Excerpt from, Diving into the Deep: A Companion Guide / "We come FROM joy. We BRING joy to others. We ARE joy."

Welcome to the beginning of something, which I hope will be truly special, for fellow seekers and Lightworkers who have been attending my workshop ~ Diving into the Deep: Exploration of the Self Through Creative Writing.

In a series of monthly posts, I will be sharing short, but meaningful, passages from my current book-in-progress, so that those who are unable to attend my workshop, can follow along with us, on the journey to healing and self-discovery.  When my work is done, these thoughts and meditations will become a bound copy for many more individuals to use, as a tool for guidance and deep healing.

This week, I will be sharing a few paragraphs from the opening pages.  I hope that these thoughts help you to "dig deep" in your own life, and to reach out to others with a loving heart, on your life's path here on earth.

Thank you for your presence ...

(photo credit: Cristina Norcross, 2011 / Lake Geneva, WI)

Passage from the INTRODUCTION:

There is an unpolished gem that lives inside of you.  Sometimes we let it breathe and glow.  Sometimes we even let this stone shine!  When we ignore that source of Light, which desperately wants to come out and play, to connect with others, to be the beacon for many ships, our inner gemstone loses its luster.

•How do we connect with our inner Buddha, our shining Light that sings and dances so well, while we are fully engaged in a soul-nourishing activity?

•How do we salvage the True Being inside, whom we may have forgotten along the way, while focusing on becoming responsible adults?  Who has time to play, when we are so busy making a life, buying cars, and building additions on houses?

This disconnect, which so many of us suffer from, can be fused and healed.  We have the inner resources to reach inside the core truth of ourselves and rise up.  By identifying what brings you joy, by creating space in your life every day (or at least every week) for this sacred practice of self-care, by engaging in activities that Light you up, by reaching out to others with your natural gifts, by giving back to the world through acts of kindness and creativity ~ we not only heal ourselves, we raise the overall vibration of the planet itself.  This is when a continuous stream of healing begins.  If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes many, many villages of people working together, towards peace, to actually bring about real change.  Find peace within yourself, first.  Bring it to others like a sparkling jewel.  There is a great, untapped river living inside each of us.  Find your flow.

Passage from CHAPTER 1:

We come FROM joy.  We BRING joy to others.  We ARE joy.

I want you to take your shoes off and feel rooted.  Whether you are outside, feeling the grass on bare feet, or in your living room, feeling soft carpeting, it is important that you are connected to the earth for this exercise.

Read the following meditation out loud, and listen to each word.  Listen to your voice, as you become connected to breath and meaning.

A Joy Meditation

I breathe in calm.

I breathe out joy.

I feel roots, from my feet, reach down to the earth.

I feel a white thread of light reach up from my core

to the top of my head.

It travels through me

and beyond me

to the great connectedness of all beings.

I breathe in connection.

I breathe out peace.

A circle of light,

like a white lasso,

moves up and down.

A funnel of energy –

so bright,

that even the stars can see me smiling.

Contentment radiates from every outline

that is me,

and from every path of light

branching out

from the Tree of Me.

In serenity and in thankfulness,

I whisper this prayer to myself.

I will return to this safe space of golden light

again,

and again.

Cristina M. R. Norcross

Copyright 2016