April 22nd, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” Mother Teresa
We all want to feel more Joy in our lives. It can be confusing and frustrating when you aren’t experiencing the Joy you know you could be feeling. You can say to yourself “I want to feel better–I want to feel Joy–but I don’t know how to get to it.”
The following are false beliefs about Joy that could be getting in the way of you experiencing a higher level of Joy in your life each and every day.
False Beliefs about Joy
1. I can’t be Joyful if everything in my life is not how I want it right now. This is false. You can be joyful any moment that you choose to be. A phrase that can help with this is “I don’t have the job I really want—-but I can be happy now.”
Practice cultivating the capacity to feel the Joy that is available to you right now—looking out at the window at a beautiful tree, feeling the love in your heart for someone you love, feeling the love from your spiritual connection that is ever present, feeling gratitude for what you do have.
2. I can’t be Joyful if someone around me is in a bad mood. Start to get that your Joy is dependent on what you are focusing on internally—it is 100% in your hands not in anyone elses. This shifts you from a victim into true empowerment. Treat keeping your Joy level high—no matter what state anyone around you is in—like a practice—and the more you do it the better you will get at it!
3. I can’t be Joyful if something bad is happening in my Life ” I can’t be joyful because: I am sick, someone I love is sick, my husband lost his job, I am getting divorced, I lost someone close to me.” Again this is a limiting belief and see if you can open up to the moments of Joy that are available in the midst of challenge.
The more you do this—the easier the challenge will be for you. You will finally get that your Joy is not connected to external circumstances–it is inherently inside of you–available each and every moment–and you can reconnect with it at any time.
4. I can’t be Joyful because I don’t know how to be. Many people are so disconnected from their Joy that they can forget how it feels to be Joyful. The wonderful thing about this is your Authentic Self—which has aspects of your Inner Child—knows exactly how to be Joyful—it is very clear about this. There is no confusion on this level.
The confusion comes in when your Conditioned Self blocks the Joy of your Authentic self with messages like “Don’t do that you will look stupid,” or “You need to be serious and responsible”, “All heck will break loose if you let go and be Joyful” , “I’m afraid of what others will think.”
These are the messages that need to be healed and released to let the natural Joy of your Authentic Self fully express itself.
March 31st, 2008, by Shelley Riutta
The key to shifting our lives is changing our conditioned thoughts and patterns with how we view ourselves and how we view what is possible. When we are in our conditioned self we will view ourselves through the lens of judgement and we will perceive what is possible for us as very limited. Thoughts like “I could never reach my dreams” “I’m not capable of doing that” “That will NEVER happen for me” or “I don’t have what is takes to really do what I want to do”.
A great way to quickly shift yourself out of this negativity is to put positive statement and phrases into a song–or a catchy phrase you sing. You can sing “I am amazing and I am creating the life of my dreams” or one that I got from inspirational singer Karen Drucker from her Songs of the Spirit II CD is “Money is coming to me easily and effortlessly money is coming to me!” It doesn’t have to rhyme—you don’t have to be a fabulous singer ( although I believe everyone is a fabulous singer!) Have fun with it and make up your own inspirational songs. A great place to do this is in the car—you can really belt it out then!! Have fun with it—create your own songs and sing them LOUD. The more you occupy yourself with your positive songs–the more you will crowd the airways so the negativity can’t take hold and keep you down. It will also lift your vibration very high and it will be impossible for you to feel down!
Have fun and Sing Your Songs about what you want and the more you sing them—the more you will begin to believe them–and before you know it you will have Sung yourself into your Wildest Dreams!
I would love to hear what your songs are!
March 10th, 2008, by Shelley Riutta
I had the All You Joy You Can Stand! Workshop this past Saturday. The Workshop was filled to capacity and during the Breathwork session we had to fit people in the hallway (The hallway gang had a lot of fun together:) There was a lot of big breakthroughs and people becoming aware of the patterns that block their Joy. Yesterday I was looking at a little video I had taken of the group dancing and doing a Canga Line–I was laughing so hard as I was filming it— and I was laughing each time I watched it! I wish you could see it! We were having so much fun. It is always amazing to see the transformative power of Joy.
We all have limits on the amount of Joy we allow ourselves to feel–based on our fears and false beliefs about Joy. There is always a higher level of Joy that we can reach for—there are no limits! It is time for you to feel more Joy in your life NOW! For many people they have suffered so much in their life that they have a back log of Joy that needs to be felt and expressed. Here are some tips to blow the lid of your Joy Limit!
- Take a chance–do something goofy and out of the ordinary today. Start dancing with your co-worker, tell a joke, tell joyful story to someone, smile and be extra friendly to someone at the grocery store.
- Think about what you love about your life and tell someone about it. Share your Joy with someone else. Ex. “I love my kids so much, they bring so much joy to my life. “I love that I am healthy and that I am able to do the things I love to do.”
- Put on the music and DANCE! Let go of self-judgment and let yourself dance. EVERYBODY is a good dancer and I believe everyone deep down inside loves to dance. What keeps you from loving it is your own self-consciousness and fears about what other people will think. Let go of what they think and just dance?
- Put on the music and SING! On your way home from work today—put on some of your favorite music and SING–or make up your own song. I believe everyone has a beautiful voice and we are meant to me singing throughout the day.
- Make a plan to do something that brings you Joy this next weekend that you haven’t done in awhile. Plan joyful things in your schedule and treat these activities as essential ways to feed your Spirit. Doing the things that bring you Joy will give you more energy. So if you are feeling low energy— it is time to plan for some more Joy.
- Feel the Joy of the Present Moment- Drop out of your head and into your body. Let go of worry about the future. Whatever you are doing right now–find the joy right here and now. Feel the sensations of moving your body, seeing everything around you, really feel and be present for the interactions with other people. Find the Joy of the moment.
Set your intention to blow the lid off of your Joy Limits and watch your life Transform!
What is your favorite way to shift into Joy?
February 28th, 2008, by Shelley Riutta
We all want to feel good–yet most people don’t feel good–or don’t feel good consistently. The secret is that you can use your not so good feelings as indicators that you are off track. Whenever you are depressed, anxious or upset–these feelings are giving you information that your thoughts are out of alignment with your true nature–your authentic self.
Let’s take the example of depression—what kind of thoughts create depression? Thoughts like “I will never get what I want” “I am stuck in this situation I don’t like and I can’t do anything about it” “I am worthless” “I don’t deserve good things” “Nobody cares about me”. These are examples of “off track” thinking—the thinking of your conditioned self-your false self. Let’s replace each of those thoughts with the truth from the truest part of you, your authentic self–your spirit. The thoughts of your authentic self are positive and supportive:
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I will never get what I want shifts to >>>>>>>>> I can achieve anything I set my mind to
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I am stuck in this situation I don’t like and I can’t do anything about it shifts to>>>>>I have choices in every situation and I can make a choice to find a better situation or shift myself so this feels better–I have the power to do this
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I am worthless becomes>>>>> I am an amazing being who is loveable and incredible with so many gifts to share!
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I don’t deserve good things shifts to>>>>>I deserve everything that would make my heart sing, my happy heart helps those around me and I become a beacon of hope for others
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Nobody cares about me shifts to >>>>I have so much love around me each and every moment–from the people in my life, all the people who have ever loved me and from the spiritual realm
If you are not feeling great then check in and see what your false self is saying and write those thoughts down and do the above exercise. The more you shift your thoughts to the positive thoughts of your authentic self–the easier it becomes to do it. Eventually these thoughts will be the only thoughts you will be entertaining–and then you will be living from the Joy of your authentic self–and this is how you were meant to live!
December 3rd, 2007, by Shelley Riutta
One of the most empowering decisions you can make is to take 100 % responsibility for your happiness. The reality is that YOU are the only one who is in charge of your happiness. You are the one who chooses the thoughts you entertain in your mind and the way that you interpret what is happening in your life. You are the one that is capable of taking actions that are loving to you and that move you in the direction of your dreams. Check in to see if you are either consciously or unconsciously handing the responsibility for your happiness over to someone else in your life. If you feel frustrated, stuck and helpless—these are some indicators that you may be doing this.
Make a decision today to take 100% responsibility for your happiness—let go of the belief that others have to change or do something different in order for you to be happy. It is fully in your hands.