Does Joy Take Practice?

I'm willing to bet there are as many books on affirmations as there are on religion. Tons and tons of books telling the merits of using affirmations, how to use them, what to say, etc., etc., ad nauseam. I know. I've got at least a shelf full myself. And boxes of cards. And little wall hangings. And notes on my mirrors all over the house. I've even written my share of articles and such on the topic. Affirmations are pretty much the norm these days, if you happen to be someone who believes in spiritual evolution. Not saying this is a 'bad' thing. Not even suggesting they don't work. But here's the thing...

I'm pretty much convinced that affirmations are useless unless you have some emotional involvement. In other words, you can say the words til you're blue in the face, but if you're not feeling it, what's the point? If you can't reach some kind of emotional shift while saying your affirmations, is it really doing any good? Is it going to affect what's going on in your life? Most importantly, do you have to believe what you're saying for the words to make an impact?

There's this theory that if you say it once, then say it again, then say it like you mean it, you can actually evoke the emotional shift. For example, when you whisper something it feels a whole lot differently than when you shout it out. Something about hollering the words makes the energy change, right? So, the whole idea of “say it like you mean it” is the same thing. Why should this be? If we were to consider that sound is energy (which it is) and energy travels (which it does) then it would make sense that the louder you speak, the more energy you're putting out there, yes? If this is so, then it would also follow that said energies would affect said outcomes. Stay with me here. I do have a point.

I've been thinking that the whole reason we use affirmations is to practice feeling what we're trying to feel. Practice feeling the joy. Or the prosperity. Or the peace that we seem to want so badly. It would seem, then, that those who use affirmations are, indeed, practicing the feelings they wish to feel. Coming 'round full circle, does Joy take practice?

I'm thinking it does. I'm thinking that those blissful moments are so fleeting that we have to pretend to feel them so that we can actually feel them more and more. The ol' “fake it til you make it” concept. Does it work? How about you tell me.