Category: Joy Articles

Greetings, let’s talk about meditating on love and compassion. There are three things involved in this, first of all one needs to understand what love is, secondly one needs to understand what compassion is and finally one needs to actually experience how to do so, how to change your heart. That’s what we’re doing here. 

What is Love?

So, first of all let’s talk about love, what is love? Love is essentially understanding that others deserve goodness. That’s what love is. Now many people think love is about smiling, touching, saying I love you, yes in fact these are all perfectly wonderful forms of love. However, genuine, real love is just knowing that others deserve happiness. 

What is Compassion?

Now let’s talk about compassion. Compassion is a very similar energy, a very similar feeling, but compassion is concerned with people who are suffering. Compassion is the same thing – understanding the people deserve happiness, yet seeing that they are suffering and when you see they are suffering you want to help them, you want to stop them suffering. Compassion is just basically wanting others to be happy and not suffer. 

Now I’ll talk about why we should do this meditation and how it will help you. First of all, those who meditate on love and compassion, their life becomes tremendously joyful, absolutely wonderful. If you can really, sincerely open your heart and do this practice, you will be blessed, absolutely blessed. 

Secondly, when you meditate on love and compassion everything gets much easier. Things that produce suffering, things that challenge you, they cease to be big problems. There is still some suffering, it’s not like every single suffering goes away, but basically nothing is really, really difficult, that’s the truth. 

So, the question is this – would you like to learn how to meditate on love and compassion? I hear you say ‘yes I would’ so let’s do a meditation, it’s a very simple process. 

Meditation on Love and Compassion

Ok so what I want you to do is sit down, get comfortable and relax. Just spend a few minutes breathing into your abdomen, feel the energy of life force filling your abdomen, feel the life force filling you and relax. Do this for a few minutes. 

Step 1: Protection

Now we begin the actual meditation. It goes like this: I want you, first of all, to imagine that you’re completely protected by a beautiful loving light. Just ask from the heart “Surround me with protective energy.” 

Step 2: Love

Very good, now here is how we do it. We think of one person that we care deeply for, think of one person you love, someone you want to succeed as much as yourself or even more. Think of that person and now want you to imagine your heart is shining a light into their heart, see it’s like a like a loving energy of warmth and it goes into their heart and you say “may you be happy.” You spend a few minutes just repeating this “may you be happy, may you be happy.” 

Now we’ve done it for the person we love, let’s try and do it for someone we like a little bit less, not someone you dislike, just someone you’re not as fond of. Bring that person to mind and practice the same meditation, spend a few minutes doing this.

Good. Now the final task is this – can you do the same thing for someone you dislike? Someone who’s maybe been a bit difficult or caused you some problems? Let’s see if we can open the heart to that person, do the same meditation. 

Ok now we’ve understood how to meditate on love. You can do this as much as you want, for half an hour if you want or 10 minutes. If you do this every day, you will feel tremendously good and your heart will open, I guarantee it. 

Step 3: Compassion

Now let’s do a meditation on compassion. We’re going to do the same thing, but this time bring to mind someone you have a sympathy for who’s going through some problems or difficulties. Instead of saying “may you be happy” you send them compassion and you say “may your problems go away, may you feel good, may you be at peace.” You wish upon them that whatever is causing them suffering would disappear. 

Good now you have done it for one person, now you can do it for 2 people 3 people or 20 people. Just meditate on anyone you know who’s suffering and send them compassion and the wish that they can be free of that suffering. 

Now we have done a meditation on love and compassion and if you do this everyday, I guarantee you without a doubt, your life will get so much better, no doubt about it.

This message was channelled by Stephan Davies who is a channel of angels and divine beings. He runs the website The Divine Connection and regularly channels for clients from all over the world. Stephan also runs a blog that covers all matters spiritual. His passion is bringing through messages from above that uplift, bless, and empower others.

Have you ever written a letter to Joy?

Probably not, because why would you?

Here is the thing. I have had a great relationship with Joy. I believe in the healing power of Joy, and I learned to connect with Joy even in difficult moments.  A few years ago, I committed to making Joy my compass in every business decision. It was this joy compass that led me to SoulivityTV and the Joy Keepers Network. I thought of Joy as an emotion, a choice, and a healing tool, but I had never thought of Joy as a friend. That is, not until Halina Goldstein shared her inspiration for Joy Keepers Network.

As the Joy Keepers Network founder, Halina recognizes Joy as one of the most fundamental and powerful energies available to every human being, connecting us all as One. Recently, Halina envisioned Letters To Joy as a creative tool to inspire and connect people in joy.  As Halina shared her vision of people worldwide writing letters to Joy, I felt something shift. Joy was suddenly present in a way I had never before felt. Instead of our team leading with Joy, I suddenly felt Joy leading us. Joy was alive, like a spirit with personality. The essence of Joy became a member of our team. The difference was subtle but profound. It ignited a new sense of wonderment within me, and I couldn’t wait to write my letter.

This is what I wrote:

Good morning my dear Joy,

Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you? You really have had my back recently.

Ok, let’s be honest, you have been my lifeline since I arrived on this curious earth.  I cannot imagine this journey without you.  But man, we really have been through some stuff lately. You have definitely been the glue that held me together these past few years. You have been right by my side, filling me with pink bubbles and giggles during even the darkest times.

Lately, I have been reminiscing about our younger days. Remember how we would spend hours looking up at the clouds or searching for four-leaf clovers in the grass?  We were best pals, getting up each morning wondering what adventure would unfold.  Then when I became a mom, Sarah and Justin infused us with a renewed sense of wonder as we explored this fantastical world through their awe.  I miss those days, which is why I am inviting you to join me on a much-needed holiday.

We leave tomorrow for a fortnight of adventure, no work, no responsibilities, only play! First, we will fly to Seattle, where we will meet up with Justin, who has planned a long weekend on San Juan Island. Next, it’s off to Sacramento to visit our Consciously Awesome friends. Then we head down the coast to meet up with Sarah, who has arranged a relaxing respite in wine country.  She even scheduled us to go horseback riding! Remember how we used to love riding?

Thank you, my sweet friend, for all that you do. Let’s swim together in the adventure of life and let our wonder ripple into the hearts of everyone we meet.

I love you. I appreciate you. I choose you.

Sheila

And This Is What Happened Next:

I first noticed Joy’s response to my letter when they woke me up at two a.m. filled with anticipation. Joy’s childlike wonder was tugging at my heart, and I was delighted to follow.  I smiled on the plane when the seat next to me remained empty… or so it appeared. I knew Joy was filling the seat. My smile nearly turned to a giggle by my third plane ride next to an empty seat. I had no doubt Joy would be by my side throughout this whole adventure. With Joy by my side and wonder in my heart, everything fell into place with absolute perfection. Timing seemed divine.  Even strangers were going out of their way to make the path in front of me smooth. The weather was perfect even when it wasn’t. As Justin noted, the dark, blustery wind was the perfect ambiance for that beach we visited, and the koi pond in the Japanese garden came alive with the rain.  We saw seals, eagles, and more hawks than I could count.  I visited an illuminated art exhibit and went horseback riding. I delighted in the time spent with my friends and children. Sarah and I swam alone in a giant moonlit pool as we looked up at the starry night then visited the Ocean bringing back the wonder of her favorite childhood book about mommy and me and The Big Big Sea.

I was tired and weary on the flight home. My flights were delayed. There was not enough time to grab a bite to eat at the airport. I felt my wonder dwindle, and I was nearly convinced I had lost Joy in the airport.  I wasn’t sure Joy made it on the plane. Then I looked up, and across the aisle one row up, Joy was smiling at me from a heart-shaped cookie on the baking show the woman was watching.

Joy is with me now… Leading me… Playing with me … Embracing me in wonder.

Would you like to write a letter to Joy?

What would you say in a letter to Joy? I imagine your letter will be very different than mine because everyone experiences Joy differently. Maybe you want to tell Joy about a time they showed themselves to you through someone’s kind gesture. Perhaps you feel Joy has abandoned you, or you feel guilty when you feel Joy. Some people who fear that Joy is too good to be true guard themselves against the feelings. Your letter will be perfect.

Think of this as the first of many letters to Joy. Just start where your mind and heart take you. Then watch as Joy takes your hand and guides your next step.

As Joy Keepers, we invite you to write a letter to Joy. We would love to hear what happens when you commune with Joy. We would love to read and share your letters.  See details for submitting your letter to Joy.

To get this Joy Letter sharing started, we invited people from Eva Andrea’s Magical Writers Tribe to write a letter to Joy and then share with us what happened. (Remember, this is a letter from your heart, so don’t feel that you need to be a writer to participate.)

My Dearest Joy,
I am on my knees in awe of how truly blessed I am to know you.
I am grateful to have had you with me through blissful and precarious times…
Times I was not nurtured, fed or knew love
Times I wept, wondering, is there nothing above?
Times I was targeted by those I thought sage.
Laid out by their fists of hot hissing rage.
Times of no place to lay down my head or have to eat, a crust of bread.
This time, I might not make it, was the thought in my head.

But I gathered my faith, in you Joy, instead.
You remember dear Joy for you were there too…
Laying low with me there on that cold kitchen floor

reborn with your presence I could not ignore 

Your warm hum surged through me, a wilted flower no more

I straightened my crown
I rose up, out that door.
And today I just wanted to let you know…
I see it all through thick or thin, Joy you run through me, a deep river within.
You are nothing above nor nothing below
You are with me, You ARE me wherever I go.

Thank you for your presence.
Yours forever
 💖

Letter to Joy

I love you Joy, you are my purpose of living. I always felt that my reason for being here is to share my joy with others, shine my light and be joyful. I love you so much my joy when I think of you. Through life I’ve often heard that I am joyful and that I seem so happy and curious and engaged and inspired. And most of all I’ve heard of my playfulness, my nature of being childish, spontan and playful. Many people says they would love to have my way of being joyful of nature like a child. I also have this nature of humour inside, I often heard of that, it makes people laugh and feel pure Joy. And I love the way you make me smile, this charming nice smile that makes both me and others to connect with Joy and love. I am so grateful for you my joy, and that you are such an important part of my life. What would I be without you? Just now I need you so much because of days with melankoli and sadness. Sometimes I’m afraid I will die of grief because I forget that I have you. Please forgive me deeply that I ever could think of forgetting you when life is grey and my negative thoughts and feeling of unworthiness take over the whole place in my world. Deeply forgive me, from now on I will remember everything of you although I am sad or angry. My dear beloved joy you are my best friend, the first feeling I met and the reason for living and why I choose to be here on earth. Think of that!! And think of how strong you are!! Lightning and shining up my heart and soul every day. I love you so highly much and I am so proud of you my spirit on earth. Sometimes you make me laugh so high that I almost can’t stop. Then you are moving my whole body, I don’t know where to go or how to stop. It’s a beautiful feeling of freedom, teasing and bubbling excitingly deep inside me. And all this happens spontaneously, I don’t have to do or think anything just follow the laugh and feeling of Joy. Thank you I love you, never ever leave me again.

You can read more letters in the Joy Keepers Network Group.

Now it is your turn. Are you ready to write your Letter to Joy?

Just let your imagination lead you.

We would love to read and share your letter to Joy and hear about what you noticed. Please submit your letters here: LETTERS TO JOY.

You get to choose whether to include your name.

We are delighted to share this Letters To Joy journey with you.

~

This article was written by Sheila Applegate. Sheila is a member of the Joy Keepers Network leadership team and the founder of ConsciouslyAwesome.com

It may be fiction, but watching “Capernaum” gets to me as if it was a direct broadcast from the Middle Eastern war zone. The snipers and the shooting, the violence in the streets and in homes, the children being a target and trying to survive on their own.

I sit in in my big, comfy, red cinema seat, frozen by the reality of the film as much as by the way it exposes my exceptionally privileged life here in Denmark. The peace, the way life is safe and secure here, the material luxury on top of everything else I have.

As the film ends and credits roll, and while the few people in the cinema begin to leave, I remain seated, paralyzed by the heavy questioning within.

Having seen that other world, only 4 hours flight from here, how can I ever continue living as if nothing happened?

In the darkness of what I just experienced on screen I feel useless and selfish beyond description. In the face of all the pain I just witnessed, my life and my world feel arrogant. And I don’t know what to do with that. So, I ask for help and guidance from within. It comes in the form of another question:

How would the world look like if everyone had access to joy?

Of course, the question refers to my work with the Joy Keepers Network and Awakening To Joyful Living . Which, right now, facing an ocean of poverty and brutality, feel insignificant and  irrelevant. But still, this is the question given to me. And so, I surrender to contemplating it. And as I do, I am reminded of that which I teach yet have lost sight of under the heavy shadow of the reality I just saw.

I had forgotten that joy is not a privileged state. It lives within every human being and can be found again.

I had forgotten that joy has the power to set us free.

How would the world look like if everyone had access joy?

I can see it now. It would not be a world of suffering and injustice. It would be a world of connection, collaboration, love.

So maybe, just maybe, in bringing the awareness of joy to the world, I am not completely wasting the life that was given to me? I cautiously open to the possibility, with a new question:

What can I do to help? In actuality, not just as a nice philosophy?

I do not help by taking more suffering upon myself, I know so much. Also, I do not help by turning my back on suffering either. I’m asking myself again:

How can joy help, concretely?

I have seen situations where joy helped.  I have seen joy relieve pain, physical, emotional and mental. I have even seen joy prevent suicide. And I know that the experience of joy isn’t limited to a special, privileged group of people.

If we dedicate ourselves to bringing the awareness, the tools and the support to the world, eventually joy will resonate around the globe. And as it does, there will be a growing realization of our connection and of Oneness. And with that an expansion of our capabilities to show concern and to help. Because people who believe in Oneness have compassion for those outside of their immediate circle.

Yes, there are ways for me and you to contribute. And no, it’s not all on my shoulders, or yours. And yes, every life matters.

It matters in the world that we live in and it matters because, in truth, as we change our world changes. And as it spreads, joy can reach the entire world, not just the privileged one percent.

This is a big vision, I know. But it’s real enough for me to leave the movie theater, to go back to the privileged life of mine and to use it for something good.

If you haven’t yet please join us in the Joy Keepers Network here.

Thank you!

Learn more about “Capernaum” here. It’s also available on Amazon.