KARMA #10

JOY-HAPPINESS

Sometimes I go about pitying myself and all the time I am being carried on great winds across the sky.” Ojibway wisdom

 

When we walk with our guides and/or ancestors as well as the Creator we are protected in life and do not feel alone.

Joy has a different flavor to it than happiness. Joy is an exuberant, sometimes almost ecstatic feeling found in the present moment. Some folks are naturally joyful, most of us, not so much, except in special circumstances. Happiness has many synonyms: Serenity, Well Being, Equanimity, Harmony, Balance, Inner Peace, Connection, Belonging, Meaning…

“In the song of the rushing torrent hold onto the joyful assurance: I will become the sea. And this is not a vain supposition, it is absolute humility because it is the truth.” Tagore

We are given the gift of being in a sensory body which we lose when the soul travels to the light after death. We need to appreciate, have gratitude and be responsible for that special gift which is temporary.

We are here to fully enjoy the senses, but responsibly.

“Joy is not incidental to your spiritual quest … it is vital.”  Rev. Nachman

"I do not know what your destiny will be

but one thing I do know

is that the only ones among you who will be happy

will have sought and found how to serve." A. Schweitzer

Happiness and meaning are interrelated. If we are serving others with

or without our core strength or destiny we will achieve equanimity.

Buddhism, for this reason, teaches us to take our suffering, and make something

useful out of it by helping others.

"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

After enlightenment chop wood, carry water." Zen saying

Once what you are living and what you are doing has for you meaning ... you are content, you are not alone in your spirit, you belong." L. Van Der Post

Life is all about innocence, sorrow and joy. We are meant to continually strive to recapture happiness.

"Do your work, then step back, the only way to serenity.”  Tao Te Ching

"When you find your place, where you are, practice begins." Dogen

Finding equanimity in amongst the play of light and dark is challenging. 

Cleanse the lens, adjust the focus, rid what clutters and impedes.
Shed and shie what keeps the soul from joy.

Father Toomy teaches that serenity means being active and aware. It requires our attention and our effort. Rare are those who live in joy, for most of us its about serenity or similar ... It takes work.

 

“Serenity is not a passive condition but an undisturbed state of mind, active and aware. This can also be quiet joy, sometimes ecstatic joy, always deep within spirit and light of heart.” 

Father Toomy

 

We need to be able to coexist with the profane - the negative around us without being discouraged. The temptation is to give up hope and be influenced by the challenges in the ebb and flow of life which may seem to be getting worse day by day. We must resist going to the dark side when there is just as much and even more light around us – if we look for it.

“Savor! Give yourselves to savoring, even the doubting, even the struggling. Savor it all. You are only to savor it to be worthy of it. It is the way of actualizing.” Father Toomey

Savoring is good karma.

“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin“ 

Joshua Heschel

The dark side is more vocal, so it has the appearance of being in the majority which is not always true. Sometimes 'it doth protest too much' because the dark resists being overcome by the sacred. 

Avoid too much social media, T.V. and toxic movies. A regular meaningful spiritual practice, done almost daily and also whenever needed is essential for maintaining harmony and balance in today's world.

 We need to be able to savor the moments between the evil and good, light and the dark, coexisting with the negative or profane but not assimilating it.

If we consider ourselves navigating our canoe down the river of life, we are 'paddling' between two banks. The one of joy, happiness, equanimity and the other of sorrow grief and pain.

When we bump up on the bank of happiness we should enjoy the moment and then move back into midstream (the middle way of the Buddha.) We cannot successfully perseverate or attach to any special inner peace without negative effects - for instance using alcohol or mind altering drugs.

When we end up on the bank of grief and sorrow we must not get out, have a pity party and set up camp. By all means possible and especially with one's spiritual practice (preferably an embodied one) we get back into midstream.

Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist described two Selves concerning equanimity. The Experiencing one and the Remembering Self. 

The Experiencing Self relates to pure joy or happiness in the present moment. For instance roaring with laughter during a funny movie. He calls the Remembering self 'synthetic' happiness which is part of our psychological immune system. We review our life and convince ourselves we are happy. 'I have great friends, I love where I live, have a roof over my head and a good job, think of those poor people in Ukraine etc...' We are not necessarily feeling happy in that moment.

He adds that the last thing that happens to us will affect the Remembering Self and that we need to reverse it as soon as possible so it does not spoil our synthetic happiness. Hence, there is wisdom in getting back on one's bike or horse immediately after falling off it and not going to bed angry. In this way one is not left with that bad memory, rather the exhilaration of being back on the ride. Therefore when we bump up on the bank of sorrow we need to redeem it as soon as possible so as not to be lastingly impregnated with the negative experience.

 Meditate, do yoga, take a walk on the beach, call a good friend or watch a funny movie. This is good advice for handling all the negatives we are bombarded with concerning the planet today.