We have misunderstood joy a long time.
Joy at its core is the sense of being glad to be with someone.
Joy is built in connection…
Joy, in its most fundamental form, is being glad to be with someone. From a neurobiological perspective, this experience activates the brain’s relational circuits, particularly those linked to the ventral vagal complex and the release of oxytocin—the neurochemical associated with bonding, safety, and trust.
When we feel joyful in connection with another, our nervous system shifts into a regulated state, promoting co-regulation, reducing stress hormones like cortisol, and increasing resilience. This experience of joy helps wire the brain for relational safety, which is foundational for both individual well-being and collective healing.
From a decolonized framework, joy as a relational connection disrupts the Western emphasis on hyper-individualism and self-reliance. Many Indigenous and ancestral traditions view healing as a communal practice, where well-being is cultivated in relationship with others, the land, and spirit.
Colonization has severed many of these relational ties, embedding trauma patterns that emphasize isolation, hierarchy, and productivity over presence and connection. Reclaiming joy as a shared, embodied experience helps restore a sense of interdependence, mutual care, and cultural resilience.
Joy is not only a personal experience but a radical act of reclamation, breaking cycles of disconnection and restoring the body’s natural capacity for relational safety, pleasure, and belonging...
Joy as a sacred practice…
Somatic processing aligns with cultivating joy by bringing awareness back to the body as a source of wisdom. Trauma often disconnects us from our sensations and the ability to feel safe in connection. When we cultivate joy in relationships, we are retraining our nervous system to experience safety in togetherness. Through somatic practices—breathwork, movement, touch, and co-regulation—we can rebuild these neural pathways, allowing for deeper embodiment and authentic expression.
Somatically, experiencing joy in connection to others helps dissolve the barriers between self and spirit, making the body a vessel for the divine. When we cultivate joy, we cultivate the conditions for presence, receptivity, and awe—bringing us closer to both our own essence and the sacred energy that moves through all things.
Relational joy is a powerful gateway to spirituality and connection to the divine because it reinforces the felt experience of being deeply known, seen, and loved. When we experience joy in the presence of others, our nervous system enters a state of safety and regulation, which opens us up to greater receptivity, intuition, and connection beyond the self. Neurobiologically, joy strengthens our capacity for relational attunement—not just with other people, but also with the unseen, with nature, and with the spiritual forces that guide us
In many spiritual traditions, the experience of divine connection is not one of isolation but of deep relationality—whether through community, communion with the natural world, or direct encounters with the sacred. Joy signals to our body that we are safe enough to surrender to something greater than ourselves, making space for mystical experiences, deeper embodiment, and trust in the unseen. The release of oxytocin and endorphins in joyful connection mirrors the states often described in spiritual ecstasy, prayer, and ceremonial practices.
Joy is a pathway to remembering interdependence, breaking away from colonial models of spirituality that emphasize hierarchy, suffering, or isolation in the search for enlightenment.
Book a Session
Megan books all her virtual and in-person clients through Void and Vessel, her shared somatic healing clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you wish to receive a custom offering, reach out to megan@voidandvessel.com and she will assist.