Tagged: enlightenment

Jul 25

The Bliss of Experience

Bliss is what you miss when you are busy looking for it.  Bliss just happens.  You cannot create it or discover it somewhere.  This makes the idea of following your bliss seem futile.

It is not, really.  Of course if you know there are things you’ve done before that brought you bliss, you can do more of that.  It seems clear, though, that finding bliss (as though it is a thing) is a mission that is lost as soon as it begins.  It feels a little like grasping at water or smoke.

I have two small children, and I really look to them for enlightenment.  Babies are undifferentiated, meaning they see no difference between themselves and the world.  This is the definition of enlightenment. 

Babies and children explore the world, eager to soak up every experience available to them.  My baby is delighted when I give her the freedom to crawl around and discover things that have become ordinary to me.  She loves to put things in her mouth and look at them very closely to understand them further. 

My older daughter lept off the couch this evening to dance to the intro song on one of her favorite shows.  Even though the show doesn’t have dancing, she seemed compelled to express her joy with her whole body.  We went for a walk with her in the stroller, and as we came to the end, she was begging to go again.  What seemed old to us was in every moment new to her:  the wind on her face, the passing houses, the fluttering butterflies, and even the scary dog behind the fence.

Children are so good at just being.  When you do this, bliss is all around you.  Your heart feels like it will burst out of your chest when you hear a song you like or you see the sunset.  As adults we get so conditioned or distracted, we miss these things.  In our effort to find the best things in life, we miss them.

I can see now that even though I have learned the rules of living in this world, I am still exploring like my children.  I am blissful when I learn something new or feel passionate about some idea.  I experience euphoria when I use my body in new ways.  It is easy to feel the drudgery that comes from thinking you have life figured out, and that this is all there is.  It makes you want to chase some imaginary bliss out there.

Each day is new and undiscovered.  You will experience new things if you are open to it.  This allows bliss to sneak up on you far more often.  Find bliss by not looking for it.

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Posted in Bliss is All Around You, Unexpected Bliss

Jun 25

Finding Bliss Where You’d Least Expect It

Sometimes you discover yourself finding bliss where you’d least expect it.  It feels funny to talk about following or finding bliss as if it is a little orb of tinkerbell light, flitting about for you to chase.  This seems to be the mental image of bliss, though — ellusive and hard to attain.

img_3645_edited-2The gurus of self realization would tell you that bliss is everywhere.  It is not on some mountaintop or in some yoga class.  It is not found in a career change or the birth of a new child.  It is in the average, mundane events of everyday living. 

This can be a double edged sword, right?  It feels kind of good to think it is accessible to you now, in this very moment (like how reading this blog makes you feel blissful).  On the other hand, it is sort of disappointing.  You are swimming in monotony and are not realizing bliss at every turn.  You begin to wonder if you would even recognize bliss if it whacked you across the face.

Bliss is an internal state, often arrived at when the mind ceases its barrage of thoughts.  This meditative state can often be achieved when doing routine tasks, like washing dishes, driving, or simply sitting still.   It is like things quiet down enough for you to see your true nature.  You see that inside you are the miracle of Christmas morning mixed with an infant’s first cry mixed with your first love.  The feeling you feel when you think of these things, or any of the most powerful experiences of your life, is the essence of your true nature.  It feels so good, it is almost unbearable.  The unbearable lightness of being.

This is what life is meant to be.  The negativity and fear and hate is all fabricated and taught to you throughout life.  As a new person, an infant, you were undifferentiated–you thought the whole world was you and you were the whole world.  This is what the gurus say enlightenment is like.  I look at my baby and realize she is already what I seek to be. 

She experiences bliss without any concept of needing to find it first.  You can see the look on her face and the euphoria is palpable.  So let’s go out into the world (or stay right where we are), and look inside for our bliss.  Or maybe we will stop looking and just allow it to spring forth naturally.  Perhaps without all of this effort it will just come freely.  Bliss does have a history of bubbling up when you are least expecting it.

 

 

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Posted in Bliss is All Around You