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A whirled world can tempt you to feel out of sync, out of touch, and out of line with the Truth principles you’ve learned. The optics of troublesome outer appearances can mess with your common sense, confidence and – well – sanity itself and stifle your joy.
The Extraordinary You helps you master a whirled world.
There’s an Extraordinary You inside that knows you’re a timeless spiritual being having a limited human experience. And when you align your human self with your Extraordinary Self you can hear the still small voice say ‘you have immediate access to the Field of Infinite Potential so enjoy yourself down here.’
There’s an Extraordinary You inside of you that’s been there when you were born and before you were born. It’s the you that knows when you align your human nature with your Divine Nature. It knows when you consistently make Christed choices, and when you live at the speed of your Christ Consciousness. It knows you can master the art of living joyfully and happily.
A deepening of soul comes when we face a whirled world. When we face our own human vulnerabilities, and find in them the raw material, the alchemical prima materia, for our own soul growth. What a gift, what a joyous occasion, don’t you think?
Joy means reaching inside, knowing you are priceless and have a purpose. And that’s something to be joyous about.
Joy means valuing every moment, knowing that that’s really all you’ve got. The present moment is your point of power. And that’s something to be joyous about.
Joy means telling those you love how much you love them and accepting their love in return. And that’s joyful living at its best.
Joy means aligning your human self with your Divine Nature, so you can be all you’re meant to be – right now. And that, too, is something to be joyful about.
Joy means allowing your Divine Nature to guarantee you safe passage through the crucible of your skin school experience – no matter how whirled things are down here.
How to Live a More Joyful Life
Smiling does wonders! If you want to instantly improve your mood, try smiling and laughing just a little bit – even if you don’t initially feel like it. You’ll feel your mood improve, and this gets even more effective the more often you do it. If you’re not used to smiling and laughing everyday, make them a habit. Work on laughing at yourself and at situations you encounter. If you make mistakes, learn from them, make amends where necessary, and move on. Don’t underestimate the power of laughter and smiling. They’re excellent medicine for the soul. Practice taking things calmly and by all means don’t let things get to you. Are you smiling yet?
If negative, self-demeaning thoughts are constantly getting you down in the dumps, refocus your thoughts on things that will instead lift your spirits. Make a conscientious effort to fill your mind with joyful thoughts. Being stuck in a destructive cycle of negative thoughts can get your brain forming negative feelings like anger, stress and anxiety; which in turn deepen your anxiety.
Instead of focusing on the things you don’t have, be thankful for the things you do have. Changing the way you think about yourself and your life experiences can have a huge life-affirming impact on everything you do. You can make your life much more joyful by choosing to be constantly thankful for the things that bring you joy and happiness. Living life pessimistically at warp speed does not serve you!
Set small ‘joy goals’ each day to boost your life satisfaction and overall happiness. Look at each day as an opportunity to become the best version of your joyful self. You’ll find that by living ‘in joy’ – even in the small things – that you’ll begin to ‘enjoy’ all aspects of your life. Every moment offers you choices. Take a look at those choices, and it’ll become very obvious what you value.
For example, how much joy have you missed out on because all you could see was a whirled world filled with deadlines, to-do lists, and piles of the same old monotonous routines? How many smiles have you forfeited? How much laughter has passed you by? Most importantly, how many moments of connection did you miss with your loved ones and closest friends because you got caught-up in a whirled world? How much living have you missed out on?
Joy is a perfect barometer for navigating through life. Recognize what brings you joy, then incorporate those things in your daily living. Simple, right? Make room in your life for more happiness, bliss and life-affirming joy. When you do you’ll have mastered the art of joyful living.
This will help you become happier in all aspects of your life. Mark Twain said, “Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends.” He’s right, of course. Surround yourself with people who constantly challenge you to be more joyful and happier.
There is one caveat: Be sure you don’t create such a “filter bubble” that you don’t expose yourself to other ideas, beliefs, and thoughts.
When you turn down the volume on all the noise in your life, you’ll discover the amazing fact that silence and stillness are therapeutic. And when you intentionally allow yourself to be still, you’ll naturally open up to a deep appreciation of the present moment. You’ll become relaxed, grounded and clear, and stress will melt away. Find ways to bring silence into your life. Ask yourself when you can stop and be still. Meditation is an excellent silent retreat forward!
It’s so easy to focus on problems and unhappy feelings. They grab your attention and won’t let go until you let them go. Take stock of what’s working in your life. Are you living the kind of life you want? Do you have people around you who you love and appreciate – and who love and appreciate you? Do you enjoy your daily work and/or household routines? Look around you. You may be surprised at what’s already working in your life.
Sometimes the road of life is a rocky one. If you want to master joyful living, be open to learning from the challenges that life brings you. Be honest about what you want out of life and recognize when you’ve dropped into a hole that you can’t seem to find your way out of. Difficult life experiences can show you the areas in your life that aren’t serving you. Use these situations to liberate yourself. You might have noticed that sometimes the teachings come after the lessons. If there’s a self-defeating pattern playing out in your life, eliminate it by becoming more conscious of what you’re settling for. Then make more joyful choices with your eyes wide open.
This is all about discovering what brings you joy and putting those things into your life. When you enjoy doing something, you’ll lose all track of time, you’ll feel happier and much more satisfied. Whether it’s the people you spend time with, the work you choose to do, or the hobbies you spend your down time on, the more you include the things you enjoy in your day, the easier it’ll be to live a joyous life.
Take some time to write down a list of things that you enjoy doing. List things that you can do in 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, a half day, and a full day. Then when you notice yourself feeling down, consult your list and depending on how much time you can manage, insert something you enjoy doing into your day. This can be a fast way to start feeling better and it makes you very conscious of making sure you make room for joy in your day.
Joy means aligning your human self with your Divine Nature, so you can be all you’re meant to be – right now. And that, too, is something to be joyful about. Joy means allowing your Divine Nature to guarantee you safe passage through the crucible of your skin school experience – no matter how whirled things are down here.
It’s natural as a human being for you to want to connect with others. We’re all social creatures and need to both give and receive love. Giving your love to those you love will brighten your day – and theirs – and make everyone feel more joyful in the process. Letting people know how much they mean to you is so important. Don’t assume they know—and even if they do know, it’s always nice to hear that you’re loved again, out loud, and often!
BONUS Adventure (This one REALLY works!):
Do It With Joy!
A fun link: The 33 Most Joyful Things That Ever Happened
© 2017 Bil and Cher Holton, TheGlobalCenterForSpiritualAwakening.com