Experiencing Real Joy – Part 1 of 3

We all want joy in our lives, naturally.

But do we have real joy… sustainable joy?

Paul’s blackboard presentation

To begin our journey today, I chose a definition of joy that is congruent with the message I share in my blog (and vlog):

Joy is a state of mind and an orientation of the heart. It is a settled state of contentment, confidence and hope.

Reference from Theopedia

One of my favorite teachers in my life is Joseph Campbell. In various lectures he gave, Campbell spoke of bliss as being something that we all seek, but are often unaware of the etymology of the word, which he states comes from a root word that relates to pain.

We can’t really have, or experience joy without the reality of pain, just as we can’t really understand what “up” means without understanding what “down” means.

Because pain is an inevitable aspect of life and the creation of consciousness, people of all walks of life throughout antiquity have had spiritual practices to help them hold life’s many challenges and opportunities in healthy perspective, which is the only way real joy – sustainable joy – can emerge.

In an interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power Of Myth, Sacrifice and Bliss, Campbell stated:

“You don’t have to go on a pilgrimage to find your own sacred place, where you can follow your bliss and nourish the activity of your own creative imagination. Where is your bliss station, you know? Try to find it.”

The interview continues:

BILL MOYERS: What does it mean, to have a sacred place?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: This is a term I like to use now as an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour a day or so, where you do not know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe to anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you, but a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. And first you may find that nothing’s happening there, but if you have a sacred place and use it, and take advantage of it, something will happen.

BILL MOYERS: This place does for you what the plains did for the hunter…

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: For them the whole thing was a sacred place, do you see? But most of our action is economically or socially determined, and does not come out of our life. I don’t know whether you’ve had the experience I’ve had, but as you get older, the claims of the environment upon you are so great that you hardly know where the hell you are. What is it you intended? You’re always doing something that is required of you this minute, that minute, another minute. Where is your bliss station, you know? Try to find it. Get a phonograph and put on the records, the music, that you really love. Even if it’s corny music that nobody else respects, I mean, the one that you like or the book you want to read, get it done and have a place in which to do it. There you get the “thou” feeling of life. These people had it for the whole world that they were living in.

Click here to read the complete interview.

Paul’s altar in his “Heaven House” office

Because I get up early in the morning to come to my office, where I spend most of my time coaching people through almost every kind of healing or life crisis challenge you can imagine, it is essential for me to start my day by grounding and centering myself in Spirit and in Love. At home, my “bliss station” is my sauna where I detoxify and meditate each night, which I most often follow with tai chi.

In my vlog today, I take you on a tour of the “three worlds” we all inhabit simultaneously, whether we are conscious of it or not. Also, I’ll show you how to develop more awareness of each of these three worlds, and how having a dream gives us the inspiration to grow spiritually, which means to cultivate real joy – sustainable joy.

I hope you’ll take the time to watch as I share these practical applications and tips:

1. If you don’t like what is happening in your life, look carefully for what you are creating unconsciously…

– Where are your trigger/growth points? What irritates you most is where your greatest growth potential is! How’s that for a paradox!

– What is your environment (inner and outer) mirroring back to you? Are you engaging in the joy, or taking the opportunity to recreate yourself?

2. Sacred Time/Space: Create sacred time in your sacred space to give thanks for all that you have, and to create dream-affirmative thoughts, feelings and emotions.

3. Get clear on what your FIRST PRINCIPLE is, and work objectively and honestly from that place. Otherwise, the rest is just “a story that may be a bad habit that isn’t an expression of the truth of the universe.” Since the universe is a harmonious self-sustaining whole, being anything else produces experiences that serve as a reminder that you must provide the power to maintain that state yourself!…

I created the resources below to support you in your process of creating real joy. They are practices that work for me, and have helped me in aiding thousands of others develop effective practices for managing their lives in dream-affirmative ways that are in harmony with the universe.

Resources:

1. Paint a Circle around the Arrow of Life and Hit the Bullseye Every Time! (PDF ebook)
2. The Last 4 Doctors You’ll Ever Need: How to Get Healthy Now (multimedia ebook)
3. CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coaching Level 1 online, live or hybrid online plus versions available.
4. P~P~S Success Mastery online lessons:

• Lesson 1 – Determining Your Legacy. Also available with a DVD of a live workshop as The First Step Program
• Lesson 2 – Managing Your Self
• Lesson 3 – Setting Goals

I hope you enjoyed my blog today!

Love and chi,

Paul Chek