Re: Joy, laughter, & inspiration?

Joy is something that really begins to well up from within, in my experience, as the veils of deception fall away--and fasting is a good start, eye-opening on so many levels; but it really makes the world of difference to your experience of the WF, if you continuously 'feed' yourself with gratitude; for the gift of time/space/so many things coming together to enable you to even consider this; with gratitude for all the events in this life that somehow contain and reflect the entire wondrousness, the mandala of it all; and most importantly, gratitude (and a heart-warming sense of humility: this is the 'partner' of gratitude)that you have the mind to be able to reflect on Spirit, and Truth, and all the good things that you can imagine, for yourself and all others.

Well-- that's what they call a run-on sentence! Hope you made it through. Where does a person find this gratitude? Curiously, it's been here all along, just waiting for the chance to flower. It turns out that the mind's more actual location is in the heart, and that one should simply learn to "let the heart do the thinking, and the head begin to feel", and "then I'd look upon the world anew and know what's truly real"

From Van Morrison's CD "Poetic Champions Compose".
The song is called, I think, "I forgot that love existed", which, in a very real sense most of us do, when we get wrapped up in food, in things of matter, and in

believing we are the body, and not that we HAVE a body.

Again, in my experience, it's in realizing how incredibly blessed we are that we start to genuinely wish for all others to have their deepest wish, which it turns out, is peace--with peace all is possible, and joy is grace waves that flow to one, and from one, to all others. A good way to increase the natural capacity for joy, which allows the body to not only heal, but to literally 'bloom', like the proverbial lotus, that lifts its head above the still of water, and above the muck it grew from, -- one good method that brings great goodness to self and others is to save the life of small creatures. Do as much as you can of this, and practise becoming aware of how all living beings are as much a part of the 'whole' as yourself. In that, they are inherently perfect, because you are.

When you save the lives of others, there is a kind of rejoicing in Heaven, if you will. The words don't matter, but choose the ones that resonate most to you: peace, love, tenderness, the feeling of being happy for others' happiness and the willingness to exchange your happiness for their suffering. Surprisingly, this 'willingness', which only has to be a small thought, even a shaky one, lacking certainty, is enough that it gets added to, by the well of good that exists all about, and permeates every 'thing' that exists.

The great thing about a water fast, is that breaking the link between self and external forms of nutriment, allows a person to begin to see the truth of how it is we live. When you get down to the REAL (not the worlds' real’ which is temporary, changeable, and constantly selling craving and distraction), we live by grace. Joy. Peace. All that good stuff is where it’s. Sitting in silence and simply attending the breath in a relaxed way, and breathing in a sense of goodwill, offering it to every cell, down to the smallest particle--that's a good thing to do.
I'd also look into "the message of water" since we are 70 percent or something like that. Babies are over 90, I think. When you start to reflect on water, and how it carries the imprint of thought, and word, and of course deed, you start to have a very deep appreciation for doing only that which promotes the good, and abandoning all else.

Also, if you feel interested, it's a good time to look into the subject of Brix-- which is a way of measuring the quality and nutritional profile of food: that is, plant-based food. This is fascinating subject, and eye-opening as well; clarifying much about the goings-on of nutriment, and how a person can begin to gain some control over the ability to return to some sanity, with regard to all that.

A lot depends on how it goes--and there are so many variables, it's impossible to say what your interests might lead you to. But, I hear you asking for some note of the 'true', and that inclination will serve you well, along with just being very gentle with yourself, and listening to the body, as everyone says, so often. I would add that it's not really the body one connects to, so much as the mind starts to be able to tell grain from chaff. And the body of course gets a chance to purify itself and sort out its messages (from the spam, which some of us used to actually eat!) so that they make more sense. With the right sort of attitude, everything becomes grist for the mill. Most important is to feel that you have an abundance of rest at hand, if you wish it.
Then everything else flows. It’s not hyperbole to say that Every moment could be a completely pure opportunity to 'begin again' to know the innate perfection of a ‘holy moment’, if you will. This would be one in which there is a deep awareness present, that wells up from within, and one is not hanging on to any particular thought, idea, or bodily sensation--it's a fact that everything passes. At the same time, a grain of joy the size of a pollen grain can bloom forever.(and ever.)

best,
Chiron