Wanderlust How to Tap Into Your Bliss

Bliss is mentioned often but is vaguely understood and defined as an attainable, elevated state of consciousness. It is the main benefit of a daily meditation practice and the catalyst for a reflective, enlightened life.

We've been deeply immersed in bliss before, but here's a summary: bliss whispers to us, reminding us of our true goals, and encouraging us to trust our hearts, believe in ourselves and our circumstances, and urge us to to be the best version of ourselves

But knowing what bliss is often raises other questions: How do we achieve bliss? What is stopping us? How do we maintain feelings of bliss when they appear temporarily? While you may have a lot of different questions when trying to access your bliss, you should know that it is a lot easier than you might think and that it takes very little to get started.

One of the most useful things we can do to access inner bliss is meditation. The comfort of sitting still, the detachment from ruminating thoughts, and calming your body down from a busy day… all of these things help create space in the mind and ultimately bliss.

Here are some tips to get you started:

Dismantle the myth of self-care

Perhaps there are a few things that prevent you from meditating, namely guilt. Meditation is a form of self-care, a phrase that has unfortunately turned into something that seems selfish. Self-care, however, is not the green juice or the purchase of material goods to fill a void. It takes the opportunity to refuel, and therefore more fully show itself to those you love.

When we take the time, even fifteen minutes, to meditate, we welcome the opportunity to create space in the mind and acknowledge thoughts and fears. Creating this space will help remove stress or quiet fears. Have you been able to make rational decisions about work, creative projects, or relationships under stress? Often not so much. But through meditation we can recharge and address life's obstacles through a space of spiritual clarity and ultimately make better decisions about the things that matter most.

As you now make a commitment to take this time to yourself, you will be more available to those you care for and to the world at large. You will have more energy, more passion, and more creativity to implement all the wonderful ideas that will come to mind in and around your meditation practice.

Your meditation is a valuable contribution to creating a better world.

Simplify the process

Meditation doesn't have to be a scary, intimidating practice, and bliss doesn't have to be enforced. You can meditate on the subway, on the commute, or even over breakfast. Relieve yourself and your practice. Bliss will come with ease when your mind is ready.

Adults often manage in order to many reasons why their minds are busy or why they can't sit still, or what it means to have certain thoughts or how they learned to deal with their mischievous minds, and so on. As a result of trying to control their mind, body, or both, adults have more incoherent meditation experiences.

Control in meditation is a bit like trying to fasten a screw with a hammer or nail something together with a screwdriver. In other words, control is not the right tool to calm the mind.

Control tends to activate and even frustrate the mind. Controlled meditation is an oxymoron. Meditation inherently lacks control. Or at least it should if there is a desire for deeper, happier experiences. No matter how much we try, the mind cannot be controlled. Nor can our thoughts. Hence, we don't want to use the wrong tool incorrectly and for the wrong purpose.

Fortunately, the solution is simple too: all we have to do is remind ourselves to let go of control as often as necessary. In this way we can reduce our approach to the essentials. You don't have to implement other techniques or question our process due to intrusive thoughts.

Separate your feelings from reality

We often mistake happiness for feelings of passing joy. When something “positive” happens, be it a compliment or something like that on Instagram, it is easy and intuitive to respond with joy, relief, or a superficial sense of bliss. These tiny points of affirmation or achievement make us feel like we are in the flow of life or in sync with the will of the universe – in the right place at the right time.

But there is a downside. When something seemingly negative happens, we quickly feel the opposite – we react with fear, discomfort, anger, or fear that we will be punished for a serious past misdeed.

The differences in our emotional state, based primarily on our external circumstances, are an indication that we are deeply influenced or defined by our circumstances. This conditioning sets our moods and emotions in the driver's seat – depending on the mood of the different people, places and things with which we cross each day. And that conditioning can quickly and easily prevent us from experiencing our inner bliss when it comes down to it, when we need it most, which is the case in our daily interactions.

Here we return to meditation – by practicing daily we learn to separate the ups and downs of life from our inner selves. We respond to something instead of letting our emotional state determine how we feel. Ultimately, we don't need to find bliss from external sources – because we are bliss.

Embrace the commitment

Bliss is the space between our thoughts, the pause before we react, the light that shines brightly in our heart and soul, is able to eradicate the shadows of our ego and reveal the truth of reality – that there is no separation between you and me that we are all connected in our being, at our deepest level.

To achieve this state, try doing meditation as regularly as eating. When you meditate daily it becomes less of a chore or exercise and more of an experience to look forward to and your body to be conditioned.

Your body can be conditioned to meditate each morning, afternoon, or evening whenever you refer to this as your sacred meditation time. And the more consistent you are with your practice, the more stable it will feel and the more beneficial the results will be … Not just within the practice, but in all facets of life.

If you accept the engagement of meditation, you will also be more apt and ready to use the bliss. When daily meditation becomes a part of your routine, bliss will also become a part of your routine, and you will see how beneficial it is to your life and how it affects your way of life in all the obvious and discreet ways.

Unlocking your bliss doesn't have to be complicated. It just requires that you value your time on the mat and show up regularly. Eventually, through stillness, practice, and a willingness to try, you will be able to gain constant presence and enjoy the bliss you so deserve.

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light has been working in the meditation room since 1998, first as a practitioner, then as an apprentice to his Vedic meditation teacher and finally as a teacher himself. lightThe TEDx talk reached hundreds of thousands of visitors and he is the founder of The Shine Movement, an inspiring global pop-up variety show with the aim of sharing the stories of ordinary people who are making a difference in the world. He currently lives in Santa Monica, California, travels the world, lecturing on happiness, mindfulness, inspiration and meditation, and leading popular meditation trainings and retreats. Experience his 21-day meditation challenge on Fernweh TV.

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