11 things that moved me towards JOY

Since childhood, I have been hearing quotes like “Joy is your original nature”, “Joy is within you” from different philosophers, spiritual masters etc but couldn’t understand how. Personally happiness has always been a point of interest for me and I have always seen happiness as the epitome of all success. When I was very little, my permanent prayer would be “ Dear God, make me happy forever”.

It’s hard in this fast paced society to find time for self and avoid complaining about various external factors we assume as our reasons to be away from joy. With time and experience, I added certain things to my life effortlessly and they moved me towards joy. Its not that I don’t get sad anymore because I still cry, get angry, have some unhealthy habits, get involved in arguments, get emotionally low but I can tell with full confidence that most of the time in my life, I feel a constant inner joy and below are the 11 reasons why.

1. Wake up early and sleep early

I wake up at 4:00 am and make sure I don't miss the sunrise. This gives me 4 hours of my personal time before going to work, helps me enhance my productivity, I feel healthier mentally, enjoy my quiet time and it has improved the quality of my sleep.

2. Yoga, breathing and meditation

I have attended many courses of the Art of Living in which I learnt sun salutations, padma sadhna, three-stage pranayama and Kriya. Every morning at sunrise I do 12 rounds of sun salutations followed by three stage pranayama, forceful breathing, chanting and kriya (breathing and meditation) and when I open my eyes I feel as fresh as a new being every day. All of this takes 1 and a half-hour and by 6:00 am I am done. This practice helps me stay in the moment, gives me clarity of mind and besides many other benefits it helps me experience a deep inner peace of mind.

3. Morning bath

I have a bath playlist which has classical music from Bach, Beethoven and some violin tracks that I play while taking a bath with full awareness of the moment and it makes me feel alive, present and beautiful. I use shampoo only once a week and natural coconut conditioner once a week, rest of the days I use only water and when my hair gets dry I put a little bit of rose water in my scalp. By 6:30 am, I am done with ironing clothes, shower and changing into clothes for work

4. Never miss Breakfast

I weigh only 46 Kgs so I may not be having a very healthy breakfast but I have scrambled eggs with cheese, mushrooms, olives and some veggies with bread and masala tea (or green tea). I cook my breakfast myself and cut vegetables in a meditative state giving 100% to everything that I do with total consciousness. I feel it’s the most important meal of my day.

5. Reading/Browsing/tweeting

At around 7:30 am, I read the newspaper, contribute my bit on Twitter, check all of my social media pages and whatsapp, welcome people to the new day and read a few pages from a book. I mostly read philosophy, spiritual or motivational books and sometimes I choose to watch videos on YouTube of different spiritual gurus, authors and philosophers.

6. Job to earn 

From 9:00 to 5:00 I do a job in an NGO working for human rights and providing humanitarian assistance in emergencies. In these 8 hours besides coming home to have lunch, I don't know anything about the outside world and I am 100% into the work that I am getting and enjoy the salary it gives me by the end of the month. I earn good enough to pay my bills, have good food, help someone in need and travel within the country. At work I stay in the moment and I don't plan any activity for future and neither do I bother myself with anything that happened in the past. If I am bound to plan something specific for near future, I just write it down on a notepad and know in my heart that I will manage it.

7. Service to humanity

I run a little charity that works for equality for all and I have a big vision of what to do. When I come back from work, I meditate for 20 minutes which helps me take rest and after that I spend my time on working on my vision which includes work on registering my NGO, raising funds, spreading awareness, contacting people from the areas where I am involved in working, implementing activities in different areas of need and listening to people from different areas about their issues as I get messages from people of various geographic locations with their serious issues/matters and I then work on their solutions. I also spend this time being an activist on social media or attending protests favouring the causes I support. 

8. Traveling/ connecting with nature

I make sure I leave the town I am living in at least once a month, come what may. As I am sure about doing this in my life, I never have to make an effort to plan it but it happens automatically. Similarly I make sure that on the weekends I go into the woods, hills or near any water falls, rivers etc., I make sure that I feel the grass barefoot and also in the beginning of the year I aim for a few countries to visit and I make sure I visit at least one other country once a year. 

9. Learning a skill

I never spend my time without consciously learning a new skill. I don't learn it for my ambitions, I don't learn it for any reason but I make it a part of my life to be involved in learning at least one new skill. It can be learning a new musical instrument, learning new asanas of yoga, doing a new course on leadership, human rights, and gender equality, learning a new language or anything that interests me. It always remains a part of my life.

10. Leisure time / Spending time with family and friends

Everyday before sleeping, I effortlessly find leisure time. It's normally between 8:oo pm and 10:00 pm when I hear music actively, meet friends and spend quality time with family, watch some interesting tv series like house of cards, elementary, game of thrones etc , dance with my friends and family members, play some indoor games, do colouring or chat with friends on whatsapp. By 10:00PM I am asleep. 

11. Angel signs

Various beings/things that I encounter in my day, I take them seriously and notice them as my angels giving me guidance. It could be a feather on my way, butterflies, dragonflies, peacocks, something from my dreams or meditations. These angel signs can come as a validation or answer to a question i may have asked, or they may serve to simply remind me that my angels are with me, and that they’re ready and willing to help.

  

This lifestyle may sound mundane to some but has a lot of room to play around with the daily activities, it may sound tough to some but our body gets used to a conscious routine very easily and everything gets effortless eventually. I am sharing my daily routine with everyone because however my day is and whatever is happening in my life, when i am aware of it, it helps me remain at peace and joy. This routine helps me improve my life on a moment-to-moment basis and also helps me spread joy, love and peace around me. Everyday is a fulfilling experience and every moment looks magical. This has also helped me gain more empathy, and the power of intuition. I have met some amazing people on my journey and each one of them works as a magical mentor for me.

On a final note it's in our best interest to invest the time in selves and see what works for us the best and remember that what I feel today as the best may be completely opposite to what I feel tomorrow as we all constantly change.