JoyFull Living – by Louise Lavergne

Since a big part of our Thanksgiving celebration is geared around food preparation, I though I’d share a tried and true recipe for Joy-Full Life. At this time of year, you can usually find an abundance of the main ingredient for this recipe: gratitude. All the current circumstances in our life are simply a result of what we bring into our minds and hearts. How we bring all the ingredients together give our life the flavor of happy, sad and sometimes sweet, sour etc…. What we put in, we get out. In a time of crisis we can be quick to judge others and ourselves as we look for reasons and solutions outside ourselves for whatever is “going wrong.” The statement “It’s not MY fault,” keeps us in a disempowering victim mode. It can be challenging to find our way out of there, because it feeds the illusion that our happiness relies on external situations and/or material things. By opening up to the opportunity of what is showing up and stretching beyond the blame game, we can create amazing results and transform the “flavor” of our life.

zen-chefThe first ingredient is acceptance and taking responsibility for everything around you. Some of the pain and suffering we experience comes from how we relate and feel about our current circumstance. What we resist persists. As we let go of the resistance, we can move beyond the problems and attract lasting solutions.

Then, you need to add the next ingredient: forgiveness. First, forgive yourself for the story within that is attracting the “problem”, then forgive the others playing a part in the story. This will prevent “sticking” and allow for the drama to be released from your life.

Be sure to take the time to clear out complaining, blaming and resenting.

Then gently bring in compassion, sweetened with unconditional love. If you just add love, but keep the judgment, you won’t get the unconditional kind and the recipe won’t turn out as well.

Now you’re ready to add the gratitude. It’s easy to give thanks for all the blessings but be sure to include the challenges and crises so you can open up to receive the gift of transformation. Gratitude heals and opens the door of our hearts so we can feel joy. Practicing gratitude during a time of crisis can be a challenge but begin by asking yourself: “What is right about me and my life right now?” Don’t get caught up on what “was” or “should” be, because that will create a feeling of loss and give a stuck and heavy texture to your life. This tends to cause us to feel powerless to make the changes and adjustments needed to align with the best part of ourselves, which is crucial for Joy-Full results.

Remember: your emotions are your own personal GPS—Global Positioning System. They act as a magnet to what you can attract in your life and help you navigate towards a positive, productive, joy-full place or a negative, destructive, more painful place. Challenges are part of life; you need to accept them and face them, by taking responsibility for your position. With compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love and gratitude, you can clear the old stories taking you away from your joy and transcend them. Then you can attract positive solutions with ease. This recipe takes practice and requires you to develop the ability to be present. Try practicing gentle breathing to allow for a deeper inner connection.

As you strive to accept your present situation as an expression of your intentions, you can begin to align towards a more Joy-Full life. Look for classes at JoyFull Yoga to assist you to breathe in gratitude and live in joy to live your best life now!

© Louise Lavergne, 2001-2013

Louise is an international inspirational speaker, author, creator of JoyFull Yoga and JoyFull living coaching. She owns JoyFull Yoga LLC in Jacksonville where she offers private sessions and group classes. Email us your questions at info@joyfull-yoga.com. www.joyfull-yoga.com 541-899-0707. Click ad below for website.

Posted November 6, 2013

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