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Ep 103: Joy & Happiness
#103 | Joy & Happiness
How do you cultivate and practice Joy & Happiness
Joy—like attention, befriending, and compassion—is an energy, intention, cultivation, and a practice. Often neglected, joy is both a capacity we all have and a capacity that can be trained and developed. It is a primary component of psychological well-being, encompassing moments of appreciation, enduring contentment, and a sense of confidence and gratitude. It is an attitude of mind that can be cultivated through mindfulness practice and through how we live our lives. When we intentionally cultivate joy, we discover that it can be the home where we reside; we come home to joy. We withdraw from the tendency to orient to insufficiency that drives the elaborative judgment of distress and suffering. It takes only a small step of mindful wholeheartedness to let yourself shift to joy. You can be supported to shifting by enjoying a piece of music, noticing the stars in the sky, the sunlight glistening on the leaves, the people we love around us, a good meal, or all that is right in our bodies in any given moment.
Let’s practice this & you can layer in Reiki Energy Healing with this as well:
With your eyes open or closed, welcome the environment and sounds around you: the touch of air on your skin, sensations where your body touches the surface that’s supporting it, your body breathing, and sensations present throughout your body.
Now, locate a feeling of joy in your body. This could be a feeling of connection, well-being, peace, happiness, or any sensation that feels like joy to you. If it’s helpful, bring to mind a memory of a person, animal, place, or object that evokes joy. Notice where and how you experience that joy in your body—perhaps it’s a warm feeling in your heart or a glow in your belly. Welcome and allow the feeling of joy to grow and spread throughout your body.
Now, pair your joy with an opposite, stressful sensation, emotion, or cognition, or with a particular stressor in your life. Feel how this stressful thought, emotion, or situation affects your body and mind.
Now, alternate between experiencing the feeling of joy and the stressor. Go back and forth, first feeling joy in your body, then the stressor. Then, feel both at the same time, letting joy spread throughout your body even as you feel the stressor. When it feels right, relinquish the stressor and just feel joy radiating throughout your body. Rest here for as long as you feel comfortable.
When you’re ready, let your eyes open and close several times as you encourage the feeling of joy to accompany you into your daily life.
Try that practice next time you’re experiencing a negative sensation, emotion, thought, or life event, or even during a thought or experience that is overall positive but doesn’t necessarily evoke joy—like finding a good parking spot. You’ll be surprised by how this simple mindfulness exercise can have such a life-changing effect.
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By Henri Hébert
5
99 ratings
#103 | Joy & Happiness
How do you cultivate and practice Joy & Happiness
Joy—like attention, befriending, and compassion—is an energy, intention, cultivation, and a practice. Often neglected, joy is both a capacity we all have and a capacity that can be trained and developed. It is a primary component of psychological well-being, encompassing moments of appreciation, enduring contentment, and a sense of confidence and gratitude. It is an attitude of mind that can be cultivated through mindfulness practice and through how we live our lives. When we intentionally cultivate joy, we discover that it can be the home where we reside; we come home to joy. We withdraw from the tendency to orient to insufficiency that drives the elaborative judgment of distress and suffering. It takes only a small step of mindful wholeheartedness to let yourself shift to joy. You can be supported to shifting by enjoying a piece of music, noticing the stars in the sky, the sunlight glistening on the leaves, the people we love around us, a good meal, or all that is right in our bodies in any given moment.
Let’s practice this & you can layer in Reiki Energy Healing with this as well:
With your eyes open or closed, welcome the environment and sounds around you: the touch of air on your skin, sensations where your body touches the surface that’s supporting it, your body breathing, and sensations present throughout your body.
Now, locate a feeling of joy in your body. This could be a feeling of connection, well-being, peace, happiness, or any sensation that feels like joy to you. If it’s helpful, bring to mind a memory of a person, animal, place, or object that evokes joy. Notice where and how you experience that joy in your body—perhaps it’s a warm feeling in your heart or a glow in your belly. Welcome and allow the feeling of joy to grow and spread throughout your body.
Now, pair your joy with an opposite, stressful sensation, emotion, or cognition, or with a particular stressor in your life. Feel how this stressful thought, emotion, or situation affects your body and mind.
Now, alternate between experiencing the feeling of joy and the stressor. Go back and forth, first feeling joy in your body, then the stressor. Then, feel both at the same time, letting joy spread throughout your body even as you feel the stressor. When it feels right, relinquish the stressor and just feel joy radiating throughout your body. Rest here for as long as you feel comfortable.
When you’re ready, let your eyes open and close several times as you encourage the feeling of joy to accompany you into your daily life.
Try that practice next time you’re experiencing a negative sensation, emotion, thought, or life event, or even during a thought or experience that is overall positive but doesn’t necessarily evoke joy—like finding a good parking spot. You’ll be surprised by how this simple mindfulness exercise can have such a life-changing effect.