The importance of finding joy in life cannot be fully fathomed in a day, a month or even a lifetime. This is due to the fact that joyful-bliss is part and parcel of God’s Being. Since it is an inevitability that we one day discover God within and without, then joy-filled bliss must be in our future. That being the case and God being all goodness in life, then it only makes sense to accelerate our growth in God as fast as possible!
And that is the nature of living a spiritual life. It is, in its most simple form, the individual in union with the deepest sense of Self, and then knowing that the same divine Self is present throughout creation. It can range from a gentle nudge of joyful love in the heart to a powerful surge of bliss that makes you escape from the tiny prison of self and expands into omnipresence.
There are those who do not think they have the time or the interest to know God. But that is only because they have not been properly introduced. To know God is to love Him, and to love Him is to know Him in greater measure. Because others have spoken of a Deity that is still a stranger to them, listeners to these “Doctors of Delusion” have felt estranged from their Creator. That is a case of mistaken identity. If someone says you are doing something dastardly and you are not—it is a case of mistaken identity. It does not mean you are guilty of the crime, because the premise is false. There are those who have spoken and acted because, they have said, they know God. In reality, they have not done the real work and have no connection with Truth.
Master quoted St. Francis de Sales, “A saint who is sad, is a sad saint.” Of course, that does not mean we never suffer grief. Jesus, purveyor of all things God, upon meeting Martha and Mary in their grief for the death of their brother Lazarus cried in pain–it is said to be the shortest sentence in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” Greif, pain and the heaviness of the world can sometimes be burdens we must carry. However, in finding God as our all and all, then the Divine Presence will be with us in good times and in bad. The more we are focused on our Heavenly Father and Divine Mother the more we will feel uplifting joy.
Joy does always need to be expressed through laughter and frivolity; in fact over-the-top hilarity is many times the opposite of joy—it is a simple release of tension or an attempt to fit in. A devotee once asked if there were any corrections I would make of her and I stunned her when I said she laughed too loudly, it did not come across as genuine. Well, a moment before she had professed she would do anything to realize God, but it was clear she was not in favor of this observation.
A dear friend from many years ago belonged to a “spirit filled” church with thousands in attendance each week. She was a bubbly personality and was disturbed when driving on the freeway and saw so many unsmiling faces. She would give a big smiles and wave at drivers and passengers alike, looking to cheer their days. But, if it is not in your personality to be so gregarious as that, then you might feel joy in a more quiet way. In fact, to expand in omniscient joy you will not be able to channel it all through your body as my friend did—it will draw you deeper within so that you might expand into this powerful experience of joy.
Most importantly, be observant of your own states of consciousness throughout the day. Do you experience a joy-filled Presence in your meditation? With your family and friends? In your work? And all through the day? Or do you limit your joy? Are you a complete stranger to it? Focus on that joyful-bliss that is less contingent on your outer world and streams from your inner world–your connection with God. If joyful-bliss is a stranger to you, make it your business to recover it—for it absolutely exists deep in your Soul as your natural state.
Bliss changes your life in all ways good; joy fills you from the inside out. So make your environment, your family and friends and your life align with God’s joy and He will guide you perfectly in all your ways. Blessings.