This simple phrase can bring you there.

About a week ago, Morgan and Liliah and I went to Crystal Magic, a wonderful bookstore here in Flagstaff, and as I was browsing, I found a book called Wired for Joy.  I believe it was about how we can rewire our brains and create new neural patterns that make it much easier to evoke and experience the feeling of joy in every moment.  I love that idea.  As I was looking through the book, one phrase in particular stood out and really resonated for me. 

The author recommended something like this: Remind yourself each morning that the purpose of your day is to feel joy. That phrase really grabbed me.  It sort of settled into my consciousness at the back of my mind and later on that evening a different version of this idea came back to me in this form:

My purpose is to feel joy in this moment.

I started to say that phrase quietly over and over to myself and the feeling of joy began to grow within me.

I love this phrase.  It doesn’t tell me that I need to feel joy for the rest of my life or even for the day or the hour.  My ego thinks that’s too much pressure and I start to feel resistance and anxiety about how to sustain joy for that long.  And really, phrases like that are future-oriented and the ego loves to worry about the future like a dog with a bone.

No, what’s wonderful about this phrase is that it is just a reminder for this moment.  My ego doesn’t really know what to do with that, so it just sits back for a moment and considers.  And then the joy can surface.

I spent the rest of that evening reminding myself of that phrase every few minutes and the joy continued to grow within me.  It was so simple and so beautiful.

My purpose is to feel joy in this moment.

Just say that over a couple of times to yourself right now.  How does it feel?  Do you feel the doorway to joy beginning to open up within you?

Why does this work, our egos want to know…

What do you think?  I think it doesn’t really matter, but if we’re considering it, I think the ego spends a lot of time thinking about its purpose and so a statement like this throws it off and stills the stream of thought for the moment.  And as Eckhart Tolle teaches us, when you do that, the joy of your Being begins to surface again.

How can our egos disagree with this statement?  It would be insane to do so, right?  Still, it may try.  It will bring up all the thoughts and worries and issues that need to be resolved before we can feel joy.  ‘Joy, geez,’ it says, ‘I just wanna take care of all these problems so I can feel some relief.’

Yes, yes.  When it comes back with thoughts like these, just say the phrase again.

My purpose is to feel joy in this moment.

Really, the ego knows that this is what it wants.  And so, it quiets down.  It’s like a mother reminding a worried child that all is well.  So, the ego is willing to consider that this might be true and if it is true, there is nothing to worry about.  The source of the joy we want to experience is within us.  It doesn’t really depend on anything outside of us.  It is simply there, just beneath the surface of our thoughts.

Try it Yourself

Try saying this phrase to yourself today and see how it changes things for you.  To know that the deeper purpose of this moment is to feel joy, that the purpose of your Being in this moment is to feel joy, allows for you to do the other things in your day with the underlying current of joy beneath it.  It suffuses your experience with the soft sweetness of joy.

Please let me know how you like this phrase.  For me, it’s a beautiful touchstone that brings me back to the unconditional joy of this moment.  I hope it is for you as well.

Joy and blessings to you,
Laura