Creating Moments of Joy

Creating Moments of Joy ©2017 Joan M. Newcomb, CPC

When I was caring for my mother who had Alzheimer's, I got this book called "Creating Moments of Joy". It specifically focuses on being in the present moment with people with dementia and celebrating whatever happiness you can have, right here and now.

It was an enormous relief not to fight what was happening, but to dance with her memory loss and the resulting behavior as the filters broken down. We savored the moments, sitting in the sunshine and going for drives in the countryside.  And monthly field trips to the Kreeger museum that has a special program for people with memory loss and their caregivers. And, a couple times, before it became impossible, an evening at the theatre.

Those moments are highlights over the rest of that time, which was nearly unbearable, it was so painful. Yet when I look back, those are the times I remember the most, more than the others.

It seems to me life is a series of moments of joy, amongst times of challenges.

When we're little, we flow from one moment to the next. We find joy in dandelions and butterflies. We cry when we scrape our knee. We laugh at silly things.

As we get older we accumulate more 'scraped knees', and carry the experiences with us. Rather than picture books of happy times, we're galleries of war photos.

You can't move forward, with your evolution as Consciousness, with such density.

In stressful times, you need moments of joy. It's not being in denial about the awful things going on. It's coming up for air once in a while.

The worst is coming out of the woodwork right now because we're in a collective shift to a higher vibration of consciousness. It's in the process of being cleared, as it's exposed to more light it cannot fail to disintegrate.

It's painful to watch. It's reopening wounds, revisiting past trauma. Which is allowing us to heal our scar tissue. We can get through this by creating moments of joy.

Moments of joy can also redirect you out of misery. It doesn't take very long to shift longstanding patterns and introduces new experiences of reality. Abraham Hicks says it only takes 17 seconds. You catch your habitual thoughts and redirect them.

When I manifested my now husband, l did this. I realized I'd been driving around thinking of all the terrible relationships I'd had. Which was creating an energetic inventory for the next relationship. So I deliberately focused on the qualities I wanted instead, and he showed up.

By creating joyful moments, you can created more of them. You shift your attention to what you want (without resisting what you don't want), you bring it into existence.

There will always be things to resist. There will always be pain and unpleasantness. This planet is a dichotomy of beauty and ugliness, a playground of density and effort. We're here to create, to bring our unique vibrations, to feel the feelings of the physical realm.

What moments of joy can you create today? Be on the lookout for opportunities. As you notice them, more possibilities show up. You'll gradually rise up out of the current vibratory level to one of more wellbeing. And this has a ripple effect. It assists with the collective evolution. As more of us create moments of joy, the more joyous the world will become.

The Power (& Limits) of Groups

(c) 2011 Joan M. Newcomb, CPC

Today I tuned into CNN's live feed, hours after the Royal Wedding.  Their cameras were following the crowds in London, making their way to Buckingham Palace.  There was no narration, just the unending sound of people cheering.

What struck me was the collective energy emanating from them out into the world.  The energy of celebration, of happiness, of joy.  If you were above the planet, you could probably *see* the vibration radiating into space.  Also being broadcast over the airwaves and on the internet into cyberspace.

How powerful it is when groups come together and radiate united energy!  What a collective healing it is.  Regardless of what else was happening in the news today in any other country, this event raised the vibration to some degree for everyone.

We join groups to raise our vibration, to move ourselves forward, to get a "boost" on our path or a "lift" towards our Spirit.

Last week I took my mother to Church.  I've come to believe that Churches, Temples, Mosques and Synagogues, are phone booths to God.  However we each have an inner Modem/Cell to connect directly ourselves.

As Consciousness develops in physical form, there are individuals on the leading edge who are Trail Blazers.  They're the single light out there in the darkness, showing the way for us to follow.  Then there are the Pioneers, who pave the path that was blazed in the wilderness.  They form groups and bring them to the new level of awareness.  And then come the Settlers, who settle into what's come before, to make it solid and real.

Initially there is movement forward, helping individuals in their personal evolution.  However, there's a tendency to keep looking to the past, to the original Trail Blazers.  It's like driving your car only looking in the rear view mirror, it slows you down. 

Settlers make things solid and real, and that can be comforting and a source of security.  It can aid with manifestation into form.  But the foundation needs to be organic to allow for growth.  If the focus is too much on the 'letter of the law' it becomes inflexible like concrete.  Concrete disintergrates during an earthquake.  It's not supportive for human evolution.

A truly powerful group is empowering.  It encourages everyone to acknowledge their own Light, to become their own Trail Blazer.  It holds space for you in your emergence.

We become part of a group because if fits where we are at the time.  It may not fit us years later.  It's okay to release your affliation with groups that no longer supports your expansion.  This includes groups you're related to, work for, studied with, voted for, or prayed with.

This week notice what groups lift you up and give you joy.  Notice which ones don't.  You don't have to ditch all the non-functioning ones at once (although you can).  Just choose to spend more time with the ones that make you feel good.  Hang with the homies that make you happy!

Try this for the next seven days and see what happens!

Collective Consciousness

©2011 Joan M. Newcomb


On You Tube on April 7th, Eric Whitacre will post his newest 'virtual choir', made up of over 2,000 individuals from around the world, all singing the harmonies to one of his compositions.  Here is "Lux Aurumque" (Light and Gold) that he pieced together with 180+ singers.
 
It's very moving to watch all these different people, sitting by themselves in front of their computers, their voices joining together on cyberspace.  It makes you think, this is what God hears, when He looks down at the world.
 
To take that a step further (and out of a male theistic perspective), it's the sound of the Collective Consciousness.  All our individual vibrations blend together into an energetic symphony of Spirit.

At any time we are broadcasting our signals into the morphic field and it joins the chorus of the Universe.  There is no good or bad to what we send out.  Discordant chords are as beautiful as harmonies.  Sharps and flats are really the same notes, just used in different ways.

Looking at the individual auditions for Lux Aurumque, not all the voices were perfect, nor always precisely pitched.  Blended together covered up individual flaws and generated a sound that brings you to tears.

And that is what the combined energies of creation does to us, it overwhelms us with appreciation for Life.

Technology is man's way of replicating Spirit, of the greater aspect of ourselves that we can't express in our human form.  We can't fly, so we invented airplanes.  We don't think we're telepathic, so we invented phones.  The internet as an information source is the Akashic Records on the physical realm.

We are Unity, separated into individuals for the fun of experiencing different aspects of ourselves.  But as Oneness, we long to reconnect our essential selves. 

The "Where The Hell Is Matt" videos of nerdy, white, Matt Harding 'dancing badly around the world' evokes the same emotions.  Whether dancing amongst Huli Wigman in New Guinea, a crowd at Gasworks Park in Seattle or in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we feel heartbreaking joy.

When we leave our physical bodies and return to Source, there are no more tears, only Ecstacy.  In form, however, it feels kinda painful and we place ethics on pain.

Important things to know:  we ARE Consciousness.  We are also individuals (collective).  There is no good or bad to the vibration we put out - it is ALL music to the 'ears' of Consciousness.

So instead of trying to make your instrument pure, just focus on the joy of playing.  Enjoy every moment of it, every breath, every tinge, every tummy rumble.  That is how you 'make a joyous noise unto the Lord', that is how you contribute your individual vibration into the collective.

This week, go all out and LIVE, no holds barred.  Savor every second.  Watch how discomfort falls away when you step right into the cold rain without resistance.  Taste every morsel.  Laugh with gusto.

And see how your life transforms when you do!

Harmonize for Holiday Harmony!

(c) 2009 Joan M. Newcomb

Last Monday was our island's annual Christmas sing-a-long at our local movie theatre.  It's very hokey- a small town affair.  Having lived here nearly 25 years, I have lots of lovely (& uncomfortable) memories of these sing-a-longs.

My earliest is my son Graham at 4 or 5, wearing his cowboy boots (which he lived in during those years) and Santa hat (which remained glued to his head from Thanksgiving through New Years) and running/dancing up and down the theatre aisles while everyone sang.  He's now a 6'4" freshman at Vassar!

My most recent is last year, sitting by myself in a nearly empty theatre, my heart full of loneliness and pain.  A blizzard had snowed us all in, my husband was stranded at his mother's in Bellevue and my kids at their dad's miles away, and I was alone the full seven days up to Christmas morning.  I'd hiked 2 miles into town to participate in the caroling.

This year was totally different, the place was packed and my husband was by my side.  That in itself was a Christmas miracle; he's a devout Buddhist and doesn't like to sing!

While we were singing, I had a revelation which I'd like to share with you - something that may make it easier to get through the rest of the holidays (and life)!

I like to sing alto.  When I was 6 or 7 I joined our school choir and learned the harmonies to all the Christmas songs.  What I felt was, that it was okay to be different.  I was the only American in class (we moved to England when I was 5).  I'm the only girl in my family (3 brothers).  Learning to harmonize, you learn to sing a different tune than others are singing.  You keep your musical line while others are singing the melody.  Energetically what this means is you hold your own vibration at a different level than others.

In a group, however, you're matching the music of others in your section, so you do have the strength/power of all the other altos (basses, tenors, sopranos, etc.) to match.  Alone, you learn to hold your own when others are singing the prevalent tune.

By the time I left high school, I'd sung in school choirs in four countries.  I learned to adapt to different cultures, make friends quickly, yet be ready to let go when my dad was stationed somewhere else.

What does this have to do with Harmonizing for Holiday Harmony?  Well, I've been writing about how to stay sane when visiting your (dysfunctional) family members.  Someone recently asked me how to stay serene around friends who are frenzied about Christmas.  And the answer is the same -

Set the vibration you want to be at, whether it's serenity or joy or peace.  Hold your own vibration where ever you are.  It's okay for you to be in a different space while others are going wiggy.

How do you do this?  I've several suggestions.  Imagine yourself in a bubble of gold - your own private Christmas ball.  Or pink.  Or blue. Whatever symbolizes to you the vibration of what you want to experience.  Have an emotional touchstone.  Does a particular Christmas tune or sound set it for you?  Does humming jingle bells awaken your inner child who still believes in Santa?  Does the image of Mary invoke her serene demeanor within you?

Before getting together with others, take a moment to use one of the above techniques (or one you've made up) to 'set your own tone'.  And let yourself hold it while you're with them.  It's okay for them to be emanating strident Yoko Ono sounds while you're humming the Little Drummer boy.  It's okay for them to be playing Flight of the Bumble Bee while you're ohming your way to serenity.  It's okay for their auras to be flaming red while you are fir tree green.

It's okay for you to have sanity in your head regardless of others' experience.   It's okay for you to be happy while they're sad.  Actually, it's okay for you to be sad while they're manically happy.  You can breathe and be real and you don't have to match anyone else.

Try this for the next week and see what happens!  And let me know! Joan@JoanNewcomb.com