"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." Mother Teresa
We all want to feel more Joy in our lives. It can be confusing and frustrating when you aren't experiencing the Joy you know you could be feeling. You can say to yourself "I want to feel better--I want to feel Joy--but I don't know how to get to it."
The following are false beliefs about Joy that could be getting in the way of you experiencing a higher level of Joy in your life each and every day.
1. I can't be Joyful if everything in my life is not how I want it right now. This is false. You can be joyful any moment that you choose to be. A phrase that can help with this is "I don't have the job I really want----but I can be happy now."
Practice cultivating the capacity to feel the Joy that is available to you right now---looking out at the window at a beautiful tree, feeling the love in your heart for someone you love, feeling the love from your spiritual connection that is ever present, feeling gratitude for what you do have.
2. I can't be Joyful if someone around me is in a bad mood. Start to get that your Joy is dependent on what you are focusing on internally---it is 100% in your hands not in anyone elses. This shifts you from a victim into true empowerment. Treat keeping your Joy level high---no matter what state anyone around you is in---like a practice---and the more you do it the better you will get at it!
3. I can't be Joyful if something bad is happening in my Life "I can't be joyful because: I am sick, someone I love is sick, my husband lost his job, I am getting divorced, I lost someone close to me." Again, this is a limiting belief and see if you can open up to the moments of Joy that are available in the midst of challenge.
The more you do this---the easier the challenge will be for you. You will finally get that your Joy is not connected to external circumstances--it is inherently inside of you--available each and every moment--and you can reconnect with it at any time.
4. I can't be Joyful because I don't know how to be. Many people are so disconnected from their Joy that they can forget how it feels to be Joyful. The wonderful thing about this is your Authentic Self---which has aspects of your Inner Child---knows exactly how to be Joyful---it is very clear about this. There is no confusion on this level.
The confusion comes in when your Conditioned Self blocks the Joy of your Authentic self with messages like "Don't do that you will look stupid," or "You need to be serious and responsible", "All heck will break loose if you let go and be Joyful" , "I'm afraid of what others will think."
These are the messages that need to be healed and released to let the natural Joy of your Authentic Self fully express itself.
Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC is a pioneer in the Holistic Psychotherapy field. She specializes in Transformational individual counseling, Presentations and Workshops. For her free Workbook “What Do You REALLY Want: Finding Purpose and Passion” and free monthly tele-classes visit her web-site at RadiantLifeCounseling.com.