Following Your Bliss

“Follow Your Bliss’ is easy to say but actually gets rather complicated as competing agendas vie for your attention. My take on this simple formula is to find the things that make you happy and pursue them.

However, if you have kids, a mate, a business or two and a mortgage already as a result of following earlier bliss impulses then you may have to evolve slowly into the “Follow Your Bliss” journey and still take care of everything you want to bring along with you.

The truth is that our creative force can empower us to do amazing things. But if we suppress it and deny it any scope for expression, it can create illness, depression, bottled up anger and frustration.

You will know you are following your bliss if you always have lots of energy for doing what you are doing. A child can be happy doing just about anything, and their energy just flows and flows. But as we age we start to see that some choices have to be made. Unfortunately we are conditioned early by school and work to suppress our own enthusiasms and “follow the curriculum”. We are forced to sit in desks and pay attention to many other people and things. But we are rarely taught to pay attention to ourselves.

Yet it is within our own hearts and ideas that we will find the way to our bliss, our inner wisdom.

For me, getting in touch with my inner self has come mostly in the forms of writing and art. Writing has always brought me great comfort. I journal and write mostly for myself, to keep reminding myself of the truths I so easily forget. I also love to share my writing with others. I write to understand myself, and to work out my ideas. With art I can give some physical expression to the ideas that bubble up from inside.

This has led me to a larger form of creativity… creating a life that I love; creating a life that supports my creativity and allows me time and space to follow my bliss. Following your bliss all by yourself won’t last for long. You must begin to enroll other people in your life to participate in and encourage your self-expression, while you in turn support and encourage theirs.

Ultimately, a whole planet full of happy, self-expressed individuals could solve all of the world’s problems and bring about an Age of Bliss! Truly this is the only way to go!

We begin by setting ourselves free. The keys are in the lock. We just have to turn them. Start by finding and believing in your own inner worth. Listen to yourself, meditate, write, go for long walks, explore the inner landscape.

Create a space where you can find yourself, a space that supports your creative process. Allow yourself the time and the freedom to be in that space, alone and without an imposed agenda. Be patient. It may take a lifetime.

Find out who you are and live it with full expression, unapologetically. Enroll others in doing the same. Join or create a support group, blog, write books, network your bliss.

After a while your circle of support will help you to stay focused, for there will be days when you wake up and wonder why you do what you do, and is it really worth it? Then you will have to turn again within and get back to the wellspring of your happiness. It is great if you have some friends to remind you of all this.

Throwing Something Away

Right now I’m trying to pay attention to what makes me uncomfortable. I was listening to a talk by Pema Chodron called “Getting Unstuck”.

She was talking about our endless desire to be “comfortable” and “safe”; how we are always trying to avoid pain and discomfort. She pointed out that when we experience any uncomfortable feelings we quickly choose one of three options:

1. Getting angry and lashing out at others
2. Addictive behaviors
3. Going unconscious

I saw myself in the addictive behavior although there are elements of all three in my life. I had been noticing that I was interrupting my work flow constantly to have another snack, or make another cup of tea.

So I have been making a list of all the things I feel worried about, those long-standing issues that remain unresolved:
Money owed
Tax debt
Lack of health insurance
My weight
Lack of exercise
Never enough time
Things that need to be done
Etc.

All the usual kinds of things that people have in their bag of concerns.

The thing to do according to Pema Chodron is just to notice the discomfort and just to be with it. That means no running for a snack! Interesting. Just being with the feeling of discomfort and allowing it to be present.

It’s not a matter of throwing away, or even resolving a stressful issue. It is more a matter of letting go of my desire to feel safe and comfortable, my need to look good, my need to be in control.

Last year I threw away guilt… that is to say I just let it fall like a cloak falling off my shoulders and lying in a heap on the ground. I walked away thinking, “Guilt, Boy! That sure was a waste of time and energy!”

Maybe this year I can let go of clinging to comfort. It is such a natural thing, as babies we want to be held, fed, protected and cared for. And all of these are important for our early survival. But there comes a day when the child can let go of some of that clinging and find their own sustenance. Of course the first thing the child does is try to find some place of comfort.

Can I grow beyond this mindset? To achieve a state of being beyond my little self with all her little needs and desires? Can I walk out beyond my safe boundaries and be with whatever I may experience?

I give myself permission now to be naked (kind of like Venus on the half shell) I see myself allowing it all to fall away, my true self revealed.

An Energy Exercise You Can Use Right Now

"Moving Ahead In Joy!"©2004 Richard Ross. All rights reserved.

Emotional Freedom &  Healing

This process can be used to move forward in any (or every) area of your life. It can also be used to transform your present situation into a better one, and it can be used to clear away any seeming resistance or challenge to taking your next big step in the world.

Prior to beginning the technique simply put your attention on the situation or area you wish to transform or manifest, and begin as follows:

1. Locate a tender or sensitive spot on left side of chest. For most of us it is somewhere beneath the collarbone and above the breast area on the left side. Find the spot on yourself by pressing, using one or two fingers, around this area until you find the spot that is more tender or sensitive than the area around it.

While rubbing that spot continuously in a small circle, repeat the following out loud: "I affirm that I______, am ready, willing, and able to move forward in my life right now. I know that I am ready. I clear away any resistance or fear thoughts that would prevent me from fully moving to the highest possible level right now. I ask the Universe, God, Spirit, Angels, Gurus and Ancestors to assist me in every way possible to move forward in my life.... right now!"

Keep rubbing until you feel ready to stop, then still holding the spot take a full breath in and out.

2. Tap lightly on the inside end of both eyebrows, the ends near bridge of nose, and repeat out loud: "I attract abundant goodness into my life now and I am at peace as this process unfolds."

Keep tapping until you feel ready to stop, then still holding those spots take a full breath in and out.

3. Tap lightly on outside sides of both eyes, on bone near temple and repeat out loud: "I send these requests out to the world in many ways and everyone I meet assists me to live my highest vision."

Keep tapping until you feel ready to stop, then still holding that spot take a full breath in and out.

4. Tap lightly under both eyes on bone, and repeat out loud:  "Previous patterns have no power over me now. I am healing them as I say these very words. Healing is happening for me on a very deep level now.

"Keep tapping until you feel ready to stop, then still holding that spot take a full breath in and out.

5. Tap lightly under nose (above upper lip) and repeat out loud:  "I am discovering daily just how much I have to be grateful for. As I vibrate with this positive energy, I become a magnet for more and more goodness in my life right now."

Keep tapping until you feel ready to stop, then still holding that spot take a full breath in and out.

6. Tap lightly under bottom lip (in crease before chin begins) and repeat out loud:  "All my life is becoming more joyful on every level and all the forces of the Universe are supporting me in my intention. Everything is coming to me easily and effortlessly!"

Keep tapping until you feel ready to stop, then still holding that spot take a full breath in and out.

7. Now this is the most important step. Spend at least five minutes, with your eyes closed, and visualize the specific area you want to transform (or all areas) exactly as you want it to be. Experience it as though it has already happened. Feel all the positive feelings.

Touch the textures, hear the sounds, feel the feelings. Make it a full multi-sensory experience as though it were all happening right now.

8. Take a moment to breathe deeply, reflect again on how you are feeling right now. Give thanks for the healing that has happened, and for the new creations that already in process.

Repeat daily (or frequently) until your goal/desire creates or transforms. You may repeat the process at other times for any other situation you wish to create or transform.

Nothing Was Withheld

Dear One,
We love you, and we have always been with you, hand delivering whatever you need to learn, or be inspired by.

Nothing was withheld from you in terms of education or learning experience. You have chosen to be self-taught and to take your inspiration from a wide field of teachers.

Integrating all of that into everything you do and everything you create has been your challenge.

Your Angels.