Finding Happiness during Crisis  3 Simple, yet effective ways to cultivate JOY

As I write this, we are about a year into the Corona Virus | COVID 19 Pandemic.  Life can be extremely challenging at one time or another. Life is also Heaven on Earth.  It’s all up to us, to align ourselves and our mind to what we DO want, not what we don’t.  Transmuting the negative: ‘I don’t want or have’ to a more positive ‘I desire this or have this’ really works to your benefit.  It is important to get clear about what you want.  I know, for me, there have been gut wrenching traumas and dramas that I will one day make a ‘made for TV’ movie in order to inspire others who want a way out.  There is a way into positive thinking, even when life feels the heaviest.  Feeling our emotions is important, to stop and really own that sadness, joy, hurt, anger, happiness, fear etc. However, in the past, I felt stuck whenever I had intense negative emotions. Sometimes I felt like I was on a negative spiral down into the abyss when I focused on the triggers.  It is one thing to vent, to ‘think-out-loud’ and process, and another to go on a monologue about your woes and then continue to find reasons to be unhappy.  As the saying goes, “Where your attention flows, energy goes”.  There is a way out of the negative loop, and that usually means getting present.  We often lament about the future or the past.  Use those things that will guide your attention to full presence in the moment. Here are my top 3 ‘go to’ favorites to create presence and an attitude adjustment:

Gratitude.

Create a simple Gratitude Habit.  A ritual.  For a regular routine and overall uplifting experience,  I invite you to try a gratitude ‘journal’ at bedtime and if bedtime doesn’t resonate, do it anytime. There is a bit of magic that can happen if you focus on positivity right before you go into sleep or really anytime.  Besides creating a routine, if there are situations where you find yourself in a negative mind set, complaining or down;  find one (or 3, 5) thing to be grateful for and then really FEEL the gratitude, the appreciation for it.  You can feel more connected to how blessed you actually are and that feeling will often spread.  We often forget and take for granted our blessings.   This is about remembering, we have so much to be grateful for and when it’s tough to think of anything, notice that…is it true?  Do you actually not have anything to be thankful for every single day?  If You are breathing, You are alive and that is ENOUGH.  It is enough to notice the miracle of our breath, which leads me to my next point…

Breathwork

Start becoming aware of your breath.  Focus on your exhale, to relax and calm the nervous system.  I like to close my eyes in order to really focus on my breath and take my awareness more internal.  Letting go of my thoughts and only paying attention to my breath moving in and out of my body, like a wave.  Breathing in thru my nose and out my mouth to release tension, sometimes with a noise on the exhale, like “Ahhhh…” and then relaxing into nostril inhale and exhale for a time.  This could be the beginning of a nice sitting practice or use it to calm your nerves, anytime, anywhere.  If you’re feeling emotional, allow the feelings to come up without getting attached to WHY you’re emotional.  Continue to deeply exhale as the emotions flow, Often we will feel more once we become still and quiet.  It could be why we distract ourselves so much, to avoid feeling.  Know that the only way out is thru and emotions are simply energy in motion.  If you are breathing and feeling, then it will pass naturally.

Nature

It really is the best healer.  There are many ways to be in/with nature. Focus all your attention on a flower, crystal, candle flame, a fire, the sun or moon.  Really draw your attention to this single point of beauty. Take a walk, enjoy a hike or skip down the walkway…you cannot feel unhappy if you are skipping!  Find a tree and place your back up against the trunk of a tree, or your heart and hug that tree, hippie style.  Enjoy the beach, backyard, or a park.  Play a musical instrument or sing with the birds.  Cast your gaze upon the sky, into another’s eyes, into a mirror or into your creative hands.  What does nature whisper to you?  Can you find hope in the beauty that is in front of you?  Do you know that you ARE THAT beauty as well?  This is the truth.