Feeling you're feeling a little tired now?
Definitely feels like work as well.
Begin by finding yourself a comfortable position,
Sitting or perhaps lying down,
Bringing your awareness to the points of contact between the body and the surfaces supporting you.
Receiving the sensations of contact and allowing yourself to be supported.
Noticing the sensations throughout the body.
Opening to feelings or emotions that may be here right now.
Noticing the thoughts as they come and go through the mind.
Turning towards our experience with friendliness and curiosity.
Finding things to be just as they are.
And then moving our awareness to the breath.
Just taking a few deeper breaths,
Allowing the inhale to deepen and the exhale to lengthen.
Allowing the rhythm of the breath to soothe,
To steady.
So now thinking back to a recent situation when you saw something that filled you with joy.
Perhaps you saw the smiling face of a dear one,
The beauty of a flower or a landscape,
Or a work of art,
Or perhaps children playing in the park.
Imagining that you are seeing now what you saw then,
What colours,
Shapes,
Details touched you and filled you with joy.
What is happening now when you reconnect with this experience?
What are you noticing in your face and body,
In the region of your heart?
Can you imagine your face and spirit back in the present?
And now remember a situation when you heard something that filled you with joy.
Perhaps the sound of laughter,
A singing bird,
Rolling waves,
Or beautiful music.
Imagine you are hearing now what you heard then.
Imagine you are hearing now what you heard then.
Imagine you are hearing now what you heard then.
Exploring what it was in the sound that struck the cord of joy inside.
Exploring the details of the experience.
What are you noticing now in the body and heart?
And now moving on to an experience of smelling something that filled you with joy.
Perhaps the smell of food,
A lovely perfume,
Or a fragrance in nature.
Imagine inhaling deeply and smelling now what you smelled then.
How does it affect you now in your nose and the rest of the body?
How does it affect you now in your nose and the rest of the body?
And then imagining in detail a situation where the sense of taste was the channel of joy.
Imagine tasting now what you tasted then and savouring it on your tongue.
What are you noticing in the mouth and in the rest of the body?
And now exploring a situation where the sense of touch was the source of joy.
It may be that you touched something warm and soft,
Stroke the hair of a loved one or the fur of your pet.
It may be that you were touched by feeling the warmth of sun rays,
The cool breeze of the wind,
The grains of sand between your toes on the beach.
Imagine feeling now what you felt then.
What sensations are you noticing on your skin,
The rest of the body,
The region of the heart?
What are you noticing on your skin?
What are you noticing on your skin?
What five senses you've just explored connect us with the outer world?
We also distinguish a sixth sense,
The mind with which we can think thoughts and feel emotions.
Do you remember a situation where this sense of your inner world was the channel of a joyful experience?
Maybe you were struck by a beautiful thought or insight,
An experience of,
Ah,
Now I understand.
Or maybe you were touched by a metaphor,
A story or a poem.
Imagine you experience now what you experienced then.
What was it that touched you?
And how does it affect you now when you reconnect with it?
What is it that touched you?
Paradoxically,
This exercise can also stir up sadness and grief for what is lost,
For an aching desire for what is missing.
Maybe this can be acknowledged and appreciated too as part of this exercise.
You may need a compassionate response.
This practice of revisiting the good allows us to explore the wonderful experience of joy.
We can find joy anywhere if we open the doors of our senses and take time to mindfully stay with it in the calmness of the soothing system.
Even in the midst of darkness,
Something can lighten up that fills our heart with joy.
So closing this practice by placing a hand on your heart,
Appreciating the capacity of the heart to be filled with joy.
And appreciating yourself for taking the time for this practice.
Thank you.
Thank you.
