Enjoy Joy

I challenge you to make extreme well-being and contentment your new "normal".It is a truth realized by many advanced souls, that profound Peace, Joy, and all the higher states of consciousness are woven into the very fabric of creation. All beings feel them when there is nothing blocking that flow. This is hard to believe if one has lived with years of suffering. But the fact is that the more you remove the external and internal sources of your suffering, the more you tap into Bliss. It's like free Wi Fi!A green plant will flourish until its nourishment is blocked. A person is happy when their needs, like health and love, are plentiful. All beings thrive unless something blocks the flow of their well-being. Instead of trying to "go get" everything in the world we need to be happy, which is an unending battle, just remove whatever is blocking your natural state of happiness.In the practice of meditation we sit and remove physical and mental distractions. With practice we become more like that child and plant. We simply BE. We sit in the experience of existence. And an unexpected thing happens. In that seeming emptiness there arises a sense of peace, love... and much more. It is definitely enjoyable, but it is very different from how I enjoy an ice cream, a beautiful day or the company of my lover. There is no obvious source, no stimulus that comes and goes. It's a higher octave of ENJOY. It is called JOY. And it is an early stage of enlightenment. (See the work of Dr. David Hawkins, PhD,  for more on the qualified levels of consciousness.)This is not an obtuse concept, but something we all experience in the ordinary pursuit of happiness. When you seek to avoid pain and are rewarded with pleasure, when you enjoy yourself you are on that trajectory. The "trick" is to not get stuck forever in the ups and downs of stimulus and response.Rather, when enjoying something shift your focus from the object to the experience itself. Simply enjoy the sensation of enjoyment and find that you can have it without the external stimulation, without and obvious source. And you can have it anytime thereafter without the initial source which taught you how to experience the Joy. You wean yourself - usually very slowly - from fragile impermanence. As Patanjali said, you shift focus from physical pleasures to spiritual pleasures. All spiritual paths train us to relate to non-physical entities, ideas and energies, If this sounds a little woo-woo to you, let's be very obvious and practical. Just clear up, one by one, the things that bother you. It can seem like it takes lifetimes. It does! But you get a reward of relief for each block successfully resolved. The process is simple.Whenever you feel "bad", figure out why, what to do about it, and do that until you feel better. This is the entire purpose of the uncomfortable emotions: to alert you to whatever is blocking the flow of the good stuff.Oh, and you don't even have to figure it out. When you learn to listen to and work with your emotions. THEY will tell you everything!Remember, if you are willing to feel bad (consciously), you will feel a lot better. All the "negative" emotions will lead you to the "positive" ones.So to feel Joy, just clear the way for it to come in.Bless Yourself, GuruMeher