Dear Friends,
In Guided Meditation – Mudita, DaRa offers some opening comments, then sparks some generosity and gratitude through a story and reflection, and leads an appreciative joy practice that radiates joy to beings in all directions.
She says we’re up to something radical here by intentionally cultivating joy, gladdening the heart.
There are many joyful moments in life, but if our hearts are closed or contracted, these moments pass us by. We can train ourselves to start noticing more and more of these moments, and that can build some momentum.
On a retreat once, I noticed these tiny little purple flowers in the grasses I was walking through. Because my heart was open to that then, I find I am more likely to notice little flowers in the grass – especially when I remember to slow down. Even a dandelion can spark joy. Birds at the feeder. The sparkle of streetlights on the snow. The immensity of space filled with twinkling stars. Even the hum of traffic crossing the bridge. A breath. (The momentum is building for me – can you tell?)
Maybe “joy” is too big a word for you. Jeanne uses the phrase “quiet joy.” I like the words delight or contentment. If we can bring these moments to mind, either a present moment experience or a memory, we can warm our hearts. DaRa also uses story telling to help prime the pump. (Listen to her story of a boy and a drum in the talk.)
DaRa uses the analogy of a flame – we start with a flicker of warmth, and then we fuel it with memories of joys. And in her practice, she allows that warmth to radiate to the east and west, north and south, above and below.
This is one of my favorite styles of practice for the heart qualities.
If you prefer phrases, some common options be
May your happiness and good fortune never leave you.
May your happiness and good fortune grow and grow.
I am happy for you!
If joy doesn’t seem accessible in this moment, we can use phrases to set an intention
May I be filled with joy.
May I one day be filled with joy.
May I have the possibility of joy.
If you want to try a phrase-based practice with these phrases, check out Diana Winston’s offering from UCLA MARC’s Hammer podcast:
October 14, 2021 Taking Joy in Others’ Joy
https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mpeg/Hammer101421C.mp3
You can also read the gratitude reflection that DaRa offered and some phrases from Jack Kornfield in this excerpt from Jack’s book The Wise Heart:
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/excerpts/view/18100
What brings you joy? What are you grateful for? How do you feel in body/heart/mind when you bring these joys and gratitudes to mind?
With great delight,
Andrea
Thanks AG
It is the joy in the little details that sustains me as well. I love your picture. Of course the purple flowers are gorgeous but I love the gold of the grass and the little purse clasps of the grass seeds as well.. I am always hoping for Belinda the Blue Fairy to appear and anoint me with a vast cosmic miracle with one swipe of her Magic Wand, when all around me the intricacy of interwoven small perfections are all I ever need to know that the Cosmos is beyond Beauty and that even one moment, one breath, is enough and i have approximately one billion breaths to work with.
RND