Joy is the natural expression of your soul.
Joy is the blissful happiness that you feel as oneness with your inner being,
Your soul consciousness.
The experience of joy is your authentic natural state.
Sometimes it is buried beneath many layers.
Mostly these are layers of thought energy and the physical sensations that keep you far away from experiencing the joy of your true nature.
Bring awareness to your authentic self.
One simple way to do this is to take several conscious breaths,
Returning your attention to the present moment.
What is the emotion you feel when you are simply being?
As you are breathing in the present moment.
In your natural state,
Uninterrupted by prevalent thoughts or distracted by whatever is going on around you,
You exist.
Existing in the present moment is how you find joy.
It is how you feel joy.
Joy is not determined by what happens to you or what you think about.
In fact,
It is the absence of joy that you experience whenever you are holding thoughts that are not true indications of your goodness.
Whenever you think unkind of others,
Whenever you choose to see what is wrong without also noting what is right,
Joy exists whenever you are present to experiencing the true nature of what is in the present moment.
Without realizing what we are doing,
We eradicate joy by being consumed by our ceaseless thoughts which create an altered state of being.
We too easily overshadow joy with worry,
Negativity,
Criticism,
Fear of rejection or failure,
Or conditioned unhappiness,
All of which stem from what we tell ourselves and what we believe.
We hear about how cultivating gratitude is what helps us experience innate joy.
Have you ever wondered why gratitude is one path to joy?
It is because gratitude opens your heart.
It's like priming yourself to recognize the good that already exists rather than waiting for something extraordinary to happen.
Gratitude allows you to be in a state of appreciation of what is.
Whenever you identify something you are grateful for,
Your attention follows into the present moment this very thing.
Your feeling of gratitude instantly brings your awareness into the present along with the softness of your heart opening in appreciation,
Love,
Tenderness,
Compassion.
You open yourself to feeling the joy that is in the present moment.
As you practice holding gratitude for something right now,
Notice the sensations of doing so felt within your body.
Do you feel joy?
Where do you feel it within your being?
When you are living authentic to your true nature,
Following a path that allows you to use your innate talents and gifts in creating whatever in turn you may then offer the world,
You are simultaneously cultivating the experience of joy.
Joy is the expression of your inner state whenever you are living congruent with your soul,
The pure and awakened state of what you are.
Joy is your natural state whenever you remain true to yourself.
Is it possible to experience joy in all moments?
Even when you have the day-to-day practical elements of life to take care of.
Joy is an experience your heart finds easily.
It's our mind that makes it difficult for us to feel joy.
Happiness is why we go in search of things to make us happy,
Even though the feeling of happiness is only temporary,
Fleeing,
And dependent on our thoughts and perceptions.
Joy isn't a heightened state of happiness,
Elation,
Excitement,
As long as your happiness is dependent on something.
Joy is a state of being that you connect with as your spiritual self.
Joy is the experience of your inner quality,
Which exists in the inner stillness of what you are.
Joy is easily experienced in the moments of calm,
Inner peace,
And tranquility.
This is why we often associate it with bliss,
A state of being that is easily accessible during meditation.
And at any time we remain present to what is as our true nature.
With conscious awareness,
You can be aware of physical pain,
A critical or worrisome thought,
And still remain joyful.
If you are conscious to the expression of joy,
You can observe a thought or a felt sensation without moving yourself out of a joyful state.
The secret is to choose joy.
To do this means that you no longer allow yourself to be consumed by any thoughts that fill you with anger,
Doubt,
Or insecurity.
You no longer allow external distractions or what others say and do to move you out of this beautiful state.
You return to being present in this moment.
You go within to experience the calm and stillness of your inner being and to witness the joy that is there.
Then you can bring this joy forward into the moments you live now and in the future.
Your breath and your inner awareness is how you find joy most easily.
Reconnecting with your natural state is as simple as returning to the present moment.
Through joy,
We are able to exude kindness,
Compassion,
Love,
Playfulness,
And calm.
Joy is your natural state.
It is not something that you need to be.
It is what you are.
It is your state of grace.
Your home.
Find the joy that exists within you that is always a part of you.
Come back to your breath.
Breathe deeply.
Be still in your body.
Settle into the inner experience of what is.
It may surprise you how simple this is.
How simple the experience of joy is to cultivate,
Reclaim,
And enjoy.
For a moment now,
Take a deep breath.
Be present with the experience of your breath filling your lungs and then the exhalation of this breath.
Is there a feeling created by the breath?
Or in the breath,
Are you much more aware of whatever emotions you feel?
Joy is a little like this.
It is right there beneath whatever your attention may be focused on.
Joy is always accessible.
Like your breath,
Joy is always with you.
In every moment,
You just need to let it through.
Let it find you.
Call on it.
Be it.
Thank you so much for listening.
This is Dorothy Ritusne.
Happy D 노�ing!
