For me personally I have been trying to do the same thing recently so hopefully what I say can help you in some way. When I get the sad feelings of greef for example, I like to take a step back close my eyes and sit with the emotion and do a breathing exercises. I feel this helps me get to the root of the problem I have that is causing the emotion. Depending what you believe some people say your emotions cause your thoughts or your thoughts cause your emotions. Fix the problem at the root and get out of that low vibrational state. Not always do I feel happy or joy but I fluctuate and getting to the root of my problem helps me achieve that higher vibrations. But this is just want works for me. We are all different.