Welcome to this meditation on joy.
Together we'll explore joy as an energy that resides within a divine gift that can be cultivated and expanded.
Begin by finding a comfortable position either seated or lying down.
Close your eyes if that feels right for you.
Let's take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth.
Let's do in through the nose and one more big exhale out through the mouth.
If lighting a candle is in your practice and you have one nearby,
Now's a great time to light that.
And if you don't,
I invite you to light the inner flame.
Let these flames symbolize the light of joy within you.
Steady,
Warm,
Ever-present,
Precious.
Feel the connection between your body and the earth.
The earth that holds so many currents of joy.
Notice how the ground supports you.
With each breath I invite you to feel more anchored,
More rooted into the earth.
Expanding your energy from the crown of your head up to the heavens and all around you.
Feeling your essence and your energy that is so much bigger than just your physical body.
Feeling with delight,
With joy,
How your awareness can expand and travel.
Able to touch the depths of the earth and the height of the heavens.
Tapping into the joy that naturally runs on this planet.
While holding your expanded awareness,
I invite you to welcome in your heart space.
To imagine the soft light glowing there.
Perhaps the flame of a candle that is dancing with joy.
And as you rest into this light,
Reflecting a moment in your life,
Whether big or small,
When you felt true joy.
Perhaps a kind word,
A laugh,
A sunrise.
The view on the top of a mountain.
The feeling of good news or an accomplishment.
If a memory does not easily come to mind,
I invite you to tap into the joy of a child.
A child laughing.
A small animal learning to walk.
Joy.
As these images and memories fill your awareness,
Notice the sensations that it brings to your body.
Where do you find joy in your body?
Perhaps it's a warmth in your chest.
A softening or a smile in your face.
A lightness.
Simply observe the feeling of joy.
And allow these sensations to grow.
Fit in the light in your heart.
And invite joy to reveal itself to you.
That joy of a child also resides here.
Always.
And in this meditation,
We are giving joy that space to emerge.
I invite you to repeat silently to yourself,
Joy is within me.
Joy flows through me.
I am a vessel of divine joy.
Joy is within me.
Joy flows through me.
I am a vessel of divine joy.
Feel how this joy moves in your energy.
Feel how this joy moves in your body.
And as this light flows,
As this joy flows,
As this joy flows,
Know that it is radiating outward.
This is a gift that you are sharing.
By embodying joy,
You are putting more joy in the world.
Take a moment to silently offer this joy.
To either someone else or something that comes to mind.
Picture them surrounded by this golden light.
With a smile on their face.
And in the same way that you give to others,
May you also give joy to yourself.
Taking this energy that you are cultivating and sending it backwards in time to all the moments you could have used a little more joy.
Sending it forward in time.
Creating joy for all that is to come,
All the beautiful moments.
Letting yourself be bathed in this present joy that is everlasting.
I invite you to sit in joy or move in joy or dance in joy for as long as you so choose.
And when you are ready,
Slowly bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Feeling its gentle rhythm.
Begin to notice the space around you,
The sounds,
The air on your skin.
And as you feel ready,
To very slowly open your eye.
Take in the entire space at once.
Let your eyes land first on something that sparks even the smallest sense of joy.
Perhaps a color or a texture or an object that has meaning.
Let yourself connect with it fully,
Appreciating the beauty and the happiness that it brings.
Carry this awareness with you into the next part of your day.
As a reminder that joy is not something that the external only control.
Joy is something that we can cultivate and notice even in the simplest of moments.
And as we close off such an intention,
May I embody joy in all that I do.
May my joy be a light for myself and others.
Thank you for joining me in this meditation.
May the light of joy guide you and remind you of the divine presence within and around you.
