I was recently asked to do a Daily Insight for the meditation app InsightTimer and the topic I chose was inner joy.
Joy, or happiness is what we all want, right? And yet is can feel SO elusive.
If you’re ready to access that loving, happy place, here are 3 ways you can experience it more right now.
1. Happiness is here because you are here
Teacher, Dr. Robert Holden reminds us that happiness is actually our original nature. Underneath fret, worry, neurosis and a chattering mind, it patiently waits for us.
I like to think about it as a frequency, like a radio station. Am I tuning into the news, the weather, golden oldies or the joy station?
Why not retune your internal dial right now? Close your eyes, take a breath into the center of your heart and see if you can feel that deep, abiding happiness. it's there for you, I promise.
Shortly after recording my meditations on joy, I watched Brené Brown's Netflix special. In it she mentioned that JOY was one of the most vulnerable emotions to experience. I was shocked! She went on to share that from her research, she noted that the folks who most are able to maintain a state of joy, practice...
2. Gratitude
So, here's an idea. Instead of worrying for the next proverbial shoe to drop or something bad to happen in the future, take a moment and express gratitude for what you have in this moment, right now.
If you've never had a gratitude practice before OR yours has lapsed, a super simple way to return to one is to name 5 things RIGHT NOW that you are grateful for. (For me - it's my family, my home, my health, husband and friends.)
Brené says, it's these folks, the ones who have a gratitude practice, that are the most joyful.
3. Who was your first happiness teacher?
I once was asked to do a happiness journey - past, present and future. When I went into the past and asked, who first taught me about joy? I instantly saw my Nana, my father's mother. She was a spunky, no-nonsense matriarch who deeply loved me AND played games with me whenever I asked. She laughed all day long, always smiled and was happy, even into her late 70s, to sit on the kitchen floor and play jacks with me.
Have a think.
Who was your first happiness role model?
How can you emulate them more? Any ideas?
For me, simply knowing that true happiness is here is a balm. And a great reminder that there's nothing you need to do, there's no where you need to visit. It's here, always. We get to decide if we allow ourselves to be.
So try all of these and see how happiness flows into your life. Let me know how it goes.