Everyday Ecstasy

There is a mountain of unfinished resolutions behind me. Luckily, I’ve let that disappointment go and simply accepted that they just can’t all get done. Some were too big. Others, too boring. Others, well…everyone is lazy sometimes.

Maybe, there just wasn’t enough momentum behind the resolution. Not enough caring. Not enough personal desire to change. Adopting a new discipline is hard. It can be worth the effort (Look at the pounds go! Look at my business flourish!). But without real passion behind your resolutions and dreams, it seems astronomically unlikely that they will ever happen.

This year, ask yourself: How do you want to feel? What if instead of accomplishing something specific, you focused every day on feeling more joyful? More ecstatic? More spiritual? More grounded? With that kind of resolution, your day-to-day activities can change dramatically. You won’t be derailed by the unexpected intrusions of life, you simply refocus and incorporate it all into your plan for happiness. Every day, remember, life is really about being happy. And every day, try again to take yourself closer to your joy.

Happiness is as easy as a little gratitude. Check out this hilarious excerpt from Conan O’Brien. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll think about it…

This video came from Usually Barefoot Meg - lots of comments to peruse there as well. For more information on this comedian, check out the wiki for Louis CK.

Susan Seddon-Boulet

Do you know that you are beautiful? That the Goddess sings through your voice? That your words are Her words; your song, Her song. That the smoothness of your skin, the glisten of your sweat, your tousled hair – all are a delightful expression of your beauty and your passion. It radiates from you, this glow of pure expression.

May it overwhelm you. May this joy and light be embodied by you and every woman on the planet, a gift to yourself that takes you to the exultant heights of your creativity and ecstasy. For that is what you are. Pure, passionate creation.

May you hear this in the wind, the waves, the whisper of your lover. May you feel it in the warmth of the sun, the flow of your steps, the freshness of your breath. May you know it in your heart, your bones and your belly.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

The idea that peace is conditional, depending on certain needs being met - being loved and appreciated, financially secure, well rested, having good work - is eventually replaced by the realization that the moment you’re experiencing right now is the only one, and it can’t be changed.
- Joan Borysenko

Joy, peace, love. Everything we want and can feel can be felt right now, enjoyed right now. The present is all there is. Don’t put off your joy.

Have a delicious day,
Ephraim

Recently, I was featured in The Coloradoan, a Northern Colorado newspaper. The weekly column, penned by Jan Waterman, offers thoughts and perspectives designed to explore our spiritual selves. Her questions helped me to rearticulate what I am trying to accomplish in my practice - and what I hope all of you can discover - joyful, vibrant, ecstatic living.

I’ve reprinted the interview below, and I’d encourage you to check out some of Jan’s other pieces. I particularly liked “Picture exercise”, not only because it happened in my workshop, but because it poetically captures how reliving joyful moments from the body can bring that same joy into the present moment. I also like “Look beyond the problem to find the solution”, discussing the idea that no problem can be solved at the level of the problem and featuring a great quote by Einstein “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

Positive emotions lead to transformation

Ephraim Mallery calls himself a transformation artist.

Indeed, he is a truly unique and effective practitioner of the healing arts. Mallery’s more than a massage therapist and not just a counselor. I asked him to talk about his work.

What exactly do you do?

“I combine emotional and spiritual transformation with bodywork. My idea is to rewrite your body canvas. To help you find joy or peace or excitement starting with your body and moving from there.’’

How do you do that?

“I listen and pay attention to what is needed. I completely surrender to the flow of the process. I open up totally. I offer love and compassion without judgment.’’

How are you different from a counselor?

“Touch is one of my most important elements. I see my work as a true mind, body, emotion and spirit experience. Words are mostly a communication form for the mind. They make it difficult to convey the experience of the body. I help people realize that the intention behind touch is the most important aspect of touch. To touch people with love or safety or joy or any of those positive emo-tions can truly help them transform.’’

Tell me more about that.

“Whatever affects one aspect of you also affects everything else — if you’re sad your body and mind will reflect that. You won’t think as clearly. Your muscles will ache. Your posture will change. If your body hurts, your emotions will follow. If your spirit is lifted, you feel more energized in all aspects of your life. Feeling and experiencing something through your senses and through your imagination is the most potent way to change. All the metaphysical evidence points to the idea that you are what you focus on. So why not focus on joy? On what makes you feel alive? And anything that stands in the way of that joy needs to be let go.’’

Can you describe a typical session?

“Every session is different. And everyone is different. I try to let go all my ideas about the person and just meet them with my hands, reflecting their hopes and joys and intentions back to them and creating a safe space to feel those things and let all the rest go. I go with the flow of creativity, using all of my experience and knowledge and tools and inspiration and humility to help people find their joy, without judgment. I offer love and let it do the work. And then I get out of the way. I feel like I am watching it all happen, and I am amazed and grateful to see what hap-pens.’’

So you help people find joy?

“Joy is a practice. Life still throws all the curve balls and tragedies, all the reasons to keep living angry, sad, stressed, guilty. The practice is to keep the focus on the joy, keep feeling it, keep returning to it, keep feeling grateful for it, and keep giving it to everyone you meet. That is where the transformation begins. I believe that is the magic. Because the person I am working with finds and feels the magic within themselves. 

As always, feel free to post your comments below or email me.

Have a beautiful day.