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.