Meditation For Joy

In this guided meditation, we’ll pause to notice what’s good and nourishing about this very moment. Instead of rushing toward what’s next, we’ll invite awareness to rest in the simple pleasures available here and now—the breath, the body, the quiet gifts of being alive. Through gentle reflection, we’ll uncover small sources of joy and gratitude that are often overlooked. This practice helps us reconnect with a sense of ease and contentment that doesn’t depend on circumstances, but arises naturally when we truly arrive in the present.

Transcript

So we'll begin with a few minutes of mindfulness meditation,

Starting by getting into the body in whatever way feels comfortable to you.

Once you're settled in your meditation posture,

Really taking the time to enjoy and be present for each in-breath and out-breath.

Noticing when the mind wanders too far off.

Once we're telling ourselves all sorts of stories,

We acknowledge them,

And then we just come back to the breath.

If it's helpful,

We can silently say,

Thinking,

Just to acknowledge it,

Come back to the breath.

Having settled into the present moment a little bit,

We've created some space to listen to our innate wisdom,

Our Buddha nature.

So we ask a question in contemplation practice now.

What can I enjoy about this moment?

What can I enjoy about this moment?

All sorts of things might arise.

Maybe you hear loved ones in the distance and their laughter warms your heart.

Maybe it's nice and warm where you are.

Maybe it smells good.

What can I enjoy about this moment?

We ask the question and just notice what answers come up from inside you.

Similar to before,

When we find that we are very distracted,

We start off with sort of an answer arising,

But then we spiral into what's going wrong and how we're going to fix it.

We just acknowledge it,

Thinking.

Then we come back,

In this case,

To the question.

What can I enjoy about this moment?

There might also be a tendency to want to change the question or to let some of the thoughts take over our mind and go in a different direction.

For this short period of time,

We're just going to stay with the one question.

What can I enjoy about this moment?

At this point,

I'm going to invite you to let the question itself go and just come into noticing how you feel in this moment.

Having turned your mind in this direction,

Is there any experience of joy or happiness or contentment?

If so,

Can you just rest in that state?

To close,

You could take a few deep breaths at your own pace.

Perhaps even breathing in through the nose and then out through the mouth.

When you're ready,

You can begin to emerge from your practice,

Bringing however you're feeling into the rest of your day.