Finding Your State of Enjoyment

by Eckhart Tolle -  

Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.

The peace that comes with surrendered action turns to a sense of aliveness when you actually enjoy what you are doing. Enjoyment is the second modality of awakened doing. 

On the new earth, enjoyment will replace wanting [the focusing on lack type of wanting] as the motivating power behind people's actions.

Wanting arises from the ego's delusion that you are a separate fragment that is disconnected from the power that lies behind all creation. Through enjoyment, you link into that universal creative power itself.

When you make the present moment, instead of past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do -- and with it the quality of your life -- increases dramatically.

 Joy is the dynamic aspect of Being. 

When the creative power of the universe becomes conscious of itself, it manifests as joy. You don't have to wait for something "meaningful" to come into your life so that you can finally enjoy what you do. 

There is more meaning in joy than you will ever need. The "waiting to start living" syndrome is one of the most common delusions of the unconscious state.

Expansion and positive change on the outer level is much more likely to come into your life if you can enjoy what you are doing already, instead of waiting for some change so that you can start enjoying what you do.

Don't ask your mind for permission to enjoy what you do. 

All you will get is plenty of reasons why you can't enjoy it. "Not now," the mind will say. "Can't you see I'm busy? There's no time. Maybe tomorrow you can start enjoying...."

That tomorrow will never come unless you begin what you are doing now.

When you say, I enjoy doing this or that, it is really a misperception. It makes it appear that the joy comes from what you do, but that is not the case.

Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you. 

The misperception that joy comes from what you do is normal, and it is also dangerous, because it creates the belief that joy is something that can be derived form something else, such as an activity or thing.

You then look to the world to bring you joy, happiness. But it cannot do that. This is why many people live in constant frustration. The world is not giving them what they think they need.

Then what is the relationship between something that you do and the state of joy?

You will enjoy any activity in which you are fully present, any activity that is not just a means to an end. It isn't the action you perform that you really enjoy, but the deep sense of aliveness that flows into it. 

That aliveness is one with who you are. 

This means that when you enjoy doing something, you are really experiencing the joy of Being in its dynamic aspect. That's why anything you enjoy doing connects you with the power behind all creation.

Here is a spiritual practice that will bring empowerment and creative expansion into your life. 

Make a list of a number of everyday routine activities that you perform frequently. Include activities hat you may consider uninteresting, boring, tedious, irritating, or stressful.

Don't include anything that you hate or detest doing. That's a case either for acceptance or for stopping what you do.

The list may include traveling to and from work, buying groceries, doing your laundry, or anything that you find tedious or stressful in your daily work. Then, whenever you are engaged in those activities, let hem be a vehicle for alertness.

Be absolutely present in what you do and sense the alert, alive stillness within you in the background of the activity.

You will soon find that what you do in such a state of heightened awareness, instead of being stressful, tedious, or irritating, is actually becoming enjoyable. To be more precise, what you are enjoying is not really the outward action but the inner dimension of consciousness hat flows into the action. 

This is finding the joy of Being in what you are doing. 

If you feel your life lacks significance or is too stressful or tedious, it is because you haven't brought that dimension into your life yet. Being conscious in what you do has not yet become your main aim.

The new earth arises as more and more people discover that their main purpose in life is to bring the light of consciousness into this world and so use whatever they do as a vehicle for consciousness.

The joy of Being is the joy of being conscious.

Awakened consciousness then takes over from ego and begins to run your life. You may then find that an activity that you have been engaged in for a long time naturally begins to expand into something much bigger when it becomes empowered by consciousness.

Some of those people who, through creative action, enrich the lives of many others simply do what they enjoy doing most without wanting to achieve or become anything through that activity.

They may be musicians, artists, writers, scientists, teachers or builders or they may bring into manifestation new social or business structures (enlightened businesses). 

Sometimes for a few years their sphere of influence remains small; and then it can happen that suddenly or gradually a wave of creative empowerment flows into what they do, and their activity expands beyond anything they could have imagined and touches countless others.

In addition to enjoyment, an intensity is now added to what they do and with it comes a creativity that goes beyond anything an ordinary human could accomplish.

Don't let it go to your head, because up there is where a remnant of ego may be hiding. You are still an ordinary human.

What is extraordinary is what comes through you into this world. That essence you share with all beings.

The fourteenth century Persian poet and Sufi master Hafiz expresses this truth beautifully: 

"I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath moves through. Listen to this music. "

excerpt from 'A New Earth'
eckharttolle.com