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Loretta La Roche
is the author of Relax—You May Only Have a Few Minutes
Left, How Serious Is This?, Happy Talk and
The Joy Journal. She has reached millions of people either
in person or in appearances, on CNN, ABC and NBC affiliates, and
on her four acclaimed PBS specials. She works with the faculty of
the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston (affiliated with Harvard
Medical School). Loretta LaRoche wouldn’t call herself Rubenesque.
“No,” she’s says with a little giggle, “I’m
more like an avocado with legs.” She is one huge ball of fun
and laughter and being in her presence is nothing less than a vacation
from the trials and tribulations of life.
A
stress management guru, Loretta uses humor as a coping mechanism.
“I know you can’t become funny out of nowhere, so
you have to lighten up your attitude. I use humor and laughter
to reduce stress because it’s one of the components of Mind/Body
Medicine,” she tells me. “When we laugh, our endorphins
in-crease making us feel better. A positive attitude, she continues,”
is like a mood contagion, so I tell people, go catch a mood, and
make it a good one at that! We don’t realize that most of
the stress we’re under is self-created. And as she threw
her hands in the air, cornering me with her pointer finger, she
said, “When you’re in the supermarket and someone’s
moving along at their own speed, who is really is creating the
frustration? You are! So I say you’re better off, laughing
it off — and if you want to live your life awfulizing and
catastrophizing that’s your choice.”
She
refers to her personal history as Brooklyn with a Hollywoodesque
backdrop. “We weren’t wealthy, it was more like the
movie “Moonstruck.” We were one big Italian family,
looking for love in all the wrong places and hooked on great Sunday
feasts. The major problem was my mother. She was more like Joan
Crawford’s twin sister than a homemaker and I really suffered.
My attitude came out of a necessity to survive. “Humor,
Victor Frankel said, is the Soul’s preservation.”
“So
let’s face it, now’s the time to step back and look
at your own life. Do you have one — or are you pursuing
it? I can promise you, when you leave this planet no one will
say you did it all — so stop trying and lighten up!”
Loretta’s
Eight Steps to “Enlightenment”
1.
Lighten Up! Find humor in everyday situations, especially in yourself.
2.
Light the Way! Smile at yourself and others. Be fully present.
3.
Step Lightly! Twirl, stand on one leg, walk backwards.
4.
Delight Yourself! Pleasure yourself through food, nature, art
and music.
5.
Lighten Your Load! Give up doing Everything.
6.
Discover Your Inner Light! Meditate, pray, count your blessings.
Find the Bless in the Mess!
7.
Speak Lightly! Go beyond Okay, Fine and Not Bad. Yell Whoopee,
Whee and TADAH!
8.
Become a Beacon of Light! Be a compassionate witness to your behavior
and to others. Lead your life with grace, glory, merriment and
mirth.
©
2002 Balance Magazine
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