The great Joseph Campbell wisely taught his students to follow their bliss in many of his teachings over the years , and it ’ s such a simple , yet powerful teaching to guide us towards experiencing more joy and fulfillment in our lives .
Awakening to
Your Bliss
The great Joseph Campbell wisely taught his students to follow their bliss in many of his teachings over the years , and it ’ s such a simple , yet powerful teaching to guide us towards experiencing more joy and fulfillment in our lives .
“ Following your bliss ” means to do what makes you happy . To accompany that wisdom , the Buddha once said , “ do whatever you want in life , experience anything you want , just don ’ t hurt yourself or hurt others .”
If you do what makes you happy in life , but that happiness is temporary and it comes at the expense of your integrity , your body , or someone else ’ s life , then it ’ s an empty teaching . But when paired up with the wisdom of the Buddha , not hurting yourself or others , and I would add to that , not hurting the planet , then following your bliss is the greatest teaching towards joy , happiness , and infinite fulfillment we could ever learn to master .
While this teaching is simple and pround , it also seems fleeting and inaccessible for many people . The common question people have is , “ well , I don ’ t know what my bliss is , how do I find it ?”
As someone who ’ s followed the sensations of pain and pleasure my entire life , I ’ ve begun to find a balance between Joseph ’ s message of follow your bliss and the Buddha ’ s message of don ’ t hurt yourself or anyone else , and my ultimate conclusion is that there ’ s nothing more important in your life than feeling good . That ’ s the secret sauce . If we don ’ t feel good about our lives , then what are we doing ? Even though I ’ ve experience enough suffering for 1000 people , I don ’ t believe we came here to suffer . While suffering creates an opportunity for awakening , we can easily awaken to higher consciousness if we just pay attention to what creates suffering , and also pay attention to what gives people true happiness , and then choose our lives from there .
To awaken your inner bliss , you must first come to the realization that you were designed to feel good . When you see someone stop traffic to help a blind person across the street , doesn ’ t it make you feel good ? Or how about when a friend or family member shows up to support you when you needed it the most ? Or what about the times that you achieve your goals , create a positive difference in someone else ’ s life , do yoga , listen to music , get a massage , have meaningful sex with someone you care about , and experience heightened levels of health and fitness ?
All of these things trigger chemicals in our brain such as dopamine and serotonin , among other feelgood chemicals , that literally make you feel good . Therefore you can determine that we were fully designed to feel good .
The next step is to pay attention to all of the things that make you feel good and that don ’ t hurt yourself or anyone else , and do more of those things . It ’ s really that simple . The more you do of the things you enjoy , the more bliss you will begin to awaken within yourself .
Don ’ t wait until your retired to follow your bliss , awaken it now , don ’ t sweat the small stuff , and feel GOOD the rest of your life !
“ Awakening Your Bliss ”
Crane is an award winning author , inspirational speaker , film maker , and founder on the Panacea Community . www . nathancrane . com
Bliss Magazine
03
Summer 2018