How many times have you wondered: “What is my purpose? Why am I here?”
Bliss.
Yep! You have one primary reason to be alive and that is to experience bliss.
That’s it!
I loved when I heard Deepak Chopra declare on day one of his meditation series with Oprah: You are your deepest desires!
Amen!
In fact, why don’t you try saying that aloud right now: “I am my deepest desires!”
Yes—you are what you desire most: happiness, love, excitement, joy, peace, trust, intimacy, connection, ecstasy, understanding, acceptance, pleasure, communion, and so on.
Many of us have this confused. We believe that once we get enough (i.e., the perfect car, the ensuite bathroom with a walk-in tub, stainless steel appliances, the house on the water, a stellar job, six- or seven-figure income, etc.) we’ll be enough. Once we feel enough, surely we’ll be happy.
Although this theory sounds logical, it doesn’t work in application. We’ve all met people who have all the latest toys and trinkets, but rarely would they say they experience bliss.
Things won’t make you happy long-term.
Dr. David Hawkins said it best:
“Surrender to the realization that nothing out there has the ability to make one happy, and that love isn’t something that’s given or taken away by another, but is created from within.”
Sure—having money makes paying the bills easier. But money, in and of itself, does not bring happiness. We’ve all heard this a million times so I know this isn’t new information.
I also get that if you’re struggling to make a mortgage payment, having more money is going to help alleviate stress . . . but I guarantee it won’t make you a happier person. Once that bill is paid, you’ll be back to your emotional baseline—your internal comfort zone . . . your Emotional Age™.
Give a spoiled child a new toy and you’ll understand immediately what I’m saying. More toys won’t make that child happier or more peaceful long-term. It may, in fact, only add more fuel to her internal anger. She needs a lot more than toys to feel peace from within. She needs self-love, which comes from receiving healthy boundaries, love, trust, affection, compassion, empathy, understanding, and the protection of her physical and emotional security while growing up. When this happens she is more readily able to access her internal “well” of joy. She knows the world is safe and she’s a part of the world. She feels connected rather than alone, fearful, and disconnected.
This realization is crucial to your life.
The sooner you decide to heal the painful stories that are preventing you from accessing happiness, the sooner you’ll become your most authentic self. You’ll discover your bliss. You’ll know yourself.
I actually find this almost comical—satire at its best!
Who knew? All this time . . . through all these struggles . . . our purpose was to move toward our deepest desires (a.k.a. move closer to who we really are), which means moving away from that which does not inspire us!
If it lights you, move toward it. If it drains your life force, move away. Trust your internal GPS. Your body knows.
But so few of us were taught this.
Instead, we learned that life is hard, money doesn’t grow on trees, and love rarely lasts so enjoy it while you can. We convince ourselves if we force, demand, manipulate, or exhaust ourselves in the pursuit of happiness, surely God, the Universe, our angels, someone for goodness sakes, is going to see how hard we’ve worked and reward us. If we can just hang in long enough and persevere through the suffering, good things are on the other side. (For some people that means a life of misery in order to get into Heaven.)
In other words, struggle, sadness, discomfort, pain, sorrow, guilt, shame, blame, anger, self-righteousness are all part of success.
I was taught, “Nothing worth having comes easily.” Which translated into if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. So when things fell into my lap, I began anticipating the inevitable crash and burn.
What goes up must come down. Bliss is a temporary fleeting moment that passes as quickly as a beautiful sunset. Hold onto the memory. If you’re lucky enough, you may get a few good moments again tomorrow.
This is not true. Feeling bliss is a reflection of how closely you are aligned with yourself. Pain is there to show us where we are out of alignment with ourselves.
