Offering Joy

There is a quixotic yet profound practice called Tonglen that involves energetically releasing or giving away excess joy that one feels. Excess? Who has excess joy? What a concept! For the real essence of this practice, look up Pema Chodron. But for my take on it, read on.

My fellow sisterhood (is that an oxymoron?) would attest to the regularity and acceptance of what has been labeled “mood swings”. However, I believe that every human being moment to moment, is constantly rebalancing high and low energy and emotion (which is simply Energy-Motion). When we are seeking joy it is because we are experiencing low energy. When we are seeking calm it is because we are experiencing high energy. Taking a theoretical stab at this I might say that most of us want to stay high 24/7. It feels great, floating on air, deeply connected to others, being SEEN… And I might say that most of us have a greater or lesser loathing for being low. It can feel like a loss, falling into an abyss all alone, empty… But just think for a moment about having a special process for calming the high energy so that it doesn’t spiral out of order and this same special process for raising the low energy so that it too doesn’t spiral out of control. Impossible? Many spiritual practices have answers for this. In addition to Tonglen, lowering one’s high energy and Metta, raising one’s low energy, there is a song I’d like to share. I just learned this last week and have been greatly moved by its power:

Grandmother I see you sitting in the East… I pray to you, pray to you