Podcast #77: Laughnosis with James Hazlerig and the Return of the Guinea Pig Laugh!

Welcome to Episode 77 of Brain Software with Mike Mandel and Chris Thompson!

Mike has been dubbed “The King of the Hypnotic Kingdom”, which Chris admits is fairly lame. But we couldn’t be bothered to come up with anything better, so it’s settled.  Mike is King. Today’s podcast is all about how laughing relates to hypnosis and our interview guest is the incredible Texan hypnotist, James Hazlerig.

Check out the show notes below and scroll down to listen to the podcast directly on this page. Keep sending us topic suggestions and show feedback. We love hearing from all of you!

Here are the show notes for this episode:

  • Only one show left, the massiter branch of the facial nerve, and he’s not black!
  • This show’s about laughter, so Mike has revived the Guinea Pig Laugh!
  • Mike is way more British than the average Brit, and he’s got Irish blood too. Also some Iberian, and Viking DNA.
  • Mike’s wife has the black DNA that Mike wanted, all the way from Benin Africa.
  • James Hazlerig from Austin Texas is on the show by invitation!
  • It’s all about the power of laughter and the Little Book of Laughnosis, so Mike does the Guinea Pig Laugh again.
  • So this doctor in India started it all with Laughter Yoga. They told jokes until they ran out, but found a connexion with Pranayama (Yogic breathing)
  • Imagining lemons causes salivation, so why not make laughing noises, which they did.
  • Amy Cuddy did the Ted talk about body positions and standing like a super hero.
  • When you decide to laugh or even smile, you release endorphins, serotonin, etc. Mike quotes Richard Bandler and the drugs our bodies produce.
  • James says that laughter is the orgasm of smiling. We edit it out, but he’s right, damn him! Oxytocin, the bonding chemical hits too.
  • Meetings in the morning? Oh…I get it.
  • Dogs get oxytocin too. Cats probably couldn’t care less. Dogs have owners and cats have staff.
  • James leads laughter yoga classes! Chris says it’s infectious, but means contagious. Hence the laugh tracks on comedies.
  • Laughter makes us love other people! Even other people in restaurants. Mike finds this to be hilarious. Transcendence!
  • We don’t take laughter seriously enough. Mike tells James about his insane laughter game. You have to laugh like a psycho!
  • Play the laughter game when you’re out with your friends. It’s hilarious! Make sure you tell us what happens…
  • Chris is a self-confessed “personal drug dealer” and references Tim Ferris.
  • Drugs change your brain! So does meditation, playing music, laughter…
  • Unconditional intention laughter affects your brain because of Hebb’s Law: Neurons that fire together, wire together.
  • James is honest. He’s a naturally depressed, angry, anxious person.
  • Mike ties the laughter in with Architecture of Hypnosis class.
  • Laugher produces positive states for any purpose, even exercising.
  • Chris makes a connexion with trampolines and laughter. Mike responds by quietly doing the Guinea Pig laugh again.
  • Bilaughteral Stimulation anyone? Let’s fire both brain hemispheres, children…Listen to the result…
  • You can even do this quietly while lying in bed!
  • Tap and laugh: Thighs, stomach, chest, head, sky…
  • The frequency climbs!
  • Mike nearly has a stroke from laughing.
  • Chris’ wife is upstairs and we all wonder if she’ll think we’ve gone crazy given all the laughter.
  • She found it to be unfunny when he told her later that he’d put her in the podcast.
  • Mike admits to buying The Three Stooges Ultimate Collection. He’s going to do James’ stuff first.
  • Chris says “Who needs booze?” James and Mike think he’s gone too far.
  • Laughter bypasses the Critical Faculty! Let’s reprogramme those minds, folks!
  • Chris begins reading aloud from James’ book. He indirectly takes shots at people from Newfoundland and also blondes, but he’s quoting a study referenced in James’ book, so it doesn’t count.
  • Get out and buy The Little Book of Laughnosis by James Hazlerig, available at Amazon!
  • Empowering Question: How will you include intentional laughter in your life today, and how will it change your life?
  • Ending: The Spunky and Beezer Show!!!

Insist on Shyzjigg!

Please leave a rating in iTunes, and send in your questions by email to info(at)mikemandelhypnosis.com

Listen to the Podcast Here: