18 Jun You Can Induce Bliss at Any Moment
People think that bliss states are dependent on buying and owning the right things, being in the right environment, finding a sexy partner, or years of spiritual discipline. The truth is, bliss states are available to you any time, anywhere.
Such as right now. Walk with me through this technique I developed when I lived in India:
- Unfocused Eyes As I’ve written before, the aggressive Western gaze reaches out and claims the environment, penetrating, owning, criticizing, and conquering. When we unfocus the eyes, they become receptive, soft, and open to receive.
- Be Breathed Slow your breathing down, all the way down. Notice the difference between when you are doing the breathing, such as when purposefully take a deep breath, and when the breathing is happening by itself. Are you breathing? No, “something” or “someone” is breathing you. Enjoy being breathed: no effort is required.
- All the Way to the Root In the modern world, we breathe rapidly and shallowly, with the breath staying at the top of the chest. If you look at statues of the Buddha, he has a big fat belly, symbolizing that his breath was so relaxed it went all the way into his abdomen. Bring the breath down to your tailbone. Let it push out your belly when it inhales, then deflate like a balloon during the exhale.
- Watch the Flow Feel the breath flowing in and out by itself, over and over. Observe it circulate all the way down, up and out. If you are somewhere where there is activity, open to the flow of humanity or nature with your unfocused eyes. If your mind starts its endless judgment, watch that too.
- Blissfulness Become aware that blissfulness is happening. It may not be as dramatic as you have been led to believe, but there it is, flowing within you at all times, below the level of your awareness, just waiting for you to tune into its frequency. It’s not anything you need to search for—it’s been there all along.
This technique might be easiest to learn and practice lying silently in a quiet room, but you can practice on a busy city street, in a Board meeting, or during an argument with your lover. These are more challenging situations, of course, but the point of any meditation practice is to bring these higher states into our daily lives.
© 2014 Catherine Auman This article is an excerpt from Catherine’s book Shortcuts to Mindfulness: 100 Ways to Personal and Spiritual Growth
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