The ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine if they would continue their journey in the afterlife or not. Did you bring joy? Did you find joy?
I’m not sure that the folk from the religion of my youth would be able to answer these questions with a “Yes.” Their conservative beliefs seemed more fear-based than joyful. Fortunately, my inner teacher, the Blueprint for the Human Spirit®, revealed a simple recipe for joyful living:
Balance + Service + Oneness = Joy
Individually these three ingredients are powerful, but synergistically, they create abundant joy and allow us to more fully experience and express our divinity through our humanity.
Like everything else we manifest in this lifetime, we can’t find happiness by searching out there. Nor can we find it in possessions or accomplishments. Joy begins within. This makes perfect sense since the kingdom of heaven is within.
Personal balance is about knowing who we are and honestly and openly expressing our wholeness, our creative potential and true divine nature. Attaining and maintaining equilibrium is not a goal for sissies. We are complex beings with a physical body that requires a lot of care. We have a mind that spins like a top and emotions that run rampant. We also have intuition that warns us if we could only hear it screaming above all the white noise. And all these dimensions of life need to work together.
In my quest for balance, I received excellent guidance during meditation one morning:
Balance occurs when we are authentic. When authentic, we honor our divine inner nature and place our needs above those of others. We listen to and follow our own inner guidance, knowing and believing that we are responsible only for, and to, ourselves. Stress occurs when we resist what is or when we think or feel one way and act differently. This creates disharmony, anxiety and even illness. Only when we bring our actions into alignment with the rest of our being will we find balance and enjoy abundant wellness, wisdom, peace and the freedom that they bring. Authenticity is the straight and narrow line that merges Heaven with Earth. It is the path that makes peace and joy possible in a chaotic world.
When we live authentically, we realize our highest potential as unique expressions of God and become living examples of joy in the home, community and workplace. This is the second ingredient in the recipe for joyful living—Service.
Each of us is a vital part of the whole with a unique role to play in the ongoing creation story. We are here now for a reason, to love others as the hands, heart and voice of God. To serve is to discover why we are here and embrace our reason for being. As we give of ourselves, our time, talent and treasures we live purposefully.
When I received the Blueprint and experienced its powerful guidance first-hand, my higher purpose became perfectly clear. I knew I was here to integrate its wisdom and share its teachings. To fulfill our purpose, we will have to work hard, but it will be immensely rewarding because what we give to others we give to ourselves. This reveals the third ingredient in the recipe for joyful living—Oneness.
As citizens of the universe we must live in harmony with all Creation. A deep reverence for life allows us to pursue what we truly desire, while sustaining the environment and bringing forth the highest good for all. When we live symbiotically, we find win-win-win solutions for ourselves, others and the entire world. Then we can all enjoy true prosperity—abundant “good,” not necessarily abundant “goods.”
Appropriate lifestyle choices also take into consideration what is best not just for us right now, but for everyone in the long-term. As we conserve our limited natural resources and recycle, we also follow the steps of the Creator. Everything on Earth—you and me, the food we eat, our property and personal items—are made from recycled matter or energy. Our common source and the creative process link us beyond space and time to every element, atom and quark in the Universe.
As we blend balance with service and oneness, we create Joy, Heaven on Earth. It is what we discover as we become intimately acquainted with our authentic Self with a capital “S.” Joy is part of our spiritual DNA, a Divine Natural Attribute. It is the God spark within revealing itself to us, through us and as us, sweeping us off our feet in a sacred dance of oneness with all Creation. Our lives are graced with quantum leaps in consciousness, miracles, spontaneous healings and divine revelations. We live in the NOW and every moment is holy, filled with opportunities to learn and serve.
When every person we meet, every activity, place and object is experienced as a blessing and as an expression of the Divine we enjoy Heaven on Earth right here, right now. We are born anew as love and peace and joy, the reason we celebrate the season!
