Let Us Be Healed

Some of you know my undergrad degree is in theater - one of my true passions and joys in life. I also have always had a deep desire to work in film...so after being inspired by the quote in my last post, I made this video using windows movie maker. It was fun and easy. I hope to do more of these!

The music is Healing Room by Sinead O'Connor. I first heard it when Sheryl used it during one of our Gateway meetings. It touched me deeply. I often let it play over and over while I work.

Hope you en-JOY it!



Find your joy and give it away!

Finding Joy Through Authentic Expression

This passage was shared at the retreat I attended this weekend. It was written by Martha Graham, an American dancer choreographer. She is regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. I found it inspiring and hope it inspires others:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening
That is translated through you into action.
And because there is only one of you in all time
This expression is unique.
And if you block it,
It will never exist through any other medium,
And will be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not yours to determine how good it is,
Nor how valuable, or how it compares to other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, and
To stay open and aware to the urges that motivate you."

To be joyful we must be willing to be ourselves, our true selves, and live authentically.

Is there a life you dream of living? I believe our dreams begin as an impulse or dream in Divine Mind. It is our responsibility to manifest these Dreams of the Divine which have been entrusted to us. Bringing forth these dreams are when we feel ourselves most alive. And because they comes from the Source of All, it stands to reason everything we need to make them reality will be given to us, if only we are willing to say YES!

It often takes courage to step away from a life others expect us to live, a life that has its comforts even if it doesn't fulfill our deepest desires. It also takes courage to believe in ourselves enough to get still and hear the whisperings of our souls. Listen closely...what is your soul whispering to you?

“Everybody builds a dream in their lifetime. You’re either going to build your dream, or somebody else's. So build your own!"
-- Christopher LaBrec

The Joy of My Work

Wow, what a busy week! I haven’t posted in a couple of days because I have been working to complete a website that is launching next Tuesday.

We are having the most beautiful fall weather here in Kansas and I am sitting at my computer for 12+ hours a day. Today it was 4:00 p.m. before I realized I hadn’t had anything to eat. Needless to say, I am in the groove.

I love what I do. It is my creative outlet and I am proud of the work I am doing on this site. Yet I know that this is not sustainable.

I must have balance in my life. I must take time to breathe in fresh air, to stretch my arms, back and shoulder - a must before I get in to see my chiropractor. Fortunately I was smart enough to register for the women’s retreat happening this weekend at my church. That will give me at least 24 hours away from the computer and all other duties except that of turning inward to commune with the Divine. That should bring back some balance.

I will be elated when this project is complete, but I will also be a little sad. It has been my constant companion for the last 7 months. Working with Marla to tune in deeply to dream and assisting her in bringing it into form has been a gift and a joy for me. It’s sort of like being a mid-wife or a birthing coach...congratulations Marla on your new baby!

I will be so pleased to see ProfoundHarvest.com take its first breath. And after a break, I will be on to midwife the next project.

A Candle for Joy

I have lit a candle for joy at this really cool website. It will burn for 48 hours. Please visit and light your own candle for whatever you wish.

When I got really quiet and centered within myself, as I moved through the process of lighting the candle it was as though I could feel the presence of the hundreds of thousands of others who had lit candles before me. There were over 14,000 candles burning with mine.

Thanks Marla for sending me your candle to view.

I choose to feel joy pulsing through my body, in every cell, with every breath, in every moment throughout this day.

Where's the joy in this?

Today was a day to put my commitment to choosing joy to the test. At church we learned that Danette Velez, our Youth & Family Co-Director, was under hospice care. She has been undergoing treatment for Gestational Trophoblastic Disease since July 2005. I am feeling deep sadness as I write and silent tears are rolling. Danette and her husband Victor have dedicated themselves to the spiritual education of the children at our church (about 150 on any given Sunday.) She is the mother of five young children. She is a brilliant light shining God’s love to all who cross her path.

There is profound sadness in my heart. I grieve for her family. But I do not grieve for her.

For Danette I feel joy and gratitude. I am grateful that in the short time we have been in Kansas our family, especially our daughter Sophie, has been blessed by her loving presence. I joyfully celebrate a life well-lived and well-loved.

I will never forget the first time I realized that I could feel both deep sadness and grief at the same time as deep joy and peace. I was having a particularly challenging time in my life, but I had also been joyfully experiencing a growing relationship with the Divine. I was feeling a palpable connection to God even in the midst of my crumbling life. It brought into sharp relief that the power and grace coming from that connection is what allows me to see past the grim realities to something comforting and true.

I am feeling that again today.

I know that while Danette’s body maybe in its final moments her Spirit is Infinite. Perhaps, in her True Nature, she may be more a part of this world than ever before. Perhaps we will feel her love in innumerable ways when she is without the limitations of the physical body. Thinking on this comforts me. I find myself, with eyes closed and heart open already sensing her love….it is a joyful feeling, and yet the tears roll on. I know it is important to let them roll, unchecked.

Will her children and her husband find joy beyond their grief and pain? I haven’t the courage to place myself in their shoes for too long to wonder about it.

Even so, this is what it is to be alive and to live a human life. May we all strive to live a life well-lived and well-loved like Danette Velez.

Practicing Joy

Over the years I have found many ways to practice joy. The most potent one is to remember that it is a choice - one that I must still consciously make. The more I practice it, the easier it gets, and the more automatic it becomes.

In the beginning I had to work at even knowing what joy "felt" like. I had to imagine being joyful before I could spontaneously feel it. I actually planned time to imagine what it would be like to be joyful - to the core of my being, regardless of whatever I might be experiencing in my life. Then a funny thing happened. During these times when I imagined feeling joyful I actually experienced an abundance of joy. It was that simple.

Taking time daily to focus on the idea of joy and the "feeling" of joy is one of the fastest was to increase the amount of joy we experience. It doesn't have to take long. In the same way that we feed our bodies food for it to transform into the energy needed to keep us going, feeding our soul joyful thoughts and feelings taps into and unleashes the vast reservoir of joy and love that resides with us - the place where Christ Consciousness resides, where the limitless love of Source is alive in us. By whatever name you call it, it is the truth of who you are. And joy is the natural result of living from that truth.

Below is a Buddhist mediation on joy that is very simple. You don't need to be a master of meditation to take a few moments to do this. This type of exercise is also called contemplative prayer. After reading it over, simply sit or lie down quietly for a few moments and take yourself through it in mind and body. (When I find my digital recorder I'll post an audio version. Check back soon!)

Imagine a feeling of joy. You feel an opening in the top of your head. You feel joy floating in through the opening in the top of your head.

It fills up your head and neck. It fills your shoulders and arms. The joy floats down into your chest and your heart. Your heart is so full of joy. The joy floats on into your stomach and on into your back. It floats into your legs and feet. Every part of your body is full of joy.

You are so full of joy it begins to spread out beyond your body. It spreads out to everyone in our classroom. It reaches beyond the classroom farther and farther until it spreads over the whole country. It spreads out to the whole earth, and continues to spread out even further into the universe-beyond the planets, beyond the stars, farther and farther. The whole universe is filled with your joy.

For the Joy of It

For the Joy of It

That’s how I am living my life these days – for the joy of it. It’s the lens I have committed to view life through. In each moment, for each choice, for every ounce of energy that moves through me, I claim for myself that I am doing it all for the joy if it.

Why?

Because for me there is nothing else. I have come to believe that JOY is the one great work we are all here to accomplish. Living a life of joy is the balm for all that ails us. And the amazing thing is that it can start now, this instant, for anyone.

Joy, as opposed to happiness, is not based on external circumstances. Rather it is an internal decision we make to simply be joyful. Joy is not about getting what you “want” it’s about appreciating what you have. It’s not about others meeting your needs, it’s about staying in the present and seeing how remarkably needless you become. It’s not about avoiding pain, but about embracing the gifts from all experiences. It’s not about pleasing some external authority, but about developing a deep relationship to the Divine within and living from that Source of the Infinite.

What’s the payoff for being joyful?

As an individual, the change in my quality of life can hardly be conveyed in words. There is a lightness to life, an ease, a grace, which is available to me every moment. The struggle has ceased. The suffering is ending. I am really living!

Collectively the impact of living for the joy of it may seem obvious. Joyful people don’t hurt one another; they don’t ravage the planet looking for more and more to fill some unfillable need; and they don’t make demands that the Universe unfold as they will for it to and sulk or rage when it doesn’t.

In short, joyful people are stable, loving, connected, and whole. They meet others with kindness and compassion. They lead fulfilling lives complete with meaningful experiences of authentic self expression.

Much has been said about the importance of IQ, and recently we are learning about the importance of EQ (or Emotional Intelligence). Check out the ground-breaking work of Cindy Wigglesworth in the budding field of Spiritual Intelligence in the workplace.

This blog is dedicated to exploring ways of increasing our JQ or Joy Intelligence Quotient and pioneering the field of Joy Intelligence. Joy Intelligence is simply increasing our tolerance for joy in our lives by mastering the skill of looking for it, finding it, and living it.

I hope you will join me in committing to allowing more joy in your life.