Welcome to the growing joy practice.
Taking a moment just to settle in.
Getting into a position either seated or lying down.
Just some position where your spine is straight that helps with an ease of breathing.
And beginning to check in with your body.
And if there are any areas that are tense or feel a sense of holding.
See if you can just allow those to soften or adjust your body as we begin.
And as you're sitting or lying here,
Noticing how your body is just naturally breathing.
Breathing in,
Sensing the nourishment of the breath.
Breathing out,
Releasing,
Relaxing into this space a little bit more.
And now bringing to mind a friend or an animal.
Someone who when you think of them just makes you smile.
Someone that's a bit easier to love.
Someone when you think of them,
The love just flows naturally.
And whoever comes to mind,
Visualize that person and allow them to just for a moment rest gently in your heart and mind.
And in your mind's eye,
Look into the eyes of this person or animal and see their happiest moments.
Picture them as a child and see their best adventure.
The joy they carry.
The creative force that lives in them.
Their ability to overcome obstacles,
To laugh and even triumph at times.
And imagine how you could join together to console one another in difficulty and even bring one another up to bring a sense of joy and happiness.
Seeing the greatest potential for joy in this other being.
And now as if looking into this other person or animal's eyes,
Saying one or more of the following phrases to yourself silently.
And if the phrases get in the way,
Just relaying the sentiment of appreciation.
May you deeply appreciate and savor the good moments in your life.
May the joy you experience continue to grow.
May you be filled with joy and gratitude.
And now shifting attention to yourself for a moment.
And taking this time to bring to mind your own innate goodness.
Consider a time you did something that was caring,
Generous,
Kind,
Or even loving.
Reflecting on that moment.
And turning towards yourself and saying,
May I deeply appreciate and savor the good moments in my life.
May the joy I experience continue to grow.
May I be filled with joy and gratitude.
And finally expanding this sense of appreciative joy beyond any one person.
To your friends and family,
People you work with,
Beyond their.
To people in your city,
Your state,
Your country.
And to all people around the world.
Imagine radiating this appreciative joy from your immediate environment out in all directions.
Sending these appreciative,
Joy-filled wishes even to all beings in existence.
May we all deeply appreciate and savor the good moments in our lives.
May the joy we experience continue to grow.
May we all be filled with joy and gratitude.
Dancing into this appreciative joy,
Noticing whatever feeling is here,
Taking a few moments just to simply linger in the feelings and in your breathing.
And as we bring this practice to a close,
Taking this moment to just acknowledge the active choice of taking this time out of all the things your mind says it would,
Could,
Should be doing just to cultivate.
Or even just to have the intention of cultivating this strength of appreciative joy.
For your own learning,
Health,
And well-being,
This is an act of self-love and so just acknowledging yourself for taking this time and also knowing that you can bring this joy into your daily life.
Thank you.
