Reflections: Bliss Is…
“To find your own way is to follow your bliss. This involves analysis, watching yourself and seeing where real deep bliss is — not the quick little excitement , but the real deep, life-filling bliss.” Joseph Campbell
Reflections: Bliss Is... in the waterfalls?
What does bliss mean to you? Have you ever stopped to think about the saying; follow your bliss? When you wake up in the morning do you envision a day filled with bliss? If you’re wondering what prompted this inquiry, Ill tell you… I was contemplating what to blog about today and all the topics that came to mind were ho-hum; not particularly interesting… I thought of creating another lists post but hesitated because I’d written one yesterday. So what was I going to do?
“Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.” Alexandre Dumas Père
I checked a few options via Daily Post, Plinky, and my files and nothing resonated. Then the little voice in my head said BLISS! What? How could not finding a topic that inspires me to create a post be blissful? See, for a moment, I missed the point, my muse was not telling me that drawing blanks was blissful; rather, it was prompting me to explore the idea. Hmmm. Now that’s interesting? Is this how your muse prompts you?
“The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom.” Khalil Gibran
Reflections: Bliss is... in a Grandiflora?
Truthfully, I’ve always been the type to pause whenever people said “follow your bliss.” I mean, I like the phrase but sometimes, it sounds like a quick brushoff, a be-all end-all throwaway phrase for: do-whatever-you-want-next … and Next! Sure, when we do work we love, and enjoy showing up and pushing through the day with nary a concern for time or food, we have tapped into that place of self-knowledge, satisfaction, joy, bliss… but is it a steady state or a place we visit periodically?
“Where there is faith, there is love; Where there is love; there is peace; Where there is peace; there is God; Where there is God; there is bliss.” Sri Sathya Sai Baba
I went searching for quotes on the subject and found several; as you can tell from the quotes here. Some were clear; bliss is a spiritual experience, a deep connection with God. Some were experiential; bliss is what we have after sorrow leaves or what we achieve after our petty egotistical drives are set aside. Some even poetic like Wordsworth’s blissful solitude. Others proclaimed bliss is a state, albeit temporary, where a good day replaces a bad day and the conditions continually reverse… I dare say, even blogging can be the road to bliss. 🙂
Reflections: Bliss Is... a desert island?
Poem by William Wordsworth
“For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It’s very important to be aware of them every time they come up.” Deepak Chopra
Reflections: Bliss Is... on the Kauai coast...?
According to Deepak, when we relinquish these three “needs” we will be find bliss. Yet, I wonder, for how long until some annoyance or sordid affair wrecks havoc on our blissful state of equilibrium. Vigilance should be part of the prescription and the mental discipline to be aware of the chatter, he suggests rightfully.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell
One could even argue that bliss is material, based on things, our moods, our desires, our choices. Whatever we think bliss is, it is… because like a fine meal or a walk in the park, bliss might mean one thing to you and another to me… and events that trigger our moments of bliss can vary from day to day. I like Joseph Campbell’s idea that bliss is finding our own way. Bliss is about balance; finding the balance/equilibrium in all things. That could include finding bliss in a cup of tea even if you’d rather have a cup of coffee. What are your thoughts? What does bliss mean to you?
Life isn’t supposed to be an all or nothing battle between misery and bliss. Life isn’t supposed to be a battle at all. And when it comes to happiness, well, sometimes life is just okay, sometimes it’s comfortable, sometimes wonderful, sometimes boring, sometimes unpleasant. When your day’s not perfect, it’s not a failure or a terrible loss. It’s just another day.” Barbara Sher
Reflections: Bliss is ... a family of ducks?
What are your thoughts? When you think of Bliss, what comes to mind? Have you found your bliss? Does it matter? Do share. Thank You! 🙂
Positive Motivation Tip: Follow your heart’s calling and do the work it takes to achieve your dreams… Even if our bliss is not clear, let’s do the work anyway.
Related Articles
- Follow Your Bliss (anitaanswersadvice.wordpress.com)
- on living the bliss-centered life… (gapingvoid.com)
- In memoriam (dorothybinder.wordpress.com)
- And Then My Heart With Pleasure Fills (gnayharas.wordpress.com)
- Gone Questing (desertmusepublishing.wordpress.com)
- Deepak Chopra: Spiritual Solutions #30: Living in Pure Potentiality (huffingtonpost.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: Photo of waterfalls, Kauai coastline, Grandiflora, desert island, mallard ducks via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Oh I do like that word – bliss.
Joy is a good one too!
I try to be in Bliss every day. I love your photo’s too.
I’m glad you wrote about bliss! I, too, sometimes think it’s cheesy when people say “Follow your bliss,” but at the same time, it seems bliss is my ultimate goal in life. That’s probably why it often manages to make itself part of my writings, even when I don’t intend to write about it.
I love the quotes here, but this is my favorite: “Life isn’t supposed to be an all or nothing battle between misery and bliss. Life isn’t supposed to be a battle at all. And when it comes to happiness, well, sometimes life is just okay, sometimes it’s comfortable, sometimes wonderful, sometimes boring, sometimes unpleasant. When your day’s not perfect, it’s not a failure or a terrible loss. It’s just another day.”
I’ll keep this one shorter! Bliss is close for me, I think!
I love the waterfall picture, it reminds me of New Zealand so much.
Love this quote!
Where there is faith, there is love; Where there is love; there is peace; Where there is peace; there is God; Where there is God; there is bliss.” Sri Sathya Sai Baba
I think a constant state of bliss is unrealistic. How would you truly know bliss if it was your norm? That said, the moments of true bliss are worth striving for.
I love the macro photo of the blossom! That is amazing.
Thanks for a great post!
b
My first though when I hear the word bliss……Happy Thoughts all the way. 🙂 Great photos. I love pic #4 & #5 the best. I like that poem Barbara.
I love Wordsworth…and then my heart with pleasure fills..that is bliss..and it comes from a thought, a memory, an anticipation. Thank you for inspiring bliss!
Great post, as usual, Eliz 🙂 Bliss…just saying the word seems to have a special effect. My bliss, is that feeling I have when my heart feels completely open and untroubled. Luckily, that seems to happen quite a lot…in fact, it seems to increase in frequency and longevity with age. 🙂
nature can help us to feel bliss, politics mostly not …
Creativity is a wonderful thing. We struggle for the right words, we follow a word or a prompt and soon, we have an answer.
You followed the promptings of your muse/heart/bliss and it led you to the source.
I love that; meditation in action!
B
Bliss, to me, is accessing my reservoir of Inner Peace, Joy, and Contentment . . . no matter what life has tossed my way.
I smile, and bliss surfaces of its own accord.
When I think of Bliss, I think of all the things I have been blessed with, my family, good health, and joyful experiences.
I see my deep, life-filling bliss.” in my faith-God is so awesome and His love is very deep. Beautiful photos !! I like the desert island-gives the reflection of “Bliss” and all its beauty.
Spend time with my family is bliss. 🙂
I’ve always felt that bliss is the ultimate happiness one can find and that it is seldom achieved in our lives. Of course, this comes only through my own experiences as clearly, each of us forms our opinions through those. Bliss is definitely not a word I would think of for a post and that is so why I love reading your posts, Elizabeth!
I can think of two instances of my own “bliss”. One was when I was probably 12-13 years old, living in Washington state where I grew up through many, many cold winters. Hints of spring were coming. There was nothing special about the day but I opened the front door. It was still only about 40 degrees but sunny. I smelled spring. I sat on the porch and was overwhelmed with bliss. I recall that moment as though it just happened and knew, in the moment, how amazing it felt and how rare it was. I savored it.
The other bliss I feel also relates to smells. Peeling open the freshest orange with my eyes closed. Bliss!
Love the photos! I’d agree that the coast of Kauai is bliss!