Bliss for everyone!
An explanation of bliss for those of a scientific mindset/persuasion, aka, normal people!
Why should you listen to me?
I have spent 3 years messing with my mind full time, culminating in start of ever increasing peace and well being. I have read hundreds of books on brain science, personal development, spirituality and so on, and written 6 books myself on the topics.
Why do I care, why should you?
The experience of bliss is so wonderful, I want to share it with others for free! This is not about God, being spiritual, or being like me, it is about realising that if you suffer in your daily life in any way, there is a tangible solution, not matter what your beliefs about life, the universe and so on!
Personally I used to live a life plagued by anxiety, stress, judgment, aggression, insecurity, over analysing and fear. It took me a long time to leave these behind, but it needn’t take so long for you, I didn’t start out to discover bliss!
I really don’t mind what views on life you have! Bliss is an experience open to everyone!
I don't have a doctrine to push. I see no distinction or favour between any viewpoint on life or the world. Atheist, Christian, Hindu, Spiritual whatever, we are all human beings, and for me that matters first and foremost. If you have a different view to me, I’m fine with that, for the very same reason for me we are human beings first and foremost, regardless.
I am not here to convert anyone, sign you up for something, what I want to put across here is the experience of bliss. This is a wonderful feeling open to anyone, no matter what perception or view of the world they hold. For every person I help live free of suffering, that is a good thing.
What is bliss – isn’t that just a stupid New Age term?
Yes it is, but if you can, just put any preconceptions you have about the world bliss to back of your mind for now! There is nothing at bliss which is at odds with scientific thinking, as I come to later. It is something within you, not some power outside of you! You don’t need faith or belief in anything at all!
So what is bliss? It is basically the wonderful by-product of a silent mind. Most people have continual mind chatter, a running monologue, continual thought/brain activity. They actually cannot stop thinking, for even a moment!
Bliss is the experience when that chatter has abated or turned down and it is a very, very calm and peaceful feeling which I personally feel in the heart slightly to the left of the chest. As I do the mind is very quiet and still - it’s not a braindead or tuned out state – far from it!
Bliss doesn’t mean your brain activity stops, you’re far more aware of the world around you, absorbed in it and what is happening, rather than being concerned with the brain chatter. You listen more to others, you’re in each moment more, your focus increases! You see the word and others without so many thoughts of it, which means you see it more as it is, rather than as you think it is!
And that is really it, that’s bliss. You don’t need to go and sit in a cave to cultivate it, as I’ll come to! It is a wonderful experience, that is simply, blissful. There is an inner quiet, an inner peace. It seems it is almost like it is being in touch with the base “current” of life itself. (Whatever that is!)
What causes bliss, where does it come from?
I don’t know, I can guess, but I don’t know!
Is it chemical reactions in the brain? Perhaps
Is it God? Perhaps
Is it a combination? Perhaps
Does it matter? Perhaps (Not for me, but maybe it does for you, I’m fine with that.)
We can spend a lot of time bickering about it or cut to the chase. Bliss is amazing. No matter what you call it, it is there.
Aren’t you just imagining this?
Many people have experienced it. Perhaps you are thinking, do those in bliss only think they are in bliss? Are they ‘imagining’ it the crazy whackos!? Perhaps! But every state you have ever being in is one you have only thought you were in! Trace it back and it’s always a matter of chemical reactions in your brain. So someone in bliss, is no more thinking they are in a certain state, than someone who is not in bliss! To put it another way, both may simply be states of mind/brain!
So bliss is a choice, if you want to see it that way, to live in peace within, rather than to live at the mercy of thoughts and emotions, such as anger, fear, hate, judgment and so on.
Bliss is as real as any other human experience, including love. Whatever you want to call it, no matter what you think causes it, it is there!
Bliss and the brain
Okay if you have a scientific mindset, you will hopefully agree on these points –
1.) You are alive.
2.) You have a brain
3.) The brain gives rise to patterns of thoughts and emotions – habits. These form what we call the “mind”, and many see as our personality. Habits can be changed over time, with conscious effort, e.g. riding a bike, positive thinking, and so on before they come natural. The brain has a certain amount of plasticity, which allows it to do this.
Now if you don’t agree on 3, just do your research on neural pathways, brain plasticity and so on, also look around at the experiences of others, and also do your own practice to see the results.
So bliss, is something that can easily be attributed to a state of mind! I’m fine with that, it is so good, I don’t care what it is!
And in fact, it is your natural state!
Okay smart ass, then why don’t I experience bliss right now?
It’s your natural state, but most people don’t experience it. It’s really all down to practice. All this time, from a fairly young age, you’ve been practicing giving full attention to your thoughts and feelings, but not so much to the silent witness of all of these – life itself!
To explain, we can only think because we are alive. Without life, there is no brain, no thought. Pretty obviously you have been alive, all your life, and all thoughts and emotions, experiences and so on have happened in that life. So your life, is basically the one constant, for the very fact you have been alive to have all your experiences! Life never goes anywhere, until you die! A lot of spiritual people say “life” is like a silent witness, always there to witness every experience you have. If you try to pin it down or find it, you can’t, because you are alive as you do so! In other words, the silent witness is there witnessing you looking for it, because you are still alive!
To look it another way, life is like the radio signal, silent in itself, but the carrier of all different stations. We get so absorbed in the stations, we don’t notice the signal that allows them to happen – life itself. Now who wants to listen to a silent radio station? That would be boring, but the signal of life is not only silent, it’s very peaceful, it’s actually blissful! It’s really nice to “rest” in! And yes, you can be as active as you like as you rest in it!
As we live, our thoughts, emotions, experiences, gain momentum, and the brain gets well grooved at acting in accordance to certain stimuli in set ways. Sometimes we love these affects for example – our reactions to a compliment, or our favourite team scoring a goal, others we hate, for example road rage or work related stress. We just don’t get time it seems to notice anything else! Well, this subtle thing, life, has been there all the while, allowing all these things to happen. No life, no experiences!
To think of it another way, life is a little like a blank canvas, everything we experience is then painted on it – without life the canvas there is no painting. Now paintings can be quite absorbing, we can get wound up in them, but a lot of the time, we aren’t aware of the canvas they are on at all! Now ordinarily a blank canvas is pretty boring right? Well, look at it another way, most of us have been staring at the same painting for most of our lives. We seem to have the same sort of life experiences over and over, even with different people and events! This is because a mind in set habits, paints the same pictures over the world and people again and again! Well bliss keeps the canvas blank, it just keeps getting painted over and over again and again - every new experience is now so fresh. Instead of looking at the same experiences over and over (our mind), we actually get a broader variety!
How can I experience bliss?
Well, in stage 1 it’s all about practice and effort, and then after that once bliss has been experienced, at stage 2, it’s about letting go of effort so it happens more! Here are a few tips.
- Over time, we go on a sort of auto pilot, our mental habits or conditioning just makes us react to stimuli again and again in the same way. This kind of happens to us, like breathing happens to us.No one really makes you think or feel anything but you. Sure some situations are more likely to promote a certain response, as are certain people, but in the end, you decide!
- A little love for others, no matter what your views on them and how they treat you, goes a long way.
- It's always open to you not to react to what you think you see in others and the world, but to act independently of it, then watch as it changes! Next time, you won't be so sure what you thought was there, was there!
- No one likes getting stressed or angry, or feeling down, and that’s the problem. Let me explain “I hate getting stressed” is a common notion. Well where does the thought “I” come from? The brain! It is the brain! So “I hate getting stressed” is really “brain hates getting stressed!” So “you” hold the ace card, because, you can decide to feel relaxed/okay about being stressed – net result “I am relaxed abut being stressed” is “Brain is relaxed abut being stressed” you are relaxed. Over time with habit, this gets easier and easier!
- Keep an eye on your mind and how it can jump in and judge, cause conflict, etc. This gives you a really good insight into the habits you are in. Thoughts and emotions are a little like trains coming into a station. You are the station. They don’t take you anywhere unless you jump on them! In other words, if you let them pass, they lose all power. Only if you engage them to they gain power!The more and more you jump on the wanted trains and let the unwanted thoughts and emotions fly right by, the more you’ll see the wanted trains turn up, and the unwanted trains will got out of business due to a lack of customers!
- You can also attach any unwanted states to something outside of you, be it God or any word you want – it works because it gives your mind freedom - things don’t stick to a sense of “I” or “me” which is simply the brain/mind so can’t trouble it.
- Personally, I had to use the mind to heal a lot of past trauma. To do this, just remember things that still hold hurt, but re-imagine them happening as you wanted, make the experienced as real as you can sight, sounds, words everything but ensure they end in wanted results. As far as the brain knows that experience has happened. You won’t forget what happened, but in time you will stop reliving it and you will also be free of the traumatic after affects.
- Most of the traumatic events will be easy to identify, because you may remember them frequently, others can be more deep seated so may require some deep delving.
- We get so absorbed in “I” and “me” but actually these are thoughts to that come from the mind/brain, without life, or being alive, we couldn’t even have these thoughts! All thoughts attach to “I” “me” “you” and so on.
- Remember there is a silent witness of all states, it is always with you. If you can rest in that, as mental and emotional states come and go, you’ll get a little distance from them, and they won’t buffet you around so much! The constant mental commentary on life, will start to abate.
- One day, you shall see the world as it is, not as you think it is. There is silence, a freedom from the thought driven mind, bliss will come.
- After that first experience of bliss, it is about just letting go, anything else will put you in the mind again and promote mind chatter! Thought in the end abates, and a silent mind and the bliss that comes with it, becomes more of a rule not the exception. Your brain and experience of the world, becomes so much more lively and real, and far less absorbed in the thoughts that once absorbed so much attention!
Thanks for taking the time to read, and good luck should you decide to go for it!
Best wishes whatever you do!
Barclay
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