It's so hard to be joyful right now

Do we even have a right to be?

How do we release guilt, anger, pain, disappointment, fear, and begin to be joyful in the present moment?

Is there a way to be happy that does not depend on our external circumstances?

Happiness comes and goes. Joy stays and spreads.

Happiness and pleasure comes from many places, a craft, music, a book, a great meal, a chat with a friend. But joy is something inside that just stays. You take it with you wherever you go and when you're able to tap into a joy like that, you're able to spread it around too.

It's hard to make a change, help others, be there for people we love, when we're reeling ourselves. What if we could have a source of just feeling peaceful and centred no matter what went down? What if there was some sort of formula that we could keep replicating whenever we needed it, like a favourite chocolate cake?

Psychology tells us the more we sink into doom and gloom the more of it we find outside us, because that's what we've put in as our search parameters, that's what's comfortable to us. It's a comfort zone we've learned to internalise. To change what's outside, we have to reach in and change what's inside. We need to dig deep and find our joy.

In this interactive group session, we'll find ways to spark joy that don't involve throwing out that sparkly dress you'll never wear.

The recipe for joy

• Identify and define it
• Locate it
• Ensure it doesn't change or diminish when things happen that disturb us
• Spread it around
• Replenish it

:

Pick a session based on what you'd like to focus on:

• How to grant yourself permission to feel joy (pick this if you feel guilty to feel happy)
• Gratitude therapy (pick this if you feel at a loss to find things that bring you joy)
• Positivity focus (pick this if you feel like retraining your mind to think differently)
• Mindfulness & Meditation (pick this if you would like to spend some quiet time practicing soothing techniques)

Sessions led by:

Author and counsellor Gayatri Jayaraman. Gayatri has been a senior journalist for over 20 years and has a Masters in English Literature, a PG Diploma in Media, and studied towards her PG Diploma in Counselling Psychology from XICP, Mumbai. She is a regular vipassana meditator and is an incoming grad student at NYU's Dual Degree Masters in Counselling and Wellness with an LGBTQIA+ certification program due to start 2020. She is an affirmative counsellor who leans towards humanistic psychology and a mind+body+spirit integrative practice.

Personal Mind+Body+Spirit Counselling available @ Shamah | शम:

Walk of the 5 Senses, walking meditations for women

The Monk Huddle, a support group for the lonely

Sword in the Water podcast, on Buzzsprout, Spotify and Apple.

Gayatri's Books: 

Indigenous - Juggernaut, 2016

Who Me, Poor? - Bloomsbury India. 2017

Shambhu Immortal - Amazon KDP, 2017

Diary of a Vipassana Novice - Hachette India, 2020

Who Me, Feminist? - Bloomsbury India, 2021