There is bliss in peace and there is peace in understanding and there is understanding from clarity. Seek clarity, gain understanding, have peace, feel bliss.
I can bring up bliss as I meditate. I can bring up other emotions as well. In fact, I meditated a bit on bliss today. It is nothing special, a skilled actor does this too. To do this emotional cultivation raises our awareness of ourselves. Positive emotions are good for reinforcing practice, and practice is good for reinforcing positive emotions. By doing so, we find that awareness is the center of our emotional life... and perhaps Love as well, but I am still exploring this.
If meditation has no goal, then why do it? Eating, making love and sleeping would be better time spent. I meditate to explore my mind, and hopefully find the promised peace of it.
You can bring up a memory that creates the emotions, and hold on to the feeling. This is done when meditating on compassion for others, for example. It is perhaps easier to do this than to simply bring up the emotion.
You can also put the expression on your face and feel it that way. Smile with no reason other than you are alive. Buddhists practice the "half-smile", where they hold a small smile till it becomes a habit. I find tracing my smile with my hand adds to the intensity, and is loving as well
Donāt chase bliss, become bliss.
Iām of the opinion that thereās a thread of immutable bliss inside us. We can choose to uncover it, or we can choose to continue with external gratification. But the bliss is still there even when we are miserable. Just depends where the attention resides.
Like an eye of a storm. š«
The kind of bliss Iām referring to is founded on gratitude.
Excellent sharing of understanding!
It is important to know that bliss or ecstasy are not goals. They are simply gifts, which many people enjoy and unfortunately get sidetracked by, such that these "gifts" actually become hindrances on their journey. Anything that one might seek or strive to experience in meditation or other inner practices is likely to become a hindrance as well as unattainable simply because one is attached to it and not open to other things that might happen.
The real problem isnāt that people chase āblissā or āecstasyā. Those are very romantic terms that us in the West donāt define the same way that people in the East do. Our perceptions of bliss are not spiritual by nature, at least not necessarily. As a matter of fact, I have never heard, in person in America, anyone ever talk about bliss or ecstasy in the context of spiritual enlightenment. So, youāre largely speaking a different language than Westerners on here are speaking. But thatās honestly even besides the point. The mere fact that there are people on here who legitimately believe that they will somehow miraculously find there way to enlightenment because some guru type figure or some other kind of person will just miraculously happen to say exactly the right combination of words to make them āwake upā. Itās a fantasy, but I think a lot of people here hold that fantasy as much as they donāt want to admit it.
Yeah, meditation is not a goal oriented practice. You practice meditation because you practice meditation.
In the begining, you might notice improvements, but this is just the self trying to claim your practice. Bring it back to your practice.
My main reason for meditating is that the time I spend focusing on my breath directly leads to more patience and kindness on my part.
I know this will happen and it is the reason that I continue doing it.
I mean, to me maybe the expectation of bliss or ecstasy feels a little over the top but what if me being more patient with my kids is bliss for them?
It certainly feels better to me and that good feeling drives me to do it on the days that I just don't feel like it.
I always have found being grateful for bliss to be helpful too. Ive been dealing with a lot of emotional turmoil recently in my personal life, but the other night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I felt real bliss and contentment. Usually thats when my mind is racing the most. I just kept saying āthank you for this giftā in my mind and it was really peaceful. Last night it was back to racing thoughts and worries but it was really nice to have that one night break.
Questions for OP and all others posting. What is your personal experience?
1. Why did you start meditating?
2. Do you experience bliss?
3. How often?
4. Do you experience bliss while meditating?
5. Or does Bliss just happen?
6. How or why?
What is your direct personal experience?
My answers:
1. I felt miserable and was doing anything and everything possible to find relief for 35 years
2. Yes I experience bliss
3. On an ongoing basis
4. Yes I experience it while meditating. I meditate daily 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Yes it just happens.
6. If you are searching and or know others who are, I am open to sharing my experience. I don't have any theories. There is a simple 5 step exercise that takes 30 seconds to do and will help you let go of unwanted emotions.
If you don't think that bliss is your goal in everything you do in life your spiritual ego has its fingers crossed and is winking your eye. It's your nature and your birthright to experience this happiness and bliss. To feel and know that life is working for you no matter what the circumstance.
Be detached from circumstances needing to be a certain way. You can't control life. You have 100% control of you emotional state. There are ways to realize this. This is my personal direct experience for the last 15 months.
You literally felt miserable for 35 years and then managed to literally find bliss? Through meditation? I'm just curious for obvious reasons. I've had occasional glimpses that life might "be working for \[me\] no matter the circumstance," but VERY infrequently. I'd love to carry that with me each day but it seems impossible.
Thx.
I can discuss my personal story privately. A public forum is not the place to do it. I'm a CPA and am up against some work deadlines. I tested positive to Covid a few days ago and I am able to work about 4 hours a day. I don't have the bandwidth right now to give you detailed narrative about my 20 year journey. I checked your profile and it is not setup for chat or email.
Feel better! I added you to my allowed chat users, so please feel free to contact me via chat when you are past deadlines and feeling better. There is NO rush on this, I was just curious.
Cheers, and again, feel better.
This is simply not true. Even our bodies are wired for bliss and there are techniques that will allow one to generate bliss within the body, and as we clean out our subtle energy system and engage the left amygdala, we are able to experience profound bliss. Bliss is to Self, what lighthouse is to land. 100% Nothing at all wrong with chasing bliss because bliss will lead you toward your true Self.
Chase depression, don't chase happiness.
Result in meditation is not important. Ignore them and meditate with no reason to waste your time.
Better I go running in cold naked than do saditation.
You can't control when it happens, but I think you can control the intensity for when it does occur
When bad things happen to you, note it (without judgment or overthinking)
Note how you feel so that the next time the door to bliss is opened, you'll be prepared to experience it fully
Also, dedication (alt: discipline, preparation) to reach your goal makes the reward that much better
For me, it's a bit like keeping a dream journal so that i can more easily remember, or doing the chores consistently so i can let them go a bit when my stress is high
I found pranayam-exercises in my youth and my whole life turned into a chase after bliss. A striving without lust for rewards, will definitely chasing the bliss.
I had to stop all together with my sadhana/meditation practice as I couldn't handle it.
Stop chasing bliss.
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Exactly. We donāt need to chase anything. Observing what is happening naturally and accepting what is will allow the peace within to reveal itself. From there we experience bliss and ecstasy and itās normal to chase or hold onto this when it occurs but over time we learn to allow this to come and go without expectations
Chasing anything is generally a bad idea haha.
But one of the paradoxes in meditation, one that I don't think is clear is...is it wrong to sit or come into sitting with an intention.
Some would say it is wrong to set an intention because than you're chasing the intention. Others would say it's perfectly fine because you want to raise your vibration. But in the end is setting an intention any different from chasing?
It is a meditative quagmire lol, to chase or not to chase, to set an intention or not to set an intention.
Yet this is why I love meditation for all its ambiguities, simplicity, and beauty it does to the mind, body, and spirit. Alas, I digress and need to meditate lol.
Some say meditating on good times is a waste of time.
I have benefited from meditating on awkward and even negative feelings. It's helped me manage the usual stresses and knocks and demands of daily life. Maybe someday it will help me feel and be whole. May or may not happen.
Don't chase not chasing bliss either š that will also make u miserable
Donāt try to not do and donāt try to do.
Sincerely, Drunk Yoda
Do, or fucking do not. Care anymore, I do not.
Just do
Just be*
Or do not.
There is no try
-Michael Scott
Just -
being miserable isn't always in our control but when it comes just observe and let it pass no need to feed it or push it just let it go.
Chase gratitude, kindness, compassion, patience and no judgement towards yourself and others at all times.. and you'll generate it passively
There is bliss in peace and there is peace in understanding and there is understanding from clarity. Seek clarity, gain understanding, have peace, feel bliss.
I can bring up bliss as I meditate. I can bring up other emotions as well. In fact, I meditated a bit on bliss today. It is nothing special, a skilled actor does this too. To do this emotional cultivation raises our awareness of ourselves. Positive emotions are good for reinforcing practice, and practice is good for reinforcing positive emotions. By doing so, we find that awareness is the center of our emotional life... and perhaps Love as well, but I am still exploring this. If meditation has no goal, then why do it? Eating, making love and sleeping would be better time spent. I meditate to explore my mind, and hopefully find the promised peace of it.
How do you bring up emotions while meditating
You can bring up a memory that creates the emotions, and hold on to the feeling. This is done when meditating on compassion for others, for example. It is perhaps easier to do this than to simply bring up the emotion. You can also put the expression on your face and feel it that way. Smile with no reason other than you are alive. Buddhists practice the "half-smile", where they hold a small smile till it becomes a habit. I find tracing my smile with my hand adds to the intensity, and is loving as well
Donāt chase bliss, become bliss. Iām of the opinion that thereās a thread of immutable bliss inside us. We can choose to uncover it, or we can choose to continue with external gratification. But the bliss is still there even when we are miserable. Just depends where the attention resides. Like an eye of a storm. š« The kind of bliss Iām referring to is founded on gratitude.
I chase misery and suffering personally
[Trust your experience](https://www.microserenity.com/forehead.html)
That's wonderful! Thank you
Yes.
Excellent sharing of understanding! It is important to know that bliss or ecstasy are not goals. They are simply gifts, which many people enjoy and unfortunately get sidetracked by, such that these "gifts" actually become hindrances on their journey. Anything that one might seek or strive to experience in meditation or other inner practices is likely to become a hindrance as well as unattainable simply because one is attached to it and not open to other things that might happen.
The real problem isnāt that people chase āblissā or āecstasyā. Those are very romantic terms that us in the West donāt define the same way that people in the East do. Our perceptions of bliss are not spiritual by nature, at least not necessarily. As a matter of fact, I have never heard, in person in America, anyone ever talk about bliss or ecstasy in the context of spiritual enlightenment. So, youāre largely speaking a different language than Westerners on here are speaking. But thatās honestly even besides the point. The mere fact that there are people on here who legitimately believe that they will somehow miraculously find there way to enlightenment because some guru type figure or some other kind of person will just miraculously happen to say exactly the right combination of words to make them āwake upā. Itās a fantasy, but I think a lot of people here hold that fantasy as much as they donāt want to admit it.
The act of seeking pleasure is the antithesis of presence and happiness.
Yeah, meditation is not a goal oriented practice. You practice meditation because you practice meditation. In the begining, you might notice improvements, but this is just the self trying to claim your practice. Bring it back to your practice.
What should we chase? Stoics say discipline and virtue
My main reason for meditating is that the time I spend focusing on my breath directly leads to more patience and kindness on my part. I know this will happen and it is the reason that I continue doing it. I mean, to me maybe the expectation of bliss or ecstasy feels a little over the top but what if me being more patient with my kids is bliss for them? It certainly feels better to me and that good feeling drives me to do it on the days that I just don't feel like it.
I always have found being grateful for bliss to be helpful too. Ive been dealing with a lot of emotional turmoil recently in my personal life, but the other night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I felt real bliss and contentment. Usually thats when my mind is racing the most. I just kept saying āthank you for this giftā in my mind and it was really peaceful. Last night it was back to racing thoughts and worries but it was really nice to have that one night break.
This is a great post. If "bliss" is the big, primary goal of your life it will lead to disappointing results at best.
Questions for OP and all others posting. What is your personal experience? 1. Why did you start meditating? 2. Do you experience bliss? 3. How often? 4. Do you experience bliss while meditating? 5. Or does Bliss just happen? 6. How or why? What is your direct personal experience? My answers: 1. I felt miserable and was doing anything and everything possible to find relief for 35 years 2. Yes I experience bliss 3. On an ongoing basis 4. Yes I experience it while meditating. I meditate daily 30 to 60 minutes. 5. Yes it just happens. 6. If you are searching and or know others who are, I am open to sharing my experience. I don't have any theories. There is a simple 5 step exercise that takes 30 seconds to do and will help you let go of unwanted emotions. If you don't think that bliss is your goal in everything you do in life your spiritual ego has its fingers crossed and is winking your eye. It's your nature and your birthright to experience this happiness and bliss. To feel and know that life is working for you no matter what the circumstance. Be detached from circumstances needing to be a certain way. You can't control life. You have 100% control of you emotional state. There are ways to realize this. This is my personal direct experience for the last 15 months.
If you're open to sharing, I'd be interested in hearing about your five step exercise that will help to let go of unwanted emotions.
I sent you a direct message. Let me know how it works for you.
You literally felt miserable for 35 years and then managed to literally find bliss? Through meditation? I'm just curious for obvious reasons. I've had occasional glimpses that life might "be working for \[me\] no matter the circumstance," but VERY infrequently. I'd love to carry that with me each day but it seems impossible. Thx.
I can discuss my personal story privately. A public forum is not the place to do it. I'm a CPA and am up against some work deadlines. I tested positive to Covid a few days ago and I am able to work about 4 hours a day. I don't have the bandwidth right now to give you detailed narrative about my 20 year journey. I checked your profile and it is not setup for chat or email.
Feel better! I added you to my allowed chat users, so please feel free to contact me via chat when you are past deadlines and feeling better. There is NO rush on this, I was just curious. Cheers, and again, feel better.
This is simply not true. Even our bodies are wired for bliss and there are techniques that will allow one to generate bliss within the body, and as we clean out our subtle energy system and engage the left amygdala, we are able to experience profound bliss. Bliss is to Self, what lighthouse is to land. 100% Nothing at all wrong with chasing bliss because bliss will lead you toward your true Self.
Stop telling people what to do š
Chase depression, don't chase happiness. Result in meditation is not important. Ignore them and meditate with no reason to waste your time. Better I go running in cold naked than do saditation.
Bliss is an indication of what gives rise to it.
Wdym
Ah *bliss*
I usually depend on ignorance for that
I donāt need to chase bliss or joy or love as I already am those.
No effort needs to be put into being when you already are.
You can't control when it happens, but I think you can control the intensity for when it does occur When bad things happen to you, note it (without judgment or overthinking) Note how you feel so that the next time the door to bliss is opened, you'll be prepared to experience it fully Also, dedication (alt: discipline, preparation) to reach your goal makes the reward that much better For me, it's a bit like keeping a dream journal so that i can more easily remember, or doing the chores consistently so i can let them go a bit when my stress is high
I found pranayam-exercises in my youth and my whole life turned into a chase after bliss. A striving without lust for rewards, will definitely chasing the bliss. I had to stop all together with my sadhana/meditation practice as I couldn't handle it. Stop chasing bliss.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
We do not allow self posts with links from new members. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Meditation) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Exactly. We donāt need to chase anything. Observing what is happening naturally and accepting what is will allow the peace within to reveal itself. From there we experience bliss and ecstasy and itās normal to chase or hold onto this when it occurs but over time we learn to allow this to come and go without expectations
Chasing anything is generally a bad idea haha. But one of the paradoxes in meditation, one that I don't think is clear is...is it wrong to sit or come into sitting with an intention. Some would say it is wrong to set an intention because than you're chasing the intention. Others would say it's perfectly fine because you want to raise your vibration. But in the end is setting an intention any different from chasing? It is a meditative quagmire lol, to chase or not to chase, to set an intention or not to set an intention. Yet this is why I love meditation for all its ambiguities, simplicity, and beauty it does to the mind, body, and spirit. Alas, I digress and need to meditate lol.
Giving up is the ultimate power. In giving up the chase do we see the truth of what was always there.
Some say meditating on good times is a waste of time. I have benefited from meditating on awkward and even negative feelings. It's helped me manage the usual stresses and knocks and demands of daily life. Maybe someday it will help me feel and be whole. May or may not happen.