Two African-American women smiling brightly

Terri Nicole, Barbara

Three African-American women smiling brightly

Terri, Icesis, Anana, Barbara

Three African-American women smiling brightly

Anana, Jamie, Icesis

Three African-American women smiling brightly

Anana, Bonnie, Barbara

Week 33 – Finding JOY!

You can listen to this on my podcast – 8:41 mins

Enjoy a few clips of us dancing here.

Greetings!

I’m Barbara J. Faison, Your Meditation Ambassador, and if you are new here, welcome! In January I started a weekly newsletter which also serves as a blog post on my website, barbarafaison.com and the audio is my podcast called the Why Struggle podcast with Barbara J. Faison. So weekly you can read or listen.  My intention is to offer ideas, insights and inspirations to help you struggle less and enjoy life more. However you might be engaging with me, I am grateful for you listening and/or reading!

What is joy? According to the dictionary, it’s a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. When was the last time you felt that feeling? I mean PURE JOY?

On Friday night, my friend, Bonnie and I went out salsa dancing. On the way to the club, The Sanctuary, Bonnie and I tried to remember the last time we were “really” out dancing. We knew it was before “RONA” AKA, Covid 19, and we were pretty sure it was in 2019. Well thanks to Facebook I was able to take it back to Bonnie’s birthday in April 2019. Had it really been four years? Oh my!

If you are new or want to know more about my salsa journey and these awesome friends, check out Week 26 – Music and Lasting Friendships.

Over 11 years ago I discovered I had osteoarthritis in my right hip and right knee, so my dancing has been a bit limited for the past few years. Physical therapy last year helped a lot even though I have pain most days. I decided I would dance and listen to my body and I’m so glad I did. I put on my dance shoes, thank goodness I could still wear them, and hit the floor.

We weren’t sure how many people we would know at the club, since we had been missing in action for so long. You know, what, we didn’t care. We have learned that no matter what, we are GOING to have a good time. And we had a blast!  Back in the day, we used to be at that club most Friday nights and other places during the week. Bonnie and I laughed and reminisced about our memories of dancing for over 20 years in the car on the way. 

When we arrived we found out that DJ Tito was the DJ. He used to be one of the main DJ’s when we went out regularly. We knew the salsa music would be on fire, so we were ready for a great time. People came that we didn’t know would be there, so it was like a salsa family reunion.

Watching Bonnie, Terri, Jamie, Adiascar, Anana, Jazzie, Mark, Icesis and others I felt my heart swelling with pleasure and happiness! Oh, yeah, that’s the definition of JOY. Dancing to the music and watching my friends and others enjoying themselves was PURE JOY!

Were there moves I just can’t do anymore, absolutely? Can I dance as long as I used to? Nope! I still felt the joy of dancing with partners who allowed the music to lead them. Bonnie and I left around 1 AM, wearing our salsa glow. If you want to see some of my salsa crew dancing, check out the short on my YouTube channel.  And if you haven’t subscribed, I love for you to support me there.

 

And there was more JOY. If you have listened to any of my meditations or affirmations with music, it was Yvette C. Lee’s original composition. Yvette and I went to see Milan Thompson, another meditator I met while doing online sessions during the pandemic. Milan is the owner of MiCo Candles, hand poured soy candles that are AMAZING. It was my first time meeting her in person! And of course I got a few candles.

Last week I got to celebrate Kym Kennedy’s birthday and that was a joyful experience. This weekend the joy continued to flow. I’m keeping these JOY filled memories in my mental playlist for those times when I need to remind myself of how it feels to have great pleasure and happiness. I call these Go To Memories, GTMs, it’s a practice share in my course Five Mindful Ways to Struggle Less and Enjoy Life More.

What’s bringing you joy these days? Feel free to reach out to me at Barbarafaisonllc@gmail.com or direct message me on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are best.

Relax, Listen, and Trust Your Inner Guidance.

The card I pulled for us today is the

#4 TRUST- I am LOVING I am LOVED I am LOVABLE

YES, WE ARE!

2 gold 3 x 5 cards on top of a textured dark green background. The card on the left has a butterfly on a gold flower with the word TRUST beneath it in white letters. The second card has the words I am LOVING I am LOVED I am LOVABLE. A rock engraved with the word love sits at the top between the cards.

Relax, Listen and Trust Your Inner Guidance Card Deck

 

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The next Breathe with Barbara LIVE session for this month is on Wednesday from 8 – 9 PM eastern via Zoom. I would love to have you join us.  All of the links are in my LINKTR.EE/BARBARAFAISON.

You can register for the events at http://linktr.ee/barbarafaison.

There are many resources available to support a meditation practice in person and online. 

  • Our Breathe with Barbara LIVE Sessions are the 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 8 – 9 pm eastern. My live sessions include gentle movement, breathing, meditation and silence. I would love for you to join me, the sessions are only $15. 
  • If you prefer having a teacher for instruction, I offer one on one sessions as well as group sessions (min of 3 people). Feel free to reach out to me via email or on my website barbarafaison.com/contact-Barbara, pick the option that works best for scheduling a brief conversation.
  • If you prefer using APPs, I encourage you to check out the Insight Timer app, it is the #1 app for free meditations for sleep, anxiety, and stress, and I have over 40 meditations, book excerpts, and my courses (for premium members) and more out there. The link is InsightTimer.com.
  • I have meditations on other APPS including Aura, Meditation Station, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon and more. Just search for Barbara J. Faison as the artist and you will find me there.
  • Check out the National Meditation Playlist on my YouTube Channel, I have continued to add new meditations there. It’s a great way to practice daily, there are over 33 meditations on the list.
  • You can also find links for upcoming events and where you can meditate with me. All the links are on my linktr.ee/barbarafaison.

I’d love to know about your experience with meditation. Are you new, or would you like to learn?

If you prefer having a teacher for instruction, I offer one on one sessions as well as group sessions (min of 3 people). If you know any groups or organizations who want to offer a session, perhaps a lunch and meditate, or a program, I love referrals and would be happy to speak with them.

Feel free to reach out to me on my website barbarafaison.com/contact-Barbara, pick the option that works best for scheduling a quick conversation. Or you can message me @barbarafaison on social media, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook are best.

All of the links are on my linktr.ee/barbarafaison.

If you need a quick breath break you can take one right here.

Thank you for your support and being on this journey with me.

Feel free to share your thoughts or ask a question – via email at barbarafaisonllc@gmail.com.

Keep breathing…
Barbara J. Faison
your mindfulness & meditation ambassador