Bliss Out

What brings you joy?

Take a moment to let yourself feel quiet. It doesn’t matter if there’s a symphony of car horns or neighbors’ music or even voices in your head … just let yourself … feel … quiet.

Now smile. Whether you feel like it or not.

Now start writing: what brings you joy? Real joy. That feeling of delight and surprise that something in the world could be so wonderful. A pet. A perfectly sunny day that’s not-too-hot-not-too-cold. Fresh grass. The bustle of your neighborhood as it starts to come to life early in the morning.

Let the thoughts — and the pen – lead you where they may as you explore the truly unfettered, unquestionably joyous.

I think this is often the point of gratitude journals, but when I search for things that make me feel “grateful,” it restricts me to things that also seem virtuous. (Just me? OK.)

If you find yourself slipping in the words “but” or “except when,” make a note of that and see if you can guide your stream-of-consciousness back not to things that simply have a “positive feeling” like last week, but which restore your faith in the goodness of the world.

If you journal multiple times… Keep going! You can’t do too much in this area. Our goal is to leave this week feeling refreshed and always on the lookout for more wonderful things to include in the next day’s entry.

If you have completed the journal prompts above, then simply let yourself write for ten minutes without any rules or restrictions. Consider the prompts, your previous journal entries this week, and just let your pen go!

Many thanks to The Mercedes Club, Hell’s Kitchen, NY, for letting me record these yoga flows in their gorgeous yoga studio.

If you prefer to meditate on your own, unguided: Feel your spinal column rising up out of the space beneath you. And continue letting your mind's eye rise to the space above you … and the space above that … and the (interstellar) space beyond that.