We often set an intention for more joy in the new year.

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And we want to enhance and increase those good feeling moments.

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To have more of them, more frequently.

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Yet when we do we are only looking at one side of our life.

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What we are focusing on is increasing the quantity of the experiences we desire.

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That is one way to look at our lives.

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If we are willing to take another approach, there is another way to improve the joy in our lives.

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But it is about quality, not quantity.

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Instead of looking at how we can get more of those wonderful feeling experiences, we can look at how to get more out of the experiences we already have.

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To suck more of the marrow out of life.

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So how do we do that?

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By seeking to be even more present to every moment in our lives.

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Through greater presence we feel more.

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We feel more intensely.

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Our emotions take us to greater heights.

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When we are truly present to joy that is already in our lives we amplify that joy.

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As we practice being in the moment more deeply, time almost slows down and hat used to go by in an instant now lasts hours.

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Or longer.

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And there is a challenge to cultivating this level of presence, not just in the actual practice of how to do it.

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The real challenge is that when we achieve this level of presence we are not just present to all the wonderful moments of life.

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We are also present to all the painful, tragic moments of life as well.

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Those moments may feel excruciating when we are going through them.

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Which is why we shy away from them.

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Yet even in the painful moments o f life there is a gift.

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Being presence to those challenging times teaches us a huge lesson.

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That when we are present to the most difficult times in our lives, it is so much easier to then be present to the wonderful moments in our lives.

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Presence is not based on whether we feel good or feel bad.

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It is a neutral practice that helps us to make the most out of our lives.

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No matter how long or how short that life is.

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Presence brings us to place of peace, even in our darkest moments.

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It is a quiet, powerful place to sit in as life swirls around us.

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There are so many opportunities in life to feel good.

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Being present to them takes us to a deeper level with each of those moments.

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Just as it does with all the unpleasant moments as well.

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We can't have it both ways.

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Either we are present to the moments in our life or we are not.

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There is no in between.

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When we bring ourselves to the decision that we would rather truly be present to all the moments in our lives, that is the moment we feel more deeply, more fully, what it means to be alive.

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Is there a place in your life where you can be more present?

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Can you bring yourself to be more present to all the bad ones along side all the good ones?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour