by Paul Wilson, Yahoo Contributor Network

One smile is all it takes.

I expect that many of the folks practicing true spirituality (their own beliefs) will already be aware of this phenomenon, and will be enjoying the results on a daily basis.

In our existing world of ever increasing harshness it is getting harder to maintain a positive outlook during daily activities. Every direction you look, and everything you hear or read is filled with depressing events and news. From the moment we wake up each morning we are all bombarded with stories of devastating occurrences, both locally and global. So what small thing can we do to spread a little cheer?

If you compare the positive and negative results from a smile versus an angry word it becomes clear. As an example, say you have harsh words with the gas station clerk. Now this clerk will have a bad day, and probably act harshly and rudely to other customers. These customers will take these ill feelings off with them to wherever they are going. They may take their bad attitudes back to their family or place of work. Family members may get snapped at, or co-workers may get rudely brushed off. So now, all these people that were treated poorly carry bad thoughts to even more people that will get treated roughly. All this can keep expanding outwards for a long time. All these negative chain reactions were caused by your initial rudeness.

One smile is all it takes. This sets the ball rolling in a much better direction. You can use yourself as an example. Remember the last time a stranger gave you a nice smile and you smiled back? It made you feel much better knowing that there were amiable people out there. if you go to the grocery store, try having a few friendly words with the clerks as they are processing your items. Ask the workers how their day is going. Tell them that they look nice today. Compliment them on their looks, attitude or professionalism. Make them feel like a real person, not just an unappreciated employee. Now this person will have a much better day thanks to you, and more than likely will be more pleasant to all the folks that come along after you. These people will leave the store feeling a little better about the day and carry their positive feelings with them. The good cheer goes home with them and spreads out to their friends and family. Starting a positive chain reaction will do a lot of folks some good.

Now you understand how the whole thing works. It may not work with every one you come across, but every little bit helps. Try it a few times and see how that returned smile feels. One simple and honest smile that is returned to you will brighten your whole day, and then you will appreciate what the folks you are smiling at will experience. Just try this please, as you have nothing to lose, but you sure can accomplish a lot of good.

Enjoy your day, and thanks for reading.

by Brett Blumenthal, Sheer Balance

Unfortunately, there may be times that smiling can be difficult - when it might not be easy and might feel virtually impossible.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the bad things that we forget that smiling is actuallly an option.  Maybe your boss inappropriately yelled at you…maybe you had a fight with a loved one…maybe you lost a loved one…or maybe you just feel mildly depressed for the day.  Whatever the case may be, there are always times when smiling just doesn’t fit your mood.

Even though you may very well have reasons not to smile, here are a few reasons to push through…focus on the positive…and yes, smile:

1. It makes you Feel Better: Don’t write this one off.  Really.  I know it sounds ridiculously idealistic and corny, but it is true.  Next time you feel down or blue, smile.  Just smile as big as you can.  You might feel ridiculous forcing a huge grin when deep down all you want to do is sob your heart out, but if you do it, and you concentrate on it, you actually do feel better.  Believe it or not, there is research behind this.  There is a theory called ‘facial feedback’ hypothesis.  It states that “involuntary facial movements provide sufficient peripheral information to drive emotional experience” implying that you may actually improve your mood by smiling.

2. It is contagious: Ever notice if you smile at someone, they smile back?  If you don’t smile at someone or don’t have any real facial expression for that matter, you pretty much get a mirror image back.  Smiling is a proactive behavior, or action, which solicits a reaction.  Maybe Newton’s Law of Motion could be revised to say: To every smile there is an equal and opposite smile.

3. You look Marvelous: If you were to see someone smiling…and another person frowning, or expressionless, good chances are that you are going to find the smiler more pleasant to look at and more attractive.  Studies have shown that individuals who were asked to study posed faces found that those who were asked to smile received more favorable impressions.

4. A Choice in Aging: If you look at people who have wrinkles or facial lines, you’ll notice that most of the lines on their face follow their most natural facial expressions.  If you were to choose between frown lines or smile lines as your lines and wrinkles for the future, which would you rather?  I think the answer is obvious…

5. Muscular Response:  Here is a test.  1) Smile 2) Try to maintain your smile and frown at the same time.  3) Now try to smile and furrow your brow at the same time.  Not so easy.  Actually pretty impossible right?  So what does this tell you?  The more you smile, the less you are physically capable of frowning or furrowing your brow.

6. Overall Outlook: The more you smile, the more positive you feel and see things.  There was another research study where participants were either encouraged or prevented to smile.  Those that were able to smile rated cartoons as being funnier than the group who were prevented to smile, implying that your overall outlook is more positive and happy.

Convinced yet?  The reality is that smiling in itself is a holistic, natural ‘medicine’ and anti-aging regimen.  It helps us feel better, look better and age better!  So next time you are feeling like frowning.  “Turn that frown, upside down!”

by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance

by Henry Tacio, Oct 11, 2010, Punto!

NEVER underestimate the power of smile. At one time, I was mad as hell when someone took the book I bought. I left it on top of my table before I left for work. When I returned home, it was gone. I really don’t have any problem with it if the person who took it just left a note that he was borrowing it. At least, with a note I can always ask the person if he is already done with the book.

But what really got my nerve this time was the fact that I had some scribbled notes on the said book, which I inserted. I was afraid that whoever took the book might just throw away the notes I had written.

I was about to give up when my niece came to my room. “I am very much sorry, uncle,” she said. I was surprised; what had she done to me, I asked myself. She took something from her bag and with a big smile, “Here’s your book which I took without your knowledge. I forgot to leave a note.”

It didn’t matter if the book was lost. What mattered most was the fact that here was my niece and with a broad smile eased all those worries. Never underestimate the power of smile. I have not seen a beauty contest where the contestants are not smiling.

“A smile is central to our evolution and one of the most powerful tools of human behavior,” explains Dr. Cacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied the importance of facial expression, including the variety and impact of smiles.

In 1872, Charles Darwin proposed in his book, The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals that facial expressions are biologically based and universal among humans. However, the celebrated anthropologist Margaret Mead thought the smile was a cultural behavior that varied between societies.

There are several reasons why a person smiles. One indicator is that he or she is in love. Barry Manilow, referring to his beloved, croons, “I can’t smile without you.”

“A smile costs nothing but gives much,” someone once wrote. “It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.”

“Smile and others will smile back,” Jean Baudrillard thinks. “Smile to show how transparent, how candid you are. Smile if you have nothing to say. Most of all, do not hide the fact you have nothing to say or your total indifference to others. Let this emptiness, this profound indifference shine out spontaneously in your smile.”

But more often than not, people stop smiling. It seems they are carrying the whole problem of the world. Even in the early morning, when they should face the new day with gladness, they are already frowning. There are several reasons but those reasons are not enough to let yourself not to smile.

Here’s one poet said, “If at times you feel you want to cry and life seems such a trial. Above the clouds there’s a bright blue sky, so make your tears a smile. As you travel on life’s way with its many ups and downs, remember it’s quite true to say one smile is worth a dozen frowns.”

The poet continues: “Among the world’s expensive things, a smile is very cheap. And when you give a smile away, you get one back to keep. Happiness comes at times to all but sadness comes unbidden and sometimes a few tears must fall among the laughter hidden. So when friends have sadness on their face and troubles round them piled, the world will seem a better place and all because you smiled.”

“Today,” urged H. Jackson Brown, Jr., “give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.” A poet puts it more succinctly. “Smiling is infectious; you can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today and I started smiling too.”

By Henrylito D. Tacio
For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com

by Kristie Leong, MD, Associated Content from Yahoo!

A smile not only sends a positive message, it may also have unforseen benefits to your physical and mental health. Find out what a smile can do for you.

It seems that nothing has more power to elevate a mood than the impact of a genuine smile. Surprisingly enough, the benefits of a smile extend not only to the recipient of the warm gesture but also to the smile’s originator. Yes, the old quotation may be true. “A smile is a little curve that sets a lot of things straight.” Here are some of the many benefits of a smile:

Benefits of a smile: A healthier immune system

Various studies conducted over the years have shown that smiling and laughter can boost the functioning of the immune system. This may help to reduce your risk of developing everything from the common cold to chronic diseases such as cancer. Could there be a less expensive medicine than this?

Benefits of a smile: Helps to relieve stress

Smiling and laughter helps to promote release of a “feel good” group of hormones called endorphins. These are the same group of hormones responsible for the runners high you hear so much about. If you don’t have time to get to the gym for a hard run, try adding a smile and a bit of laughter to boost these natural, stress relieving hormones.

Benefits of a smile: A smile is beautiful

Why do American spend thousands of dollars on makeup and cosmetic procedures to look more attractive and then walk around with a scowl on their faces? The most beautiful face in the world won’t be pleasing with down turned lips and a sour expression. In contrast, a plain face can be transformed by the power of a smile. If you want to look better, try adding a genuine smile.

Benefits of a smile: A smile inspires others

When you smile at a stranger you not only boost your own health and beauty, you also send a positive message that can potentially change someone else’s mood for the better. The stranger you graced with your smile may go on to pass the kindness to someone else. Who knows how far your original smile will travel?

Benefits of a smile: Smiling can increase your chances for success

When you smile, you appear confident and capable. Given the choice between two equally qualified job candidates, the smiling candidate is going to be perceived as being more of a team player and easier to work with. Who do you think is more likely to get the job offer?

by Kristie Leong MD

by Ryan Hall, Article Dashboard

There might be more truth than you think to the term “million-dollar smile.” Research has found evidence of a possible connection between your appearance and how much is in your paycheck.

In a study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, researchers found that good-looking people tend to earn 5 percent more an hour than their less attractive cohorts.

Other studies suggest that a smile is a major factor in the overall impression a person makes on the job, during a job interview and in social situations outside the workplace.

Virtually all Americans say a smile is an important social asset, according to a study conducted for the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, while 74 percent say an unattractive smile can hurt a person’s chances for career success.

“A dentist from Philadelphia we trained had a patient who reported his income went up 27 percent the year after getting a smile makeover,” said Dr. Bill Dickerson, founder of LVI Global, where dentists come from around the world to learn the latest aesthetic techniques.

A bright, genuine smile exudes confidence, strength and a willingness to open up to others. Conversely, if you are self-conscious about your smile, it might affect the way you carry yourself, the way you communicate with others and, ultimately, your job performance.

But the truth is, few people are born with perfect smiles. The fabulous smiles you see on TV and in magazines often are the results of cosmetic dentistry.

But you don’t have to be rich and famous to have your own million-dollar smile. There are many options, from smile whitening to repairing, straightening or replacing teeth. Many procedures can be completed in two to three visits.

However, finding the best dentist to initiate the transformation is a major key to the process. It’s important to choose a dentist who is trained specifically in the procedure you are seeking and keeps up with changes in the field, Dickerson said.

Nothing tells the story better or more dramatically than a before-and-after picture. A series of actual smile restorations performed by LVI Global-trained practitioners can be seen on the Internet at www.lvidocs.com.

by bendweekly (NewsUSA)

There’s no doubt about it; people who smile are much more attractive than people who frown. Not only are they more attractive, but also people are drawn to a smiling person like bees to honey. You don’t have to be considered a beauty to be attractive to others. You just have to smile - really! Just think of all the people you know to whom others are attracted. Are they smilers or frowners?

Smiling has a very unusual effect on the body. We can actually trick ourselves into feeling lots better when we smile. This is because smiling and laughing releases painkilling endorphins that are natural painkillers, and seratonin that is necessary to our well-being. These things really do make us feel better both physically and emotionally, so as the song says; put on a happy face.

Smiling makes us appear younger. It only uses 13 muscles in the face, while frowning uses many more and makes sharp lines appear between our eyes and in our cheeks. Lines make us appear older and detract from that attractive, smooth appearance. Smiling lowers blood pressure and boosts the immune system. Do you know a person who is really happy and rarely seems to get the flu or colds? Their smile actually keeps them healthy.

According to Christopher Peterson PhD, University of Michigan, scientific studies have proven that people who are optimistic (and so smile a lot) have much better health due to a more robust immune system. In older people, those who remain optimistic were 77% less likely to die from all causes than those who are pessimists.

Stress makes us look worn out and tired; that’s very aging. If we take the time to find something to smile about, it will relieve our stress and make us look and feel heaps better. So next time you are stressed, put on a smile. It will help if you think of all the good things you have in your life, or all the funny things that have happened. You could even keep a book of jokes in your desk drawer to read when things get you down. Smiling stimulates brain and heart activity, so if you are having trouble working out a problem, don’t frown, smile. The answer could come to you much more easily.

Smiling can change your mood; it can even change to mood of those around you. So do something good for yourself and help others too. Smile.

by Samuel Babu Sekar, from the” Proceedings of the 6th Asia-Pacific…”

Proceedings of 6th Asia-Pacific ABC Conference on Management Communication on the theme “Management Communication: Trends & Strategies” Conducted by IIM, Ahamedabad, McGraw Hill

Abstract:

Good managers possess a knack to lighten-up their environment with a radiant smile. They trigger happiness wherever they go; for, their faces exude enthusiasm exhibiting their inner strength. Their smile reflects their openness and friendliness enabling them to strike a chord and create a deep relationship with their people. Ever since the leadership orientation has moved from the command-and-control pattern to the communicate-and-cooperate pattern, smile has become an essential trait to connect with the people at an emotional level. Managers with perennial smile are likeable to work with; for, they inspire those around with their vibrant, positive mood encased in their smile. Especially, ordinary employees who are insignificant in the organisation feel much recognised and accepted when they encounter a boss who has a friendly smile. Smile has not only the power to brighten up their day, but is as good a motivator as empowerment, praise and recognition.

Moreover, research shows that people who smile are perceived to be more pleasant, sincere, sociable, competent, honest, highly esteemed and popular. Perceptions, on the other hand, play an important role in the preference and likeability of a manager. So, it’s desirable for the manager to influence the perceptions of his people with positive cues like an earnest smile.

Samuel Babu Sekar, ICFAI University

Smiling is a great way to make yourself stand out while helping your body to function better. Smile to improve your health, your stress level, and your attractiveness.

10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive

Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It’s hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that “Life is Good!” Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

By Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com

Created: June 21, 2007

About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Seeing a smile can give more pleasure than sex or eating chocolate, according to new research. Receiving a smile from a friend or relative generates much higher levels of stimulation to the brain and the heart than being given money or having a cigarette, according to clinical tests.

But the amount of pleasure depends on who is smiling: a child’s face or that of a celebrity has a much better effect than a politician or a member of the Royal family. The study found that smiles from Geri Halliwell and Robbie Williams created much greater stimulation and pleasure than those by Tony Blair or Prince William.

The research, carried out by the computer giant Hewlett Packard, suggests simple human interaction is still worth far more than material pleasure. The research found that Scots were among the most likely in Britain to return a smile from a stranger.

There may be more to the song “Put on a Happy Face” than just a catchy tune-putting on a happy face is actually good for you, and those around you. Now there’s a reason to smile.

Smile Your Way to a Better Future

Researchers of a study led by Dr. Dacher Keltner of the University of California were able to predict the future success (30 years down the road!) of 21-year-old women just by looking at their photographs. The key appeared to be the intensity of the women’s smiles.

“Women who displayed more positive emotion were more likely to be married by 27, less likely to have remained single into middle adulthood and more likely to have satisfying marriages 30 years later. This means we can take photos at a wedding and from them we may be able to tell how the marriage will go,” said Dr. Keltner.

How intense a woman smiled was related to personality tests and psychologists ranked the women by how they expressed emotions like joy and happiness. How did they know the smiles weren’t being faked? They used computer technology to measure 44 aspects of facial activity. If a smile were not genuine, certain muscles would not move (for instance, certain muscles around the eyes that we don’t consciously control move when we feel emotion).

Be Happy: Fight Illness Better

People who are optimistic (and these are the people who are out there smiling!) have stronger immune systems and are actually able to fight off illness better than pessimists.

“The research is very clear,” says Christopher Peterson, Ph.D, a University of Michigan professor who’s been studying optimism’s link to health for over two decades, “This is not some social science generalization. There is a link between optimistic attitudes and good health. It has been measured in a variety of ways. Overall, we have found that optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system.”

It also appears that people who are optimistic are more likely to take care of themselves, which may be another reason why they tend to be healthier. Says Peterson, “Optimistic people act differently … [and] are more likely to do the things that public health experts say are associated with good health. Generally speaking, they eat sensibly, they don’t drink senselessly, they exercise and they get their sleep.”

Smile: You’ll Live Longer

According to a study published in the November 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, elderly optimistic people, those who expected good things to happen (rather than bad things), were less likely to die than pessimists.

In fact, among the 65- to 85-year-old study participants, those who were most optimistic were 55 percent less likely to die from all causes than the most pessimistic people. What’s more, after researchers adjusted the results for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and other measures of health, the optimists were 71 percent less likely to die than the pessimists!

Smiling Feels Like Eating 2,000 Chocolate Bars

That’s right-according to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars. The results were found after researchers measured brain and heart activity in volunteers as they were shown pictures of smiling people and given money and chocolate.

Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, pointed out, “We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research … A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you to succeed in your career … ”

Smiling is Contagious

What’s even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says psychologist Dr. David Lewis, “Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a ‘halo’ effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated.”

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead … Smile!

by SixWise.com