This is an exercise taught by neuroscientist Rick Hansen to strengthen your nervous system and deepen your enjoyment of life.
The practice is not about denial or spiritual bypassing.
Mereneeding joy is not a betrayal of our suffering or the world's suffering.
It's just the opposite.
By marinating in positive emotions,
We strengthen our nervous systems,
Which helps us to better deal with our own challenges and to respond wisely and effectively to others.
So begin by relaxing into a posture that's comfortable for you.
And gently close your eyes.
And rest with your heart area open,
Your spine upright,
Relaxed,
At ease,
Feeling regal and majestic in your posture.
You might take a moment to just bring awareness to your body and your breath.
Just become very present to this moment now.
And now call into mind anything that gives you a really good feeling.
It could be a pet that you have stroking or cuddling with your pet.
It could be the sound of children laughing.
It could be very sweet and fond memory you have.
Or the scent of your favorite flower.
Anything that gives you a positive experience.
It can be a small moment.
And if you find your mind is flipping through a Rolodex of options,
Let it come to rest on one moment in particular.
It doesn't matter which.
Evolutionary biology has made our minds Teflon for the good and Velcro for the bad.
But it's possible to change that wiring.
Savoring positive moments forms new healthy circuitry in your brain.
So whatever moment you've chosen that brings you joy,
Just call that to mind deeply.
Rinse it with all of your five senses.
Smelling,
Tasting,
Hearing,
Touching,
Seeing this moment as vividly as you can.
And inviting the experience deeply into your body.
That positive emotion,
That good feeling as if you are breathing it in and out.
Let it fill your body.
Let it totally sink in.
You might picture it as a color or a beautiful dye soaking through you with that good feeling.
Sense the feeling of this experience soaking deeply into your brain,
Bathing it.
Let it register deeply in your emotional memory.
Let it register deeply in your heart.
You might picture your heart space like a garden and this positive feeling is spreading seeds in the garden.
Seeds to cultivate this good feeling.
Whether joy,
Gratitude,
Contentment.
Now call to mind something mildly to moderately painful or difficult in your life.
Starting from childhood,
Don't go for any big traumatic moments.
And if you can't decide on a particular memory,
Just evoking an image of yourself as a child in some signature posture or place.
Doesn't matter where or when.
And sense where that memory is located in your body.
And with every breath,
Feel or imagine this new powerful positive experience sinking into that area,
Soothing those painful spaces in your heart and your mind.
Soaking them with that beautiful color,
Soaking them with the positive feeling.
In reaching back through time,
Steeped in the feeling of this positive emotion,
Give that little child what they needed in that moment.
The love and support every child deserves.
Offer that to yourself.
And carry forward the benefits of this new positive experience.
Let it sink deeply into all parts of you to benefit yourself and indirectly to benefit everyone around you.
Let the energy of this positive emotion that you savor here now become an enduring part of you.
Whenever you most need to,
Let yourself bathe in the color,
The warmth,
The beauty of this moment.
May it color all of your days,
All of your hours.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be at peace.
