April News

“Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”– Mother Teresa 

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In case you missed our April Newsletter . . .

Let's be like Velcro for joyful experiences ... View this email in your browser

Welcome to This Way Up! Thank you for being part of this community! Keep reading for more on making joy stickier, news about upcoming summits, and updates about the This Way Up Audio Book! You can always find me at ThisWayUpBook.com. If Joy Is a Choice ... How Can We Make It Stick? “Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” ~ Joseph CampbellJoy is always a subject I like to write about. Recently I’ve found joy in listening to anything by Tara Brach, so it’s fitting that I should start this newsletter about joy with Tara Brach’s description. She describes joy as the aliveness and openness that occurs when we let ourselves be available to the whole play of existence. It’s a natural capacity, it’s in our wiring, and it can be cultivated.Joy comes from a habit of thinking and interacts closely with our biochemistry. I explored this in a recent article on Thrive Global.We sustain a joy "set point" based on what we think about and focus on. Deepak Chopra explains that when you activate a positive belief, your cells get the message.One way to cultivate joy is through gratitude. Studies have shown that gratitude changes the body-mind chemistry. So when you have an experience and you feel good because of that experience, take time and allow yourself to feel good; pause and let it sink in. To use the language of technology: install it.Rick Hanson suggests that we try to take in the good and make it stick. He explains that in order to create the trait , we must make it "stickier." Taking that time to pause gives joy (or any experience) this stickiness. He explains:“Scientists believe that your brain has a built-in negativity bias. In other words, as we evolved over millions of years, dodging sticks and chasing carrots, it was a lot more important to notice, react to, and remember sticks than it was for carrots. That’s because, in the tough environments in which our ancestors lived, if they missed out on a carrot, they usually had a shot at another one later on. But if they failed to avoid a stick, a predator, a natural hazard, or aggression from others of their species—Wham, no more chances to pass on their genes."The negativity bias shows up in lots of ways. For example, studies have found that: In a relationship, it typically takes five good interactions to make up for a single bad one. People will work much harder to avoid losing $100 than they will work to gain the same amount of money. Painful experiences are much more memorable than pleasurable ones." In effect, the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. That shades implicit memory—your underlying expectations, beliefs, action strategies, and mood—in an increasingly negative direction."You can read more about this and watch Tara Brach’s wonderful meditation about Joy on my latest blog post. PS: Speaking of joy, it was with extreme joy that I discovered that people who bought books by Julia Cameron, Brené Brown and Anne Lamott also bought my book, This Way Up. What an affirmation! Recent Podcast: Homework to Happiness I had the pleasure recently to be featured on a wonderful podcast: Homework to Happiness with Sarah Jordan. We talked about an array of topics but of course really focused on happiness: what it is, its benefits, and how we tend to block it. You can listen to the podcast here:You can find that podcast and other past podcasts and interviews on my website, on the media tab, under interviews. Upcoming Summits: You're Invited! I am really excited to be participating in two upcoming summits: Live Your Layered Life Summit Live online now. Discover the secrets to self-care in your mind, body, and home! This summit is hosted by my friend Suzanne Choplin. It’s packed with great information and I think you’ll enjoy it.Learn more and join the event. Reinventing You Summit This summit will be live from May 21-31. Watch this space for more information. The second summit is with my friend Naomi Sodomin. Naomi is the international best-selling author of Embrace the Mirror: Vision of Abundance and a Stronger You. And an incredibly all-around inspirational woman.The summit will include information like: Illuminating your greatest fears (aka blocks) - so you can finally move past them. Identifying and overcoming challenges that are keeping you from taking action on the things that are important to you. Getting clear on what it is you want to create, so that you can take those first steps, now! And much more. Learn more and join the event. This Way Up Will Soon Be an Audio Book! This Way Up is being made into an audio book! (Yes, the process is taking longer than I thought it would.) When it is ready, it will be available on my Amazon pageand I will send a special link for the book in my newsletter. I can't wait to share this new version of the book with you! Buy the Book! "Author Patti Clark is a cross between Elizabeth Gilbert and Julia Cameron." This Way Up is a story of healing for women who yearn to lead a fuller life, accompanied by a workbook to help readers work through personal challenges, discover new inspiration, and harness their creative power. . .Women spend so much of life nurturing and giving to others that when they find themselves alone—because of an empty nest, the end of a marriage, or the death of a partner—they often struggle with feeling purposeless. This Way Up provides a step-by-step way out of this sense of loss and into a life filled with enthusiasm, creativity, and joy. Buy Online