Tagged: following your 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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May 27

Follow Your Bliss

If you have ever heard of Joseph Campbell, you know the phrase ‘follow your bliss’.  If you haven’t heard this before, it is sure to resonate with you anyway.  It is a powerful saying, with a profound meaning.  If everyone were following their bliss in the world, it would be a beautiful thing to experience.At the top

There are a couple of steps in this process (probably many more, but this will get you started):

 

1.  Discover your bliss  –  what is it that delights you?  Is there anything that would have you naturally bounding out of bed?  We are looking for something that feels like Christmas morning.  This may sound foreign or impossible, but that is only because you’ve been stuck in your little box.  It is time to break out and discover a new reality.

2.  Break through your walls  –   what stands in the way of your bliss?  Once you know what your bliss is, you can begin to identify obstacles to following it freely.  You may get bogged down with thoughts about how hard the process is.  I am sure that once you know what thrills you, you will find “there ain’t no mountain high enough”.

3.  Make a plan  –  you may need to make some arrangements to follow your bliss.  This may mean switching careers or environments, etc.  So there may be some detailed planning involved.  I caution you, though, about thinking your obstacles are all external.  You may find that even if you get the new dream career or move to a new place, you still don’t wake up every morning with a feeling of profound joy.  Most of your work will be inside of you.  Your thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your life are holding you back.  Personal growth must be part of your plan for living in bliss.

4.  Following your bliss  –  here is the fun part.  Once you’ve done the work, you are ready to do what you were born to do.  Or have. Or be.  It can be scary to achieve what you’ve always wanted, so be prepared for that.  Part of the reason is what I mentioned before about externals versus internals.  You may find that your passions change over time.  Don’t be discouraged by this.  You are supposed to grow, change and adapt throughout your life.

 

If you want to learn more about finding and following your bliss, you should read some of the works by Joseph Campbell.  If you want to have a fast track to bliss, check out the book Pronoia: How the World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings, by Rob Brezsky.  Of course, continue to follow this site for regular updates for living a life full of bliss.   These resources will help you to reignite your inner fire.

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