HJ: The recipe for joy is much like the recipe for baking bread — you need all the right ingredients in the right proportions, baked in the heart and mind for some time and you then have (delicious) joy as a result.
But what exactly are those ingredients? Well, for one, I can tell you that the recipe for joy is simpler than that of bread. And I can tell you that Amanda Gore, in her video below, certainly got a few major pieces of the puzzle right.
The only thing I would add is this (and it is the key to joy everyday of your life if you can master it): Let go of attachments, accept life as it is, letting you heart lead you forward and be happy now, in that order. One leads to the other effortlessly. Joy leaves the picture when we think things should be different than they are. Joy returns when we let go of wanting things to be different and recognize the wisdom of the moment. Joy returns further when we accept what is… When we accept life as it is letting our heart direct us forward (not the mind). And Joy is rediscovered when we are fully present in the moment (easiest when the two preconditions are met), right where we left it.
The reason this works so well is because joy begets joy. As soon as we find it and embrace it, more begins to come our way. It really is simple… a series of decisions to let go, accept life and follow what the heart is telling you (thanks Amanda!) and to be present in the moment… I guess the Dalai Lama really did have it figured out all along…
– Truth
The Secret Formula for Joy (Video)
By Amanda Gore | Huff Post | Amanda Gore
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I recently spoke at a TEDx conference about what I think is the most important space on earth. Guess what it is?
It’s the space inside your heart. Can you be brain dead and still alive? Yes! But once your heart stops, that’s it. Zippo. Nothing. No more life. So the heart is the most important organ in the body.
But wait — there’s more! The Institute of Heartmath has conducted many studies on how the heart influences not only the brain waves of anyone within 6 to 10 feet of us but also the profound impact it has on our stress levels and health. There is so much about the heart we don’t know.
During a course I was studying called Sacred Service, we did an exercise called “drop to your heart,” and we were to imagine ourselves inside the space in our hearts. I was a little skeptical to begin with, but I tried it and almost in an instant, I was in the vast space that felt like illuminated velvet! I know it sounds odd, but I didn’t expect it, and it was very real. I also felt amazingly joyful and calm.
Of course, as soon as you read or hear someone talking like this, many people automatically slip into our usual default pattern — judging. Stop it! Stop judging — you can use judgment not make judgment.
That is the first part to the secret formula for joy — stop judging! When you stop judging, you open your mind up to new possibilities and you open your heart to connect with others. Judging isolates and separates. Making judgments and labeling others or situations is rarely helpful. Using judgment is critical — so investigate and try this to see if these ideas have merit!
The second part of the secret formula for joy is drop! Drop to your heart like we did in our Sacred Service class. Another way to do it is to sit quietly somewhere and imagine a little chute going from the center of your head to the center of your heart. Then imagine a miniature you sliding joyfully down that chute and landing softly in the vast, peaceful, beautiful area in your heart.
Take time to really experience it — and notice how you feel. Your mission should you choose to accept it is to get into your heart space and stay there — especially when you are dealing with someone “difficult” or challenging.
You will be stunned at what a difference it makes to the process and outcome.
And the third part of the secret formula for joy is to zoot! Zoots are what my mum sent me after she had stayed with me for six weeks following the death of my stepdad. She was distraught and very grateful for my help and left a note for me to find after I had taken her to the airport to go home.
In this note, she told me what a wonderful daughter I was and how much she loved me — it was the sort of note that had me sobbing at the end of it! Especially as part of me was glad she had gone home!
At the very end, she had drawn a great big heart on one side and a great big heart on the other and a whole lot of little hearts in between — it was my mother’s way of sending me love. She called each little heart a “zoot.”
So if you want to send love to someone else, send zoots to them — either out loud by saying zoot zoot zoot to someone or you can silently send them from your heart — it still works!
There you have it — the secret formula for joy! Stop judging, drop to your heart and stay there and zoot! It sounds silly but it really really works. Keep your mind and heart open and try it before you scoff. Be an early adopter.
Zoot zoot from me!
Amanda Gore (www.amandagore.com) is an author, award-winning motivational speaker and joy facilitator! Her philosophy is that Joy is an Inside Job. Finding joy is the secret to more productive, creative, successful and happy humans — at work and home. Amanda is also the director of The Joy Project. To book Amanda for your event click here or email admin@amandagore.com.Connect with Amanda on Facebook – Amanda Gore – Speaker page and The Joy Project page
