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One of the biggest game-changers in boosting my inner joy in life has been utilizing meditation.
After years and years of hearing how good it was, I would usually give it a try and then forget about it.
However, when I went all-in with my meditation practice—meditating every single day at least once for the most part— I noticed the BIGGEST and most PROFOUND shift in my inner joy.
Keep reading to learn all about how meditation can increase your joy!
Meditation Background
Most people already have a preconceived notion of what meditation looks like… however, in truth meditation is truly however and whatever you want it to be! Isn’t that a load of pressure off?
For me, Dr. Joe Dispenza is the person who really single-handedly introduced me to the power of meditation!
If there is one thing to know about Dr. Joe Dispenza, it’s that he is intrigued by mental rehearsal.
In his book, Becoming Supernatural, he writes,
“What you put your attention on and mentally rehearse over and over again not only becomes who you are from a biological perspective, it also determines your future.” -Dr. Joe Dispenza
Whether we mean to or not, we are constantly mentally rehearsing.
Most people are mentally rehearsing what they don’t want to happen like what causes them anger, sadness, or guilt.
However, you can also mentally rehearse what you want to happen in life.
Amazingly, what makes us… well us… is a memorized set of patterns. These can be feelings, thoughts, habits, etc., and we label them as “who we are”. These are often in our subconscious—which is the part of us that we are not really aware is there, but it is certainly dictating a lot of who we present ourselves to be to the world.
By using the mental rehearsal found in meditating, we can go in and start to create the thoughts, feelings, and habits that we intentionally choose to be part of our lives and choose to program our subconscious with a lot more joy!
In Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself, by Dr. Joe Dispenza, describes meditation as the following,
“[…] I use the term meditation as a synonym for self-observation as well as self-development. After all, to become familiar with anything, we have to spend some time observing it. […] Another way to think of this transition is when you go from being a doer to a doer/watcher.” -Dr. Joe Dispenza
Meditation is a practice, there is no way around that.
Sometimes we come away feeling really good, other days we struggle with it. However, gradually—for me—I notice that there comes a time when the good starts to really gain momentum, and I’m left with a true sense of joy from meditation that can last me through the whole day.
Joyful Benefits
From personal experience, meditation has been one of the biggest and most impactful tools that increased my joy.
In three main ways, meditation leaves me connected to my joy more and more as I do it.
1.) It gives me space.
Not just physical space—although that usually happens when you find a quiet spot to meditate. Meditation gives me mental space. It causes me to see my mind for what it is—the mind—and not take what it says so seriously. When thoughts arise during meditation, this space allows me to clear them SO much easier than when I am not meditating. The doubts, the fears, the worries—they all seem so much smaller and less meaningful when I meditate. Many meditators talk about meditation being like seeing a blue sky. The thoughts that arise are simply clouds that are passing over the blue sky, and when you meditate you see that you are not the clouds. You are the blue sky!
2.) It connects me to the REAL me.
When I meditate, not only do I feel the spaciousness of letting my thoughts float on by, but I also feel more connected to the real me. This real me is my intuition, my inner BE-ing, etc. It is where my TRUE joy lives. And when I meditate I feel the strongest connection with it. It breaks through clear as day and shows me what I truly want to create in life. I truly love that meditation gives me this gift!
3.) It connects me to something bigger than me!
Perhaps one of the most meaningful offerings meditation has given me is that it connects me to a higher sense of BE-ing. What I mean by that is meditation gives me a sense of wonder at this whole existence. Appreciation for nature, for humanity, and for this moment in time. It makes me feel connected to something bigger than myself. When I get up from a powerful meditation, I feel such a sense of connection to all things and life itself. Whenever I feel like “something” is missing, a really awesome meditation will make me feel completely whole again—completely appreciative to be alive at this moment!
Some who have not meditated a lot may read this list and think this is a little hard to believe. But, I speak in complete honesty when I say, meditation has hands-down been the biggest tool to ignite my sense of joy in life. I encourage everyone and anyone who resonates with it to give it a try, and see what impact it has on them!
My Favorite Meditations
Here’s a list of some of my all-time favorite meditations at the moment! You’ll notice that they are all Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations because those are the ones that really have impacted me the most personally. Check them out if you need some inspiration for where to start or if you need some refreshing new meditations to try!
1.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Morning/Evening Meditations Updated Version: These are the meditations that I probably do and use the most. The morning meditation is a great way to begin your day—it takes you through how you want your day to unfold along with thinking about what you don’t want to bring to your day ahead. The night meditation provides a wonderful time to reflect back on your day. How did you align? Where did you maybe not align? If you could re-do the day, how would you? These meditations are truly spectacular ones to begin with, especially if you have not done any Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations before—he offers a more unique meditation than what more traditional meditators are probably used to!
2.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Tuning Into New Potentials Meditation Updated Version: When I want to do a longer meditation, this is one of my favorites to do! It does require a little bit of fun prep work— you need to identify two things that you are wanting in life! It could be a new home, a new career, wonderful friends, etc. Kelly Noonan Gores offers a great Instagram post explaining this prep work for this meditation! After you have identified your two potentials and done the prep work, Dr. Joe Dispenza will lead you through this incredible meditation where you will meditate on how you think/feel/act when these things come true! It’s a really fun meditation to do!
3.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Love the Life You Love Meditation: This is my newest favorite meditation! It is a peaceful one to do when you want to be reminded that it is your birthright to love the life you are living. Taking you through some fun awareness concepts, Dr. Joe reminds you to love your life!
4.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Generating Joy Meditation: Of course I had to include this one! This is my go-to meditation when I don’t have a lot of time to fit in my meditation time. Clocking in at around 15 minutes, it gives you the chance to really realize that you ARE joy!
5.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Walking Meditation 1 Updated Version: As I talked about before, meditation can look a lot of different ways! I love Dr. Joe’s walking meditations to break up the more traditional sit-down meditations that I often do. To start you will do a more traditional sit-down meditation (I usually complete these meditations outside!) before you then get up and walk in the meditation as the person that you want to be. You then end the meditation by sitting down once again to finish it up!
6.) Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Changing Boxes Meditation: This is another one of my favorites to do when I have the time to do a longer meditation. It’s a great one to do when you are viewing circumstances from one viewpoint and want to try to see it a different way!
As you start your meditation journey, know that is natural and expected to not be focused 100% of the time. Meditation, even for those who have been doing it for longer periods, constantly challenges us to remember to come back to the present moment of the powerful NOW!
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The Ultimate Guide to Meditation: Benefits & Top Recommendations