STATE OF JOY

 

                                

                                      POSITIVE IMPRINT IN THE WORLD

                      YOU HAVE A VARIETY OF MINDFUL TOOLS YOU CAN NOW CALL ON. USE THE TOOLS FROM THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS TO SHIFT YOUR PERCEPTIONS, AND USE THIS CHAPTER'S NEW PRACTICES TO CULTIVATE THE PRESENCE OF JOY, HAPPINESS, AND PEACE IN YOUR LIFE. THIS WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH IN THE UNIVERSE AND BRING FORTH THE POWER OF YOUR PRESENCE.

                    ONCE YOU TAP INTO THIS POWER, YOU WILL START TO NOTICE REAL CHANGE. PEOPLE WILL WANT TO BE AROUND YOU. THEY'LL FEEL ELEVATED BY YOUR PRESENCE, POSSIBLY WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHY. YOU'LL BE MORE VIBRANT AND ENERGETIC, MORE ATTRACTIVE IN ALL WAYS, EVEN SMARTER AND SHARPER - AND YOU'LL FEEL IT TOO. MOST IMPORTANT, YOU'LL FEEL A SENSE OF POWER IN A WORLD THAT ALL TOO OFTEN MAKES US FEEL UTTERLY POWERLESS. WHEN THE TRAGEDIES OF THE WORLD SEEM OVERWHELMING, YOU'LL NOW RECOGNIZE THIS FEELING AS A SEPRERATION FROM THE LOVE OF THE UNIVERSE, BY MEDITATING AND ACTIVATING YOUR ALPHA BRAIN WAVES, YOU SEND LOVING VIBRATIONS TO THE WORLD, DISSIPATING THAT SEPRATION TO CO-CREATE JOY AND PEACE WITH THE POWER OF UNIVERSE BEHIND YOU.

                                   LEAN TOWARD JOY, AND YOU WILL BE LED

               NOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR THOUGHTS, WORDS, INTENTIONS, AND ENERGY CAN INFLUENCE THE WORLD, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO LEAN TOWARD JOY AND PEACE.

                TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. JOT DOWN YOUR ANSWERS IN THE SPACE BELOW OR IN A NOTEBOOK.

                     WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?

 

                    HOW CAN YOU PROACTIVELY CREATE MORE JOY IN YOUR LIFE?

                   HOW CAN YOU BRING JOY  TO THE AREAS OF YOUR LIFE THAT ARE NOT                       JOUFUL?

                    WHAT WOULD YOUR LIFE BE LIKE IF JOY WERE YOUR PRIORITY? I SPENT DECADES LEANING TOWARD FEAR. BUT AS I PROGRESSED ON MY SPIRITUAL PATH, I BEGAN TO THINK, WHAT WOULD MY LIFE BE LIKE IF I JUST LEARNED TOWARD JOY? THIS  QUESTION LED ME TO CONDUCT A PERSONAL EXPERERIMENT. I STARTED TO MEASURE MY SUCCESS BASED ON HOW MUCH FUN I WAS HAVING I WENT ON A QUEST FOR FUN. I BEGAN TEST-DRIVING NEW HOBBIES, LAUGHING AT MY SMALL-MINDED THINKING, AND GOING OUT OF MY WAY TO SEEK JOY IN ALL SITUATIONS - ESPECIALLY THE MORE DIFFICULT AREAS OF MY LIFE. WHENEVER I'D NOTICE MYSELF GETTING STUCK IN A NEGATIVE STORY, I'D CHALLENGE MYSELF TO TRY TO SEE IN A NEGATIVE STORY, I'D CHALLENGE MYSELF TO TRY TO SEE IT WITH A JOYFUL PERSPECTIVE. I'D SAY TO MYSELF, "WHAT IF I JUST CHOSE FOR THIS TO BE FUN"?. ASKING MYSELF THAT QUESTION IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT IMMEDIATELY CATAPULTED ME BACK INTO A PLACE OF JOY.

                   SEEKING JOY DOESN'T HAVE TO COME ONLY FROM NEW HOBBIES OR FUN EXPERIENCES. JOY CAN COME FROM A DECISION TO HAVE MORE FUN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE JOYFUL JOY IS A CHOICE YOU MAKE. 

                 HERE'S AN EXAMPLE. LET'S SAY YOU HATE BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC (GOES FOR MOST OF US, RIGHT?) THIS IS A SITUATION THAT YOU'RE USUALLY POWERLESS OVER. YOU NEED TO GET TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING, AND YOU'VE SLOWED DOWN BY OUTSIDE CIRCUMSTANCES. IN THIS INSTANCE YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES. THE FIRST IS TO SIT IN TRAFFIC TOTALLY TOTALLY PISSED OFF, SILENTLY (OR LOUDLY) CURSING THE CARS NEXT TO YOU AND HONKING YOUR HORN. THIS NEGATIVE ATTITUDE MAKES YOU FRUSTRATED AND MAY EVEN CAUSE A FENDER BENDER BECAUSE YOU ARE SO ANGRY BEHIND THE WHEEL. DOES THIS SCENARIO SOUND FAMILIAR?

               NOW LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT OPTION TWO. YOU'RE STUCK IN TRAFFIC, AND YOU TAKE A MOMENT TO WITNESS YOUR FRUSTRATION. INSTEAD OF FLIPPING OUT, YOU SAY A PRAYER, "UNIVERSE, THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME FIND JOY IN THIS SITUATION". IN AN INSTANT YOU BEGIN TO LEAN TOWARD JOY. INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON ALL THE REASONS THAT YOU HATE BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC, YOU CHOOSE TO SEEK WAYS TO MAKE IT FUN. YOU PLAY THAT AUDIOBOOK YOU NEVER HAVE TIME TO LISTEN TO, OR YOU CALL A FRIEND YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO IN WEEKS. YOUR DECISION LEADS YOU TO EXPERIENCE JOY IN A SEEMINGLY JOYLESS SITUATION. THEN THE TIME FLIES BY, AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THE ROAD IS CLEAR.

                 THIS LESSON MAY SEEM OBVIOUS, BUT IT CAN BE SURPRISINGLY HARD TO GRASP AT THOSE TIMES WE NEED IT MOST. LEARNING TOWARD JOY IS NOT OUT DEFAULT. BUT THE MORE WE PRACTICE THIS PRINCIPLE, THE MORE NATURAL IT BECOMES, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SHIFT THE ENERGY OF A TORMENTED RELATIONSHIP, CHANGE THE VIBE IN YOUR OFFICE, OR HEAL YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOURSELF WITH ONE CHOICE, THE CHOICE TO LEAN TOWARD JOY.

                   WHEN JOY BECOMES YOUR PRIORITY, MAKING DECISIONS BECOMES EASIER, RELATIONSHIPS BECOME MORE LOVING, AND YOU START TO TRUST THAT THE UNIVERSE HAS YOUR BACK. AS YOU CHOOSE MORE LOVING THOUGHTS, MORE EMPOWERING WORDS, MORE MOMENTS OF PRAYER, AND LONGER STILLNESS ON YOUR MEDITATION PILLOW, YOU'LL BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE AND EXPRESS JOY NATURALLY. THIS WILL GIVE YOU THE FREEDOM YOU LONG FOR. IT WILL OPEN THE FLOODGATES FOR THE UNIVERSE TO SUPPORT YOU IN WAYS YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY IMAGINE.

                         CELEBRATE THE SUPPORT FROM THE UNIVERSE

 

                     WHEN YOU'RE CONNECTED TO YOUR JOYFUL PRESENCE, YOU ATTRACT SUPPORT FROM THE UNIVERSE. FOR INSTANCE, AFTER MY TALK IN TORONTO WHEN I FELT MY ANGEL WINGS ON THE STAGE, I WENT TO THE GREEN ROOM TO GATHER MY BELONGING AND HEAD TO THE AIRPORT. THE ONLY PEOPLE LEFT IN THE GREEN ROOM WERE MY FRIEND JULIE, HER HUSBAND, AND ME. WE SAT TOGETHER FOR A MOMENT TO CONNECT, AND THEN I GOT UP TO LEAVE. WHEN I STOOD UP. JULIE'S HUSBAND NOTICED A SMALL CHARM ON THE CHARM. IT WAS AN ANGLE WING WITH THE WORD RECEIVE ON IT. I SAID TO HIM, "YES, I DO BELIEVE THIS IS FOR ME". I TRUSTED THAT THE CHARM WAS A GENTLE REMINDER THAT MY COMMITMENT TO THE UNIVERSE WAS BEING RECOGNIZED. 

                   I RETURNED TO TORONTO ONE YEAR LATER TO GIVE ANOTHER TALK. AFTER THE TALK A YOUNG WOMAN RAN UP TO ME AND SAID, "GABBY, I'M SO HAPPY YOU COME BACK TO TORONTO! I SAW YOU LAST YEAR. I LEFT YOU A GIFT WITH ONE OF THE STAGE MANAGERS. IN THAT MOMENT I EMBRACED THE TRUE MEANING OF LIVING IN MY PRESENCE AND ACCEPTING SUPPORTING FROM THE UNIVERSE. THAT ANGLE CHARM WAS NO HAPPY ACCIDENT, IT REALLY HAD BEEN MINE ALL ALONG.

                  THESE TYPES OF EXPERIENCE BECOME THE NORM WHEN YOU FULLY SURRENDER TO THE PRESENCE OF THE UNIVERSE AND ALLOW IT TO MOVE THROUGH YOU. CELEBRATE THE MOMENTS WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN SYNC WITH THE UNIVERSE. THIS CONNECTION IS AVAILABLE TO YOU ALL THE TIME. BRING ENERGY AND ENTHUSIAM INTO THE PATH OF RECONNECTING AND IT WILL BE A JOYFUL PROCESS.

                            LETS RECAP THE LESSONS FROM THIS CHAPTER:

 

                    * GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE LOVING FLOW OF THE UNIVERSE. USE THIS PRAYER TO REALIGN YOURSELF WITH THE ENERGY OF THE UNIVERSE AND SET THE PROCESS IN MOTION. I STEP BACK AND LET THE UNIVERSE LEAD THE WAY. 

 

                   * CALIBRATE YOUR ENERGY THROUGH MEDITATION. YOUR MEDITATION PRACTICE RECALIBRATE YOUR ENERGY BACK TO THE FREQUENCY OF LOVE.

                  *SET THE INTENTION TO CONNECT YOUR PRESENCE. ENERGY FLOWS WHERE YOUR INTENTION GOES. EACH DAY YOU CAN SET NEW AND POWERFUL INTENTIONS. BE UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT WHAT YOU DESIRE, AND TRUST THAT WHAT YOU FOCUS ON WILL GROW.

                  * UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF JOY. REMEMBER THAT JOY IS THE CATALYST FOR ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD.

                  * LEAN TOWARD JOY, AND YOU WILL BE LED. STAY COMMITTED TO JOY NO MATTER WHAT.

  

                  * CELEBRATE THE SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSE AND ENJOY THE SYNCHRONICITY, GUIDANCE, AND GENTLE REMINDERS THAT YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH.

                PRACTICING THE TOOLS I'VE OFFERED SO FAR WILL OPEN YOU UP TO WAY OF PERCEIVING LIFE THAT IS FAR DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER KNOWN. YOU'LL SOON BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE THE MIRACULOUS FLOWING LOVE OF THE UNIVERSE BY YOUR SIDE.

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