Can Someone Die of Laughter?

It is possible to die of laughter, though it's uncommon, and most people who do die from it have underlying health conditions. Laughing can cause a person's heart rate to increase to dangerous levels or to become irregular, causing a fatal heart attack. It can also trigger a rupture of a brain aneurysms, since it increases the pressure in the head; or, it can cause hernias to strangulate. Other people have reportedly died from suffocation caused by not being able to stop laughing long enough to breathe.

More about laughter:

• Laughter can have other health effects as well, including cataplexy, a condition in which a person has sudden muscle weakness because of laughing or experiencing extreme emotions. It can also result in laughter-induced syncope, a condition that causes people to faint when they laugh.

As Long as the Candle Burns

“Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.” — Genesis 42:3

This Torah portion for this week, Mikeitz, is from Genesis 41:1–44:17 and 1 Kings 3:1–4:1.

By the time Jacob’s sons go down to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, Joseph has been gone for 22 years. So the Sages find it strange that in the Scriptures, the ten brothers are referred to as “Joseph’s brothers.” They haven’t had anything to do with Joseph for over two decades and they certainly hadn’t acted much like brothers the last time they saw Joseph! Wouldn’t "Jacob’s sons" have been a more appropriate term?

The Sages explain that they are called “Joseph’s brothers” in order to teach us that when they came down to Egypt, they were indeed behaving like family. They had long regretted their act of selling Joseph and were desperate to find him. But that leads to another question: Why would they even imagine that Joseph would still be alive? The life expectancy for slaves in Egypt wasn’t very long!

3 Ways to Boost Your Lung Power

By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Medicine

Take a deep breath.
For most people, it’s not a big deal. But if you suffer from chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), breathing may be one of the most difficult things you do.

COPD is a group of conditions that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma. Smoking is the most common cause of COPD. But pollution and chemical fumes can also set you up for respiratory problems later in life.

LIFE OF GOD

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 

JOHN 10:7-10

The Greek word translated "life" here is "zoe" and it means life in the absolute sense or life as God has it. Everyone who is breathing has life in the sense of physical existence, but only those who receive Jesus can experience life as God intended it to be. 

Jesus came to not only save us from the torment of eternal hell, but also to give us this "zoe" or God-kind of life in abundance. 

The life of God is not awaiting us in heaven, but is presently possessed by every born-again person in his spirit. We can release this "zoe" life and enjoy it now by losing our natural life and finding this supernatural life. 

Dog Provides Oxygen for Young Girl

A three-year-old girl, who needs an oxygen tank to breath, used to have a hard time getting around…until she meet her new best friend. Amy Robach reports.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/video/science_2/1112516852/oxygen_dog/

Don’t Hold Your Breath

by Pastor Colin S. Smith


“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9 (NIV)

The person born of God will not continue to sin. They cannot go on sinning. Really? How can this be? The reason why the Christian will not and cannot continue in sin is because he is born of God and God’s seed remains in him. The new birth makes continuing in sin impossible.

If sin is your friend, God is your enemy. If God is your friend, sin is your enemy. James says“Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God”(James 4:4). But the Christian is never wholly free from sin in this life. Indeed anyone, [including any Christian], who says or even thinks he is without sin deceives himself (1 John 1:8).

You can’t live under water

When a child is in the womb, that life is surrounded by water. The child lives in the water, not in the air. As soon as the child’s first breath is taken, the nature of its life is changed. From that moment on, the child can no longer live in the water. The child has a new life that’s lived in the air.

The child can go in water, swim though water, and even go under the water. You can hold your breath and stay under water for 30 seconds or a minute, or more. But you cannot continue under the water.

What once was your life is no longer possible for you. You cannot go back to it. Being born has changed the nature of your life. What used to be natural has now become, not just difficult, but impossible.

You can’t live in sin

That’s what it is like when you are born again. When you are born again you cannot continue in sin. The sinner is comfortable with sin. It doesn’t bother him. But when you are born again, your conscience is activated. You can’t settle with something that you know is wrong in your life. Holding onto a sin for a Christian is like holding your breath under water. It takes a great effort and you can’t do it for long.

In the new birth God becomes your friend, and sin becomes your enemy. You can’t live with sin like you did when sin was your friend. You turn from it. And when you fall into sin you turn from it again.

Repentance is a life-long process. We learned before that repentance is: turning from as much as you know of your sin, to give as much as you know of yourself, to as much as you know of God. That’s a lifetime pursuit, and it begins with the new birth.


This LifeKey is based on the message “Signs of Life,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on May 10, 2009, from the series “Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul.”

http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/unlocking-the-bible/articles/dont-hold-your-breath-13257.html

10 Essential Singing Tips

Julianna Morlet


1. Be confident. Some would say that this should come first and confidence second, seeing that knowing your stuff would build more confidence. I agree and disagree. I agree that practice will always aid in your confidence. However, there may be times when you're thrown into something last minute and the time just isn't there. So whether you're singing karaoke or a competition (and everywhere else in between), your confidence level will translate over to the audience. If you lack confidence in yourself, they won't hear you. They will only see you. Your insides may be turning and toiling but remind yourself that you can do this! Don't let your fears get in the way of the fun.

2. Know your stuff. Practice makes permanent. Don't practice whimsically. Take good notes, do your homework and repetition is your new best friend. An unprepared singer leaves a bad taste with everyone. On the other hand, prepared singer exudes professionalism.

3. Connect with what you are singing. We've all seen this done well and not so well. When a singer connects with what he/she is singing, the audience is captivated. Take time to study your song, read background info if it's available. Study the artist or writer and figure out the intentions behind it. The more you know, the more you show.

4. Listen to your song first. Don't try to sing along with it immediately. Listen intently, hearing all the little twist and turns and registering them in your brain waves so that your voice knows what to do. Can't sing what you can't hear.

5. Drink water before and after singing (practice and performance). Water is a non-optional element of singing. Drink at least 16 oz of water during the day of your performance and 16 oz after. During it good but very rarely do you get to take a water break between performances.

6. Take a big breath. Seriously. Don't forget to breathe. Between nerves, thought process, and performing, one can forget to do what comes most naturally to every human being! Breathing. Take deep, quick breaths. Sometimes it helps to plan out what parts of your song you will breathe at.

7. Warm up your voice. Just as a runner doesn't run a marathon without warming up, one shouldn't sing without doing some exercises. Find some that work for you and always, always, always warm up before singing. This prevents damage and boosts performance.

8. Find a Tough Critic Sometimes we are our worst critics. We can be both too hard and too easy on ourselves. Find someone that you trust, that has a good ear, and that won't be afraid to tell you the honest truth. Then brace yourself for some pointers. It will sting a little to hear, you're a little flat on the chorus or that one note doesn't sound right or even this song may not be the best for your voice, but in the long run it's worth it.

9. Sing With Someone Else This can be in an unlimited amount of settings: a choir, an ensemble, a quartet, a duet, with your mom, your friend, in lessons, etc. Singing with other people helps make your voice pliable. It sharpens your ears to listen to what's going on around you and gives you the chance to learn more advanced techniques like blending, harmonizing, and soloing.

10. Stop taking yourself too seriously. Even the big shots have to get to a point where they have fun at what they do. When all the pressure to be "the best" feels like it's bogging your joy down, remember why you started singing in the first place. Don't take yourself too seriously. Your body reacts to stress and people can sense it in your voice. Have fun~


**Want more than nuggets? Check out the full online singing course that will help you put these 10 into practice and see your voice improve!

About Julianna Morlet

Julianna Morlet is the girl behind the lifestyle blog, The Girl That Sings. Her blog is focused on her journey as a homemade singer, writer, speaker. If she could sum up who she is in one sentence it'd be, "A visionary idealist who wishes to conquer the world before her 25th birthday." She is the eldest of six children, and is being well-seasoned and fashioned by this life. From sexual abuse, to a blended family, to a baby sister with leukemia, to college in the mid-west and her journey as a homemade singer and worship leader, she has been led to a faith in God that cannot be shaken. You can find her @ juliannamorlet.com, Facebook, Twitter, and She Seeks.

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/julianna-morlet/10-essential-singing-tips.html

BySelf Magazine

Three Things You Should Do When You Wake Up

Shutterstock

What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? If it's a work day, you probably hit the snooze button a few times, then spring out of bed in a panic, propelling yourself into your day with your mind on everything you have to do to get out the door. Or maybe you find yourself in the shower, without any real memory of how you got there. Sound familiar?

Turns out, just a few simple movements can help you relax and ground yourself for your day, rather than zooming through your morning full of stress and a racing mind.

Jack Wiener, a certified and licensed psychoanalyst, founder of the former School for Creative Movement in NYC and author of The Way of the 4th Toe: Into the Feeling Body, believes that the most important thing you can do as soon as you wake up is to gently bring your awareness fully into your body, so that as you move through the rest of the day, you maintain a sense of grounding that can help you cope with the physical and mental stresses of daily life.

"When you sleep, your body goes into itself," says Weiner, explaining that while you're snoozing, the sensations of your muscles become very minimal. In other words, you're not consciously aware of your body; you're not in a physically or mentally grounded state of being.

This state of being works for the purposes of sleep, but not for your waking hours. You want to be "in" and aware of your body during the day. When you experience stress or anxiety throughout the day, says Weiner, these emotions and sensations can cause you to instinctively "pull in" to yourself, which, ironically, is the opposite of being grounded in your body. Weiner describes this process as a literal contraction and tension of your muscles. If you're not aware, this happens automatically, and can affect everything from your breathing to your circulation to how the events of your day affect you. 

If you can bring yourself back into your body and release the tension in your muscles, then, says Weiner, you're more able to cope with stress, and you're more emotionally aware and alive. Not only are you carrying less tension in your neck and shoulders, but if you can maintain an awareness of being in your body, then it's easier to not get caught up and swept away in the worries and anxieties. "It's so simple, yet so profound," says Weiner.

So, how should you start the day? By doing these three simple things:
Before you even get out of bed ...

1. Gently flex and point your feet for 15-30 seconds. This, says Weiner, is a good way to gently begin to activate your musculature and to bring your awareness to your feet, which is literally grounding. Then, wiggle your fingers and gently open and close you hands into a fist shape for 15-30 seconds. "Those are small little things," says Weiner, but they can really help you if your standard MO is to immediately activate your whole body by springing out of bed with your mind on what you have to get done.

Next, as you get out of bed ...

2. Consciously place your feet on the floor. Stand there for a moment, fully aware of the floor beneath you, and concentrate on feeling grounded.

Finally ...

3. Do a gentle hamstring stretch. "This will sustain your connection to the ground," Weiner says, and delay the pulling up into your upper body that leads not only to a lack of feeling grounded, but to tension in your neck and shoulders. The more grounded and "in your body" you can start your day, says Weiner, the more you will be able to carry this feeling and awareness into the rest of your day. Good morning, indeed!

 http://www.youbeauty.com/body-fitness/three-things-you-should-do-when-you-wake-up?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=OutBrain%2BCPC&utm_term=Three-Things-You-Should-Do-When-You-Wake