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There’s something about July that is pure magic!
Summertime is in full swing, the days seem almost endless, and life just seems to be lived in the present moment.
Given this, it is an excellent month to focus on growing your inner sense of exaltation—keep reading to learn more!
Definitions of Joy:
In a book that has personally shaped me (and this space!), it lists the feeling that we call joy… is really made up of a mixture of different feelings!
The Book of Joy states that some of these feelings are:
- Elevation
- Humor
- Gratitude
- Bliss
- and Exaltation
This month, the focus is going to be on exaltation: what it is, why July is a great time to grow it, and ways to increase your exaltation!
What’s Exaltation, Really?
If you have read my other posts highlighting these different joy-feelings (or pretty much any post I write!), I LOVE to dive into the formal definitions of words.
Oftentimes, we hear and use these words in our daily lives, but rarely do we stop to actually take stock of what these words really mean.
Dictionary.com defines the word “exhalt” as meaning “to praise…”
Many times, as humans, we tend to focus on what’s not going well…
“Ugh, rain again today.”
“If only we could have our temperatures be 10 degrees less…”
“I wish it stopped snowing already!”
“What will life look like 10 years from now? Will everything still be alright?”
First, I want to emphasize that we are all HUMAN. We are not perfectly perfect… we are perfectly imperfect human beings who make mistakes, grow, and keep trying to level-up to our next best selves.
Second, I want to say—given this— what if we try to catch ourselves and start praising rather than complaining?
“Thank you for this rain because it gives me a chance to curl up with a book inside today, and it is watering all the plants outside.”
“Thank you for this warm weather because it is giving our plants what they need to grow!”
“I appreciate the snow because it is reminding me of the beauty of every season.”
“The future is certainly uncertain. But, I can work on creating the future I want while also appreciating the present moment and all it is bringing me.”
It’s a shift, for sure, but I think it will lead us to see all the gifts that praise can bring!
Why Focus on Exaltation in July?
July, is such an essence of summertime—and oftentimes a highlight of our year (although I am learning the gifts that each month offers us in its own unique way)!
Something with July though, it just seems to offer us the best. Slow living, good times, and a sense of all is alright.
And what a better time than when life feels good than to celebrate and praise the good!
I do want to mention that for many people (myself included!) when things seem to be really good, there can be a sense of “something bad is going to happen.” If you read that and think, “Yes—I totally get afraid when life seems to be going too well!”, please know that this is actually a feeling. It is called foreboding joy— check out my post all about it to learn more and what to do when you feel it to shift towards true joy!
How to Add Some Exaltation to Your Life
1.) Gaze Up!: One of the things that I learned from one of my aunts is the magic of looking toward the skies. When life seems to be feeling like a lot, there is nothing like looking up to the skies to put everything into perspective again, and to cultivate such a sense of appreciation for life. All those stars, all those planets, each one moving in its own perfectly aligned timing, and we are all just part of ONE galaxy out of who knows how many? Truly, if you want to cultivate a sense of praise/ exaltation for life, LOOK UP! This could be going stargazing, going to an event at an observatory/ planetarium, going camping to a spot where there is less light pollution, or simply setting up a chair outside and looking UP!
2.) Appreciation Practice: A key element here with regards to exaltation is that it is feeling an intense sense of appreciation! What I was talking about earlier is one way to shift towards a more appreciative attitude in life—catch and reframe complaints into gratitude. Another appreciation practice that I love is where you list 10 things you appreciate and why every day ( I talked about this in my post for 10 joyful things in November!). Appreciation is such a key to feeling more joy in life (and it is the remedy to feeling foreboding joy from above!). For myself, when I feel a sense of feeling a little off in life, I realize that shifting my attitude to one of appreciation/praise opens a whole world for me and a new sense of exaltation!
3.) Meditate: If there was one thing off of this list that I would encourage others to try, it would be meditation! Meditation opens a new inner world within you, and as a result, you oftentimes find yourself feeling such a joy for life, a sense of appreciation for getting to live it, and an exaltation of getting to be part of something bigger. If you want to learn more about meditation, its joy connection for me, and my favorite meditations to do, check out my post on How Meditation Increases Joy? below.
4.) Get Into Nature: Much like looking up at the stars and planets, getting into nature is another powerful way to cultivate a sense of praise/ exaltation. When we take a hike, go for a walk, or simply sit under a tree for a bit, there tends to be this deep, soulful, level of praise for nature/our planet. Take a hike, garden, go birdwatching, pick some fresh produce, or enjoy a good book outside and see for yourself! Our Mother Earth is such a beautiful place, and how lucky are we to call her home?
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Celebrating July’s Exaltation