Joy

Joy: The force and consciousness behind curiosity. This is a very subtle aspect to understand, and a very difficult state to realize. It is, just as Freud thought, the happiness that results from wish fulfillment. Whenever there is an unfulfilled wish Joy closes and disappears. This means that it becomes permanently realized only when there are no unconscious wishes. So, more objectively speaking, Joy manifests when there is fulfillment. But there is no lasting fulfillment as long as there is any aspect of Being not realized. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 312)

What does joy have to do with the pain or no pain? Joy is different from pleasure in the sense that joy has nothing to do with pain or pleasure. We think pleasure is happiness, but it's not happiness. Joy is happiness. Pleasure is opposed to pain; joy is not. It is possible to have pain and joy at the same time. So why block your joy just because there is going to be some pain? I'm not saying that you should push yourself to be joyful, but if it is possible for it to be there, allow it. Joy has to do with openness in the moment, with not choosing one thing over another. When there is no prejudice about what should happen, there is joy. Joy is openness to experience. There is no striving. Joy is not the result of anything. If you are yourself, there is joy. If you are accepting and are open to your experience, if you're being yourself, you are naturally joyful because you are the source of the joy. (Diamond Heart Book 3, pg 86)

So openness is the basis of inquiry, but love expressed as curiosity specifically invites the Diamond Guidance. This active edge of openness is needed for the truth to be revealed. Then there is joy, curiosity, a happy excitement to find out. The not-knowing becomes the beginning of adventure. And because you don’t know, it is more exciting. Joy is in the whole process, and the excitement of life intensifies. The soul is turned on to exploring the mystery, and it is curiosity that engages… (Spacecruiser Inquiry, pg 259)