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Jump Start Your Joy

Inspired by the quote “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day (Henri Nouwen),” this lively show looks at the inspiration, intention, and action that you can take to have for a positive mental outlook, even in hard times and improbable situations.
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Now displaying: Category: intentional comfort
Dec 1, 2022

This week's episode is the finale of season seven where I've been talking all about intentional comfort and how to bring more comfort and ease into your everyday life.

If you have not yet listened to the episode where I did the countdown of the top 10 most downloaded episodes, you can tune in here.

1. Choose comfort, and build it into our lives.  I think we are looking for a way to wind down and a way to hold space for the things that we've done and to take a breather. It may be that the world feels heavy, and that you need a break. Mirror what you choose to do with what the seasons do. Winter is a time of darkness and quiet and solitude. And so I think comfort and joy are bookends for each other, but I think they also go hand in hand.

2. See it as riding the wave. If youcan ride the wave of whateverdifficult thing you're facing, and intentionally schedule in comfort, you will be in a better place. It can be helpful to know that this current situation is temporary, and ride it out. And, you can get through it by clinging to that intentional comfort that we are setting up for yourself.

3. Everything is cyclical. Hard times, good times. Comforting times, overwhelming times. It's all cyclical.  Knowing that there is a season for each thing that sometimes will be easier. Sometimes it'll be harder. And knowing this can maybe help you find comfort in one that the season will change just like if you ride out the wave. But in two, that, that this is part of the bigger plan and pattern.

4. Learn to live an "Untethered Life," as inspired by the book by Michael A Singer. The really big takeaway for me with that book is that you can start to question some of the patterns and habits that you recognize that you have after you spent some time looking at them. Because comfort can come from getting to know yourself instead of fighting whatever comes up and ruminating on whatever comes up.

5. Joy and happiness is comforting. Make time for whatever it is that makes you happy. Let go of the expectations and the pressure of day-to-day life that's telling us what we "should" do or want. Learning to let yourself be in the present moment, without feeling the need to document for social media or feel the pressure to share every detail with anyone else.

Resources:

Season 7 Countdown (finale pt 1)

Audible version of "Untethered life" by Michael A Singer (affiliate)

Join me for a Virtual Labyrinth walk (free) on Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 1pm PST | 4pm EST

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May 17, 2022

In tying in with this season's theme of "Intentional Comfort," and the mini series on "Finding Home," I'm excited to share about how finding and honoring your heart's second home. The idea of having homes beyond the physical place you dwell is one that hit me in about 2004, when I attended a retreat at San Damiano in Danville, CA. It became clear to me that some places feel like home, usually because of the community or the connection I had to them. In this episode, I'm sharing a few of those places, what they mean to me, and how you can also find and honor your heart's second home.

Read the full show notes on my website. 

Resources

Laura Joyce Davis on Jump Start Your Joy, talking about Shelter in Place

San Damiano Retreat in Danville, CA

Kennolyn Camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains

The Sea Ranch

UC Santa Barbara

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Dec 22, 2021

Intentional Comfort is the theme of this season, and in this episode I'm taking inspiration from Priya Parker's Art of Gathering, and using her 3 rules of gathering to consider new ways to reconnect with what nourishes, fortifies, and supports you.  While her Ted Talk is about how to interact in groups and gatherings in new ways, I find that her rules and thoughts offer insights on how to connect with yourself, and how to determine what is meaningful to you when looking for intentional comfort.

Here are the basics of what I'm covering:

Don't leave it to chance

This is the intentional part of things. If we leave the relationship and connection we have to and with ourselves to chance, it's far too easy to focus on the basics and logistics of life, and ignore time for self care. If you're longing for more time for yourself, or time to do thoughtful, comforting things, schedule that time in.

Embrace your purpose

For many of you, especially over the stretch of the pandemic, you may have developed some habits that aren’t really serving you. And, while they likely did serve you for a period of time, now that we’re nearly into the third year of all of this, I think the way we look at comfort and what fortifies us has likely changed. It’s become super apparent that this isn’t about a sprint, this is about a transition. What is the purpose, or meaning, behind setting up time for intentional comfort?

How can you craft something that supports and nourishes you, as we all work through this transition together?

What is the purpose of what you want to do, in finding comfort?

What would meet your needs?

If you’re looking for an escape, what does that look like given any of your current constraints?

If you’re looking for peace and quiet, why?

And if you dig a layer deeper, is there something you feel is missing? 

Cause good controversy

Priya says that “human connection is as threatened by unhealthy peace as it is by unhealthy conflict.” And, I’d add that this connection is true for gatherings as it is for the connection you and I have with ourselves. 

For this, I’d ask yourself what do you need, right now? Drop any sort of “shoulds” or polite answers. You're answering this just for yourself. 

Some of these answers might be overly simple: a walk, a shower, a drink of water, a meal

Some of these answers might be more complicated and feel harder to figure out: a feeling of connectedness, quiet time when I’m not needed by anyone else, a day to just bake cookies and connect with the holiday spirit

How can you do this? It might feel like it involves creating some good controversy, especially if it involves speaking up to divide up housework with your family, to find quiet time, to find time to pursue a hobby, or to interview for a new job. You may need help from other people to do these things. So, dive in and ask yourself what you need and then figure out what kind of help you need from other people in your family.

The other side of this good controversy could be a totally inside job. It could be that you’ve been sitting with something for a long time that doesn’t feel so great, and in order to find comfort and joy on the other side, you need to work through it. You may need to break through a Story - or something you’re assuming is true but isn’t really true.

Use "pop up" rules

Priya suggests this for groups that gather that don’t necessarily share the same background, or are part of the same generation, culture, or rules for etiquette. She says in those situations, you can set up pop up rules to encourage meaningful connection.

What if you changed your own rules for a bit? What rules could you set for yourself, just for a day or a week, to support yourself?

An example might be: set a bedtime for yourself for the next week if you are tired.

Make a rule for yourself that this week, you will slow down and have an afternoon snack and see how that feels.

Limit your interaction with people who stress you out, if possible. 

Maybe if there’s a particular person that tends to upset you but you know you’ll see at a holiday event, maybe set a rule that you can leave after a certain amount of time at the event, or request that you not be seated next to them?

This might mean that you’re asking for something slightly different of yourself and other people - and that could be uncomfortable. So, let it be an experiment. Try out what something new looks like.

Wrap up

These ideas are all so applicable to how we can find intentional comfort and joy in our lives. It’s so easy to get into habits that don’t really support you, but have addressed discomfort you may have been feeling. Intentional Comfort is all adding a layer of mindfulness to what you do every day. I have been looking for ways to intentionally add nurturing and nourishing habits to my days, and find that when I make those choices, I do find more joy, too.

Resources

Priya Parker's Ted Talk

Stasia Savasuk on Jump Start Your Joy (episode 303) 

The Joy Diet by Martha Beck

The Work of Byron Katie

Loving What is by Byron Katie

Nov 3, 2021

What is Intentional Comfort? Why is it important? I'm sharing 3 conversations that paved the way for comfort to be the season 7 theme. Tune in to hear from Jenn Oglesbee, Ilene Smith, and Julia Samuels and learn more about what intentional comfort.

In this episode, I'm taking a look at some of the foundational conversations that paved the way for me to choose a theme of intentional comfort and joy for season seven here on the podcast.

1. One was with Jenn Oglesbee, who is a life coach and a licensed clinical social worker. We had three conversations on Instagram Live over the summer (which you can find at my Instagram account: conversation 1, conversation 2, conversation 3).

2. Ilene Smith, the author of Moving Beyond Trauma who shared that the last 18 months have been a trauma vortex in a discussion we had in season 5.

Listen to the full discussion with Ilene Smith here. 

3. Julia Samuel, who is a psychotherapist who specializes in grief and wrote the book, Grief Works. She and I spoke about the importance of balancing grief with intentional times of happiness or joy.

Listen to that conversation here. 

I wanted to synthesize some of these ideas so that you get this kind of juicy background of how we got to intentional comfort and joy for season seven (and give you a little bit more space to play with the theme).  

Resources

Jenn Oglesbee's website

Ilene's Smith website

Julia Samuel's website

 

Buy Jump Start Your Joy: Heart-Centered Ways to Find Joy in The Messy Middle on Amazon (affiliate link)

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Apple Podcasts

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Spotify

Nov 3, 2021

What is Intentional Comfort? Why is it important? I'm sharing 3 conversations that paved the way for comfort to be the season 7 theme. Tune in to hear from Jenn Oglesbee, Ilene Smith, and Julia Samuels and learn more about what intentional comfort.

In this episode, I'm taking a look at some of the foundational conversations that paved the way for me to choose a theme of intentional comfort and joy for season seven here on the podcast.

1. One was with Jenn Oglesbee, who is a life coach and a licensed clinical social worker. We had three conversations on Instagram Live over the summer (which you can find at my Instagram account: conversation 1, conversation 2, conversation 3).

2. Ilene Smith, the author of Moving Beyond Trauma who shared that the last 18 months have been a trauma vortex in a discussion we had in season 5.

Listen to the full discussion with Ilene Smith here. 

3. Julia Samuel, who is a psychotherapist who specializes in grief and wrote the book, Grief Works. She and I spoke about the importance of balancing grief with intentional times of happiness or joy.

Listen to that conversation here. 

I wanted to synthesize some of these ideas so that you get this kind of juicy background of how we got to intentional comfort and joy for season seven (and give you a little bit more space to play with the theme).  

Resources

Jenn Oglesbee's website

Ilene's Smith website

Julia Samuel's website

 

Buy Jump Start Your Joy: Heart-Centered Ways to Find Joy in The Messy Middle on Amazon (affiliate link)

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Apple Podcasts

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Spotify

Nov 3, 2021

What is Intentional Comfort? Why is it important? I'm sharing 3 conversations that paved the way for comfort to be the season 7 theme. Tune in to hear from Jenn Oglesbee, Ilene Smith, and Julia Samuels and learn more about what intentional comfort.

In this episode, I'm taking a look at some of the foundational conversations that paved the way for me to choose a theme of intentional comfort and joy for season seven here on the podcast.

1. One was with Jenn Oglesbee, who is a life coach and a licensed clinical social worker. We had three conversations on Instagram Live over the summer (which you can find at my Instagram account: conversation 1, conversation 2, conversation 3).

2. Ilene Smith, the author of Moving Beyond Trauma who shared that the last 18 months have been a trauma vortex in a discussion we had in season 5.

Listen to the full discussion with Ilene Smith here. 

3. Julia Samuel, who is a psychotherapist who specializes in grief and wrote the book, Grief Works. She and I spoke about the importance of balancing grief with intentional times of happiness or joy.

Listen to that conversation here. 

I wanted to synthesize some of these ideas so that you get this kind of juicy background of how we got to intentional comfort and joy for season seven (and give you a little bit more space to play with the theme).  

Resources

Jenn Oglesbee's website

Ilene's Smith website

Julia Samuel's website

 

Buy Jump Start Your Joy: Heart-Centered Ways to Find Joy in The Messy Middle on Amazon (affiliate link)

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Apple Podcasts

Follow Jump Start Your Joy on Spotify

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