3 Powerful Secrets to More Joyful Living That Don’t Cost a Penny By Ananta Ripa Ajmera

The absence of true, genuine joy from our lives can be highly detrimental to us. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5% of adults, or 280 million people globally suffer from depression. Of this number, more than 700,000 die by suicide on an annual basis. 

Having once suffered from eating disorders caused by trauma trapped in my body, I thought I had recovered by healing my relationship with food from being my enemy to being a source of feeling nourished. When I got badly betrayed by some spiritual teachers on my path, I had a very brief moment when I contemplated ending my own life due to the pain of this devastating experience.

For me, the spiritual teachings I learned from these and other teachers were what helped me to overcome the many obstacles they put onto my path to serve others by sharing this knowledge. I feel so grateful for the 13 years I spent deeply studying the Vedic spiritual traditions of Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta’s universal spirituality from oral lineages stepping back to ancient India, and for my own family lineage of renowned Ayurveda healers. 

Instead of losing myself in despair at getting betrayed, I was able to take what I learned from all my various teachers, apply it even more intensely in my life, and feel blessed by the transformation it has brought about. I feel so much more joyful than I have ever felt before. I am even able to look back on all those hard experiences, and feel grateful that they provided me the ability to powerfully awaken to an expanded consciousness.

Here are some inspired practices that have helped me transform my life, and that you can try to start your own path of powerful soul liberation.

1. Spend time in nature. In Vedanta, pure joy is the true nature of all living beings. Nature is the best reminder of our true nature. Soaking in radiant rays of sunshine, hearing the sweetness of birds chirping, seeing beautiful flowers, and smelling the rejuvenating scent of roses can do wonders in uplifting your emotions to a joyful state.   

2. Take responsibility for your happiness. Vedanta wisdom reveals that connecting with joy as is ultimately an ‘inside job.’ The more you take responsibility for your own happiness, the more you can connect with an eternal joy, independent of others and the ephemeral nature of modern life. 

3. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. In Vedanta, we have a concept called yajna in Sanskrit. By one definition, yajna means sacrifice. We are guided in Vedic traditions to give back, or sacrifice, for five entities that have sacrificed to give us the glorious gift of life.

These five entities include: spiritual teachers and teachings, ancestors, humanity, nature, and the divine. We would not have the gift of our body without the sacrifices of our biological ancestors. We would not be alive without the abundant bounty of Mother Nature nor all the technological advances and myriad contributions of humanity. Without divinity and teachers who uphold it and pass along wisdom, we would not be able to feel our spiritual oneness nor make the most of this gift of life to expand spiritually. 

We may have strained relationships with some of our teachers or ancestors, and it is important to honor any boundaries needed to protect yourself from such people. What is important, however, is to connect with a feeling of gratefulness for the contributions each of the five entities of life have made to our lives. This attitude of gratitude makes us happier, more radiant beings. 

Anytime you feel called to give back or serve, connect first with a grateful feeling to motivate your actions, so any service or sacrifice from you is offered with a pure intention, versus ego gratification. Those who give with truly grateful hearts automatically get blessed by radiant happiness that lasts as long as we continue to feel grateful, and give from gratefulness. 

Joyful living is grateful living. It begins by taking responsibility for our happiness, and remembering joy as our true nature.

Ananta Ripa Ajmera is a spiritual teacher, 10-time international award-winning, best-selling author of The Way of the Goddess, founder of SoulWisdom Press & PR, and co-founder of The Ancient Way, an organization offering Powerful Soul Liberation programs, rooted in Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta's universal spirituality. She’s been featured in Forbes, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. She’s taught at Endeavor, Stanford, and UNICEF.