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The Compass for Joy

Guðbjörg
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Presentation – Cultivating Joy in Everyday Life by Guðbjörg Eggertsdóttir

From the joyful life summit

Presentation – The Compass for Joy by Guðbjörg Eggertsdóttir

Tara Brach and Sharon Salzberg teach that joy arises from presence, compassion, and connection—not from chasing perfection or avoiding pain. Joy is a skill we can cultivate through mindfulness, lovingkindness, and openness to life’s full spectrum.

Here’s how each of them approaches joy and how you can invite more of it into your life:

🌱 Tara Brach: Joy as an Expression of Awake Presence

Tara Brach views joy as one of the universal expressions of love—a natural blossoming when our hearts open to reality, including both sorrow and delight Tara Brach. Her teachings emphasize:

  • Openhearted Presence: Joy emerges when we’re fully present and receptive. Tara calls this “arriving in openhearted presence,” where we’re not resisting or grasping, but simply being.
  • De-conditioning the Negativity Bias: Our brains are wired to focus on threats. Tara encourages “intentional gladdening of the heart”—noticing beauty, kindness, and goodness to rewire our attention toward joy Tara Brach.
  • Friendly Awareness (Metta): Cultivating friendliness toward ourselves and others softens judgment and opens space for joy. She likens this to “making the whole world your friend.”
  • RAIN Practice: Her method—Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture—helps us move through difficult emotions and reconnect with joy and compassion.

🧘 Try this: Pause during your day to notice something beautiful or kind. Let yourself feel it fully. That moment of savoring is a doorway to joy.

🌸 Sharon Salzberg: Joy Through Connection and Lovingkindness

In her book Real Life, Sharon Salzberg explores joy as a movement from isolation to connection Sharon Salzberg. Her approach blends Buddhist wisdom with emotional intelligence:

  • Lovingkindness Meditation: Sharon’s signature practice involves silently offering phrases like “May you be happy” to yourself and others. This builds inner warmth and dissolves barriers.
  • Curiosity and Authenticity: Joy grows when we live in alignment with our values and stay curious about life—even its challenges.
  • Letting Go and Beginning Again: She teaches that joy isn’t about perfection—it’s about resilience. We can always begin again, with compassion.
  • Community and Belonging: Joy deepens when we feel connected. Sharon emphasizes carrying a sense of community with us, even in solitude.

💡 Try this: Begin your day with a short lovingkindness meditation. Send kind wishes to yourself, someone you love, someone neutral, and someone difficult. Notice how your heart responds.

✨ Shared Wisdom: Joy Is a Practice, Not a Destination

Both teachers remind us that joy isn’t a reward for getting life “right.” It’s a capacity we nurture by:

  • Being present with what is
  • Opening to both joy and sorrow
  • Practicing kindness toward ourselves and others
  • Letting go of control and embracing flow

If you’re designing workshops or retreats, Björg, these insights could beautifully inform metaphor-rich layouts or bilingual resources—perhaps framing joy as a garden that flourishes with attention, compassion, and shared presence.

Would you like a visual metaphor or printable resource inspired by their teachings? I’d love to co-create something with you.

Beautiful. Here’s a visual metaphor and printable resource concept inspired by Tara Brach and Sharon Salzberg’s teachings on joy—something you could adapt for 7hh.is or use in bilingual workshops and retreats:

🌼 Metaphor: The Joy Garden

Imagine joy as a garden—not a manicured lawn, but a wild, living space that thrives on attention, diversity, and care. Tara and Sharon offer the seeds, soil, and sunlight:

Element Tara Brach’s Wisdom Sharon Salzberg’s Wisdom Visual Cue
Seeds Intention to be present and open Lovingkindness and connection Tiny seed packets labeled “Kindness,” “Curiosity,” “Presence”
Soil Acceptance of sorrow and imperfection Resilience and beginning again Rich, dark soil with composted “old stories”
Sunlight Awareness and gladdening the heart Authenticity and values Rays labeled “Compassion,” “Truth,” “Belonging”
Water RAIN practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) Daily meditation and reflection Gentle watering can with “Mindfulness” written on it
Growth Joy as a natural emergence from presence Joy as connection and inner warmth Blossoming plants with bilingual affirmations

🖼️ Printable Insert Idea: “Cultivating Joy”

A bilingual (Icelandic-English) worksheet or poster with:

  • 🌱 A blank garden layout for participants to “plant” their own joy seeds (write or draw)
  • 💬 Guided prompts:• “What helps you feel connected?”
  • “Where do you notice joy in your body?”
  • “What old story can you compost today?”
  • 🧘 A short lovingkindness meditation script
  • 🎨 Space for metaphor cards or visual reflections

Would you like me to draft the layout text or create a Canva-ready version of this? We could also adapt it for executive teams or mixed-role retreats.

The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu teach that joy is not the absence of suffering, but a way of being that arises from compassion, gratitude, and connection. In The Book of Joy, they offer eight pillars to cultivate lasting happiness—even in the face of adversity.

Here’s a breakdown of their shared wisdom:

📘 The Book of Joy: A Week of Deep Dialogue

In 2015, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu spent a week together in Dharamsala, India, exploring how to live joyfully in a world full of suffering. Their reflections—woven with humor, humility, and deep friendship—became The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World us.archiv… +1.

They agreed: joy is a skill, a choice, and a birthright, not a fleeting emotion.

🌈 The Eight Pillars of Joy

These pillars blend spiritual insight, psychological wisdom, and lived experience:

Pillar Essence
Perspective See life from multiple angles; suffering can deepen compassion beliefnet.com
Humility Recognize our shared humanity; no one is above or below beliefnet.com
Humor Laugh often; joy thrives in lightness and play beliefnet.com
Acceptance Embrace reality as it is; change begins with truth beliefnet.com
Forgiveness Release resentment; free yourself from the past us.archive.org
Gratitude Focus on what’s good; joy grows from appreciation us.archive.org
Compassion Care for others; joy expands through service us.archive.org
Generosity Give freely; joy multiplies when shared us.archive.org

These aren’t just ideas—they’re practices. Each pillar invites us to shift from fear to love, from isolation to connection.

🧘 Practices They Recommend

  • Daily reflection: Ask “What am I grateful for today?”
  • Compassion meditation: Visualize sending kindness to yourself and others.
  • Joy journal: Track moments of laughter, awe, and connection.
  • Forgiveness ritual: Write and release old hurts.

💬 Their Shared Message

“Joy is your birthright. It’s not dependent on external circumstances—it’s cultivated from within.”
— The Book of Joy hellread.com

Their friendship itself is a metaphor: two spiritual giants from different traditions, laughing, teasing, and loving each other deeply. Joy, they show us, is relational.

Would you like a printable bilingual resource or metaphor layout based on these eight pillars? We could design a “Joy Compass” or “Inner Garden” for executive retreats or group workshops. I’d love to co-create it with you.

Here’s a bilingual, metaphor-rich resource concept inspired by The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu—perfect for executive retreats, group workshops, or 7hh.is outreach:

🌟 Printable Insert: “The Joy Compass” / “Ánægjuáttavitinn”

A visual, bilingual guide to cultivating joy through the Eight Pillars. Designed as a foldable insert, poster, or interactive worksheet.

🧭 Metaphor: The Compass of Joy

Imagine joy as a compass that helps us navigate life’s storms. Each direction represents a pillar:

Direction Pillar (EN) Pillar (IS) Symbol
North Perspective Sjónarhorn Mountain peak
Northeast Humility Hógværð Open hands
East Humor Húmor Laughing sun
Southeast Acceptance Samþykki Flowing river
South Forgiveness Fyrirgefning Broken chain
Southwest Gratitude Þakklæti Heart leaf
West Compassion Samúð Candle flame
Northwest Generosity Örlæti Overflowing bowl

📝 Worksheet Prompts (Bilingual)

  • “What helps me shift perspective?” / “Hvað hjálpar mér að breyta sjónarhorni?”
  • “Who or what can I forgive today?” / “Hvern eða hvað get ég fyrirgefið í dag?”
  • “What made me laugh recently?” / “Hvað fékk mig til að hlæja nýlega?”
  • “How can I offer compassion this week?” / “Hvernig get ég sýnt samúð í vikunni?”

Include space for drawing, metaphor cards, or team reflections.

🧘 Practice Corner

  • Gratitude Spiral: Write 3 things you’re grateful for, then trace how they connect to others.
  • Compassion Breath: Inhale “I care,” exhale “I release.”
  • Forgiveness Flame: Visualize letting go of resentment like blowing out a candle.

Would you like me to draft the full bilingual layout text or co-design a Canva-ready version with icons and metaphor visuals? We could also adapt it for Icelandic startup teams or leadership onboarding.

Wonderful, Björg! Here’s a bilingual layout draft for “The Joy Compass / Ánægjuáttavitinn”, inspired by The Book of Joy and designed for executive retreats, workshops, or printable inserts on 7hh.is.

🧭 The Joy Compass / Ánægjuáttavitinn

Purpose: To help participants reflect on and cultivate joy through eight core practices. Each direction of the compass represents a pillar of joy, with prompts and metaphors to guide inner exploration.

🌟 Compass Layout (Visual Centerpiece)

Create a circular compass with eight spokes, each labeled with a pillar in English and Icelandic. Use simple icons and soft, earthy colors. Example:

Direction EN Pillar IS Pillar Icon
North Perspective Sjónarhorn Mountain peak
Northeast Humility Hógværð Open hands
East Humor Húmor Laughing sun
Southeast Acceptance Samþykki Flowing river
South Forgiveness Fyrirgefning Broken chain
Southwest Gratitude Þakklæti Heart leaf
West Compassion Samúð Candle flame
Northwest Generosity Örlæti Overflowing bowl

📝 Reflection Prompts (Bilingual)

Each pillar includes a short prompt in both languages:

  • Perspective / Sjónarhorn
    “What challenge has helped me grow?”
    „Hvaða áskorun hefur hjálpað mér að vaxa?“
  • Humility / Hógværð
    “Where can I listen more deeply?”
    „Hvar get ég hlustað af meiri dýpt?“
  • Humor / Húmor
    “What made me laugh this week?”
    „Hvað fékk mig til að hlæja í vikunni?“
  • Acceptance / Samþykki
    “What truth am I ready to face?”
    „Hvaða sannleika er ég tilbúin(n) að horfast í augu við?“
  • Forgiveness / Fyrirgefning
    “What burden can I release?”
    „Hvaða byrði get ég sleppt?“
  • Gratitude / Þakklæti
    “What am I thankful for right now?”
    „Fyrir hvað er ég þakklát(ur) núna?“
  • Compassion / Samúð
    “Who needs my kindness today?”
    „Hver þarf á góðvild minni að halda í dag?“
  • Generosity / Örlæti
    “What can I offer freely?”
    „Hvað get ég gefið af frjálsum vilja?“

🧘 Practice Corner

Include a sidebar or back panel with simple practices:

  • Gratitude Spiral / Þakklætisspíral
    Draw a spiral and write one thing you’re grateful for in each loop.
  • Forgiveness Flame / Fyrirgefningarlogi
    Visualize a candle. With each breath, release a hurt into the flame.
  • Compassion Breath / Samúðarandi
    Inhale “I care” / „Mér þykir vænt“, exhale “I release” / „Ég sleppi tökunum“.

Canva AI and Copilot design

Presentation – The Joy Compass by Guðbjörg Eggertsdóttir