I have been practicing mudita for years and did not know it. Maybe you have, too.
Last week, I received an email from Bryan Kramer about his story of discovering the Buddhist practice of mudita. If you are not familiar with Mr. Kramer and his newsletter Humanize, you might want to check him out.
Mudita is the unselfish joy in the good fortune of others and is one of the four Buddhist truths, or immeasurables: equanimity, love, compassion, and joy. Making this form of joy a daily practice will change your life.
Understanding Divine Pride
Pride is like most of what we label human emotions. It has a lower-frequency definition and a higher-frequency one. In the 3-D, it is too high an opinion of one’s abilities and worth, or feeling superior to others because of what one achieves. This type of pride is self-centered and separating. No wonder it is one of the “seven deadly sins.”
However, when elevated to 5th-dimensional experience, pride is expansive and loving. Divine pride is the deep appreciation derived from one’s experiences or achievements. It is the internal acknowledgement of a job well done, a step forward toward one’s light, and the growth of divine self-esteem. Pride at this level is one big, loving WOW!
The most important aspect of divine pride may not be feeling it for ourselves. It may be feeling this open-hearted love and appreciation for the achievements of others—the pure unselfish joy of what someone else has done or become. This is mudita.
Practicing Mudita
Here are some suggestions for mastering mudita through awareness and practice.
- In your daily meditation or energy practices, focus on the resonance of pure joy. Feel it in your heart and your entire being. Become one with this feeling.
- Set a solid intention to know this joy for others.
- Each day, look for at least one situation for which you can experience the joy of mudita for others and allow that energy to flow from your heart to theirs.
- Be aware of any time you are feeling jealousy or discord toward someone who has accomplished something you have not. Ask to heal those emotions and replace them with mudita.
- Also, be aware of any time you might feel superior to others for any reason. Ask to heal those energies and come into humility, which will help you move into higher levels of joy for others.
Mastering this practice, like mastering all spiritual practices, comes down to repetition. Perhaps you have never fully experienced mudita. Maybe you are already experiencing this joy for others occasionally or often. No matter your starting point, daily practice of this sacred concept will expand your capacity for love, and isn’t that what we are all about?
Image by Gerd Altman from Pixabay.com