 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Navigating the territory between wise and wacky since 1998 |
| You've Got To Be Kidding Michele Caskey Artist + Laughter Coach |
few years in Switzerland. In each spot I would find a job that took advantage of my
natural inclinations as a public speaker; in sales, training and fundraising.
About ten years ago I experienced a creative Renaissance. After studying with an art
teacher named Vedika in Seattle for many years I completed an Expressive Arts
Practitioner certificate program which was a comprehensive and intensive journey
through the array of expressive arts. I began to paint more, sell my work and teach
experimental courses in paper mache. I also began to write and realized that if I could
write anything I would write shtick and perform it live on stage, which lead to a year-
long experience as a semi-professional stand-up comic in Seattle. I was thirty-some
years old and had traveled all over the world. Being a comedienne was exhilarating
but it was also hands down the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. During
this time in my life I was always working on new material and often slipping it into
casual conversation with friends. I began to notice that when people were laughing
their energy shifted and they somehow became more alive. Their memory seemed
sharper and they were much more engaged in the conversation. This didn’t seem to
happen if they were just amused and certainly not when they were disinterested….
but when they were laughing something magical happened.
I started researching what I called ‘the laughter response’ and stumbled upon the
practice of Laughter Exercise and Laughing for No Reason. Days later I had enrolled
in Laughter Leader training through the World Laughter Tour and flew from Seattle
to Maine to complete the 3 day workshop. I remember reading the book Laugh for
No Reason by Dr. Madan Kataria in preparation for the class. The laughter exercise
descriptions were so hard to visualize that I spent weeks before the training
wondering what I was getting into, thinking ‘you’ve got to be kidding’. Little did I
know what a delicious double entendre I would find that phrase and that it would
become the name of my website.
Soon after becoming a Certified Laughter Leader through the World Laughter Tour I
started a Laughter Club at the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center. This
was my first laughter group and I had jumped right into helping people heal
themselves from life threatening illnesses with laughter. This could have been
extremely overwhelming, but I had been practicing Reiki (an energy healing
modality) for about a year and found myself entirely immersed in how to use both
Reiki and Laughter to help everyone thrive. I would witness my depleted and
exhausted students come to class and after an hour of laughing be full of life. I would
tell them ‘I don’t know for sure that this laughter will heal your cancer but I tell you
what…you’re more alive now than when you walked in here!’ Ever since then this
has been my utmost concern: WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP EVERYONE THRIVE?
And I have known that laughter plays a key role.
Over time the comedy fell away (though in my mind I am still writing my one
woman show), and pure unadulterated laughter became my focus. I took additional
training through Laughter Yoga International becoming a Laughter Yoga Instructor
and laughing with Dr. Kataria himself, which was quite a thrill. For the last six years
I have traveled around the country leading laughter groups in public parks, libraries,
hospitals, businesses, civic organizations, schools, at cocktail parties, support groups
and at my ranch in Capitan, New Mexico where our Laugher Happy Hour meets
May through September. My understanding of laughter continues to deepen as I
work with people facing extreme life challenges, trauma, stress and major illness. I
encounter a skeptic every now and then and get them to laugh too. In my practice,
laughter springboards into art and back again. I teach laughter and I teach art but my
very favorite is teaching laughter and art together. All the laughing has enlivened my
artwork as well which is often silly, whimsical and generates a smile. My online
gallery can be viewed at www.michelekaycaskey.com.
It has been my experience that the more I laugh….the more I laugh. I am quite a
giggler and have relied on laughter relief to get me through many a stress-filled time.
Through all of my projects I am leading people back to their natural vitality that is
full of laughter, creativity and life….shedding joy as I go.
natural inclinations as a public speaker; in sales, training and fundraising.
About ten years ago I experienced a creative Renaissance. After studying with an art
teacher named Vedika in Seattle for many years I completed an Expressive Arts
Practitioner certificate program which was a comprehensive and intensive journey
through the array of expressive arts. I began to paint more, sell my work and teach
experimental courses in paper mache. I also began to write and realized that if I could
write anything I would write shtick and perform it live on stage, which lead to a year-
long experience as a semi-professional stand-up comic in Seattle. I was thirty-some
years old and had traveled all over the world. Being a comedienne was exhilarating
but it was also hands down the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. During
this time in my life I was always working on new material and often slipping it into
casual conversation with friends. I began to notice that when people were laughing
their energy shifted and they somehow became more alive. Their memory seemed
sharper and they were much more engaged in the conversation. This didn’t seem to
happen if they were just amused and certainly not when they were disinterested….
but when they were laughing something magical happened.
I started researching what I called ‘the laughter response’ and stumbled upon the
practice of Laughter Exercise and Laughing for No Reason. Days later I had enrolled
in Laughter Leader training through the World Laughter Tour and flew from Seattle
to Maine to complete the 3 day workshop. I remember reading the book Laugh for
No Reason by Dr. Madan Kataria in preparation for the class. The laughter exercise
descriptions were so hard to visualize that I spent weeks before the training
wondering what I was getting into, thinking ‘you’ve got to be kidding’. Little did I
know what a delicious double entendre I would find that phrase and that it would
become the name of my website.
Soon after becoming a Certified Laughter Leader through the World Laughter Tour I
started a Laughter Club at the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center. This
was my first laughter group and I had jumped right into helping people heal
themselves from life threatening illnesses with laughter. This could have been
extremely overwhelming, but I had been practicing Reiki (an energy healing
modality) for about a year and found myself entirely immersed in how to use both
Reiki and Laughter to help everyone thrive. I would witness my depleted and
exhausted students come to class and after an hour of laughing be full of life. I would
tell them ‘I don’t know for sure that this laughter will heal your cancer but I tell you
what…you’re more alive now than when you walked in here!’ Ever since then this
has been my utmost concern: WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP EVERYONE THRIVE?
And I have known that laughter plays a key role.
Over time the comedy fell away (though in my mind I am still writing my one
woman show), and pure unadulterated laughter became my focus. I took additional
training through Laughter Yoga International becoming a Laughter Yoga Instructor
and laughing with Dr. Kataria himself, which was quite a thrill. For the last six years
I have traveled around the country leading laughter groups in public parks, libraries,
hospitals, businesses, civic organizations, schools, at cocktail parties, support groups
and at my ranch in Capitan, New Mexico where our Laugher Happy Hour meets
May through September. My understanding of laughter continues to deepen as I
work with people facing extreme life challenges, trauma, stress and major illness. I
encounter a skeptic every now and then and get them to laugh too. In my practice,
laughter springboards into art and back again. I teach laughter and I teach art but my
very favorite is teaching laughter and art together. All the laughing has enlivened my
artwork as well which is often silly, whimsical and generates a smile. My online
gallery can be viewed at www.michelekaycaskey.com.
It has been my experience that the more I laugh….the more I laugh. I am quite a
giggler and have relied on laughter relief to get me through many a stress-filled time.
Through all of my projects I am leading people back to their natural vitality that is
full of laughter, creativity and life….shedding joy as I go.
While it is frequently pointed out to me that public
speaking ranks above death in a poll of what people
fear most, it has been my passion since I was a girl.
During High School in Bellevue, Washington I dabbled
in theater, the highlight being a part as a troll in a
musical version of The Hobbit. Once in college at the
University of Washington in Seattle I pursued a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications. In
those early years after college I lived something of a
gypsy life, living across the country and for a
speaking ranks above death in a poll of what people
fear most, it has been my passion since I was a girl.
During High School in Bellevue, Washington I dabbled
in theater, the highlight being a part as a troll in a
musical version of The Hobbit. Once in college at the
University of Washington in Seattle I pursued a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications. In
those early years after college I lived something of a
gypsy life, living across the country and for a
Incognito
My true home lay beyond the Moon
A place where whole worlds are created
from the Love in ones heart
This watery, wobbling planet
a temporary sanctuary
Where peaches are ripe
and drip juice down my chin
The beat of a drum leads to dancing
around a white hot fire
And we laugh late into the night
about nothing in particular
I stand in the garden
outshining the hollyhocks and lupine
Blending in
Standing out
My inner Light competes with the Sun
I have not tried to be anything I am not
But I didn't know everything I was
Until I came to this place and saw my
smile reflected in yours
Incognito to everyone but You
-Michele Kay Caskey
My true home lay beyond the Moon
A place where whole worlds are created
from the Love in ones heart
This watery, wobbling planet
a temporary sanctuary
Where peaches are ripe
and drip juice down my chin
The beat of a drum leads to dancing
around a white hot fire
And we laugh late into the night
about nothing in particular
I stand in the garden
outshining the hollyhocks and lupine
Blending in
Standing out
My inner Light competes with the Sun
I have not tried to be anything I am not
But I didn't know everything I was
Until I came to this place and saw my
smile reflected in yours
Incognito to everyone but You
-Michele Kay Caskey
| 575-937-3663 michele@youvegottobekidding.net |
