The EXPERIENCE of Joy

On Feb 8th, Anne and I hosted a retreat called, Awaken Joy.  (watch the video on our YouTube channel) With a room filled with courageous people, we sang, shared stories and wrote about Joy in our lives and how we can support ourselves and each other in allowing Joy more access  in our daily lives.  Personally, it was very moving and I shared the following with the retreat participants.  Perhaps it might be of interest to others, so here it is for you to read over and comment on. 

It's a privilege to be able to share our songs and ourselves with you all!

 
Thanks,
Pete

Hi All,

I’m curious to see how you all did on Monday.  Did you feel there was a new perspective on things or that you felt alright with how the day unfolded?  Did you find yourself reflecting on your weekend?

Or did any of you feel the old momentum try to remind you it was there on Monday like I did?  Sometimes when new shifts or deep experiences happen, the old patterns attempt to assert themselves as to not loose their hold on us and our thinking.  If this happened to you, I recommend to first simply allow it be and then using the “deep listening” approach, see if there’s something inside you that is ready for change or ready to be heard.  This takes tremendous courage and can even be scary.  It could be you felt tired yesterday, maybe things felt lackluster or perhaps you wanted to just disappear under the covers.  For me, it was the feeling of there’s too much to get to and I don’t have enough time.  Anxiety coupled with the fear of failure.  When I finally allowed it be, rather than trying to use sleep, the internet or reading to avoid the feeling, I saw it was an old story, an old fear.  Oddly enough it was fear of an exciting and bright future.  Fear that somehow I would mess up all the good in my life if I didn’t use worry and anxiety to keep myself motivated.  I then remembered to apply this quote from the author Eckhart Tolle,  “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.”  This created more space for me to enter a place of deep listening and respect for this old, familiar fear/ feeling.  Because of our time together the day before I saw that this was my chance to EXPERIENCE my desire to allow JOY to come through me, even at this seemingly impossible time.  As I accepted this fear by silently witnessing it, I felt the hint of peace underneath the fear.  Like our conversation the day before, I realized again that Joy is always there, but we tend to cover it up with blocks.  I noticed there was nothing for me to DO to get to the Joy, I just asked it to come through me.  Some people might call this, “Let go and let God” others say it’s accepting the present moment.  However you name it, I thank you all for helping me touch Joy on Sunday so I could more easily find my way back.  Like tasting honey, I have again experienced Joy.  This happened shortly before I went to bed and I soon fell into a deep sleep and woke up this morning feeling refreshed and amazed.  How did this happen?  Through knowing that life continues to give me opportunities to EXPERIENCE joy awakening within me. 

So let the river flow, allow yourself to fill in the statement, “I’ve always wanted to…”  Let yourself want more good, more joy, more love.  Be okay with letting go of things that aren’t working, no mater how familiar they might be.  We all want you to succeed and we’re all wiling to help you do so.  Remember, even those voices in your head aren’t always true, like my father’s voice that turned out to be less true than his actual deep love and support for me and my dreams!

With gratitude,

Pete

Finding the treasure of Experience!

 Hi All, Pete here typing....

Have you ever been on a treasure hunt?  Someone gives you clues and you piece your way to the final prize? 

This past Christmas morning I created a small treasure hunt for our kids, Leah (7) and Sam (4).  I had wrapped a package for both and inside there was a short, handwritten clue.  Each clue led them to a new destination with another clue that then led to the next location.  After several clues, they finally came to a box and inside was their present.  The present wasn’t any more special or unique than any other of the “hundreds” of presents they received that morning.   However, they both still comment on the “treasure hunt” present and the adventure of searching for and finally finding the present!  Why is that, because we are beings who FEEL and EXPERIENCE life.  We love to experience things, more than simply get things.  The experience is how the vibrancy of life gets to move through us.  This is nothing new to any of us, we’ve all gotten something only to have it lose its luster over time.  But lately I’m being reminded of that truth over and over again.

This weekend Anne and I drove to Los Angeles to audition for NBC’s The Voice, a reality TV show.  Several things came up as we even began the process of signing up to audition.  First of all, Anne and I haven’t had a TV in our home since 1999.  Second, we aren’t well known for our current list of popular cover tunes that are an essential part of the program.    And third, with the thousands of performers auditioning, it’s highly unlikely we’d gain a second audition let alone make it to the final round of appearing on the show.  Then why do it?  Why go through all the trouble of lining up babysitters, finding a place to stay, sitting in a car for 10 hours, eating Wholefoods’ sushi?  Because we knew this was an opportunity for us to experience our own belief in ourselves.  To experience our own sense of worthiness.  How?  The entire audition process, the 4 hours of waiting, the 45 seconds of singing, the kind rejection at the end were all chances for us to EXPERIENCE our own self worth!   To witness that worthiness does not come from outside of us but from within.  It’s one thing to know that truth in your mind, and something completely different to experience that truth!  This is why we speak so highly of stepping out of your comfort zones, because it affords you a chance to get to know the truth about what you think and believe about yourself.  What are the thoughts and stories you tell yourself?  These are the very structures your life is built upon.  How do you examine them?  By stepping outside of the story you’re telling (all the stuff you name as you, I am this, I do this, I am good at…) and taking a look around. 

The day after we auditioned for The Voice, we drove an hour east to a beautiful town surrounded by mountains outside of LA.  There we sang for a man in advance stages of Parkinson’s.  We’d been invited to sing for him by his family.   So we sang and shared stories of our adventures and inspirations for our songs while his family and friends gathered around this man and each other to weep, clap and sing along with us.  This shared EXPERIENCE was a profound mixture of love, sadness, joy and acceptance one that I know I will cherish for many years.  Their courage to step outside of their comfort zones, to be vulnerable with us and to weep, afforded them the experience of a love and connection that few people are willing to break their hearts open with!  Incidentally, they asked us to sing Anne’s song, “Wide Open” twice.  It was the song we sang at our audition the day before and contains the lines:

“I’m gonna lay my burdens down. 

I’m gonna fly with no excuses. 

I’m gonna break this heart in two. 

Break it wide open, a heart wide open, I’m gonna try!”

Thank you for supporting our journey!  Thank you for having the courage to keep showing up in your own life!  As we care for our own path, so it becomes impossible not to show up and care for others’ as well.

Awaken Joy Retreat