Blissing Out And In
I am over the moon excited about being a new columnist for Bellesprit and take delight in knowing that I am part of a team that celebrates the ‘beautiful spirit’ that each being on the planet embodies. I am eager to be part of your lives every month and make a wish to share the journey with you; what I think of as ‘the messy and marvelous,’ the ‘joys and challenges’ that make this ride so rich and full and juicy. Are you ready to embark, expressing your own truths as they emerge from a place deep within? Hand in hand, even if we may never meet in person, companions on the way, stumbling and falling at times, skipping blithely, dancing divinely. Ready…..set….go!
Joseph Campbell was an inspiration for my first steps along the bliss-path. Philosopher, mythologist and writer, he coined the phrase “Follow your bliss.” In an interview he did with Bill Moyers, for a series called The Power of Myth, which I watched mesmerized, he was quoted as saying: “If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are — if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.”
What jumped out at me when I discovered Campbell’s work was the emphasis he placed on living one’s passion and purpose; an essential ingredient in a life well spent. It ties in so beautifully with my own contention that bliss is not merely fireworks blazing across the sky, jumping up and down like a kid on a pogo stick excited. It can also be still and silent; lying back on a grassy hill, gazing at the star-sparkled sky, in a sense of awe and ahhhhh. Bliss can show up as you stretch on a yoga mat, or sweat at the gym. It can come unbidden as you are driving along a country road, arm ‘breezing’ out the window. It can tiptoe into your soul as you gaze into the eyes of a loved one. It can tickle you while you are blowing bubbles or coloring with a child. All of these experiences have opened the door to bliss in my own life. Anything that brings us into present moment awareness can be a portal.
As I began my yoga practice in 2004, I started dipping my toes into the waters of yogic philosophy which included learning a bit about the Sanskrit language. The word ‘ananda’ translates to ‘bliss’. I like the flowing sound of the word, like a gentle wave. The more I considered the concept of bliss it became apparent that it was not something to follow as if it was ahead of us like a mountain goat leaping from rock to rock. Rather, it seemed to be something that we contain, standard equipment at birth. We have the capacity to BE our own bliss. It doesn’t take much for me to jumpstart the motor. All I need to do is take a deep breath and gaze around me as I am doing while writing this article. I am in the comfort of my air conditioned room, while it is still in the 80’s at 9pm on a summer evening. I am listening to the serenade of crickets outside my window, taking in the sights of colorful décor, gifts from friends, SARK posters, my folded massage table, well- loved and multiple-times read books, a dream catcher, a chakra chart, a few vision boards that I have created over the years that have led to many of the things I have called into my life. While all of these are outside of me, it is in the noticing of them, that I am brought to a state of bliss. When I think of how blessed I am to have many wonderful friends and family members, I am in that flow that bliss so induces.
A few years ago, I was teaching a class entitled BYOB-Be Your Own Bliss at an event called The Kindred Spirits Fair: at Mt. Eden Retreat in Washington, New Jersey. As we were walking in, one of the participants said “Oh, you’re the Bliss Master. You’re going to teach us to how live our bliss.” I may have responded that I would be there as a guide and that the bliss she sought was portable. When I got home, I shared with my friend Jaz, what the woman had said. Although he was 3000 or so miles away in California I could see the gleam in his eye when he replied, “Oh no, not Bliss Master….Bliss Mistress.” His voice had a winking tone to it because of the mischievous double entendre’ feel to the name. He then told me that if I was going to refer to myself that way “:You’d damn sure better be living it,.” and dared me to embrace each moment in such a way as to do the appellation proud. And so Bliss Mistress I became.
I began creating lists of experiences that I have had and wanted to have that would keep me in good standing with the Bliss police. I invite you to do the same. One of the things I have learned to do is relinquish the concept of ‘guilty pleasure’, instead, just thinking of them as deserved pleasure in which I am allowing myself to immerse. Although I imagine men occasionally consider whether they have inner permission to indulge in a decadent delight, it is women who seem to have a “better not have too much fun, lest we feel unworthy or need to pay for it later”, attitude, whether it is a sweet treat, an hour of bubble bath soaking, a trip to a day spa, or a phone chat with a friend. Too many other distractions call for our attention. What I now know for certain is that by allowing bliss to bubble forth, I set an example for others to follow along. Ask yourself if you prefer to be around happy people or grumpy people. There are plenty of life events that could have us taking a tumble into ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ mode, but to what end? It is my contention that people who live their bliss are a greater force for good in the world. Attitude is highly contagious. Some of my favorite folk are resilient thrivers who may have been knocked on their butts by trauma and tragedy but came through it with valuable life lessons. They recognize how blessed they are and scatter joy on all those lucky enough to cross their paths. Are they always bliss bunnies? Nope. Neither am I, but I am learning that embracing my full human-ness which also includes my shadow side, allows for even greater levels of awe and wonder.
Bliss Inducing Ideas:
Listening to music– It feeds my soul. My favorite genres are folk, singer-songwriter, kirtan (sacred Sanskrit call and response chanting as you would hear in a yoga class), world music, Celtic, Cajun and Zydeco. As I am writing, I am listening to a radio station that plays an eclectic blend. It is called WXPN 88.5 fm, based at the University of Pennsylvania. www.xpn.org
Dancing– As a free spirit, I have never done well with formal dance steps. Rather, I am much more comfortable with improvisational movement as I allow the music to ‘dance me’ I do admire people who have the talent to move gracefully in precise ways.
Drumming– Even before we are born, we are rhythmic creatures. Our mother’s heartbeat is the first sound we hear. We come into the world attuned to it. Drumming always came naturally to me. I remember my father tapping his fingers on the car dashboard in time to the music on the radio as we took family trips. Now I attend drumming circles which bring with them a sense of community, a shared heartbeat with those who sit together.
Chocolate– In considerably smaller quantities than that in which I used to indulge, I acquired a taste for healthier dark chocolate a few years ago, when the only time I had enjoyed it was in the form of Peppermint Patties and Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. I eat it mindfully, allowing full sensory savoring of it, rather than gulping it down unconsciously.
Time with Kindred Spirits-A few years ago, it occurred to me that those in my life are part of what I call ‘overlapping soul circles’. Are you familiar with the six degrees of separation concept? It’s the idea that everyone on the planet is no more than six people apart from one another. In my life, it is often no more than one person apart. Each day I set an intention to “have extraordinary experiences and connect with amazing people” and each day I do. Some of them show up live and in person and others I meet in cyber space.
Nature– A restorative force, it reminds me to slow down and drink in the elements; since we are a part of and can never be ‘apart from’ our essential source. When I was a child and I would disappear for a while, my mother knew to look for me in the little park down the street. I loved to make faerie villages in the piles of pine needles that carpeted the area under the trees. As an adult, employed as a social worker in a psychiatric hospital, I would walk through an area not unlike my childhood haven on my way to and from the unit on which I worked. It felt like a psychic car wash that would sweep me clean of stress.
Spiritual Connection– I like to say the love is my religion and God’s too big to put in a box. I have no right to tell anyone what to believe spiritually, since it is a personal experience. For me, communing with my Source brings peace and connection with all of life. I believe that we are Humanly Divine and Divinely Human.
Reading and Writing– I was weaned on words. My parents read to us daily, the library was my home away from home and book stores were like toy stores for me, so it is only natural that I became a writer. The Muse is my constant companion, whispering in my ear, beckoning me, as in the Hafiz poem to co-create “love mischief’ as I paint word pictures.
So, what’s on your Bliss List?
BYOB Be Your Own Bliss by Edie Weinstein Discover what brings you joy. Check it out in Bellesprit Magazine goo.gl/S2Dfw
— BellespritMagazine (@BellespritMagaz) September 9, 2012
