It may seem strange to explore what we think of as positive emotions, but I think we often lose sight of joy. We don’t really pay much attention to it; we can often skip it without much notice. The good news is that there are practices for growing it. And these practices can help us be present and sustain joy in our experiences. In fact, these are very important emotions.
Joy helps us wake up to our lives. And this is a factor in supporting concentration. So if you feel distracted most of the time, have trouble focusing or paying attention, cultivating and paying attention to joy is a great way to deepen your concentration.
First, let’s explore what joy is. For me, it might be nice to feel it, but it’s very different from pleasure. I experience joy as a truly internal event. It may be caused by something external, but it is also something I can cultivate strongly within. One great way to do this is to consider what I am grateful for in my life. Another way is to savor—to really stop and savor—what is beautiful and good and working in my life.
This is a very important ability because as humans we work with a negative slope. This bias in itself makes a lot of sense: we tend to focus our minds on things that are bad, that threaten or can harm us, so that we can be better protected from the vagaries of life. But if we let this negativity run rampant, we risk losing what is beautiful, joyful, and nourishing about our lives. Not to mention that we are becoming less and less equipped to cultivate such beauty, joy and nourishment on our own. Therefore, teaching yourself to receive and enjoy good things is not a frivolous activity. Learning to enjoy happy moments helps us get rid of negativity and open up to new possibilities.
So let’s practice. And again, as we’ve done in all of our emotion practices, we’re going to focus mostly on the physical sensations of joy. And maybe we’ll see it grow if we pay attention to it. While we’re at it, we’ll also try to notice how focusing on joy can help strengthen our concentration. The great thing is that if you give the mind something pleasant and joyful to focus on, it will want to go there. Perhaps you choose to begin each mindfulness practice by cultivating joy. (Talk about a great motivator to sit down for a few minutes). You can also use this approach in your everyday life.
A 12-minute meditation to let go of negativity and experience joy
Watch the video:
Listen to practice:
Read the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice.
1. Let’s take our place wherever we end up. As always, you can lie down if you are in a place where you can do so. Let’s take a few deep breaths. Just place yourself here: lengthen the inhalation and exhalation. During these first breaths, simply scan your mind and body and notice how you feel. Let’s use the breath to bring balance to this moment. If you feel tired or sleepy, just take a little more air, emphasize the breath. If you feel agitated or anxious, emphasize the exhalation – really lengthen it. And then let your breathing come into a natural rhythm. Feel your contact with the chair, feet on the ground. Find that support and ground contact.
2. Now let’s recall some recent happy moments in our lives. Also, you can reflect on some of the things you are grateful for in your life. What works these days? You’re alive, so something must be working… Maybe it’s just that you found this 30-day challenge and did some practices—you took the time to take care of yourself that way. Or maybe you’ve seen some benefits in your life. Perhaps there is a relationship that you enjoy; you feel loved and connected. It could be with a human, or it could be that you have a puppy or cat in your life. Or maybe you were in a place that made you happy: some place in nature, maybe near a lake, surrounded by trees, a place where you can look at a landscape that you like. Choose one or more moments to focus on and truly enjoy. What brings you joy? Maybe it’s remembering movements like dancing, swimming, or other physical activity that brings you joy. Maybe it’s a trip, a recent trip. Or maybe it’s learning something new.
3. Really think about deriving joy from these experiences. Bring your attention to your body. Notice how you feel joy in this moment. Where in your body do you feel it? Chest, stomach, throat, face? What do you notice? Is there a temperature for joy? Is there a flow or movement of joyous energy in your body? How big is it? When you pay attention to it, can you sort of relax your attention in joy? Breathe into it. And if there is a feeling that this energy of joy wants to grow, let it. It may spread to other parts of your body – all the way to your fingertips and toes. Just pay attention: does it tingle, vibrate, flow?
4. If at any point you lose your sense of connection, simply recall images, people, situations that bring you joy. Then come back to feeling and savoring and maybe even expanding to feel and feel the energy of joy in your body. Breathe into it.
5. As we conclude this short practice, let’s reflect on and notice the people, places, and situations that bring us joy.. What things have given you a palpable, energetic feeling of joy? Maybe they surprised you. Maybe these are things you don’t do very often. But you could. You could bring more of this into your life. So, how could you do it?
6. Before we finish, let’s make a simple commitment to do one of those things that bring us joy. Let’s commit to attracting more of that joyful activity or more of that connection or more time with the people in our lives who bring us joy.
7. When you are ready, open your eyes if they were closed. Take a deep breath. Do you orient yourself in the surrounding space? Pay attention to what you are feeling right now.
As you go about your day, I invite you to pay more attention to what is joyful in your life. Then commit to attracting more of it and developing it further.
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