In his 2012 book, Awakening Joy, James Baraz reminds us that it is feasible to cultivate joy in on a regular basis life. Our lives may cycle through triumphs and hardships, but there’s no reason to operate from a spot of perpetual suffering, punctuated by moments of joy. As a substitute, it’s possible for joy to be our default mode, even when sometimes interrupted by human moments of sorrow.
The next James Baraz quotes from Awakening Joy are each accompanied by a temporary video. May they encourage you to show towards the mindfulness practices that can further open your heart to joy.
Baraz’s book begins with the decision to incline our minds toward joy. It’s the practice of mindfulness which makes this possible. Our minds have a negativity bias which once functioned to guard us. Mostly, it causes us to ruminate on moments of hardship, which prevents us from seeing the enjoyment that’s so available.
Through mindfulness, we strengthen our self-awareness. Not only can we notice after we’re unnecessarily dwelling on the bad, but we open our field of perception to more of the great. When something’s on our mind, we notice it more. By intentionally searching for joy, even within the tiniest moments, we nourish the power to note joy more often.
Learn to focus your attention with the next video on breath awareness. Then, apply this newfound mindfulness to the every day recognition of joy.
After we train the mind to identify joy, we start to note joy throughout us. Similarly, after we intentionally cultivate gratitude, our hearts open to the sheer magnitude of all we now have to be thankful for. As our gratitude practice matures, we discover reasons to be grateful even amidst life’s most difficult challenges.
Living in gratitude prevents us from taking anything with no consideration. Every small accomplishment becomes a reason to provide thanks, and we develop a greater sense of contentment. We not depend on the arising of a future set of circumstances before connecting to joy. The greatful, joyful heart is out there to experience joy in the current moment.
Deepen your present-moment gratitude with the next meditation. Practice it every day, and watch how your life unfolds into greater joy.
Mindfulness and gratitude are our partners in developing the capability to be present with our current circumstances and way of thinking, whatever that could be. We develop a way of acceptance that’s grounded in present-moment reality. By accepting reality because it is, we give ourselves and our circumstances the chance to evolve.
Joy is just not something outside of ourselves we must fight for, it’s intrinsic to our nature and lives inside us. After we stop fighting the states of mind that obscure joy, we not give them power. Within the space of mindfulness, our hardships dissipate and joy is revealed.
Learn methods to be present with difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them. You should not your emotions, you might be a joyful being by which difficult emotions sometimes arise
Completely happy people don’t hurt others. And if we keep hurting others, we’ll never be joyful. Minimizing the harm we cause others, either physically, with our words, or in our minds, reduces our suffering. Acting with integrity reduces our stress, calms the minds, and allows us to calm down. We will take this one step further by not only ceasing to harm others, but by intentionally bringing them joy. Sharing joy with others is a surefire option to feel good ourselves.
While Baraz emphasizes that mindfulness is just not about religion per se, there’s a superb reason why each of the world’s authentic religions present a code of ethics as a foundation for cultivating a joyful, joyful life. Being kind releases us from the drama that may otherwise obscure our joy.
Watch this 4 minute video by which Baraz discusses the influence of ethics, kindness, and integrity and why it’s necessary we not leave these out of our mindfulness practice.
Anything we’re attached to on this life will someday turn into a source of suffering. The physical objects we feature with us will wander off, old, or damaged. Our jobs and our relationships will change. Our own bodies will turn into old and sick. After we learn to let go we accept the indisputable fact that this transformation is coming, and our hearts and minds will be at peace. Then, when the inevitable happens, it is less crushing.
We also carry with us a set of expectations, and a selected identity or history of stories. Letting go of this opens us as much as a world of potential. To let go of our past is freeing and purifying, we will be the joyful people we’ve all the time desired to be. After we let go of expectations we gain possibilities. Irrespective of how things end up, there’s a likelihood they’re moving in only the way in which they’re alleged to.
In the next video, Tara Brach leads a guided meditation on letting life be. Anchoring awareness to the body in the current moment helps us increase our capability to let go and be with things as they’re.
Self-compassion is a prerequisite for joy. We need to be joyful. We could have a history of considering joy is a frivolous pursuit, but that couldn’t be farther from the reality. After we open ourselves to joy, we turn into humans who give and share joy with the world. Quite the opposite, there’s nothing more selfish than remaining contracted and trapped in an energy of pain and victimhood. Joy transforms us from helpees into helpers
But our compassion for others won’t function until we will extend compassion to ourselves. Embracing our full humanity allows us to let go of what Baraz calls the ‘anxiety about non-perfection.’ Our flaws turn into gifts we will learn from, and a possible technique of connecting with others.
Learn to befriend yourself with a guided mindfulness exercise led by psychologist and creator Rick Hanson. We will only truly love others to the extent we love ourselves.
Human beings are wired for relationships. Our relationships with others are sometimes our most accessible portals to joy. Sympathetic joy, or mudita in Sanskrit, is the power to relish in the enjoyment of others. Letting go of jealousy, envy, or ill-will reminds us that joy is just not in limited supply, available only to the winners. Joy is infinite, abundant, and simply available through the strategy of recognizing it in one other.
Human beings are wired for relationships. Our relationships with others are sometimes our most accessible portals to joy. Sympathetic joy, or mudita in Sanskrit, is the power to relish in the enjoyment of others. Letting go of jealousy, envy, or ill-will reminds us that joy is just not in limited supply, available only to the winners. Joy is infinite, abundant, and simply available through the strategy of recognizing it in one other.
Identical to mindfulness or gratitude, compassion is something we will develop with practice. In the next video, Joseph Goldstein leads a guided meditation on mudita. May it teach you to share more freely in the enjoyment of others.
We often make the error of considering joy exists only within the far-off future. In our confusion, we view joy as a side effect of getting the brand new job, the larger house, or the proper relationship. But joy isn’t on the market ahead waiting for us to catch up. Joy exists inside us, and is waiting for us to stop, listen, and spot.
Mindfulness teaches us to quiet the mind and be present. It’s on this state of calm and presence we’re probably to identify joy. Through mindfulness, we learn the facility behind being versus doing. After we calm down and open our hearts to presence, we’re available to experience awe, and a deep, felt sense of the infinite presence of joy.
Insert more pauses into your life with the next mindfulness exercise on simply stopping. This foundational practice teaches us to be present within the here and now, the one place where we’ll encounter true joy.
To read James Baraz’s book on Awakening Joy or to take part in his 5-month course, visit the Awakening Joy website.
