doctor-Healer Network group.    68 Serpentine Road, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9RE
 

You may quote from or reproduce these editorial clips if you include the following credits and email contact:
Copyright © Daniel J. Benor, M.D. 1994 Reprinted with permission of the author P.O. Box 76 Bellmawr, NJ 08099 www.WholisticHealingResearch.com   DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com

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