Step Five:
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Dared to explore (and partake in) my true humanity and joy.
Understanding that my true nature is joy, and that the expression of this joy is the will of Spirit, I dare to live a life of fullness and joy, a life which is both human and divine, a life that expresses, and gives rise to, all the noble qualities of my nature—such as truth, joy, givingness, abundance, creativity, and beauty. I will share the fullness of who I am, knowing that the true and joyous expression of myself is one with the true and joyous expression (and will) of Supreme Spirit. What brings me joy? What makes me happy? How inclined is my life and actions toward the experience of joy? What can I do to further experience and express my joy?
Discussion 1:
What brings joy and value to my life? What does it mean to be truly alive? The foundation of true aliveness, and one’s true humanity, is to be true to one’s own heart. The foundation of joy, of living a joyous life, is to enter the spirit of your own life (and everything you do). The foundation of living one’s true humanity and joy is to be fully present; to allow the fullness of your true self to unfold its glory through the totality of your human self.
Being True to one’s Heart
Being true to your own heart (and your own self) means honoring yourself; it means to acknowledge your own worth, to realize the truth of who you really are—and to realize, and live from, the knowingness that you are one with Infinite Spirit. This is something very personal; it is something each person must create and discover for him or herself. What does it means to be true to your own heart? What makes your life a true life, a life worth living, a life that brings you joy, fulfillment, aliveness, and beauty?
The crux of this step is to enjoy life, to allow your life to be an expression of your boundless joy. Most people no longer know how to enjoy life—as they did as a child—because they have lost touch with the very source of their joy. Thus, with most adults, joy does not express itself naturally, as an overflow of one’s being; joy is thought to be something which must be obtained through various experiences (and we only allow our joy to emerge when our mind deems it so, when there is a reason for us to be joyous—such as when we win a contest or get something we want). Feeling joy for no reason—but because our own nature is joyous—is often considered childish. It is not adult-like. Adults cannot simply be joyous for no reason at all. In other words, our own joy has been conditioned out of us. So, not only must we get in touch with our inherently joyful nature (and get past all the conditioning which tells us we must have a reason to be joyous); we must allow our own joyous nature to emerge. Joy is the very nature of Spirit, and our experience of joy is our direct experience of Spirit (and our own true nature).
What brings joy and value to my life? What does it mean to be truly alive? The foundation of true aliveness, and one’s true humanity, is to be true to one’s own heart. The foundation of joy, of living a joyous life, is to enter the spirit of your own life (and everything you do). The foundation of living one’s true humanity and joy is to be fully present; to allow the fullness of your true self to unfold its glory through the totality of your human self.
Being True to one’s Heart
Being true to your own heart (and your own self) means honoring yourself; it means to acknowledge your own worth, to realize the truth of who you really are—and to realize, and live from, the knowingness that you are one with Infinite Spirit. This is something very personal; it is something each person must create and discover for him or herself. What does it means to be true to your own heart? What makes your life a true life, a life worth living, a life that brings you joy, fulfillment, aliveness, and beauty?
The crux of this step is to enjoy life, to allow your life to be an expression of your boundless joy. Most people no longer know how to enjoy life—as they did as a child—because they have lost touch with the very source of their joy. Thus, with most adults, joy does not express itself naturally, as an overflow of one’s being; joy is thought to be something which must be obtained through various experiences (and we only allow our joy to emerge when our mind deems it so, when there is a reason for us to be joyous—such as when we win a contest or get something we want). Feeling joy for no reason—but because our own nature is joyous—is often considered childish. It is not adult-like. Adults cannot simply be joyous for no reason at all. In other words, our own joy has been conditioned out of us. So, not only must we get in touch with our inherently joyful nature (and get past all the conditioning which tells us we must have a reason to be joyous); we must allow our own joyous nature to emerge. Joy is the very nature of Spirit, and our experience of joy is our direct experience of Spirit (and our own true nature).
Quotes
What is the unifying Desire which underlies all the varieties of expression? It is a very simple one—it is just to enjoy living [and our own aliveness]. Our ideas of [what makes for] an enjoyable life may be quite varied, but that [to enjoy life] is what we all really want; so what we want to get at is: What is the basis of an enjoyable life? [How can we get the most livingness and enjoyment out of life?]
I have no hesitation in saying that the secret of enjoying life is to take an interest in it. The opposite of livingness is deadness—that is, inertia and stagnation. Dying of “ennui” is a very real thing indeed; and if we would not die of this malady we must have an interest in life that will always continue.
Now for anything to interest us [and fully involve our being] we must enter into the spirit of it. If we do not enter into the spirit of a game it does not interest us; if we do not enter into the spirit of a book, it does not interest us—and we are bored to death with it. Likewise, this is the case with everything. So, from our own experience, we may lay down the maxim that “To enjoy anything we must enter into the spirit of it.” And, if this be so, then to enjoy the
“Living Quality [and Fullness] of Life” we must enter into the Spirit of Life itself. I say the “Living Quality of Life” so as to dissociate it from all ideas of particular conditions, because what we are trying to get at is the fundamental principle of Life [Itself], that which creates conditions, and not the reflex of sensations—whether physical or mental—which any particular set of conditions may induce in us. In this way we come back to the initial proposition with which we started: that the origin of everything is only to be found in a Universal, Ever-Living Spirit, and that our own life proceeds from this Spirit in accordance with the maxim, Omne vivum ex vivo [“what proceeds from Life is living”]. [Thus, own life, which proceeds from Spirit, is always one with Spirit; and, as such, our own nature contains every quality of Spirit, such as life, love, consciousness, fullness, creativity, power, freedom, beauty, etc. Everything that makes Spirit what it is also makes us what we are.] Thus we are brought to the conclusion that the ultimate Desire of all Humanity is to consciously enter into [and most fully enjoy] the Spirit of Life as it is in Itself [which is the pure nature of Spirit and one’s own essence] prior to all conditions [and individual expressions].
(Troward, The Law and the Word, p. 64)
