Bracha Goetz: “The highest level of pleasure is transcendence, when you transcend a limitation in your life, find new clarity, and nourish your soul by experiencing and integrating wisdom about how you are intrinsically connected to everyone and everything through an infinite Source of energy”

---

The highest level of pleasure is transcendence, when you transcend a limitation in your life, find new clarity, and nourish your soul by experiencing and integrating wisdom about how you are intrinsically connected to everyone and everything through an infinite Source of energy.

---

It sometimes feels like it is so hard to avoid feeling down or depressed these days. Between the sad news coming from world headlines, the impact of the ongoing raging pandemic, and the constant negative messages popping up on social and traditional media, it sometimes feels like the entire world is pulling you down. What do you do to feel happiness and joy during these troubled and turbulent times? In this interview series called “Finding Happiness and Joy during Turbulent Times” we are talking to experts, authors, and mental health professionals who share lessons from their research or experience about “How To Find Happiness and Joy During Troubled & Turbulent Times”.

As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bracha Goetz.

Bracha Goetz is the Harvard-educated author of 40 ​​children’s books and a candid memoir for adults. Her books can be found here: ​ www.goetzbookshop.com.

---

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood back story?

I write in rhyme — almost all the time. Really — ever since childhood, I’ve enjoyed the structure and rhythm of rhyming.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

My wonderful sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Cytryn, really encouraged me to enjoy writing — and to not be afraid to explore deep feelings and ideas too.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

My husband loves seeing creativity get expressed, and I love watching how excited he gets whenever he talks about my books.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

I remember wasting a lot of time and effort years ago, submitting to big publishing companies and agents. Finding a niche with smaller companies instead has been tremendously fulfilling, and it is exciting to see my books make an impact on young people.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

My newest picture book, Let’s Stay Healthy, was just published! It helps children (and adults 🙂 easily make healthy choices about eating less junk food, enjoying more exercise, getting enough sleep — and even good hygiene. Young children can now clearly and cheerfully understand how — and why — to enjoy healthier habits that strengthen their immune systems. It’s a book that so many have been waiting for.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Three character traits people tell me I have are clarity, idealism, and enthusiasm. I search for clarity, and when I am able to reach it, it is a great joy for me to explain deep and complex topics clearly (and as delightfully as I can). Idealism is what drives me every day. I will work hard for ideals about which I feel strongly. And I am definitely enthusiastic about what I do. That comes across in my books and also in my presentations. Even when I try not to be so enthusiastic, it somehow still comes across. ☺

For the benefit of our readers, can you briefly let us know why you are an authority on the topic of finding joy?

I guess you could say that I’m an authority on finding joy simply because I have been blessed to find the secret to joy, and I love helping it not be such a big secret anymore, so that many other people can know how to find joy too.

Ok, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about finding joy. Even before the pandemic hit, the United States was ranked at #19 in the World Happiness Report. Can you share a few reasons why you think the ranking is so low, despite all of the privileges and opportunities that we have in the US?

The ranking is so low because we take so many things for granted here.

What are the main myths or misconceptions you’d like to dispel about finding joy and happiness? Can you please share some stories or examples?

Here’s one priceless piece of wisdom from the ancient Talmud: “Who is rich? Those who are happy with what they have.” In order to find joy, a person needs to find gratitude.

Any moment that we are experiencing gratitude is a moment not spent being miserable. We can practice gratitude throughout the day — and over the simplest pleasures in life — those things you normally overlook and take for granted. Open a window to feel the soft breeze. Luxuriously stretch. Slowly savor a juicy orange. Think about all of your body parts that are working, and all the illnesses you don’t have.

In a related, but slightly different question, what are the main mistakes you have seen people make when they try to find happiness? Can you please share some stories or examples?

A big mistake is thinking we need something big to make us happy. But the best way to practice building our gratitude muscles is by appreciating small things. Here’s something really small you may want to try:

Try chewing more slowly than you usually do. An easy way to do this is to practice not preparing your next fork or spoonful until you have thoroughly chewed the fork or spoonful that is already in your mouth — and swallowed it. This has many benefits. Not only will you digest your food better when you chew it more slowly. You will find that you don’t need to eat as much to feel satisfied. And you will discover that you can savor what is in your mouth that much longer.

We actually only experience the pleasure of the food on our taste buds for the short period of time that it is in our mouths. Once it gets past our mouth, we are no longer experiencing the good taste — so why rush it?

This practice helps us to eat less, improve our digestion, and develop more appreciation for what we are eating. And once you’ve got this practice down, you will notice that it will also begin to extend into additional areas of your life as well. Little by little, bite by bite, you can more fully enjoy the simple pleasures in life, savoring them with increased gratitude.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share with our readers your “5 things you need to live with more Joie De Vivre, more joy and happiness in life, particularly during turbulent times?” (Please share a story or an example for each.)

I was amazed to discover from our ancient mystical wisdom that the purpose of life is actually to experience the greatest pleasure possible! The Pleasure Ladder helps us to see the hierarchy of the five levels of pleasure in life. And these levels are not arbitrary — they correspond to the five levels of the human soul. Through just becoming aware of what nourishes these five levels, we can begin to understand what brings the greatest pleasure and enjoy our lives accordingly.

1. You can nourish the lowest level of the soul by feeling gratitude for all the physical things in your life — like nature, healthy food, and physical movement, for instance.
2. To nourish the second level of the soul, focus on what you appreciate about someone. This is an empowering way to bring love into our lives at any moment, and it is not dependent on the actions of others. You get the warm and pleasurable feeling of love simply by focusing on what you are thankful for in somebody else.
3. To nourish the third level, reach out and do something meaningful and helpful — even if it is just calling or texting a person who is lonely and leaving them a message.
4. Creativity nourishes the fourth level of the soul, as you tap into the creative flow of the Universe and connect with it, bringing a part of your uniquely beautiful essence out into our world.
5. The highest level of pleasure is transcendence, when you transcend a limitation in your life, find new clarity, and nourish your soul by experiencing and integrating wisdom about how you are intrinsically connected to everyone and everything through an infinite Source of energy.

There is only one price to pay to be able to climb each and every rung of The Pleasure Ladder and experience greater and greater levels of joy and connection. That price is gratitude. Experiencing mindful gratitude is the secret to finding lasting happiness throughout life.

What can concerned friends, colleagues, and life partners do to effectively help support someone they care about who is feeling down or depressed?

All of us have self destructive impulses whose job is to get us to focus on what we are lacking. We develop our spiritual strength through repeatedly becoming aware of this tendency to focus on what we are lacking and then choosing instead to focus on the abundance of gifts that we have this very moment.

But the hardest math to do is counting our blessings. You can try to help those feeling down to focus on just one thing for which they are grateful. It may be a singular beautiful tree outside the window. A person who is feeling down feels estranged and disconnected. Feeling gratitude creates connection — to something physical, another being, one’s community — and ultimately to the world and the Source of the entire Universe. The more one practices gratitude, the easier it becomes. And one day you too may notice that your negative thought patterns have been joyfully replaced with positive ones. Then — guess what! You’ve got something else for which you can enjoy being grateful!

Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

We are all spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience. And we are all here not to see through each other, but to see each other through. The movement I would love to inspire is to help people see that, in essence, we are all infinitely and uniquely beautiful souls. And our purpose for being here is to experience gratitude. And what does gratitude lead us to? Now you know the secret too! If you want to find joy in life, find gratitude.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂

Hey, how about the other way around? Who wants to share a banana smoothie with me?

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can find nearly all of my books on this new website that my children just created: www.goetzbookshop.com.

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!