THE MIRACLE OF SMILING:
French philosopher Voltaire said: Smiling is the only feature that differentiates humans from other animals. One of the striking traits of the Dalai Lama is his constant, spontaneous smile. He said this: “ Offer your smile spontaneously to anyone, anytime. If she/he does not reply the same way, don’t take it personally. Nobody needs a smile more than the one who cannot smile at others because they may have current issues to deal with. “ Zen Buddhism teaching considers smiling as an integral tool to achieve inner serenity and equanimity. Most of us are resistant to spontaneous smiling; we feel it is fake or unnatural, and yet it is recommended not only by psychotherapists (Ref 1) but also well described in Zen literature (Ref 2). When to smile? Our face, like our body, is a great proxy of our mood. Usually, our habitual look shows a neutral, or serious, or even negative expression caused by whatever reason we are dealing with. We don’t need a mirror to feel the tension on our faces resulting from a restless mind. With practice, it is, in fact, quite easy since that facial tension frequently expands to your body. So, when such tension exists for whatever reason, it is time to smile even spontaneously at ourselves and others when the opportunity is there. How to smile? A discreet one, for 2 or 3 sec. will do the trick….like the Mana Lisa in the painting of Da Vinci. Why is smiling beneficial?
It is interesting to know that 34 muscles are involved while smiling (17 on each side). Research has proven that the value of smiling is psychologically beneficial. In 20011, the University of Munich demonstrated conclusively from FMRI, blood sampling & and psychometric tests that the brain's happiness circuitry is activated when we smile, regardless of our current mood. If you're down or stressed out, smiling prompts your brain to produce feel-good neuropeptides hormones such as oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, giving credibility to the adage, "fake it till you make it" when it comes to your state of mind. Other studies from Berkeley, Wayne Un, and others confirmed these beneficial findings, which I am listing a few of them here. 1) Relief of acute stress - Improving mood & well-being - Increasing resistance to physical pain. Reduce blood pressure- Enhance our immune defense. All of them are anti-stress markers. 2) The beneficial effects of smiling are not limited to the one smiling, but also to the one you are smiling at. Smiling acts as a breaker of our usual social shield. It creates a nonverbal, relaxing, confident even friendly interaction between the sender of the smile and the receiver. It will put the receiver at ease. Besides, it helps us to take ourselves too seriously. Finally, it is contagious. It is important to smile as much as possible because, besides its proven “anti-stress “ effect, it will help us not to consider things /people/life too seriously in one way or the other, therefore minimizing our ongoing up-and-down mind-made emotional yo-yo cycles. Smiling acts as a balancing effect, producing some sort of emotional cooling effect when we are too much “up” or “down.” Finally, here is a quote from the Chinese Zen Master Chen: X century. “We smile with our hearts. Smiling holds the key to inner peace and harmony. It is not a mere facial expression but a reflection of our true Essence. It conquers our darkest emotions, heals wounds, and creates a ripple effect of positivity in our lives. Ref 1: https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-smile-every-day-2223755 Ref 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJPGJumn56I