Article Surfing Archive

You wake up feeling joyful but at some point the events of your day interfere with that blissful stream. You may find yourself feeling stranded. Where did my joy go? And more important, how do I get it back?

Joy is a natural state of being. If you let yourself express the true feeling that you find in your heart at any given moment, it is a peaceful state of bliss. It can get blocked, however, by how we are responding to the events in our day.

Here's what you can do to quickly bring yourself back into alignment when you find yourself at odds and missing your ecstatic state:

1. Center yourself first. Anyone who has practiced meditation for sometime has learned how to tap into the inner self. That's the first place you need to get back to. Other ways to reach your center could be listening to self-help tapes - anything that inspires that feeling of joy inside.

2. Eliminate someone else's negativity. This can be a difficult one as we don't always have the choice to immediately get rid of someone negative in our environment. But clean them out you must! Find a way to be surrounded by positive influences only.

3. Use nature to calm your mind. If your thoughts are stilled, your true emotions have a chance to surface, so take a walk in nature, listen to whale sounds, go surfing, visit a flower garden and take in the smells. Or just plant your feet in the bare ground. Connect to Mother Nature.

4. If you have unfinished business, take care of it. This refers to old habits that continuously arise because you've ignored the problem and refused to deal with it. Healing is a critical step in living daily joy. You have to get rid of the garbage along the road.

5. Calm your body by doing yoga postures as they can relieve a lot of physical stress. Yogis believe that our bodies aren't getting older so much as we are holding on to stress. Learn to release the stress from your muscles on a daily basis so you can travel in your body more comfortably. It's hard to experience joy when your muscles are screaming at you.

6. Be in solitude. Quiet times clear out the cobwebs. Listen deeply to the silence and peace and joy will be your closest companions.

7. Take a vacation from all of your activities. We all have way too much to do these days, so you have to schedule time for things like a hot bath, get a facial or massage, soak your feet or enjoy some aromatherapy. Just get away from work.

8. Breathe. Take a long deep breath many times a day. As you breathe into your abdomen, center your thoughts and feelings in your heart area. Feel the love pouring through you. Allow yourself to remember a favorite time in your life when you felt complete and enthusiastic. Imagine your creating asking you, 'Do you know how beautiful you are in my eyes?'

9. Deal with the ego. If your habitual thoughts are trying to take over, tell them to take a break. What often works is to say, 'You made your point now go away.' Then move on and don't fight or struggle with the ego. Keep your thoughts and feelings focused on joy and your inner connection to spirit.

10. Let go. Surrendering your normal thoughts, bad feelings, and habitual routines can feel difficult and scary sometimes, but it is often the best answer to freeing yourself into the arms of joy. The divine source of energy is always present and available to you upon request. The better you get at letting go of what you don't want, the easier it will be to have the joy you do want. You just have to ask for it and then open yourself to receiving.

One last tip: Keep a note card with you at all times with your list of the quickest ways to feel joy. When you find yourself straying from your center, take it out and try one. If that one doesn't work, keep trying another until one does. Here's to your joy!