Loose watercolour dolphin — Image by the author
“Joy arises out of our very core. Joy is not dependent on other people or outer circumstances. Joy arises when you come home. Joy is to enter into your own inner being, into your own self.”
― Swami Dhyan Giten, The Call of the Heart
Joy arises out of our very core
What kind of core is that core?
It is the still, silent, unchanging core. The core that is motion in stillness, laughter in silence, unchanging and yet never the same for even two heartbeats together…
Is there anything else about that core, when it’s never the same for even two heartbeats together?
It is powerful. Elemental. It is winds and tides and rocks turning to sand and the whole cosmos unified in one pulsing energy beam of light. Like a hologram of the universe, here in my being. Beaming its beckoning call: “Home”.
And what kind of ‘arises’ is that arises when ‘joy arises out of our very core?’
Arises… like laughter. Like pure, clear water bubbling up out of the rock. Like spinner dolphins lifting up out of the deep to spin and splash and frolic in the foam. For the pure joy of it.
And when the ‘spinner dolphins lifting up out of the deep… For the pure joy…’ what kind of joy is that joy?
Joy that knows no bounds. Joy without the capacity for worry, or doubt, anger or sadness. Joy that surpasses all understanding. Joy that brings us Home.
And is there anything else about the ‘joy that brings us Home?’
It calls unceasingly and yet sometimes it is so hard to hear it, to follow it. The depths of water are too great above us, packing us down, compressing our hope, diminishing our power to reach for that better feeling thought…
In the beginning, it is difficult and arduous. In the beginning, you will have to encounter fear, misery and pain, but the deeper you enter into it; the greater will be the reward.”
A very short thought for you today, Dear One.
I found myself enjoying Clean questions around these beautiful excerpts from ‘The Call of the Heart’. I now have a spinner dolphin in my mind’s eye as I think of my inner being and the joy she feels arising out of the deep.
If you find yourself feeling burdened, compressed, packed down by worry or sadness or despair, you may find this little thought helpful.
It came to me as I asked for help, wading through grim feelings at the weekend. I was prompted to imagine that whilst I couldn’t muster anything resembling joy at that moment, my inner being was right there, feeling wonderful and having a ball.
It gave me such relief. I hadn’t realised how much pressure I was putting on myself to feel better, to reach for emotions on the upper half of the scale.
The minute I said, well, I don’t feel like dancing, but my inner being does, that was enough. I could feel whatever I felt while I caught up with my inner dolphin, that was fine, but she was in charge of the joy. No more pressure to smile, or make the reach. Simply loving where I was and how that felt was enough
Before I knew it, I was moving again. Mowing the lawn and bopping just a bit in the kitchen as I cooked. Huge progress I can tell you.
Imagine your inner being, right now, having a ball
If you are struggling with the weight of water above you, imagine for a moment that you too have an inner being. Imagine this being any way you like. Simply know that the joy arising through it is elemental and unlimited. Allow it to spin and play, to dance and frolic, even if it feels way out of your reach. Don’t fret, you’ll catch up soon! This joy is the joy of your Home. And it calls to you always, Dearheart, all-ways.