JoyScaping

JoyScaping Tip: Mind Your Mind

We've heard the phrase "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional". Suffering and Joy flow from our stream of consciousness and thinking. We can experience physical and emotional pain, but suffering stems from fearful thoughts; thoughts that stem from not feeling safe, good enough or loved. Extended or repetitive thoughts of anger, judgement, jealousy and anxiety create a space and existence that creates suffering and increases our pain.

We can reduce suffering by being mindful of where our thoughts travel. When we feel anger, sadness, hate, anxiety, jealousy, it's a signal that we are heading down a path that will lead to suffering. I'm not suggesting that you stuff these emotions. Acknowledge them, express them constructively, but don't dwell on them.

In short, we must be mindful of our thoughts, the corresponding feelings they produce and the actions they inspire. Mindfulness allows us to objectively observe and examine our thoughts and stop us from behavior

JoyScaping Process To 'Mind' your Mind:

1) Exhale: When you find yourself falling headfirst into, thoughts that steal your peace, stop and breathe. Constructive action seldom comes from a place of panic.

2) Examine: Own your emotion and express it, constructively. Don't take it out on anyone else. Write it down, unleash all of it, if you can. If you can't at least express what you're feeling: "I feel _________". Then, examine the thought. Ask yourself "What was I just thinking? How does that make me feel? Do I want to continue feeling this?" If the thought brings joy and inspiration, continue. If not, go to the next step.

3) Excavate: Get to the root of what you are thinking and why you are upset. Ask yourself "What do I fear? Why do I fear this?" The answer is the root issue that needs addressing.

4) Express Your Safety: Look around you. Where are you when you are experiencing this thought? Are you in real danger? Is your life threatened? What is happening in this Moment that the thought is being experienced? Chances are, we are not in a life or death situation when we are experiencing the thoughts that lead to suffering. Feeling that the situation that we're in may lead to death of some sort, is more likely the case. In the moment, however, we are safe. Breathe and remind yourself of that reality.

5) Elevate Your Mind: Reach for a higher, peaceful more joyful thought. Practice gratitude, listen to a happy song, make a mental list of people who love and support you. The goal is to move from a space of suffering to a space of peace and joy.

Go through this process when you feel angry, sad, agitated or unhappy. Feelings are a sure sign of what we're thinking. Take more control of your thoughts and minimize suffering. Your Joy is waiting.

JoyScaping Tip: Breathe

When we're nervous, angry, anxious tense or upset, we have a tendency to hold our breath. Shallow breathing and holding your breath can affect the flow of oxygen to the brain, blood pressure, digestion, muscle function, sleeping patterns, memory, brain function...I think you get the point.

Sometimes our psychological pain has a physical source, or at least a physical solution. Release the tension, lower your blood pressure, expel toxins and clear your mind

Breathe.

JoyScaping Tip: Sow Only What You Want To Grow

" A man's mind may be likened to a garden which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall  therein, and will continue to produce their kind. " ~James Allen

Have you ever noticed that when we worry and rehearse negative thoughts that all hell breaks loose in our lives? Or, that we see our negative beliefs play out in our experiences time after time? What we do comes from what we think. The basic premise of JoyScaping is that our lives are gardens and we are the gardeners. To cultivate joy and create a life that's beautiful and bountiful, requires planning, planting and maintenance. We have more control over what shows up and stays in our garden than we like to think. We've all heard that we reap what we sow. This is true of thought and words, in addition to deeds.

Sow only what you want to grow. What thoughts are you planting in your subconscious or into your children's minds? Do you believe that things never work out in your favor, that people are out to get you, that your boss is crazy or that you'll never find love? While you may have had experiences to support this belief, you have had other experiences which do not. Which belief do want to grow? The negative thoughts and words we rehearse are seeds. What we plant in life grows and we eat the fruit of our beliefs. The next time you have a thought or are tempted to announce a negative "truth" or complaint stop and do these three things to consciously sow better seeds.

1) Ask yourself: Do I want this to be my experience? While we may feel justified in thinking that our spouse is wrong, all women or men are (insert negative belief here) or that the world is a mess, do you want to eat the experiences that those thoughts create daily? Resist the urge to keep saying that belief, rehearsing the sad story or stewing in those thoughts.

2) Shift your thoughts to what you want to experience. Whatever the negative thought or belief is, what would you like to have in its place? What does it look like? What does it feel like? If you have a stressful relationship, maybe you want in its place a peaceful, supportive relationship with that person, in which you get along beautifully and feel valued and loved. Add gratitude for the good you already have. These thoughts are the seeds you need.

3) Affirm your new desired experience. Affirm more of what you want is coming to you more and more each day. If you struggle with believing something that positive (which could be if you've conditioned yourself to believe and expect the worst for a long time)' then affirm your willingness to have it, and look for evidence of the presence of what you want. Do you know anyone who has what you'd like to have? Have you ever had it in your own life? That is proof that the good you desire exists.

Deliberately JoyScape a new experience by planting new seeds of thought, word and deed. What you sow, grows. What begins to show up will look and feel better and put you in a joyful space.

Have a question or a post you would like to see? Email: joyscaping@gmail.com.

JoyScaping Tip: Choose To Respond Differently

"Personally, I like taking responsibility for myself and my life. I like knowing that if I don’t enjoy something, I can respond to it in a new way and create a new situation. I like knowing I am the author of my life and if I bring in a character who is a villain, I can “write” that person out or change the way that I interact with them, minimizing their impact on me. If I don’t have enough love in my life, I can choose to be more loving. There is tremendous freedom in embracing that responsibility." ~ Eve Hogan

Eve Hogan's words are the JoyScaping tip for the day. Thank you to https://www.facebook.com/conscious.contact for sharing this thought!

We author our experiences. We control our emotional climates. We have the power in every situation to choose. Choose Joy.

Have a question, want to see a post or know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip | Review & Release or Renew Core Beliefs

Our thoughts and beliefs shape everything we do and say in life. They are the foundation for our experiences and can be a source of agony or bliss. Where are your thoughts and beliefs leading you?

Your core beliefs are the beliefs that you hold as universal truth. They can be positive or negative. Some core beliefs serve you well, but we all have some that do us disservice daily. To find out if your core beliefs are getting in your way, Review, Release and Renew your Core Beliefs

Review Your Core Beliefs
Take a good look at what you really believe. Do you believe that the world is terrible, along with everyone in it? Or, do you see the world as a supportive place filled with beautiful people and adventures? What do you believe about Love? Money? You? Your Dreams? Life? If these beliefs are largely negative, chances are that they may have been born out of your experienced and they may feel true for you, but they are killing your joy and need to be released. For each core belief, ask your self if it empowers and uplifts you or drains and depletes you. Is it one that someone bequeathed to you because of their pain? If your beliefs fall into the latter areas, be willing to let them go.

Release The Beliefs That Restrain Your Success and Joy
Once you've identified the beliefs that are deadly, it's time to release and replace them. Which beliefs are holding you back? Which belief(s) are causing you sadness and pain? If you've lived with them for a long time, and some have been around all of our lives, it takes deliberate but doable actions to get this done. Look for evidence against your negative core beliefs. Create lists, collect case studies, keep a journal - gather everything you can to reprogram your brain. Not all men are bad; you deserve goodness; people can be kind and loving. Work one belief at a time. Create affirmations that support your new evidence. Start with "I am willing to release thoughts that no longer serve me" or "I find daily evidence of goodness, abundance, love and support".

Renew Healthy Core Beliefs
Not all of our beliefs are detrimental to joy. Identify the beliefs that empower, inspire and motivate you. Renew and rehearse them daily. Add them to your Affirmations.

Feed the beliefs that fuel your mind and spirit. Commit your loyalty to the beliefs that bring you peace and joy. Powerful shifts in thinking and what you draw to your life are on the way.

Have a question, want to see a post or know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip: Balance and Align Your Life

"When we clearly understand that our thoughts create our reality, then we use our reality as a feedback mechanism to let us know what we need to change next." ~Louise L. Hay

Some days we just feel out of balance. By out of balance, I mean days where we are unhappy, stressed, unproductive fearful and disconnected from authentic Joy. Too many of those days, for too long creates and an unbalanced, heavy unhappy life.

If life feels like it's gotten unbalanced, we can realign. It's often easier than we believe. I look in 5 areas to check to see if my joy is depleted: Attention, Attitude, Acquaintances, Affirmations and Actions. If I'm feeling irritable, frustrated or unhappy, it's usually one of these areas that has fallen out of balance and perspective.

After we've looked at those areas, we can begin the alignment process. Here are some questions to ask yourself to check your alignment.

Attention
Where is my focus? Am I worrying and imagining the worst possible outcome or am I focusing on what I want to create and experience? Do I see blessings and opportunities or do I see life as a hopeless maze of obstacles and opposition?

Attitude
Am I positive or negative? Am I complaining about my life and the people in it? Do I resent other people who have more joy or "stuff" than I do? Do I give thanks daily for the good in my life? Am I a joy or a drain to others? Do Inhave an attitude of grattitude? Do I have hope for the future? Having a positive attitude makes us attractive and opens the door for opportunities.

Acquaintances
Who is in my inner circle? Do I surround myself with positive, productive people? Do I associate with people who encourage and inspire me or those who are negative, hopeless and angry? Who we spend our time with matters. We become like the people with whom we spend the most time.

Affirmations
What am I declaring in my every day speech? Do I affirm and myself uplift others? Do I speak positively about my life? Is my self-talk positive or negative? What is the theme song of my life? Am I singing "Defying Gravity" or "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"? Speak positively about and to yourself, others and life.

Actions
Am I spending my time doing what matters most? Do I walk the talk? Do I keep my promises to myself? Do my actions support and reflect what I want to be, do and have?

How align yourself to create more joy

Attention - Focus what is good and positive about you, others and life.
Attitude - Start with gratitude. When tempted to be negative and complain, make a conscious decision to take inventory of all the good in your life.
Acquaintances - Look at your circle and surround yourself with loving, positive, productive people. These are the people who achieve and inspire creativity, hope and progress.
Affirmations - If it is not good, loving, positive, or encouraging, do your best not to speak it. Pay close attention to the negative things you say about yourself and your possibilities. Replace those with positive affirmations or at the least, be willing tom have something different.
Actions - Align your actions with what you want. Ask yourself what do I want? Then find out what you need to do to have it. What changes do you need to make? What steps do you need to take? Map them out and start one step at a time.

When these things become too negative, life becomes heavy. Balancing these areas will lighten the load and create more confidence and...joy.

 Have a question, want to see a post or know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip: Do YOU

Trying to be like everyone else when your heart says otherwise can cause a lot of pain. Honestly it feels like being chained up or caged.

To unleash your Joy: DO YOU. Be yourself, express yourself. If you want to wear nothing but Blue everyday because it makes you happy and smile, then wear it boldly. Listen to the music you love. Cultivate your own sense of style based upon what feels good and right for you. Do the things that make you happy.

Throw yourself a party. Throw away the notion that you're "too", "too much", or "too little" ANYTHING.

You're just right...just as you are. Joy Awaits...

Have a question, want to see a post or know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip: Say Namasté Today

Seeing others as separate and apart from us allows us to be mean, apathetic, lacking in compassion and love. There is nothing joyful in that.

What if, today, we saw everyone as a piece of the larger whole, to which we all belong? What if we recognized every single person as a a reflection of self and the Divine?

It's not always easy, but that doesn't make it any less true.

Say "Namastè" silently to everyone you see. Feel the shift.

Joy awaits...

Have a question, want to see a post or want to know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip: Find The Evidence

We have more support, love and abundance than we often recognize or admit.

Today, look for evidence that you are loved. Look for evidence that you are supported. Look for proof of all the abundance in your life. What do you already have that you've been overlooking? Write it all down. Do it often. Once you see all the good, there's no way you can stay out of Joy.

Joy Awaits...

Have a question, want to see a post or want to know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com

JoyScaping Tip: Set The Tone

Set the tone for your day. It creates the frequency for your life.

Start the day with the atmosphere, sounds, feelings and thoughts you want to carry into your experience. Set your intention for a joyful experience and a day in which everything goes your way!

Joy Awaits...

Have a question, want to see a post or want to know how you can create more joy & success? Email JoyScaping@gmail.com