Whenever I find myself wandering in a forest of many paths to choose, particularly career choices or directions, I reflect on what I have experienced that gives me joy. I reflect on what it feels like to lose myself in the present moment, and to forget what needs to be done in favor of the experience of Now. Sometimes I feel the call to write, not to delude myself into thinking that I can change what others think or do, but to reveal my own spirit. It’s a pull that sends me deeper into joy even if I cannot adequately express the pull in words. It’s an invitation to remember who I really am. My heart opens and what I say is less important than basking in the inexpressible peace that I feel. Some would call this experience mindfulness or insight, but I call it inconceivable joy. The Japanese word for this idea is Zenkei (pronounced Zen-kay) but even if there is a word for it, the experience is pure, boundless, inexpressible joy.
I have a similar experience when I facilitate a retreat or communicate even informally with a group. During those experiences, I forget myself, an experience of no-self; and any physical pain or discomfort, self-consciousness, or attachment to approval or outcomes melts away. I feel whole yet indefinable, one with Spirit.
Back in 1986 Kenneth Homan wrote an article on careers entitled, “Vocation (Careers) as the Quest for Authentic Existence.” I suggest that the experience of inconceivable joy is authentic existence. Being still opens the door so that my spiritual beingness can step into that joy. Then, the paths choose me, call me like Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s The Invitation to be still and know Zenkei.
What calls you to inconceivable joy?