Awakening Joy: Life Skills for Living, Loving, Enjoying & Serving Life (Part 3)

Ep. 48 (Part 3 of 3) | “Don’t miss it!” says James Baraz, author of Awakening Joy and creator of the very intriguing 5-month Awakening Joy course. “Don't miss it'' refers to the present moment—the gladness, the beauty, the uniqueness. James explains that in order to awaken our joy, we need to savor the wholesome moments and not turn away distracted, slipping back into our habitual mental ruts. James’ teachings take us deeply into states like gratitude and compassionate presence, to where we can focus our attention on how it feels to feel good somatically, thereby creating new neural pathways that strengthen awareness and aliveness. James has witnessed a lot of people learn to love themselves and turn their lives around as a result of this teaching. Why are we the last ones to see the goodness inside ourselves? he wonders. How can we so radically underestimate ourselves? Rest in the landscape of gratitude when James guides a short meditation in part 2, and be inspired that transformational change is indeed possible for all of us—to where we can know the joy of loving ourselves, of connecting with others, the joy of letting go, of service, and the joy of simply being—as we undertake the fundamental experiment of discovering who we really are. Recorded September 14, 2022.“A simple shift of perspective is transformative.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time Stamps - Part 3Joy and awakening take a lot of courage; fear is really saying, “About to grow!” – Jack Kornfield (00:51)Reaching out for support is a reflection of health, not weakness (05:25)We are all transmitters of the energy of life: the ripple effects of joy (08:34)Why doesn’t everyone see the power in seeing the good? (14:00)What are the most life-changing discoveries that people make in the Awakening Joy course? (15:57)What are James’ practices today? Showing up for the world: joy and activism, opening to the pain in the world (19:32)Looking through 3 lenses: gratitude, compassion, and equanimity—to avoid denial, overwhelm, and disengagement (21:02)How can we be agents of healing, agents of consciousness? (25:47)This is the moment we were born for (27:41)We have made the face of the world into a reflection of the state of our minds (30:17)The wealth of giving to life, serving life (32:41)One Earth Sangha, virtual ecodharma center (34:59)Resources & References - Part 3Gerald Jampolsky, Love is Letting Go of Fear*Jack Kornfield, meditation teacher, author, founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, A Path with Heart*The Buddha, “Good friends…are the whole of the...

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