Tag Archives: travel

Where is The Joy?

Where did the joy of life go? Joy gives us a feeling of lightness of being. It’s an expression, I believe, of our true natural state, but even in “normal times” it gets buried beneath the problems of life. Joy is relief from those heavy feelings that we inevitably must deal with in our daily lives, and lately those have multiplied exponentially.

How do we reclaim our joy, right here, right now? (We must actively do this, while we still remember what that state feels like.) If you are currently restricted from those activities that bring you joy, then carve out a bit of quiet time in your day to close your eyes and play them like short movies in your mind. As you watch the pictures roll through your mind, tune into the happy and joyful feeling(s) within you as you observe. Let the movie flow throughout your body.

Further, rather than treating it just as a replay of the past (which keeps us stuck in the past), imagine yourself doing those things (as well as new things you desire to experience) again in future. Strong feelings and images are very powerful when combined with intention to manifest what we desire.

This is extremely important! If we constantly focus on the negative narrative in the news, we are actually helping with our minds to manifest it. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty sick of the doomsdayers trying to create my future!

We can also help each other to do this. For example, I have a good friend who started a social media group, and she shares beautiful pictures of the Alps in Europe – the gorgeous scenery, the activities, the famous spots to visit in a cluster of countries – and together the members of the group protect and keep alive the beauty of life.

Only you can decide what may bring you some relief from this current feeling of oppression. This is very subjective and personal. This is a memory that brings me great joy and makes me feel light of heart, without fail.

The Magic of Dragonfly

The magical dragonfly is a fond girlhood memory of summer for me. Paddling around the lake on sultry afternoons, I loved to watch their iridescent colors flitting among the graceful lily pads. They captivated me. There was a purity and magic about these tiny gossamer creatures. They seemed to occupy a mysterious, unseen world, to which for a few moments I was privy.

Peace and a feeling of the goodness in the world were mine, and they still are when I close my eyes and revisit this memory. I also strongly connect to a feeling of freedom.

There is extensive symbology attributed to the dragonfly in various cultures. For such a tiny creature, it sure has made a big impression on us. More reading on dragonfly symbology here: The Meaning of a Dragonfly: What Does a Dragonfly Symbolize?

Whatever brings you joy and however you would like to envision your future, commit to fiercely protecting this vision in your mind. Work on manifesting the future you want, rather than letting someone else create your future for you. In this time of great change, it is absolutely essential.

Inspirational quote:

“…What if the point is to stop, then,… and listen to the birdsong, to watch the dragonflies hover, to look at your lover’s face, then up at the undersides of leaves moving together in the breeze? What if the point is to invite these others into your movement, to bring trees, wind, grass, dragonflies into your family and in so doing abandon any attempt to control them? What if the point all along has been to get along, to relate, to experience things on their own terms? What if the point is to feel joy when joyous, love when loving, anger when angry, thoughtful when full of thought? What if the point from the beginning has been to simply be?” ~ Derrick Jensen, A Language Older than Words

Dissonance in Our Minds

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We live in a time of extreme cognitive dissonance. Some days I feel like I’ve walked through a portal into a twilight zone. How about you?

Cognitive dissonance occurs when two or more ideas or beliefs being held in our minds at the same time are in conflict. From the dictionary:

“Cognitive dissonance (noun) Psychology: The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

Right now the world we believed in and many of our value systems are coming into acute question. Our inward belief systems no longer match the outward reality. Our minds are frantically scrambling to resolve the dissonance.

This can be extremely unsettling and stressful to process. There are articles out there on the Internet about how to resolve cognitive dissonance, this is just one, by Verwell Mind: Cognitive Dissonance and How to Resolve It

On a positive note, consider that cognitive dissonance may be a very important process that we need to experience right now. It can lead to questioning beliefs and systems that have not been serving us well.

Consider also that the resolution for this dissonance may well be found not only in our heads, but also within our hearts. This is a crisis of not only physical reality, but also of spirit.

And as an important end note: If ever there was a time to not block our personal discomfort with external events, this is it. Our world is a mess, and our cognitive dissonance demands acknowledgement and processing. It’s time to be really observant, think for ourselves, and practice critical thinking.

Feel Nature’s Pulse

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We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important break.

A nature break, that is. Nature’s poetry brought to your doorstep. Breathe deeply, let go of the chaos and negativity in the news, and feel the gentle pulse of the sweet soul of the Earth. Steadfast and true, she waits for you…

Inspirational Quotes by John Muir:

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.”

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

“Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.”

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”

“The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”