Practicing Joy or Practicing Depression

I loved watching my son, as a little boy, enjoying a funny movie. When something was funny to him it didn’t seem to matter if anyone else in the family was laughing. He would literally roll on the floor in genuine, joyful, belly-laughing!

If you are like most adults, or at least like I was, I would watch the same movie and people watching with me would say, “Hey, You are not laughing!” I would smile and say, “Oh, its funny. I am laughing on the inside.” Yet, in truth, I really didn't feel a strong sensation of joy about much of anything in those days.

When looking for adult role models, there seems to be very few adults who embody an inner joyfulness. Where did our ability to really feel joy go? If you compare the energy of your negative emotions, can you generate the same intensity of energy for the positive emotions, such as joy?

Somewhere along the way to adulthood many of us have lost much of our ability to really feel genuine, high intensity joy.

All our life is practicing and perfecting the personification with which we justify ourselves to the world. I know many of you might say, “Yes, but when I was a child I acted like a child, but now that I am an adult I act like an adult and put away the things of childhood.”

I am not saying you should act “childish.” I am saying we should all practice being “Child-like.”

I met someone, and at times I too have done the same, whose entire demeanor revealed that he felt completely justified in becoming the personification of dejection and depression. He said to me, “Oh, you can ask anyone, I am usually a really joyful person! But this that and the other happened and everything went wrong.”

As his doctor, and as a human who struggles against the tide of life, of course I felt compassion for his negative life circumstances that led to his misery. Yet, since he was in my treatment room desiring a natural supplement he could take that would make him joyful again, I felt inspired to go beyond a remedy solution. Grabbing the indicated bottle off the shelf,  I said, “This remedy should help support your neurotransmitters associated with feeling joyful, however you must understand that you absolutely cannot practice the mindset and actions of a depressed person and somehow get to happiness and joy!”

Every cell in the human body shifts its chemistry to support the emotions and dominant thoughts you are choosing. You are you own pharmacy, filling every biochemical needed to depress you or every chemical to experience joy.

No pill and no drug can overpower the chemicals that the trillions of cells in your body are cranking out to support the condition you are practicing. I guarantee you that the majority of people, if given the right stimulus would completely shift their mood and thereby their chemistry. Maybe you meet a dearly loved friend whom you haven't seen in years. You instantly brighten up, and smile and hug in genuine heart-felt love and joy at seeing them. We can choose to be that joyful person or at least have joy simmering just under the surface at all times.

You cannot drive your car towards the east coast and somehow end up on the west coast. If you want to experience a genuinely, joy-filled life you must practice joyful actions. How do you practice joy? By laughing out loud, smiling, complimenting others, choosing the path that feels more joyful, playing with children, sitting up straight instead of slouching, walking tall with a spring in your step, your head up, and eyes alert. Be ready for any opportunity to be lighthearted. Practice telling only the joyful events of your life. Stop the negative self-talk. Distract yourself if you are plagued with negative feelings with music or get out of the house and interact with other joyful people. Find what activity or occupation that you can be joyful doing and pursue doing it with joy.

It was a great day when I finally accepted for myself as a real heart truth, that no one can make me feel anything. They cannot bum me out, make me happy, make me angry, make me have self-confidence, or make me frustrated. All of these things are completely up to me to choose to feel. So I set out on a mission to remain unchanged in my steadfast love and trust of God in all circumstances, and challenged myself to strive to become the personification of love and exude that to the world around me. At the very least to manifest a steady calmness within me that is able to observe life with appreciation and acceptance of what I cannot change in my circumstances. Over the years, this change has made a huge difference within me, and in my life! Not that I never feel negative emotions, but they are not who I am. They are only fleeting opportunities to go down a path in a direction I don't want to go.

Even though society and almost every movie and television program seems to encourage us, and even glamorize being gritchy, moody, and negative, and I know it is cool to fit in to the social norms, I encourage you to break away from following society's, or your peer group's example and absolutely move from being gritchy to being graceful in every life situation.

I promise you that even if you only fake joyful actions, and you do it long enough, and make it your daily practice to turn your entire personification to embody joy that every cell will be forced to produce the chemicals, hormones, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides necessary to truly BE joyful!

You can choose now to either practice depression, practice being angry, practice being nervous, or you can choose now to practice loving all, practice being peaceful, practice being kind, practice being the embodiment and personification of all things good.

Here is the true “Stimulus plan” from this moment forward for your prosperity of body, mind, finances, relationships, and spirit… practice and walk in all ways on the joyful path and help others to do the same. I believe that God gave us the feeling of joy to be a guide to let us know when we are doing life right.

It is a process, but it is also a decision in every moment, no matter the situation, to pick higher-vibration thoughts, and think on all things lovely, joyful, peaceful, and exude these into the world around you. Your cells are listening! Empower them with your strong joyful emotions to crank out all of the biochemicals that support the feeling of joy and health will follow speedily.


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For over 20 years the Hansa Center for Optimum Health, in Wichita, Kansas has specialized in the restoration of health for people with previously unresponsive and chronic illnesses of virtually all types. Over 85% of people come from other states and countries. If you have done everything you and your doctor know to do and are still struggling, contact our wonderful Patient Care Department at 316-686-5900 or by email patientcare@hansacenter.com, for information on the exciting new treatments we have developed at the Hansa Center for Optimum Health. For additional info including our New Patient Packet, visit our website at www.HansaCenter.com.

All of our doctors are proudly, Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine, with post-graduate training in Advanced Biological and Bioregulatory Medicine, as well as Anthroposophical Medicine. Our training does not require us to depend upon pharmaceutical drug-induced illusions of health, the suppression of symptoms, nor do we have to unlearn what we have been taught as do conventional medical physicians. What is only natural in our training and profession, to work to restore the optimum structure and function of  every aspect of the body as a way to help the body eliminate disease, it is only in recent years that mainstream medical doctors have begun to accept and learn the concepts of functional medicine and now proclaim it as self-evident and truly science based. 

This article is for educational purposes. Before implementing any supplements/remedies always consult with your healthcare professional. Due to the complexity of the human condition there remains the possibility of symptoms getting worse. Again, discuss the ideas presented here with your health care professional before beginning, and stop, or get support, if your condition worsens. This information is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, or mitigate any disease or illness, and has not been evaluated by the FDA. The Hansa Center does not treat named diseases, but seeks to restore the body's optimum structural and functional integrity so that the body can rapidly heal itself. 

*Due to the exhaustive time spent per day with each patient, and poor repayment history of insurance companies, we unfortunately cannot accept insurance assignment. We do participate in Care Credit, and accept all major credit cards. We will gladly accept insurance when our elected officials revamp the health insurance industry to cover all results-based care.  Please call 316-686-5900 ext. 1, for current pricing for our economically-priced, All-inclusive 2-3 weeks intensive packages of care.


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