The first step in applying joy to meditation is easing. This is where you ease into practice and arrive at the realization that meditation does not have to be hard. In fact, it can actually be quite easy. As you settle into ease, a sense of joy arises that is born of ease, and when abiding in that joy, the mind relaxes some more and ease becomes more firmly established, thus creating a virtuous cycle. This is how easing is the first step to establishing and applying joy in meditation.
