When my husband and I first found each other, we experienced a joy unlike any we had ever known before. Many was the time we just stood in awe looking at each other, wondering how the miracle had ever happened. What we didn’t know then, and what took me many years to learn after he had passed on, was that joy is our true nature. If that is so, then how do we re-claim what is inherently within us?

Seeking joy when in the throes of grief would be like reaching for the moon. At least it was for me. How could I ever know joy again when I wasn’t even comfortable with being happy? To be happy, to laugh, to smile all seemed like a denial of the importance of my loss. Re-claiming joy is definitely an inward journey, one that requires a willingness to let go of our pain, and yes, even the narrow confines of our thinking.

We are so much more than we know. To move beyond the boundaries of our vision, to scale the heights within us, requires a dedication and a passion to explore the unknown territory of our soul, for it is there – on the heights within us – that we can re-claim not only our joy, but a love beyond anything we have yet imagined, a love that radiates outward through our wholeness, not our woundedness.

I’m talking about a love that is born out of the joy that is our true nature, a love and joy that stem from our connectedness with our Source. When we reach that holy place within us, we will begin to understand what has been hidden from us all this time – that we are the love and joy we have been seeking.

Donna Miesbach

I have been on a spiritual path all my life. I was first introduced to meditation when I was seventeen. I knew this was an important tool, but I wanted to go deeper than that particular method allowed, so my search began. I attended workshops and classes, read books and tried every form of meditation I could find, to no avail. Then in 1994, my life changed dramatically. My husband died very suddenly. Soon after that, I lost both parents, too. They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears. This student was certainly ready. About a year after my husband’s sudden death, I learned about Dr. Deepak Chopra and his teachings. It was like finding the light at the end of the tunnel. I took meditation training from Dr. Chopra and began attending his courses. They fed my deep roots and made such a difference in my life that I committed to being certified both in meditation and yoga so I could share these wonderful practices with others. I have studied with Deepak and also Roger Gabriel both here and in India. I also studied sound healing with Jonathan Goldman, and remote viewing with Dr. David Morehouse, having completed all five levels of his training. As my teaching became established, doors began opening that allowed me to teach meditation to at risk youth. Then another door opened and I found myself working with Playmakers Mentoring Foundation, a Sacramento-based outreach. Together with their Executive Director, we wrote a book and then opened a chapter here in Omaha. In addition to my work with Playmakers, I continue to teach meditation in the Omaha NE area, offering both private and group instruction. I also hold group meditations and programs five times a year, and speak to groups on various aspects of spirituality upon request.   It has been an amazing journey, one I never could have anticipated. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that it is possible to get to the other side of grief, and that is what my book, “From Grief to Joy, A Journey Back to Life & Living,” is all about.

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