Sometimes the universe really tries its best to make a point with me…

We Are Here to Experience Joy

Starting in the summer of 2025, the universe had been calling out and emphasizing the concept of Joy to me.

During this time, I REPEATEDLY and quite obviously was sent the message that Joy is the most important feeling to experience while we are alive here on the planet together.

Joy in a Lecture

The onslaught started with really “hearing” the little jingle that starts at the beginning of an Abraham Hicks lecture that I was listening to one morning on YouTube.  Sometimes when I walk the dogs in the morning in the woods, I will play their little YouTube snippets.

Abraham Hicks is a partnership between Esther Hicks and a group of, as she describes “non-physical” friends, named Abraham who offer tips on how we can more easily navigate our time here on earth. 

The lecture began with someone very clearly singing “Joy is the Key” over and over again. After the intro, the rest of the content played.

I really enjoy listening to their messages.

Joy in a Painting

A little later in the morning, this painting I did many years ago popped into my head.

The painting is a collage of various scenes I put together to show the lore of how coffee was perhaps discovered in Africa.  The idea being that red ripe coffee berries were eaten by goats tended to by a herder in Ethiopia.  After observing how excited and energetic the goats became after nibbling on the berries ( the goats were also described as dancing ) people started experimenting with the berries by cooking them in a fire and/or boiling them in water.  The preparations created a delicious treat that people also found to be energizing. I wanted to convey the joy of people, goats and other nearby animals by creating a fun scene of dance and happiness around the discovery of this magical drink!

This painting was a gift to Barry and Lynn Goldman who own a coffee roasting company called “Coffee Coffee” in Salem, New Hampshire. 

This is what I wrote in my notes after giving Barry and Lynn this painting in 2012…

Before delivering the painting to Coffee Coffee, I was unexpectedly presented a bunch of coins on the ground in front of me.  People always say when you find a penny or a dime that means someone in heaven is saying hello.  I often see such a sign and say “hello” and “thank you for the connection” back not always knowing who was making the connection.  Well this time, it was a whole boat load of change that was in front of me, so I took that as a very good sign that someone in heaven was very happy with this work. 

Every time I walk into the coffee shop, Barry and Lynn always seem to really love the painting and fondly talk about the painting with their clients.  It is by no means a great piece of artwork, but the idea was to express the joy and excitement around a new discovery for this amazing beverage called Coffee that many of us have come to love so much. 

What I found really interesting is that I had literally written back in time what I most wanting to convey was “Joy” within this painting.  Again maybe not a great image of “fine art” as some may see it, but so clearly in my mind the intention was about conveying Joy – and maybe that is what it successfully does. 

Joy in a Terracotta Stone

A little later in the morning, I walked by my little “bag of heart messages” and decided to pick one out for the day.  (These terra cotta hearts were a gift from my brother long ago when he lived in Oregon.) Below is what I randomly drew out of the bag:

Ok this where I had to laugh and say “OK, I see you are trying to tell me something”.

At this point I actually started taking notes on a notepad on our kitchen island so I would remember all of these synchronicities.  For the image below, just focus on the writings at the bottom in blue.

I am now thinking  “OK I got the message”…

But perhaps the universe didn’t think I did quite yet…

Joy in a Song

Because on the morning of the next day, I asked Alexa to play my John Denver station on Pandora, and John Denver’s song “Matthew” was the very first song that played. 

Here are the lyrics in the chorus:

Yes, and joy was just the thing that he was raised on
Love was just the way to live and die
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat-field
Blue's just a Kansas summer sky

 OK!  I hear you… more Joy! I wrote the song on the notepad and off I went with my day.

Joy in a Nordic Rune

A little later, while in my office, I thought, huh wonder what the Norse Rune for today is. (When visiting Iceland in 2024, I became familiar with Norse Runes – an ancient, symbolic communication system - and bought a set after returning home.)  I really don’t pull these out so often.  Sometimes when doing a painting it is fun to see what the message is for the painting, but I rarely pull one out for any given day.  

But following the inspiration, I grabbed one out of the bag – not at all thinking about what it could be.  I am actually not super familiar with all the Rune symbols are yet….

And this is what I pulled out on my one and only try…

The universe is killin’ me!  (with joy and kindness ;-)

Joy in a Novel

And one last swing… Right after pulling the Rune, I became very curious about the word “Ulysses” which was at the bottom of the notepad I was making my Joy notes on.  (Ulysses is the name of the hotel my husband stayed at one time and brought home this little pad of paper). 

The Lion's Gate

Over these past 30 hours, we were also in the timeframe of what is called “The Lion’s Gate”.  According to astrology studies, it is an auspicious time of the calendar year with most focus on August 8.  This is when the star Sirius is lined up with the sun.

I know now I need to journal a bit on what brings me Joy.

I have enjoyed writing this piece today, so maybe that is a start…

Update:  the next couple of days

I sometimes listen to Joel Osteen on Sirius XM when having breakfast.  When I first tuned into the show on the following morning, a lecture was just finishing.  The very next lecture was titled “Don’t Lose Your Joy”.  I had to laugh, and listen because apparently, I still need this lesson.

and then more Joy on the next day...

One of my favorite things to do is play great music in the woods when walking the dogs in the morning.  Before I finally subscribed to Pandora, I would be subjected to various advertisements...

I know I had never heard this ad for Almond Joy before, so again, I had to laugh (and take a screen shot to prove it to myself).

The messages continued to present themselves at the card shop a few hours later when I was shopping for greeting cards.  I literally saw this card category, Keep Choosing Joy, in front of my face.

Unrelenting…  and it continued...

I wrote the initial draft for this blog post the following day which was a Saturday morning. 

After writing, I went down to the kitchen to get some lunch.  Right then I got a phone call from an art teacher that I had previously signed up for a plein air (outdoor) painting class with, but the class had been cancelled due to a mix up at the place we were supposed to stay. Since the location had been cancelled, I totally wrote off painting that week with him and didn’t think much about it.

OK so I had only emailed with this teacher and not spoken to him.  He called my phone and jokingly said on the phone “Is this the famous artist Gina Anderson?” which totally made me laugh!  (I “think” I would love to be known as that, but I am certainly not there yet and funny he would even say it because he doesn’t know me at all!) I didn’t feel like he was being sarcastic or anything like that because he has a true heart of gold, and I think he was just having a lot of fun calling people!  And actually, he made me feel so good when he said that.

He called to say he is keeping the same days as our cancelled class, but changing the location. I was so psyched.  Yes, I totally wanted to go and was even quite excited by the new location.  The new location was in Port Clyde, Maine which I had been to but had not stayed. It is a very cute area with an emphasis on commercial fishing - which works for me because I grew up in a commercial fishing town in the Los Angeles area.  The end of the story is that I did go, had a great time, met wonderful people and had an excellent learning experience. 

So what was going on?

I firmly believe we are spiritual beings having a physical experience, and everything in the universe, including us, vibrates at a specific frequency.

Whatever you focus upon (and/or think about) will influence your frequency.

Things that are a match to that frequency (whether it be people or circumstances) will then start showing up in your experience.

It started with a question

I often have the question in my mind, "what am I supposed to focus upon?"  I believe the universe was decisively answering that question with the idea of Joy.

I was definitely having a lot of fun with "Joyful" things showing up in my experience over a few days there.  And the best part is "Joy feels really good!"  So if you focus on Joy, you will vibrate with Joy and more good / matching feeling things will come your way. 

The morning I was writing, I was definitely focused on Joy because I was really enjoying all of the synchronicities associated with my past few days.

...and then while in that really nice state, a very fun painting opportunity came in which I was able to say "Yes" to!  When we focus on and allow the Joy, really fun things can come in.

Moving into a more joyful state

And I realize it's not always easy to be in a "joyful" state, but we need to find slight improvements in our feelings and thinking to help move us in that direction.

For me...

• Sometimes I write and review lists I have made of people, things, and experiences I am grateful for.
• Sometimes I will look at photos or videos I have of my dogs (both past and present) that bring me a joyful feeling.
• Sometimes I will look at photos of beautiful places I have been (even my own backyard in the different seasons)
• Playing a song I love also works.  I do appreciate Pandora's timing when I am presented with the perfect song at the perfect time.  But if that is not the case, I can easily find a song I love by playing it on my phone, or searching for it online and playing the result.

And then I think the key is that I stop and just bask in the feeling of these things for at least a couple of minutes before letting my mind move onto the "next thing."  

We are so used to the continual scrolling of our thoughts and visual images, but I try to hold onto the lovely feeling of any one the above for some time before moving onto something else.

These are all various ways that work for me, but I do have to do it consciously, with the intention of appreciating this amazing time on the planet.

Please find what works for you to bring you to a more appreciative or joyful state.

All is well.

I do know the universe has our backs.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2026 Winter Olympics update

Did you see the skating performances of Alysa Liu in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics?  It was true beauty and joy to behold!  In interviews, both before and after the win, she said she focuses on the joy of being in the moment and skating because she loves it.  And also said it is important that she let her body rest when needed and spend time alone to keep in touch with her authentic self.  All such great advice.  Her joy radiated out as she skated and is a feeling I personally want to recall during my day to help “keep me lifted”.  Thank you for that gift Alysa.

Also, so much joy in watching the reactions after both the women's and men's hockey teams won their games.  For me, it was so tangible to feel the camaraderie amongst them and pride that was indescribable for what they all accomplished together with their teammates.  

Again, when needing a personal lift, thinking about and remembering how their performances make me feel is a way to switch towards having more joy myself.

What do you think about having products associated with this image?

I am thinking about providing products like a mug or maybe a notebook with this image on it.  If that, or something else is at all interesting to you, please let me know your feedback by sending me an email via the Let's Connect page.  Thank you!