We had a really cool meditation class last night that I thought really captured the kind of magical but practical topics we cover.

It's a "week 5" at the Boulder Quest Center this week, a bonus time that rolls around when the calendar lines up the right way. Unlike our normal clear 4-week curriculum for each month, week 5 is open to suggestions and explorations, so we often take ideas from students about what they'd like to check out this week.

In meditation class, one of the students asked me how to keep from laughing at inappropriate but high-energy times. We've probably all experienced this - the situation isn't really funny, as such, but there is so much nervous or social energy that it comes out as laughter. The poorly timed laughter can weaken a negotiation position, offend a friend or lover, or scatter a powerful moment of inspiration.

Of course, in general, we want there to be more laughter in the world. Controlling the energies which rise up as laughter is a tactical tool, not a personal policy. We always want to be able to express the joy of laughter.

But what if we needed that control? How would we develop it in order to channel powerful energies-of-the-moment into power, inspiration, or connection?

Here's an exercise you can try at home. Find a very good friend and explain the exercise first so they're not confused by you. You'll sit across from them in a meditation posture and relax, but make eye contact. They'll tell you some brief story about their day, and you'll simply sit relaxed and focused, but with no facial expressions or verbal expressions.

Once you're good at that, let your friend try to make you laugh. They can make funny faces, do silly things, or simply give you their most genuine warm smile. It will be very, very hard for you to resist all of your genetic and social reflexes to respond to a smile from a friend with a relaxed, non-expressive face.

Again, this is just a practice to channel that energy ... there is no suggestion here that you should stop returning smiles as a general habit. You also might be tempted to counter the urge to smile by disconnecting from the other person, or thinking of something dark and unpleasant to bring you back down. Don't. Stay in the moment, enjoy their smile in your heart and mind, but just absorb it without the need to return it.

There's one last trick. When the inner energy starts to become overwhelming, you can imagine it like a burning fire or a star inside of you. Visualize all that intense inner energy radiating out of your body from every pore, in every direction. This is how you reply to their smile or their silliness - a calm, relaxed demeanor, a mind rooted in the moment, and an intense radiant personal energy. Watch for the effect it has on them - they will feel it even if you don't give anything away by face or voice. They may not even realize that they are feeling it, but their behavior will adjust.

And then let it go. Laugh out loud, be silly back at them, shake your hands out, and remember that 90% of the time, laughter is meant to be released into the world. You have explored one more possible tool for personal power and significance in life.

Live well!