Healing Essential Oils

Essential Oils are actually essential to natural healing and health! Check out this infographic on this link here to find all the benefits and uses for essential oils. I use a couple drops of lavender or pepper in an Epsom salt & baking soda bath to soothe my muscles and calm my mind. Start this relaxing habit and I'll guarantee that you will have more joy-filled days!

Gratefulgivings for Happiness and Positivity

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and we all so much to be thankful for. A popular exercise on social media has been to list at least 5 things that we are grateful for everyday, for a set amount of time.

Instead of a one time exercise, let's make this an everyday occurrence. Replace moaning and complaining, criticizing and judging, negativity and anxiety, with gratefulness and thankfulness, joyfulness and acceptance, positivity and energy.

What can you add to your list of gratefulgivings? Start a shift in your attitude and thinking with this mindset, guided by this link here, and you will find yourself with more joy-filled days!

Craving: Apple Fritter Doughnuts

The photo of the apple fritter I posted this morning on the Facebook page spurred a lot of likes and comments. I hadn't had an apple fritter in forever, when my dentist office offered me donuts at my last appointment. I refused the donuts, until they showed me the box where there it was...a beautiful, glazed apple fritter! Of course I succumbed, and have been craving one ever since! So I decided to find a recipe, and found one on this link here. I may try to make it from scratch, but then again, I may just find that donut shop my dentist went to!

Procrastination & Organization

I love being organized, but I'm such a procrastinator! Ever since we put our house on the market and staged our home, my plan was to continue with this house purge. Well, I'm still needing to go through the closets, kitchen, and garage! If we get an offer soon, I'm going to have to kick it up into high gear. So in order to best use my time as well as let go of items, I found this article on how to minimize (aka how to get rid of stuff!). This home organization article here is also going to help me get and stay organized when we move into our new home. Wish us luck with our house sale so we can start our downsized, minimalistic joy-filled life!

Finding What Gives you Joy in 2 Simple Steps

Our electronic world has allowed us to be connected wherever we are, yet has disconnected us from where we are now! We are virtually present, but not actually present. We are interacting, but not with those around us.  I admit I'm just as guilty as the next person. It's difficult to 'just be' in this cyber universe of ours. We feel like we're going to miss something if we don't check our phone when it dings. What we really miss out on, when we're busy trying to keep up with the techno world, is the real world! The solution to this hyper connectivity is meditation and mindfulness.  A major benefit to following these practices is improvement of the mind & body, thus opening one up to what is really important in one's life.

Step One: Meditation
Meditation helps you learn mindfulness by increasing awareness and clarity. Try this meditation at least once a day, for as long as you can. Meditating when you awaken is a perfect way to start the day, and sets a positive tone to your mood. 

• Get comfortable:  Find a quiet, comfortable area where you can relax. Either sit straight up in a chair, with your feet on the ground and your hands on your lap, palms facing up, or lay flat on your back, with your legs outstretched and your arms to your sides, palms up. 

• Just Relax & Breathe:  Close your eyes, relaxing your mind and body. Take a deep breath, in and out of your nose, inhaling for a count of 4, holding for a count of 7, and exhaling for a count of 8. 

• Imagine Positivity:  As you get into the rhythm of your breath, imagine a white light entering your body from the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands. As you inhale, bring that white light up through every cell of your body to the top of your head. As you are washed with positive, cleansing energy, enjoy this feeling as you hold it in. 

• Release Negativity:  Once your body is cleansed with the positive light, gather the negativity trapped in your body, and release it with your exhale, down from the top of your head and out through your palms and soles. 

• Be Still & Clear:  Repeat the last couple of bullets for up to 15 minutes, clearing your mind and body of toxic thoughts and feelings. If you want, repeat this mantra---I am Safe. I am Secure. I am Loved. God is with me. 

Step Two: Mindfulness

Mindfulness means coming back to the present moment and stilling the mind and body. Whenever you find yourself disengaged from reality, put away any distractions that are distancing you from the moment, whether it's your mind racing or wandering, or an electronic device. 

• Stop and step out of the thinking process.
• Just breathe and calm your mind and body. 
• Intentionally decide where you're going to focus your attention on.
• Focus on & experience where you are at, who you are with, what you are doing, and why.
• Just be present!

This can be quite difficult at first, but stick with the practice of meditation and mindfulness. It will pay off once you get the hang of it, eventually becoming second nature. You will find that meditating improves your mood, your stress level, and ultimately your health. The power of being mindful of your everyday actions, as you're living it at the moment, benefits both you and those around you, bringing more joy in your life!

Letting Go, Part 2

So letting go of the house actually started with the impending letting go of our youngest daughter. We are moving her into the dorm today...we're both excited for her, yet sad to think that she won't be living with us full time anymore. Our baby is all grown up and ready to take on the world. She wants to study abroad or be a missionary for a year, so she'll take the 5 year route, which is fine with us.

Looking at these photos, the first one at her 7th birthday, and the second one at her 17th birthday last year, there are so many memories of our little girl who just turned 18 this summer. Cherish the times you have with your children and loved ones because these are the moments that give you joy in your life!

Daydreaming

I was one of those kids who was always in my imagination, trying to bring what I envisioned into life. I wanted to build a playhouse or a tree house. I would dream up my own versions of skits and plays, forcing my younger siblings and friends, who were like siblings to me, to perform a variety show for our parents in our downstairs den, costumes and all! Our school had a yearly May Festival, and I recreated my version in our South Pasadena backyard, selling tickets to my mother so she could buy the cookies that were used with ingredients that she had purchased! As I crossed over into Junior High, these activities seemed silly, and not so cool. This is when my time with my imagination dwindled. 

With all the responsibilities and practicalities of life, I craved something more, but couldn't put my finger on it. What seemed silly and uncool as a teenager became something I would long for as I reached adulthood, and it continued to nag at me. What I wanted was to find what gave me that joy, as I was putting my imagination into life; the creativity in my being needed expression. As corny and clique as it may sound, I wanted a passion...something that I got excited about, something that I couldn't stop thinking about, something that I enjoyed so much that time just passed by!

In order to find that need, that want, that passion in us, we need to quiet our mind, and look inward to find the clarity of our thoughts and awareness of what gives us joy. Personally, I pray and trust that God's plan will unfold, but with my stubbornness, I was never still enough to listen. This is where meditation and journaling have helped me.

Take action, and don't give up on your dreams! As you steadily realize what drives you, you will begin to just do what makes you excited & invigorated, bringing joy in your life!

<3 Cheryl Joy

What is your Passion Project?

When I had my idea for the Joy life club blog, I was hesitant since I had already started (and have since stopped) a blog, ShoeAxis , a couple years ago. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put myself "out there" again, but I still longed for a creative outlet to latch onto. Even though my daily work as a Nurse Practitioner was fulfilling, it lacked in inspiring me.  My desire to do something that was unrelated to my day job, brought me to start a fashion blog. I believe I was on the right track, but I needed to fine-tune my intentions and focus. 

The irony is that I found my passion was not for fashion, but for health & wellness---an area I was already in! Throughout my career as a medical healthcare provider, I was inclined to educating patients about their lifestyle habits . When patients came back for follow-up---improving their blood pressure readings, their labs results, even losing weight and feeling better, I felt empowered! To be a part of somebody's transformation is awe-inspiring. We are magnificent creatures made by an awesome God!  

When I finally sat in silence, and pondered my life during my meditation, the obvious came clear. I was frustrated with conventional medicine's traditional and stringent approach to a patient's chronic health problems; addressing a symptom as a separate entity, verses addressing the symptom in how it relates to the whole person, in order to find the core problem. This is an area of medicine where I knew I could make a change in, and make a difference with my knowledge and experience, and yes, with my passion!

Sometimes I wonder why it took me so long to get it. Why I had to go through disappointments and failures. I sure did feel silly at times, but my first little blog actually got me out of my comfort zone, so for that I am grateful for my short stint with ShoeAxis. Experiences, circumstances, or even seemingly random moments in life, should remind us that there is a point and a purpose for whatever we are doing, whatever we are going through, to bring us to where we currently are. Sometimes we are too stubborn, too clueless, or too busy trying to figure it all out, that we forget to just be calm and still during these instances. 

A friend of mine forwarded this article to me, and it was exactly what I had been feeling, validating that I wasn't alone in wanting to be enlivened, to do more, having a purpose, and giving back. Have you found the thing that enriches your life, whether it's an aspect of your career you can expand on, whether it's a hobby you have neglected and want to get back into, whether it's something you haven't quite figured out yet? Take the time to pause and consider what it is that stirs you, that motivates you, that inspires you. With a little prayer, and in the stillness of the moment, you will find clarity in the purpose that gives you joy in life!

Just Be Awesome: Who Am I & Why Am I Here?

It seems that most people can struggle with these two questions: Who am I & Why am I here.? Starting as teenagers, we are finding out who we are separate from our parents and family. We go into college and/or into the work force with the hopes that we know who we are. We know enough to choose a major, then a job, and ideally a career we'll continue on for the rest of our lives. Then when we get "there", we ask ourselves, "Why am I here? This isn't me!". Even if we have a good life, and we're overall content and happy with our job and home life, we may still ask some form of these questions, having guilt for having these feelings.

This can lead to frustration, resentment, and confusion for us because we can't "figure it out", wondering why we feel this way. Those who are depressed or disheartened may struggle even further. An article I read in the Elephant Journal illustrates what we may be missing stating, "Where we have stopped dancing, singing, being enchanted by stories, or finding comfort in silence is where we have experienced the loss of soul".

This is where we need to be awesome again! Life runs at such as a fast pace. We're always on the go, thinking of our next task, worrying about our next deadline, stressed about our to do list. We have lost what gives us joy, what gives us purpose...we've "lost our soul". We have forgotten what's important in who we are and what we do because of all the chaos and noise around us and in our heads. Our energy is zapped and we're drained of our vitality and zone out during our downtime because we're on fast forward most of the time. Our bodies are spent and are minds are frazzled.

What got me here and why I started doing this is because I had reached the point where I was tired of faking it; pretending I had it all together when I was really exhausted! I started to ask myself these questions wondering, "Is this really it? Is this as good as it gets?". I'd feel bad for having these thoughts because I am truly blessed---I have a wonderful life with amazing family and friends. I attend church fairly regularly and believe that God has my back.

So why was I still in a funk? As people we tend to over-think things instead of just quieting our minds & looking inward into what gives us joy. Therefore, we miss out on what gives us the peace we need in order to feel genuine and truly content without any conditions. Maybe the question we need to ask ourselves now is, "What kind of life do I want to lead?" In her best-selling book, Thrive: The Third Metric, Arianna Huffington states that we need to redefine our definition of success to mean more than money and power. The third metric of success is to thrive and learn to optimize the quality of our lives.

I believe that most of us are sleep-deprived and even the most religious of us can't hear God's voice because of our fatigue and busy minds. Thrive: The Third Metric, quotes a sleep study out of Standford that found that athletes who got more sleep enhanced their performance levels. The athletes also stated that their moods were lifted and they had less fatigue, suggesting they were sleep-deprived, operating on a sub-optimal level. The researcher concluded that, "They'd accumulated sleep-debt...it's not that they couldn't function, they were doing fine, but they might not have been at their full potential". 

Lack of sleep. This is what prevents us from being our optimal awesome selves! We need to stop our stubbornness, get our priorities straight, and get some quality sleep in order to clear our minds. Then we need to learn how to enjoy life again, finding what truly brings us joy!

When I look at my dog Kona, I see a being with unconditional love and patience. A creature who is just happy to see you when you get home, jumping & wagging his tail, and just so excited when you play with him and take him on a walk. Kona knows who he is (a dog), and why he is here (to bring a smile to those around him). Simple, basic, that's all. There's nothing contrived or fake about his intentions, nothing forced, just pure joy when he's with the people he loves, doing the things he loves. And that's why God made a dog... To remind us to just be...
And God made a dog (Video)

If you want to find your awesome optimal self, join me on a 30-Day Joylife Training Journey here. I hope you think about and consider getting more sleep, even if you don't think you need it. Tell me your thoughts and as always, find what gives you joy in your life.

  <3 Cheryl Joy