My name is Donna Lee.
Welcome to this meditation.
Today we're going to focus on joy.
Too often in our lives,
Stress,
Tension,
Pressure,
Issues,
Encourage us or require us to focus on the negative elements of our life.
The things that need to be addressed immediately that are causing us concern,
That are weighing us down.
All of that is understandable but the flip side of that coin are the emotions,
The experiences,
The being that is positive and open and wonderful.
Joy is paramount among those emotions.
Too often we forget to take joy or to find joy.
That's what we're going to do today so let's settle in.
Part of this meditation will be a visualization so you may wish to lie down.
If you're more comfortable sitting up or sitting on a meditation cushion,
Feel free.
You may also wish to close your eyes for this meditation because as I mentioned there will be a visualization.
First though we're going to start with some breath work.
We're going to start by triggering that parasympathetic nervous system.
The part of our body that is a rest and digest as opposed to the fight-or-flight system that we have.
So let's trigger that system by doing what is often called the breath of surrender.
We're going to take a deep breath in and then we're going to exhale it audibly.
Let's begin.
One more time inhale nice deep breath and then exhale audibly.
Now we're going to go someplace that for you is safe and happy and joyous.
It can be indoors,
It can be outdoors,
It can be a place you're very familiar with,
It can be a place you've only read about,
It can be a place you've only dreamed about.
But it is a place that triggers that part of you that says I'm home,
I'm safe and I feel great.
Let's start by taking the first few steps to wherever it is we're going.
It may be a front door that's going to lead us into a special space,
It may be a path that takes us to a beach or a forested area,
But what we want to do is we want to begin to enter that space.
We open somehow to that special location.
Once you're inside or once you have arrived,
Let's take a minute to look around.
What is it that you see?
Is it a bright sunny day?
Is there a light smattering of rain?
If you are inside,
Are there curtains?
Are there pictures on the wall?
What colour are the walls?
What colour is the outside environment?
Take a minute to take a look at where you are,
To see what it is that drew you here,
That speaks to you,
That starts to build that feeling of joy.
It may be colours,
It may be images,
It may be an environment that you have envisioned for a long time,
It may be something that you read about in a book as a child,
But here it is in all its form and shape and colour.
And that's just part of what's going to bring you joy.
Next,
Try feeling the environment that you're in.
If you're inside,
Perhaps you want to feel those curtains,
Maybe you want to sit in a chair,
Run your hand along a bookshelf.
If you're outside,
Touch the natural elements that are before you.
It could be sand,
It could be water,
It could be leaves,
But take a minute to physically feel this special environment that you are in.
And now that you've seen your environment and you've felt your environment,
Let us breathe in the sense of your environment.
If you are outdoors,
It may be that you are smelling flowers or the earth after a recent rain.
It may be the moist,
Damp soil that you smell.
Inside,
There may be an aroma that that wafts from a kitchen somewhere.
It may be the smell of an old book,
The smell of a treasured pet on a blanket,
But take again a few seconds to breathe in the physical aromas that are in this special place you have come to.
And now let us take a minute to hear this environment.
What are the sounds that are around you?
Perhaps the first sound is an amazing absence of sound.
Perhaps there is a stillness here.
Perhaps there is a serenity because there is a lack of noise.
But no matter where you are,
There is some sound.
There is a bird that is chirping or tweeting.
There is a waterfall that may be in the background sending you a sense that it is here.
Perhaps you are hearing the distant sound of laughter.
Whatever those sounds are,
Take a few seconds now just to zero in on them,
To think about them,
To make them become real.
You now have a space that you can see and touch and hear and smell.
It becomes more powerful when all those senses are integrated.
So let's take a minute just to sit in our environment and see what emotions arise because we are here.
Now that you've had a chance to explore your special place and the emotions that those special place brings up in you,
Take a very close look at that feeling that arises.
Some people say it starts in their stomach.
Some people say it's in their heart.
Others feel it in their mind.
But it is that feeling that says I'm lucky,
I'm fortunate,
This is special.
I want to savour this special place,
This special moment,
This special second.
And that savouring,
That recognition that there is something wonderful that is happening to you at this moment consciously with your whole being present,
That feeling is joy.
And joy is important for us.
Not only does it make us feel good,
Does it make us smile,
Does it make us want to embrace others,
But it actually helps our body.
It releases important neurotransmitters.
It helps our circulatory system.
It enables us to deal with stress in a more positive and effective way.
So joy is not only a good feeling,
It is good for the mind,
Body and spirit.
We're going to leave our special place now,
But you can come back to this place at any time you want.
It is your place.
It has your memories.
It has your special elements.
And you don't have to come back for a long time and you don't have to come back often,
But just know that here joy resides.
I'd like to leave you with this.
It's a poem.
It's a poem by a woman called Hilda Conley.
It's not long,
But it captures what you've done today in a way that will speak to your heart.
Joy is not a thing you can see.
It is what you feel when you watch waves breaking or when you peer through a net of woven violet stems in spring grass.
It is not sunlight,
Not moonlight,
But a separate shining.
Joy lives behind people's eyes.
And today we've discovered it also lives in our heart.
I would like to leave you today with a feeling of joy and with my gratitude.
When the light in me sees the light in you,
We are one.
Namaste.
