Page 23 of The Seducer
Hans nodded. “Got it! Next time I’ll just say it without warning.” He gave us a sly smile. “You won’t even see it coming.”
CHAPTER 8
The Power of Laughter
Finn
I kept erupting in laughter when we were supposed to meditate. It was the stupidity of three adults lying on mats on a floor doing breathing exercises – which Athena insisted would help me get into a trance-like state.
First, there was the music, which sounded like the soundtrack to a movie about fairies or something. Little bells were ringing and water was flowing in the background. All I could think about was how much I wanted a deep drum to play as a big troll made all the little fairies flee in fright.
I told Hans and Athena, but they didn’t appreciate my humor and told me to relax and be quiet. I tried, but then my stomach started rumbling and all I could think about was all the food I hadn’t eaten this morning.
“Are you sure you don’t have some eggs so I could make myself an omelet?” I asked.
“Be quiet, Finn, and follow my breathing.”
“But what if you get really excited and start to hyperventilate?” I asked.
Athena kept her eyes closed when she answered. “I won’t. I’m meditating.”
“But you might – you know, if I moved closer and you started having sexual thoughts about me.” I laughed again when I heard Athena sigh with annoyance. “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing your Zen or something.”
Hans sat up. “It’s impossible to meditate with you in the room, Finn.” Getting up from the floor, he spoke to Athena. “Do you mind if I go to the drone? At least it’ll be quiet there.”
“Not at all. I completely understand,” she replied.
I sat up too. “Hey, Hans, how about I go with you and we find a bar with some beautiful women,” I suggested but Hans pretended not to hear me and left the house.
“Let’s try something else,” Athena said and came to sit right in front of me.
“Do as I do,” she said and took a cross-legged position, placing her feet on the opposing thighs.
“Okay.” I bent my knees but my muscles were far too stiff to get my feet into a position like hers.
Pushing herself forward, Athena came closer, her knees touching my shins and her face close enough to kiss.
She took my hands and looked into my eyes. “I’m going to help you build your empathy and become more spiritual.”
“Do I have a choice in this?” I asked.
“Yes, you always have a choice.” Her large green eyes were drawing me in like magnets and her pretty face was framed by her gorgeous red hair. Again, I wondered how it was possible for her to be thirty years old when she didn’t look a day over twenty.
“Are you mad at me for laughing when we should be meditating?”
She gave me a patient smile. “Not at all. Laughter is a spiritual superpower that lifts energy and heals. It's also an important part of many spiritual teachings. Have you heard of the Buddha?”
“No, was he a god or something?”
She nodded her head toward a small figurine of a guy with a big belly, who had a wide grin on his face. “No, the Buddha wasn’t a god, just a really wise man who many chose to follow on a path of enlightenment. One of his teachings was that the best medicine is laughter, and he talked about how satisfying and contagious it is to hear babies laugh.”
Finn shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen a baby.”
“But you have seen young children, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And did you notice how uninhibited they are when they laugh?”
