Ram Up Your Laughter. Santhanaram Inc. Jayaram

      Laughter enables us to take our eye off the ball so that our creative juices can start to flow. There seems to be somewhat of a pattern when it comes to the idea of creative thought. The creative process seems to flow through certain stages:

      The Stages of the Creative Process

      •The first stage, the stage of preparation, is essentially a time in which the skills or information is assembled.

      •The second stage continues with a period of incubation, which is often equated with a time of relaxation in which someone is not consciously working to solve the problem. This period of incubation may in fact allow the unconscious mind to begin forming connections, in support of the creative process or solution.

      •The third stage is the stage where one reaches the point of inspiration or the "eureka" moment in which the solution presents itself.

      It seems that one simply can't force inspiration and trying to force it may in fact even stifle it! This concept of an incubation period is fascinating and it helps us understand the reason why something like laughter supports the creative process because laughter helps us take our mind off of our problems, and it is just this process itself that may be the key to supporting creative thought. Laughter can be equated in many ways to the idea of an incubation period because it allows our mind to form new connections and new sources of inspiration while we are busy laughing.

      One can also look at something like the chaos theory or the complexity theory to understand creativity as well. The chaos theory is the study of dynamic and nonlinear processes and the study of self-organizing systems; self-organizing systems are seen in nature all the time every time a flock of birds or a school of fish comes together. All of these kinds of things demonstrate a kind of dispersed control, rather than a centralized control similar to the human brain because the human brain may actually be of the ultimate self-organizing system with creativity being one of its most integral and dynamic systems.

      When experiencing something like laughter, the brain's frontal lobe becomes active. The limbic system, or network of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, is also activated. The limbic system is important because it controls some behaviors that are essential to forming memory and experiencing pleasure.

      The limbic system also controls friendship, laughter, affection and love! Laughter also helps your blood vessels function better acting on the inner lining of blood vessels causing them to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, laughter not only helps your brain, but it also helps your heart.