Create Joy Through the Practice of Inner Awareness
Joy is an inside job and can be maintained through the practice of inner awareness, presence, and positivity.
The holidays are a wonderful time to practice!
My sister recently sent me a quote from Shawn Achor, a positive psychologist:
“The external world can only predict 10% of your happiness; 90% is predicted by the way your brain processes the information. Each one of us is like that butterfly with a butterfly effect. Each tiny move toward a more positive mindset can send ripples of positivity through our organizations, our families, and our communities.”
How do we maintain our powerful sense of inner joy
How do we maintain our powerful sense of inner joy and not allow external circumstances to create negativity inside our hearts and minds? Here are a few of my favorites:
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Deep breaths, in through my nose and out through my mouth, no one even has to notice!
- Move my body; a yoga class, walk in nature or just around the block if conversations get too heated at one of those holiday gatherings
- Practice gratitude daily; it actually stimulates joy hormones like oxytosin, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethamine (OK, you can get that one from chocolate too!)
- Spend time with people who energize me *(excerpt from Dec 2014 newsletter below)
- Eat foods that nourish my mind and body
- Listen to music that makes my heart sing (and maybe makes my body dance too)
I imagine a bubble of my energy around my physical body filled with this harmonious and balanced energy. To prevent low vibration energy from getting in my field, I imagine my energy continuous flowing out from my space, preventing me from taking on other people’s “stuff.” If I stay plugged into the Universal Life Force, the supply of the yummy energy is Infinite! Remember, we are all vibrating beings of love and light. Are you allowing yourself to resonate to another’s tune, or are you able to maintain your own note of inner joy?
Blessings to you and a joy-filled holiday season!
*Relationships can be difficult to navigate during the holiday season. Even though we may have spent hours in 2014 growing out of old patterns of communication based on habit, reactions and the need to be right as we have worked hard to develop our ability to respond from our authentic self we can still get triggered by another’s chaotic or imposing behavior.
Neuron Science
Why is that? New information about mirror neurons, a type of brain cell that responds equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action, explains how we can begin to resonate on a cellular level with another person’s nervous system!
Mirror neuron systems in the human brain help us understand the actions and intentions of other people, but how do we maintain our own inner calm, stability, and equanimity when we are with other people who are frenzied or disruptive? We desire deeper conversations and connections in our relationships but on our own authentic terms.
You will also like my related blog post How to Maximize the Co-creative Forces of Our Intentions with Universal Life Force.
To learn more, see my page on interpersonal development.
