finding joy copy

December 26 2022

#10 Happy Birthday to the Joyful Gods 2022

Peggy Rubin Practicing Joy

A TIME FOR GREAT JOY

Birthdays of the Gods and Goddesses of Joy
December 27 to 31

Don’t Hesitate
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give into it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
–Mary Oliver, Devotions, The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

We greet five special days outside the monthly procession of practice offered by the Lady’s Year for Joy.

During these days we celebrate the birth within us of five families of Joyful gods and goddesses, enhanced by the art of Patti Kaufman.

December 27, The Gods of Joyful Humanity
Delighting in the attributes of human beings who carry joy, honoring human resilience, courage, hope, playfulness, and friendship.

December 28, The Gods of Joyful Direction
Attending with gratitude to those divine beings who light our pathways, guide our steps and bless us as we live into the purpose we have chosen for this lifetime.

December 29, Gods of Joyful Passion
Celebrating with abandon those heavenly elements of the soul that ignite us to care deeply, to cherish sweetly, and to take right action with high energy.

December 30, Gods of Joyful Beauty
Relishing with vast pleasure and gratitude the incomparable beauties of our world, our stars, our friends and neighbors, our lives.

December 31, Gods of Joyful Spirit
Opening once again, yet again, to our divine reasons for being, and strengthening our connection to the eternal source of joy and aliveness.

Joy in the World
And in me.
Praise, Praise. Praise

What Others Are Saying

Peggy Rubin is a master of theater and the art of becoming. Her book – a masterpiece in every way – will hold you spellbound as you discover the drama of your soul and the purpose of your life. The unique expression of your essence – the Divine theophany that you are – emerges almost magically as you read this clear, penetrating, and insightful book and work with the exceptional exercises. Brava, Peggy!"

Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. Author of Your Soul's Compass and A Woman's Journey to God.

"From Sacred Theatre to sacralizing your life's story, Peggy Rubin takes you through an engaging and wonderful process that will expand your perspective in a myriad of ways and enrich your journey forever. We love this book."

Donna Eden and David Feinstein, Authors, Energy Medicine

"I have always been able to employ in real life what I’ve learned in my theatrical training. Peggy Rubin has now made that process available to anybody who reads this book. It’s very readable and I highly recommend it."

Ellen Burstyn, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning actress

"Each of the arts offers models for the composing of lives, but, as Peggy Rubin demonstrates, theater perhaps most of all. This effervescent description of sacred theater should inspire us all as composers of our lives and caring actors in the world."

Mary Catherine Bateson, author of Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom.

"Peggy Rubin’s brilliant elucidation of the nine powers of sacred theatre propels us away from any impoverished tunnel vision about our lives that we may have slipped into in the face of changing times. We find ourselves in a place where we recognize our lives for their full power and wonder, as a lifelong performance of sacred theatre. Peggy gives us tools from the best in theater tradition translated into effective life skills for sustaining and guiding us."

Trish Broersma, author of Riding into Your Mythic Life, Transformational Adventures with the Horse.

“It gives me perspective on what I am in this time in the world, and feeds my sense of vitality; it enables me to go through really tough stuff knowing that sooner or later the scene will change. There’s a different sense of everything when you begin to look from this point of view.”

Life Coach Elizabeth Austin, RN, CPCC, CEC

TO BE AND HOW TO BE presents an entirely fresh pathway to self-understanding. The book delights the ear, heart, mind, and soul, offering the riches of a deep love for the theatre and the harvest of a long and wide-ranging study of literature, spiritual traditions, and brain and energy research."

Lisa S. Nelson, Ph.D. Professor,Department of Political Science and Masters in Public Administration (MPA)Program

“It makes me want to walk on chairs, take delight in playing different roles, and gives me the courage just to step out there. I find it's possible to do things I would never have dreamed of doing.”

EG