Bring to mind the last time you felt spontaneous euphoria. You know what I’m talking about. It is that chill rushing through your body, and the feeling your heart is going to burst with delight. I am not sure what makes this happen, but I want to cultivate more of it in my life.
It reminds me of other things that cause euphoria like some medications, intimacy, or a new baby in your arms. Those are expected to bring on these feelings. But why is it I can just be driving down the road and get a sudden, unprovoked rush of overwhelming joy?
It seems to happen when I am either in a state of relishing in how wonderful my life is, or when my mind is really blank and open. I’ve never paid much attention to these feelings over the past 10 years or so. I do remember having these feelings occasionally as a teenager. Now I feel I am in a good space in my life for recognizing and promoting these experiences.
Gratitude is heavily touted by ‘those who know about these things’, like the positive psychology researchers. The story goes that small amounts of gratitude can bring big amounts of happiness into your life.
It reminds me of when someone is speaking in tongues or the whirling dirvishes (my favorite). It is like a connection to something deeper or higher than what is seen. It is almost like glimpsing into the true reality underneath all of the day to day stuff that complicates life. Now that I have felt it and recognized it, I feel like I can bring it on at will a little bit. Like when you figure out how to cross your eyes to see the 3D image–you start to get good at it. It almost feels like a switch gets flipped.
The reason I haven’t noticed these feelings for so long is not because they weren’t there. I believe it is because my mind has been so negative. I only paid attention to streams of thinking that were critical or unpleasant. It became my comfort zone. Now I am in a place where I have really been working on my inner dialogue. There is much more good stuff racing through my brain now. I am finally open to recognize and honor these feelings of euphoria.
Meditation is something that can help with controlling the mind. It has been supported in research to have a multitude of benefits. I know it can sound a bit, um, unstimulating, but the benefits are worth it. Mindfulness has become a major focus of therapy to help people with emotional (and mental) regulation. Using all of your senses at once can help bring you back to the moment and promote mindfulness.
It is a great skill to be able to summon feelings at will. The search for euphoria, or even contentment, drives addictive behavior (along with underlying emotional issues). If this is something that can be cultivated from scratch, it could help move people past their addictions. Almost everyone I know has some form of addiction: workaholism, alcoholism, drugs, sex, gambling, shopping, eating, etc. Everyone seems to be chasing a very fleeting feeling of pleasure. Imagine the power of having the feeling of bliss always available to you?
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