About JOY (Just Open Yourself)

Hi EveryOne,

A new month a new beginning, I hope this newsletter finds you all well and continuing to work internally – to make some positive change in your life. I wanted to write about joy this month because I see everyday, how quickly joy vanishes into thin air, when emotional fear is allowed to rule. Closing ourselves off to life by resisting change leaves us empty, angry and vulnerable to more anguish and sorrow.

First some news… My beginners ‘HoopDance for Seniors’ classes start on 16th July for 8 weeks – YAY so excited. For more information please visit here: https://resoulutions4life.com.au/happy-heart-hooping/  Both meditation groups in Hervey Bay and Burrum Heads are both becoming popular, with classes mostly booked out. My ‘Meditation on the Move’ class has been a bit slow (having to move venue several times) but that’s life, so all is well. Our ‘Healing Hut’ is now open and am loving the space aka ‘That Peaceful Place’…  Hope you enjoy the article 🙂

It’s all about J.O.Y (Just Open Yourself)…

The last few months, I’ve seen a spike in anger (expressed outward and impressed inward) – often with shattering impact. Fear is insidious and acts like kindling for anger and greed, it spreads like wild-fire if not contained. Yet we blunder on – not seeing the importance of self change to recognise fear, as a means to stop anger – too busy blaming circumstances. People come to me to deal with anger issues yet I regularly get asked  “It’s normal to feel angry isn’t it?”,  “isn’t anger a normal part of life?” -… So normalised is our culture towards anger, that anger gets away with ‘murder’. I tell them it may have become ‘normal’ in our society, but nowhere in any stretch of the imagination, is it natural to our peaceful nature as Souls – that’s why we don’t like how it makes us feel. If we don’t like how anger makes us feel, then it cannot be natural to our inner self – no matter how much we rationalise it. Time to change it. Something is seriously wrong when we cannot get through a week without losing control – anger is often employed in the form of sulking – a manipulation to get our own way – how can this be ‘normal’?  So why does anger not feel good? Because it’s aggressive (violent) – foreign to the peaceful nature of a soul!

Forgetting that we are Souls first and foremost, we turn away from Spiritual truth because it’s ‘easier to survive’ in an angry, material world. We may want to be different but we act akin when it comes to ‘survival’ – very few are aware enough to change themselves. Living outside in (body conscious) we lose connection with the deepest part of ourselves and we unconsciously contribute to the problem at large, as we react then justify our own reactions. Body consciousness closes us off to our inner power – creating a foggy path of fear that leads us to a destination of anger and greed (unless we consciously change our own path). And in case you’re wondering – yes, I can still get angry – so I work hard on changing myself to stop allowing external situations to trigger me. Anger closes us off to our natural joy, which closes us off to love, which closes us off to life’s abundant opportunities – the reason there is so much discordance, dissatisfaction and discomfort around. Fear and anger are friends and they have many faces, don’t be fooled into believing you have no control… Learn to recognise your own triggers – the key to realising there is so much power inside, and so much beauty in life outside.

Don’t give anger a platform for it betrays us at the first chance – leaving us to shrink in our core – meanwhile the door is left ajar for more anger to sneak in. Recognising our own triggers stops dead any ‘influencer’ who attempts to undermine our power, it teaches us how to live inside out (soul conscious) because unconditional love is internal and eternal. Soul consciousness is joy – it’s the feeling of inner fullness – the true meaning of contentment! No matter what’s happening around us, being soul consciousness keeps us stable in the face of any adversity. This article – J.O.Y. Just Open Yourself – is just a reminder for each of us to regularly turn inward so to not feed anger but to open ourselves up to live once again (a form of protection to help us embrace the unknown and to facilitate growth, healing and faith). The more we practice turning inward, the more we can open ourselves to the joy of life 🙂

Question: Do I let fear and/or anger drive my behaviour?

Consideration: Why is fear and/or anger easier than joy?

Action: Anger is scary. Pent up anger is chilling to the bone. So this month practice taking a breath and turn inward for a moment, to prevent reactive explosions or implosions. Taking a much needed pause in times of unease (not to deliberately aggravate others) but to observe ourselves, slows us down enough to stop us reacting negatively (lose inner power) and enables us to respond positively (strengthen inner power). Even if that means to step aside in loving silence.

Happy practicing everyone, love Annemarie x