“Since joy is the goal of all goals, therefore nothing less than perpetual joy would satisfy us”
Vyasa
It was March 19, 2001, and we were spending spring holidays on the lush island of Kauai. I had not slept well for a few nights. Here I am in paradise, yet my body and mind are not happy. My morning routine is to have tea, read and then meditate. So I opened the lesson on Daily Meditations: Practicing the Course by Karen Casey. The lesson happened to be, “Perpetual Joy Is Possible.” My initial impulse was to fling the book across the room. The idea of joy seemed so discordant to the feelings of frustration, disappointment, and exhaustion that was my experiential reality of the moment!
Despite a great deal of inner resistance, I decided to read the daily lesson anyway. The key points were as follows:
• Nothing really matters, and this experience is merely an illusion.
• Joy is our prerogative, and we do have the ability to choose.
After the meditation, I decided to reread the lesson. It felt somewhat softer. I decided to go on a gentle walk to contemplate the message while enjoying the lush, green landscape of Princeville Kauai. I do not know when the shift happened, but suddenly, as though a cloud had been lifted, the mind and body were in the moment and the mood was one of acceptance, lightness of being, and joy. It was indeed a miracle! This natural state of joy and ease stayed with me during rest of the holidays in Hawaii.
When we returned to Ottawa, my daughter informed me my father had a stroke and was in a coma. After a few prayerful moments, I decided to stay in Ottawa and spent the next two weeks on the phone consulting with the physicians who were looking after him, providing moral support to my mother, and praying for the highest will in this situation.
One night, I went to bed in a rather prayerful mood and found myself sending loving kindness to my father who was still in Coma. I noticed my awareness floating up and down a hollow, dimly lit shaft. Suddenly, I broke through the shaft and found myself facing many suns of brilliant white light and a panoramic view of space and planets. I am not sure how long I stayed in that state and then snapped back into body awareness with an unearthly feeling of joy, while every cell of my body was pulsing. With this feeling of joy came the acceptance and peace to face whatever Divine Will might create. My father passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, and I was left with a deep sense of gratitude and stillness.
What do we really want through all of our accomplishments, relationships, and the material world of form? On contemplation, we may realize that ultimately we all yearn for something formless like happiness, love, peace, joy, fulfillment, passion. Since these qualities are an expression of Divinity, we may find ourselves seeking the Divine without being aware of it.
A- Z of…. ‘How to cultivate joy’
• Aspire with every breath.
• Being before doing.
• Choose being happy over being right.
To experience and learn ‘How to cultivate Joy’ Rupinder and I invite you to attend our workshop….
“JOYFUL LIVING” The art and science of everyday happiness.
Friday may 10th…8.30-4PM…at the Royal Ottawa Hospital.
613 739-7051
Email marieconstance.morley@theroyal.ca
Sunder S Arora M.D, psychiatrist, author,
“Ushering in Heaven” A psychiatrist’s prescription for Healing, Joy and Spiritual awakening.
Here is the link for the event……
http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1179647
