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5 Ways To Tune In To Joy

Lifestyle | Travel

We can live in joy anytime, anywhere. How? By looking in. We just have to do some internal work to open our heart to its vibration.

What is joy? The dictionary defines joy as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” Whereas happiness is a temporary, elevated state of being, which comes and goes depending on circumstances, joy is a sustainable state of mind coming from the heart. And the good news is: it’s free.

Here are five ways to tune in to the energy of joy:

1. Cultivate Gratitude

Start and end your day with a moment of gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for: a healthy body, a bed to sleep in, a roof over our head, access to fresh, delicious food, the presence of love in our life, and so on. Writing a gratitude journal at the end of the day carries the sense of gratitude through our dreams.

2. Find Beauty

Embrace your inner child and look at the world with open eyes, ears, and heart. You don’t have to go far. There’s beauty all around us – we just have to be aware. Take a step outside, look up the bright blue sky, and notice the fluffy clouds shaped like a heart, a phoenix, (insert your own imagination). Watch the sun set. Study a flower and be in awe of its delicate beauty. These little moments of appreciation expand the heart and connect us to joy.

3. Move!

Exercise is a natural mood lifter. We’ve all experienced the yoga high. Dancing is another fun way to relieve stress and bring the mind into the present moment. So let’s dance! Run or walk. Do backbends and handstands. When you’re fully aware, whatever you do becomes a flow, a meditation in movement. Out of the flow comes joy.

4. Get Fired Up

Fire is the element that’s associated with joy in the Chinese Five Element Theory. Symbolized by the Sun, it’s no wonder that summer is the season most associated with easy, joyful pleasures. The easiest way to get some Fire into your whole being, besides getting some sun, is to cook your food. This is why soups and stews are so comforting and grounding in winter, when Fire element is at its weakest. Fire also produces Earth, which is the element we need to get rooted and centered in the Five Element Cycle.

5. Share The Joy

Joy is fortunately highly infectious. Be around joyful people when you need a mood lift. Share your joy freely with those who need it. Joy begets joy!

No matter how you’re feeling, know that there is joy inside you. Even in the midst of sadness there can still be moments of joy. When life gets overwhelming, take a deep breath, relax, and surrender into the present. You have everything you need right here, right now. Get to know the joy within. Are you ready?

Featured in New York Magazine, The Guardian, and The Washington Post
Featured in the Huffington Post, USA Today, and VOGUE

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