Joy vs. Happiness...Do you know the difference?

I would like to bring attention to the difference between Joy or Bliss vs. Happiness. The words are so often used interchangeably and yet have very different energies behind them.

Simply put, what I have come to understand the feeling of being happy, is a passing emotion dependent on outside or external factors. When someone says something nice about us, when we are awarded recognition for something we have worked hard on, or we get that new "thing" we have been desiring, that makes us feel a rush of positive, happy hormones such as endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin, maybe even adrenaline. This is a beautiful experience and should be celebrated and welcomed when we have these events in our life. However, we must be watchful because it is possible to become addicted to this rush and we may feel as though life is not as fulfilling when we are not receiving these rushes of emotions. This can sometimes lead to a "searching" or 'reaching" to recreate the feeling. When we focus too much on this type of pleasure, it can sometimes ironically lead to a feeling of lack or discontentment when we are not feeling the rush which can lead to "chasing" a feeling vs. actually making choices that will enrich and fulfill our lives.

To contrast the situational experience of "Happiness" with Joy or Bliss, we are speaking of a deeper sense of contentment and fulfillment. Bliss is a constant state of mind undisturbed by gain or loss. Deepak Chopra said:

"Bliss is not a feeling but a state of being. In the state of bliss, everything is loved."

All too often we allow our external environment to dictate our emotional state of being but when we find our

way to a state of bliss, we find the waves of our lives a little easier to ride.

I have come to believe that Joy and Bliss arise when; what we think, what we say, what we feel and what we do, are in alignment. When we are tapping into the authenticity of our personal purpose and passion of this lifetime, the powerful yet subtle feeling of Bliss becomes the baseline for how we view the world around us.

How can we begin to understand this concept if we are choosing happiness, a temporary experience, over Joy & Bliss, a prolonged state of being. The first step is to pause and check in with yourself. Close your eyes and feel the subtle differences of how the choices feel in your body when you present them to yourself.

I recently heard Jay Shetty use this example:

When you are deciding between the healthy choice of what to eat for lunch vs. the indulgent satisfying choice, think about how the two will make you feel AFTER the action of eating, not the short term thoughts and feelings of BEFORE you choose. The indulgent one will always make you feel happy to think about, anticipate and also enjoy the process of consuming it, however, you will inevitably pay the price with how your body feels usually immediately after and for the next few hours or even days! When thinking about the more healthy option, it doesn't necessarily excite you so much but you may experience pride in "making a good choice for your health and well being". After you consume the healthy option, you feel a deeper feeling of contentment for choosing the long term choice to nourish, love and care for you body's needs, in addition to simply just feeling physically better to move throughout your day. Decisions tend to pile on top of each other throughout the day, week, month even years! When we make one "good" choice, it empowers us to make another the next time we are presented with choosing short term happiness over the state of Joy or Bliss.

Do you care to join me in a practice of asking ourselves in difficult or tempting situations, "How can I best be of service to myself and others, make the internally guided wise choice for the greater good and know that the long term satisfaction and fulfillment will be the more nourishing option?"

All the love,

Pamela

Dana Swaffer on Regenerative Soil!!

We know so much more now about the importance of not only quality organic fruits and vegetables but now there is so much information surfacing about the quality of the soil in which it was grown. I was blown away by my lessons with Zach Bush, MD (I highly recommend you click his name and check him out. He is absolutely brilliant!!) and his attention to the microbiome in our soil to create nutrient rich foods.

Today I have the privilege of learning from Dana Swaffer, a fellow IIN Integrative Nutrition Health Coach! Dana has been tending her own regenerative soil for about 5 years now!!

I asked....

What’s one piece of advice you can give someone looking to get started with their own soil and growing their own food?

She answered....

"The first thing I would say is not use pesticides and herbicides since that will ultimately be absorbed into your food. There are plenty of ways to handle weeds and pests naturally. Most agriculture centers can test the soil for you and tell you what nutrients are lacking so you can bolster, as needed. Limit tilling and try to use cover crops to boost microbes in the soil. Get diverse in your plantings and have fun!"

I asked...

When creating healthy compost, what are some of the most important tips you can share? She answered....

"Plants love the biologic materials in compost and it minimizes the waste stream. Layering brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen) materials makes for the perfect compost and it shouldn’t smell if done in the proper ratios. There is a lot of information online about what should and should not be a part of your compost pile and several different methods you can use depending on your space and needs. Bacterial compost is more nitrogen rich and takes 1-3 months to make and is great for vegetables and annuals as it encourages green growth on plants. Fungal compost is more carbon rich and takes 6 months to a year to make and is great for woody plants, fruit trees and perennials."

I asked....

How did you get started on your own soil gardening journey?

She answered....

"As I dug my way out of poor health, I started learning more about how the soil impacts the food we eat. I decided to start really paying close attention to what my land needed to optimize the nutrients in the food I wanted to grow. I have regenerated the soil over the last 5 years by intentionally caring for it and planting a diversity of both flowers and food. It is rewarding to eat delicious organic produce from my own soil and have beautiful non-toxic flowers that make me smile. It’s been worth every bit of effort!"

I am so blessed to call Dana a friend and am inspired by her dedication to a healthier life starting from the ground up! If you are like me, these kinds of topics can feel so overwhelming when you first open the door. The more I educate myself, the more I feel there is to learn and be done. I love how Dana helps us see how we can start simple and know that every step we take is one step closer to a cleaner healthier life which is an action of self-love and care. May we all support each other on our journeys!!!

All the love,

Pamela

Intuition (Trusting your gut)

Intuition is subtle. In the beginning it is like a gentle whisper that sneaks in and sometimes catches us off guard. We have all used the saying, "I trust my gut" or "my gut tells me this isn't for me". Learning to listen to and trust myself, my intuition, my gut has been one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn but certainly one of the most valuable. I always doubted my intuition and second guessed myself. Partially because I had allowed some of the people in my life to convince me otherwise and partially because I hadn't yet learned to know, love and trust myself truly and deeply. Over the last year, I have experienced SO many ups and downs and unique adventures that have given me the opportunity to look deeply inward. When we choose to view difficult experiences as opportunities for growth, we have the opportunity to see beauty and value in all things.

I love and remind myself regularly of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ "Don't be too timid or squeamish about your actions. All of life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." I have taken this to heart this last year and really sat with myself in silence with each decision I have made to listen and feel what is taking place in my body. What sensations do I feel and where do I feel them. Sometimes when I feel stuck or unsure, to lighten the pressure, I check in with myself and then say, "let's just try this and see what happens!" It is, like an experiment, gathering data, seeing what works and what doesn't. What I have learned is that Love is always the answer. Fear is usually something we need to walk through in order to learn and grow out of old learned pattern behaviours. Learning to get to know and trust my internal compass has been possibly the most valuable skill I have learned to date. I have gotten to know what each emotion feels like in my body and where I feel the sensations. I allow my body to speak to me and have chosen to listen. I have learned actual strategies and techniques to begin to use this muscle which like any other, becomes weak if it is not exercised but is always there.

My inner knowing has always been whispering and I have finally quieted the noise to be free to make conscious choices that are in alignment with my highest, most authentic self instead of impulsive decisions based off of past experiences and emotions that no longer serve me. That is true freedom in my eyes.

All the love,

Pamela