Life is not just something to be endured. It is to be lived in joy, in a fullness without limit.
~ Ernest Holmes, Discover a Richer Life
Have you ever given thought to why we experience joy and where that emotion comes from? Joy is the sacred GPS signal your soul transmits when trying to guide you to your bliss, purpose, and, ultimately, the fulfillment of a life worth living. Too many people embody the false notion that we can’t experience a joy-full life while, at the same time, diligently “working” to create a more productive life–that the two experiences are mutually exclusive–that one must precede the other. Perhaps this belief draws its life from the proverbial Puritan work ethic which, in essence, keeps joy shrouded in shame and is meant only to be experienced in the heavenly Hereafter as a reward for “enduring” life in a human skin.
This underlying belief may find its home ensconced more deeply in the collective unconscious mind of humankind than we may realize and, therefore, it lurks unnoticed in the dark corners of our individual minds. However, with awareness, we’ll come to see that, as Dr. Holmes infers in the aforementioned quote, we were not sent here just to endure; we came hardwired to be vessels through which joy flows with grace and ease. Joy is an exquisite part of the package that came with the gift of life and, therefore, it is our divine right–we just have to name it and claim it–and that is where the rubber meets the road. Wrapping our minds around the idea that our lives should be about more than simply enduring until we exit the planet is a worthy concept to embrace and it begins with a willingness to deeply examine our thoughts and beliefs about life. So, let us begin!
The artesian well of joy never runs dry. We clog it with our thoughts.
~ Don Blanding, Joy Is an Inside Job
As a spiritual mentor, one of my primary jobs is to guide my clients towards what brings them a sense of fulfillment; a life of purpose and meaning. I point out that one of the telltale signs that we are living our lives “on purpose” is the presence of joy in the doing of whatever is ours to do. What I have learned is that when we are doing that which we were born to do and being who we were born to be, authentic joy seems to show up naturally as part of our experience in the present moment. When this happens our life takes on a hue, depth, and richness that reveals itself in everything we say and do. The practice is to mindfully become the conscious observer of how, when, and where joy arises in our experience throughout our daily lives—and, if it doesn’t, inquire why. Given the fact that not everyone’s life may seem like a joyful experience 24/7, with mindfulness it is still possible to put “whatever is” in the current moment on pause long enough to reframe it and, therefore, make space for joy to reveal itself in spite of current conditions. If you want to understand how this can be so, read on. The important thing to remember is that with emotional awareness we will be able to discern those moments when the true Self is trying to get our attention.
Naturally, this raises some interesting questions: Where does joy live and how do we know when we are experiencing authentic joy? What is it that opens us to the experience commonly known as joy and is it the same experience for everyone? Is joy more readily available at certain times of the year (such as during the holidays), or is it we who tend to be more available to joy sometimes more than others? Is the source of our joy internal or external and how can we have more joy in every blessed day? These are all questions that, when examined and understood, will align us with regularly experienced joy, not just as a “possibility” after our “goals and objectives” have been met; but as a daily principle as certain and consistent as gravity.
Begin by Discerning the Difference Between Joy and Happiness
The line between joy and happiness can be a gray one but, nonetheless, important to discern: Simply put, one is cause and the other is effect. Spiritually speaking, happiness is a derivative of joy, that which we feel welling up from within the core of our being when we are completely aligned with, plugged into, turned on to, and tuned into “Life.” Happiness which arises from joy can happen anytime, anywhere. Next to love, joy is the essence of the Divine in Its highest vibration as it moves through us. Happiness can be thought of as the outer expression of joy–the horn by means of which authentic joy trumpets Spirit’s presence in the human condition.
In her brilliant daily blog, Living Consciously, my friend and colleague, Dr. Carol Carnes, further elucidated this idea when she wrote, “Joy is a big word, much bigger than happiness. Joy is a deep response to Being. It is the delight of the soul to be in form and to have experiences that are unavailable in the formless state. How long has it been since you felt its presence in your body, your heart, your mind? Joy takes us out of longing into reality. It is the state of mind where nothing has to happen or be added.” Perhaps the invitation Dr. Carnes offers is to stop seeking happiness and begin to open to what poet (and student of Ernest Holmes) Don Blanding, referred to as the “artesian well” that flows from the joy of Being. Easy to say, hard to do? Read on.
Joy Flows From Connection – But to What?
From joy springs all creation, By joy, it is sustained, Towards joy it proceeds, And unto joy it returns.
~ The Upanishads
In the gathering of insights for this topic, I invited my Facebook Friends to share their ideas about joy and how and when it shows up in their lives. While their comments were wonderfully diverse there was also a common thread running through most of them that spoke to the single most important component of joy which is a sense of personal connection. A connection to what? They referred to a connection with a universal Presence some called God (some Nature, some Life), and with loved ones as the conduit through which joy flows in and through their lives.
In essence, when one is feeling personally connected to life and engaged in the present moment, joy becomes a natural part of the experience. Ask musicians what they are feeling when performing just for the “joy of it.” They will say they are feeling connected to something larger than themselves, they are simply instruments and the music is moving through them effortlessly. Ask new parents what they are feeling as they cradle their newborn baby–a precious gift from beyond this world of flesh and bone. They will say they are feeling the joy of oneness and the miracle of life. Simply put, a connection with life in the present moment primes the pump for joy.
Joy is the infallible sign of the Presence of God.
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
In many spiritual traditions, Joy is considered another name for Infinite Presence expressing through us in those moments when we most feel our unity with life and one another. In this light, we could say that joy is the heartthrob of the Infinite, pulsating in and through each of us in those moments when we feel a sense of connection to what matters and what is real. Most often this will center on our relationships. Whether it is a relationship we are having with our loved ones, including the dog (or cat), strangers, nature’s creatures, or the planet itself, what matters most, and what brings the most joy, are relationships where there is a feeling of personal connection. Perhaps that’s because in those moments of feeling connected to the people and things that matter we are also (knowingly or unknowingly) experiencing the deepest connection–the greatest relationship of all–which is our unity with the Universe itself. Irrespective of where we are or what we are doing–whether we are working diligently to create a life worth living or playing hard to celebrate a life worth living–joy brings with it a sense of wholeness where all sense of separation dissolves.
Moving Into Our House of Joy
If you knew yourself for even one moment, if you could just glimpse your most beautiful face, maybe you wouldn’t slumber so deeply in that house of clay. Why not move into your house of joy and shine into every crevice? For you are the secret Treasure-bearer, and always have been. Didn’t you know?
~ Rumi
Metaphorically, the “house of clay” Rumi speaks of is that aspect of our being that so easily gets seduced by, and caught up in, the gravitational pull of the human condition–it is the physical and emotional part of us that looks outward, to the world, for our sense of wholeness, happiness, and joy. Conversely, to move into our “house of joy” means taking the vertical plunge inward, from our head to our heart, where the ineffable presence of the One is so strongly felt, embodied, and then actualized in our daily lives. Ultimately, joy truly is an inside job; it has taken up residence in our minds and hearts and, therefore, is always on call, waiting to be activated and integrated into our lives and the lives of others. We cannot give others our joy because we cannot give them that which they already have–however, we can be the stimulus that invokes joy to arise from within themselves. Joy is a subtle energy; it is as intangible as the air we breathe and, yet, as palpable as our heartbeat–as difficult to describe as is love and, yet, as easy to feel as love itself.
A life without meaning is joyless and a life without joy is meaningless
As previously mentioned, many people embody the false notion that we can’t experience a joyful life while, at the same time, diligently “working” to create a more productive life. The practice is to know that one complements the other and to find balance between the two. As you move through this day may you remember that you don’t need a special dispensation to be joy-full…you don’t have to wait for special occasions to be the beneficiary of authentic joy because there is never a moment when joy is further away than your next thought–lo, your very next breath. Joy truly is the artesian well that can never run dry because its source is Infinite. The practice is to turn within and embrace a high thought–one that connects you with who you truly are and to what really matters–while deeply feeling your unity with all of Life in the present moment. Trust it is the calling of your heart to naturally wrap itself around that image, and know that joy will ascend surely as does the morning sun. It must, because you have primed the pump of the artesian well within.
May you know the depths of a joy so rich and meaningful that you can’t help but share it with your world this day and every day.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to add your “gift” of JOY video to our next epic production: JOYFEST 360°
