Finding Bliss

by Dr. Rita Louise -

Bliss comes in all shapes and sizes. 

What brings joy into your life may be completely different from what provides others a sense of satisfaction. Experiencing bliss is not about having a new car, a fancy house or the latest gadget on the market.  It is about feeling happy and content in the things you do or the life you lead.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” ― Joseph Campbell

Average Americans work forty or more hours per week. The jobs we have, instead of inspiring us and leaving us with a sense of fulfillment, often drain us of our energy, our lives. 

We find ourselves working “for the man” in a position we often would not wish on our worst enemy.  Instead of waking up enthusiastic and ready to start a new day, we find it hard to get out of bed, dreading what the day will hold.  Overwork, office politics or the repetitive nature of our employment do little to support a blissful state of mind.

Many of us are not afforded the luxury of selecting the ideal career for ourselves. Education, location or the availability of potential jobs often curtail our ability to finding gainful employment in a field that fires the passion of our spirits.  We end up settling for what is available and not what we want.  Bills and other life responsibilities keep us trapped hoping for more and settling for less.

Today, we live in a pay as you play society. If you do not have the money to pay, you cannot get on the ride or join the team.  Finding and experiencing bliss in your life is not about money – although having some money does help. 

It is not about climbing to the top of a mountain to meditate, although for some it may be.  It is about doing something you love, something that brings a smile to your face or peace to your soul.

The challenge to finding your bliss is discovering what makes you tick. For some it may be one thing, a singular purpose that brings excitement and purpose into their lives.  For others it may be a variety of different things each of which supply a small piece of delight into their otherwise dreary lives.

When asked, most people do not know what they want to do with their lives. We long to answer the question” What am I going to be when I grow up?” and wait fervently for a divine insight but find ourselves sitting in mute silence.  It is not that we do not want to know, but more likely than not, we were never asked. 

If we were, we were probably dissuaded from our original ideas and choices and were cajoled into a job, career or profession we were not interested in.  The statement “It is not practical” is many times tied to these acts of manipulation.  Who wants to be a starving artist and out of work actor or a deadbeat musician when you can have a good paying job as an accountant or engineer?

Another factor that can influence our ability to finding bliss is when we are not exposed to the opportunities that life holds. Perhaps jumping out of an airplane would bring you the excitement you crave.

You would never know if you have never tried it.  (I am not suggesting that everyone should attempt skydiving, but for some this IS what floats his or her boats.) 

We may find bliss when we open ourselves up to new possibilities, to adventures and experiences big and small. 

There are so many things that can be tried the sky is the limit.  What works for one person may not resonate with you.  It is not about them, it is about you exploring yourself, your likes and dislikes. 

You may uncover something you relish in your fist try or it may be your hundredth.  You might even find it by trying new things.  Investigating a variety of diverse ideas may help you to realize your bliss bring you the satisfaction you have been looking for.

You do not have to quit your job in order to find bliss. In what might be considered the most satisfying and lucrative careers there are always difficulties.  In everything we do there are always tasks and responsibility that one would consider less than blissful. 

Bliss can be found in the simplest things we do, the silliest things we try or the most out there things we experience.  Once bliss starts to emerge it, cannot help but filter through into the regular and more mundane aspects of our lives.

Still stuck and uncertain of what you can do? 

Here are some free or low cost ideas that might stir your imagination.  Your bliss might be in the making as you explore in one of these things.

8 IDEAS TO HELP YOU FIND BLISS:

1. Work on yourself.

Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our jobs, our careers or taking care of everyone else that we forget about ourselves. 

Perhaps you will find bliss when you stop solving the problems of the world and begin taking care of yourself.  Give yourself permission to go to the gym, see a movie or visit a friend.  Maybe your bliss can be found in a hot bath or a good book. 

Taking care of ourselves can be one of the most challenging things to do.  We often allow life to distract us from our needs and ourselves.  We, that inner part of ourselves, often end up falling by the wayside.

If it is hard for you to find some “me” time, write it on your calendar, put it on a post it note and schedule it in.  Identify a day and time when you are going to give to yourself.  Envision how much fun it will be going on a hot date – with yourself!

2. Take a class.

Sometimes when we are unsure of what we want to do taking a class might help to get your creative juices flowing. 

Whether at your local community college or one that you find online, try it!  You might discover that you have a knack for cake decorating, water painting, computer programming, dancing or writing.

3. Attend a Meet-up group.

Meetup groups have popped up across the country. They can be found in large urban areas and smaller communities. 

Many are free, or a very low cost, to attend and the possibilities are endless.  There are Meetup groups that focus on self-improvement, spirituality and health and healing. 

There are Meetup groups for the politically minded, for exploring religious ideas and ones for individuals who are just looking for some stimulating conversation.  There are even Meetup groups for singles!

 4. Explore the great outdoors. 

Go camping. Take a walk in a park.  Climb to the top of a mountain.  Learn to identify the birds you see, the plants you encounter.  Lie out on the grass and watch the clouds go by. 

Enjoy the solace of a star filled night.  You might find yourself invigorated and lusting for life after spending some time in the great outdoors.

5. Explore your kitchen.

Have you ever baked a loaf of bread, made cookies from scratch or tried a recipe that sounds tasty and inviting? 

Our kitchens can hold many unseen wonders that have been lost to prepackaged convience foods.  Handcrafted meals always cost less to prepare than their mass-produced counterparts. 

They are healthier for you and always taste better.  You might discover that cooking up a three-course meal for a group of friends or your family is fun and perks up your appetite for life.

6. Plant an herb or vegetable garden.

Planting a garden, be it herbs or your favorite vegetables can be rewarding and satisfying. As your plants grow and mature it will be a constant reminder of the mysteries and wonders of the world.  You might say, “But I do not have a back yard to plant them in”.

Anyone can start a garden in a brightly lit window or in pots on a patio.  Imagine how amazing it would be to eat a home grown, organic tomato or season your meal with a bit of basil or cilantro you grew. 

There are also an increasing number of community gardens, where you can rent a plot of land, and grow your favorite delectable delights.

7. Start a spiritual practice.

Have you always wanted to begin meditating, learn tai chi or yoga?  Maybe you will find bliss there.  If you live in a rural community there are hundreds if not thousands of books and CD’s available online which can help get you started. 

In addition, an overwhelming amount of free information online can answer your questions, provide you with some insights or point you in the right direction. Why do you hesitate, Grasshopper?

8. Volunteer your time.

You might discover that you will find bliss assisting others.  Countless organizations are on the lookout for good dependable help. 

The immeasurable number of people that you will be helping even if you only volunteered a few hours a week could be staggering.  Help build a house, cook in a soup kitchen or lend an ear on a support line.  Each of these can be rewarding.

It does not matter what you do as you look to find your bliss. The journey keeps it fresh and exciting.  If water painting is not for you, explore something else. 

Give yourself the chance to learn and grow especially if you are trying something new. 

We all cannot be Michelangelo or de Vinci but with a little time and effort, you very well may be.

Sometime we find bliss in some of the weirdest places, in areas that we did not know existed or would never have imagined trying. 

Pay attention to strange synchronicities that pop up in your life or any intuitive insights you may have.  These will often appear when you least expect it and can help guide you to the perfect place.  

If where you are being lead seems outlandish do not knock it.  Try it.  Your bliss might be waiting for you there.

soulhealer.com 

Finding Bliss Beyond the Glass Ceiling

by Steven S. Sadleir -

As we learn, grow and evolve ourselves and are guided to the fulfillment of our life purpose we inevitably come to areas where we appear to get stuck or stagnate.

Whether it is in our career, our relationships or spiritual development we rise to the capacity of our own awareness and any resistance or lack of awareness creates what feels like “a glass ceiling.” 

You may not even know what it is that is keeping you from moving forward, but you just are not satisfied or at peace.

You’ve reached a plateau, you’ve reached that glass ceiling, then what do you do?

You don’t do. The doing is what got you stuck to begin with.

This is the time to release the doing and the doer and shift your energy to allowing.

Your mind will not necessarily listen to this advice, not initially for it will surely have many rationalizations, justifications and defenses for whatever you are thinking and feeling but through your life experience you will see that to the degree that you are open to receive, you will receive.

You are always being directed and guided, and whenever you are feeling anything other than happiness and peace (your natural state as spirit) it is only serving as a reminder to get back in touch with yourself. 

This is where meditation comes in. 

Most of you already know meditation of some sort. Most of you who have been drawn to read this would likely have done a lot of work on yourselves already and have a higher degree of awareness (or you would not have been drawn to be reading this).

Are you living your dreams? Are you enlightened? Are you in bliss?

Your mind cannot conceive God. Your brain will never understand what enlightenment is.

The glass ceiling for most of you who are already more spiritually aware is that you may be stuck in what you already know.

This was the case for me after studying and writing about world religions and teaching meditation for so many years,

I thought I knew something and it kept me from opening to receive even more.

I was stuck in what I thought I knew as well as with what I thought I didn’t know.

It was only through the grace of my guru that I was able to breakthrough. I prayed to God to send me a teacher, I prayed to Jesus to guide me and I got a vision of my teacher and the very next day came upon a flyer in Los Angeles announcing his arrival the very next day.

It wasn’t until I met my Swamiji and let him guide me by the heart and through his Shakti, I broke out of the glass ceiling and into the bliss.

Life is blissful. 

Not just alright or ok, blissful. If you are not in bliss you are not awake, you have fallen asleep and are under the influence of your mind.

When you realize the true nature of yourself, as spirit, when you realize God’s presence within you and around you, you enter into the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and experience bliss.

If you are not in bliss I need to talk to you. I want to help you find the love and joy and peace that lies within you, it is your own nature. 

You are not your mind or body, you are spirit, living in a world of spirit and when you enter this world you find happiness and peace. 

I would like to invite you into my world; I invite you into the bliss.

selfawareness.com

Creating Bliss Every Day

by Deborah Fairfull -

Bliss came to me spontaneously as an energetic experience 15 years ago, which changed my life forever.

All I could feel was the divine perfection in myself and everything else. I felt totally alive with energy, joyful and complete, flowing effortlessly with life. 

Later I discovered I had experienced an awakening—what the yogis refer to as ‘ananda’, meaning limitless, full, and complete. This state is one of deep peace, beyond the instability that thoughts and emotions can create. Since then I share philosophies to help others create a blissful life.

We feel blissful when our energy system is open and expanded, flowing from our heart space connecting us to our natural state of love, kindness and compassion. The more conscious we are of our inner world, the more able we are to make choices that allow us to experience bliss. 

Our inner world consists of thoughts, that create our feelings, when unobserved can unconsciously drive our behavior. However, when we learn to observe our thoughts and feelings, we can consciously choose our behavior; responding to life in an empowered way.

No one consciously creates a life of pain and suffering, this type of life is created unconsciously. Developing awareness of our inner world makes it possible to consciously create a life that we love.

3 STEPS TO BLISS: 

1. Honesty to Look At Our Inner World

Looking at our inner world can require courage (meaning heart, or innermost feelings), as we may find emotions, such as sadness, anger and fear that we may prefer not to face.

It may seem easier to deny them or push back down within (known as repression). We may even want to blame others for our feelings. Both these approaches keep us stuck in our pain, as holding onto emotions, blocks our energy system. When we push against things we create pain: all pain is resistance to what is.

Observing and validating all our feelings with love (even the uncomfortable ones) allows emotions to flow through our energetic system and us to return to our natural loving state.

Consistently held negative thoughts create limiting beliefs which are responsible for uncomfortable feelings. While we are observing our feelings, we may become aware of the accompanying limiting beliefs, as we make the shift from unconscious to conscious. 

This new awareness gives us the opportunity to create positive beliefs that support us in creating the life we desire.

2. Finding the Stillness Within

We find this when we go beyond the instability that thoughts and emotions can create. When our mind is still and calm, we are free of stress and worry. There are lots of wonderful ways to train our mind to be free such as meditating, yoga, qi gong, gardening, sports, hobbies, being in nature, and doing things we love.

Consciously deciding to calm your thoughts can in fact be done anytime, anywhere – even while walking or driving, for example. I call this, “meditation on the go!”

“To a mind that is still, the whole Universe surrenders.” 

--Lao Tzu

When we are empty of restless thoughts and emotions, there is space for us to receive the wisdom of the Universal intelligence, allowing us to create a life far more magical that we could alone.

When we connect to this wise, loving energy we are able to co-create our life consciously in a way that allows us to feel happy and blissful.

3. Connecting to Love

Love is all around us all the time when we tap into it. In fact, we are love. Love is our essential nature, a way of being, who we truly are. 

When we are still and calm, we connect to our natural loving state. This the home of our intuition (the universal intelligence speaking to us); our wise, loving voice that guides us safely on our path through life.

Love is a verb a doing word. 

Ways we can experience the joy and bliss of expressing love are:

• Using our gifts and talents to make the world a better place.
• Doing kind deeds for others.
• Unconditional kindness and compassion towards ourselves.

About Author: Deborah Fairfull brings to people simple, practical and powerful ideas to enhance their every day lives. She has written the books and eCourses: She is a trained kinesiologist with a background in counseling and psychology and is passionate about sharing the skills to make our lives easier—to help us return to our divine, natural, loving state.

deborahfairfull.com

finerminds.com

Embodiment of Interconnection

by Sabrina Page - 

Embodiment – living in awareness through your body – is also the way to feel interconnected to everything and everyone.  

As I turn my attention within my body, beyond my skin into my tailbone for instance, and I begin to explore how my tailbone moves ever so gently, I feel how it is connected to tissue and fluid, how the small muscles hold it in place, how there is a living web of aliveness inside my pelvis.  

Just as there is a world of beauty under the still surface of a lake or the waves of the ocean, there is a world of unimaginable complexity within us – a living breathing ecosystem.

As we connect up the dots in our own bodies we become aware, in a tangible physical way, that we are a part of everything. 

Our breath, our blood, our hearts are totally dependent on the air and water which surrounds us.  Our bodies are supported by the ground – the living Earth – through our feet and legs. 

We are warmed by the sun and soothed by the moon. 

As I consciously begin to acknowledge the ways in which I am intricately interconnected, I enter into deeper and more alive part of myself.

Feeling and sensing are the ways we embody – feeling an emotion, feel into how it lives in my torso, how I tense or erupt in laughter when hearing someone speak. A gentle doe bounds across the yard and I soften in sweet connection.  

We are inextricably linked, and by attending moment to moment, we become aware of the living web that holds us.  As I write this on the page my muscles are firing and my breath is moving, stirring the fluids inside me. 

If I am engaged and excited, my breath moves in deeper waves.  If I am bored or angry, my breath takes on a different shape.  I look out the window, called by the insistent pecking of the woodpecker, and my breath changes again. 

I am amused and delighted, and ripples swirl in my belly.  All the while I am connected through my bones to the chair, held in gravity and the embrace of the air around me.

In the morning I write and move, exploring on the large area rug in my living room, noticing what words come without agenda, following the voices in my body. 

An ache or a stiffness somewhere in my body, or a sensual stretch, each morning some new way in.  Extending my fingers, the skin on my arms gently pulls over my muscle, I am drawn to my ribs and the movement of my breath. 

My heart stirs in recognition of the subtle effort all around its resting place. 

All of this and more in a moment, then in the next moment I become aware of the birdsong outside.

If I follow the feeling evoked by the sweet tones, I will feel a corresponding movement inside me.  Life can be very simple if I begin by noticing what is within and around me. 

It is a path that never ends, deepening in embodiment I grow in ever expanding joy, held in a web of interconnection, grateful for each moment.

Gratitude is another way to enter the web of connection.. When I feel stuck or disconnected, gratitude can be a way to reconnect. 

Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of moving from the top of the head down, feeling grateful for each part of your body.  Or I feel my gratitude for the tree outside my window, for the shelter from the sun and wind it provides, or its gentle beauty and presence.  

In that moment I once again feel interconnected and held by my surroundings. I am not moving through the world, over a landscape,

I am embodied and embedded within its contours. I become aware that I am a small part of a vast and intricate living Earth, wild and free, changing moment to moment and yet held in an elemental web of mystery.

sabrinapage.com

Transforming Doubt, Activating Joy

by Sherrie Dillard -

Behind every genius idea, act of courage, work of art, budding love relationship and step into the unknown, doubt lurks.

Following an ahha moment where the clouds of confusion part and we see with clear awareness, there often comes a time of questioning. 

Self-doubt can make you feel as if you are inwardly divided and at odds with what you know to be your truth. Your creative, inspired and intuitively insightful spirit and your cautious, fear based ego mind seem to be at war with one another.

Which one you listen to and act from, depends in part of your past experiences and your self-awareness.

Doubt traps us in a small and dark corner. 

A form of judgment, doubt arises when we expect certain outcomes. For years I wanted to write a book. I had a lot of ideas but whenever I started to write them down I doubted my abilities.

I would torture myself with questions like: What if I failed? What if I spend months and maybe years writing a book and I cannot get it published? What if no one reads it or likes what I write? 

My expectations were high. If I wrote a book I wanted it to be published, read and successful. Doubts plagued me.

Lacking the conviction that I could be a successful writer, I turned my attention to other areas. I devoted myself to becoming a better and more accurate intuitive and medium and increasing my clientele. I also worked part time as an art therapist at a treatment center for troubled youth. 

It was in this unlikely environment that my fears and anxiousness about writing was transformed. 

A large part of my work as an art therapist involved creating stories. To keep the young people engaged and participating I had to creatively dig deep.

When they enthusiastically engaged with one of my tall tales, usually an outrageous and ridiculous one, I quickly wrote it down. Hopeful that the next class would also find it as interesting, 

I began to write without noticing that I was writing. No longer feeling pressure to perform and be successful, my relationship to writing changed.

Writing, I realized, helped me to feel alive, vibrant and full of energy. It was a transcendent experience where all of me came together with passion and purpose.

The dread of publishers, others opinions and my own perfectionist self-judgment began to fade and be less important. Writing was no longer felt like a choice. I wrote for my soul, it was the elixir that I needed to feel fully alive.

If doubt is plaguing you here are a few suggestions:

• Take a break and get away from the project or issue that you feel doubtful about.

• Do something that helps you to feel confident and happy, It doesn’t matter what it is. Go for a walk, play your favorite sport, listen to music, watch a good movie or go to a museum.

• Be honest about your expectations. Ask yourself the following questions. What are my expectations? Are they realistic? Am I expecting too much of myself?”

• Be with others who love and encourage you.

• Share your feelings with someone that you can trust and who is supportive. Be careful not to confide in those who may have their own doubts and a negative perspective. Learn how to take care of yourself and share your dreams with those who have followed theirs.

• Be with those who uplift you and will love you for who you are.

• Listen within, for what is right for you.

• Spend some time alone. Listen to your heart and your gut. Ask yourself: “If I knew that I would succeed and that everything is possible what would I do?

• Trust your intuition.

• Make plans and take baby steps.

• Write down a plan for what you would like to accomplish and experience. Break it down into manageable steps. Give yourself small daily and weekly goals. Celebrate your progress. 

• If you begin feel doubt take a time out. 

• Refocus on what you have accomplished and what your next steps will be.

• Give it your all and remember that choosing the safe sure thing does not necessarily mean that you will be happy, successful or better off. You cannot control outcomes but you can choose to participate in what brings you joy and what feels right for you.

sherriedillard.me

Rediscovering Your Inner Child

by Sandra Nicholl Dawes -

When was the last time you had a really good laugh? 

You know the kind I’m talking about – those laughing fits you get where you can’t stop laughing even though your stomach hurts and tears are rolling down your face and you can’t even speak. Those are the best laughs, and when you think of a situation that made you laugh like that, it can’t help but put a smile on your face.

Is it me, or do those really good laughing fits seem to diminish with age? 

A sad thing for sure, because I think as grown-ups with all the things that we preoccupy ourselves with, we need those laughing sessions now more than ever!

Why do we find it so hard to lose control? Why can’t we let go of more than a smile or a moderate chuckle? Why has something that was once so easy become so hard?

At a certain point when we were kids and our egos hadn’t taken over so fully, we didn’t worry about what other people thought. We were able to laugh at ourselves without berating us for being stupid or clumsy.

We knew that people were laughing with us and it never entered our minds that they were making fun or laughing at us. So why did we go and make our lives so complicated?

I think part of the problem is that we take ourselves way too seriously. 

It would seem that all the challenges in our lives are so dire that they could truly result in the end of the world at any given moment. No one has time for “silly childish games”.

But why is that? What’s so wrong about reconnecting with that part of you who knew how to lose yourself in laughter?

Rediscovering that part of you that hasn’t learned to be concerned with what was considered “unacceptable” or “making a fool of yourself” could actually be a really good thing!

Now I’m not talking about bringing a whoopee cushion into your next business meeting, but I am talking about making time in your life for real fun!

Whether it be tossing water balloons among friends on a hot summer day or making snow angels in the winter time, I think we forget about how simple it was to find joy and laughter when we were younger. You don’t have to go way on an expensive vacation or have pricey toys to have fun.

You just have to find something you really like to do and do it without any kind of filter. 

Don’t think that you’re too old, or that you’ll look ridiculous doing it, just do it! Sometimes the attempt alone will give you material for your next really good laugh!

You may argue that there is no time for childish fun once we’re all grown-up.

Adults have responsibilities that must be taken care of; rent or mortgages have to be paid.

Groceries need to be bought, the kids need to go to dance or football practice – no time for games! But I would argue the contrary. It is precisely because our lives are so hectic that we need to make an effort to inject some fun into them.

We are all so stressed. We go from stress at work, to stress on the roads, to stress at home. If we don’t find a way to lighten things up, all these stressors are either going to make us very sick, or worse.

There are very few people who enjoy being around someone who doesn’t like to have some fun. 

I think we all need to learn how to lighten up, to rediscover joy in the simple things, to be silly and not worry so much about what everyone else is thinking. 

I believe when we make a little more room for fun in our lives, our problems won’t seem so apocalyptic and life can actually start to be a joyful experience again. We can’t turn back the hands of time and reclaim our youth, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy life with child-like abandon!

selfgrowth.com

Timeless True Joy

by Joseph Naft -

 Joy transcends all boundaries. 

Clouds cannot hide the sun forever; joy eventually breaks through. We discover joy in our friendships, in nature, in loving our family, in spontaneous humor, in delicious food, in meaningful and interesting work. In coming to know joy, we find the important distinction between pleasure and joy by examining their relationship with time.

Pleasures always remain time-bound and fleeting, whereas joy transcends all boundaries. 

Pleasure often contains its opposite, as we dread losing the moment or the object of pleasure or we desire more -- a grasping laden with suffering. Standing as its own timeless quality, joy has no opposite.

In the spiritual path, we may enter true joy that can suffuse our entire life, creating a continuing background of natural and buoyant happiness. Such joy develops gradually over the years of inner work, although we may experience intense flashes of it.

As our contact with the eternal source of joy grows, we relinquish our fears of the inevitable end of every time-bound moment of pleasure, appreciating pleasures as they come, eschewing the endless quest for pleasure and transforming pleasure into joy.

The source of joy works both through and beyond our material pleasures. Even in the midst of pain, joy remains itself.

The simplest, most ordinary moments can reveal the spirited glow of a joyous world unbound. As our presence deepens, the veils of our perception grow translucent even before they dissolve altogether in our maturing soul.

The consuming fire of total-hearted prayer and the hidden worlds of meditation bear unimaginable joy, surpassing all material pleasures. 

From those points of entry, joy works its way into the fabric of our life.

Though sometimes considered a joyless enterprise, the spiritual path affords true joy where there was little or none. A few moments ecstasy in a lifetime of labor do not approach the ever-growing joy nurtured through persistent spiritual practice.

Even a small portion of transformation, a slight loosening of the bonds of egoism, widens our context of spontaneous joy in life, in work, in family, in friends, in nature and in the Source of all joy.

innerfrontier.org

The Road to Bliss

by David Ferruolo -

The road to bliss is a process—a process within you, your community, your state, your country and your world.

Within each of us is the ability to choose harmony and peace over dissonance and vengeful, fear-based reactions to the circumstances of life.

If we choose to follow our hearts and listen to our spirits, we can choose a better way of thinking and acting. We will have an impact and lasting effect on others and the world around us.

So if you want to live a blissful life, you have to be the embodiment of bliss and all the universal components that connect you to bliss. Don't just externalize what you want.

Make it your essence. You have to become what you seek—be the essence of what you desire. Without fear, just be your amazing self, an embodiment of the facets of bliss.

Let these things be true for you:

1. Be Forgiveness

You have learned to be in a state of clemency and kindness for others always. It has become your nature to automatically forgive without a second thought. It is now part of your soul, your essence, your core to act with mercy and pardon for all those who unknowingly bestow pain and suffering toward you. You hold dear the words of Jesus, as he hung, crucified upon the cross; "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."

You are continually exercising forgiveness in your daily life and are able to receive forgiveness from those you have trespassed against. You walk in the grace of the heavens because you know nothing can be more blissful than to know that God smiles down upon you. You are forgiveness and your soul has been forgiven.

2. Be Love

You have opened your heart and mind to the divine possibility that everything vibrates at certain levels. You understand lower vibrations of negativity, anger and fear, and higher vibrations of love and compassion. People can feel the "vibes" in the air and they are contagious.

You send vibrations of love and joy from the depths of your heart and soul. You find, in turn, you have an effect on the world around you.

You don't just talk about loving the earth and mankind, you feel it in your being. Combating the feelings of fear, anger, vengeance and negativity, you have replaced them with thoughts and actions of kindness and love, and live in harmony and bliss with everyone around you and the world.

3. Be Peace

You have peace in your life because you practice peace, every moment of every day. You do not forget your center and the knowledge that peace is only a state of mind—a choice you make.

You are quiet and calm and do not become reactive but are active. Close your eyes and breathe in the calmness of the universe. You have planted the seeds of peace deep within, and bliss blossoms from your soul.

4. Be Beauty

Beauty is much more than skin deep—it radiates from inside our souls. Knowing that, you are not afraid to let your tender, creative self shine through. You are joyful and spread happiness. You forgive and are peaceful. Your true inner beauty is seen.

 You have learned to be loving and true to yourself. Affectionately, you allow your beautiful self to radiate from the depths of your soul.

You truly know the essence of your inner splendor and do not keep it hidden within you, but let it shine through for all to see. Because you connect with your inner beauty, people see you as a beautiful person. You inspire others to allow themselves to be beautiful.

5. Be Powerful

You speak your truth with integrity. Standing in your power means to know yourself and what you are doing at all times. With honesty and truth, you stand for who and what you believe in. You respect and appreciate others' opinions and values.

You look for a harmonious solution to every situation. You speak with wisdom, not spite. You stay loyal and true to your values and morals.

Without fear, you move forward, generously leading the way for those less courageous than yourself. You radiate love and security, and inspire blissfulness and courage through your actions.

6. Be Patience

You are willing to wait and accept the quiet times between action and results. There is no sense of urgency or rush, for you know that scuttling and hurry only leads to stress and dissonance.

There is calmness about you as you quietly go about your busy day. Not lazy at all, you are very productive, but cool and exacting in action. You realize life is meant to be savored and those who speed through miss out on the glories of existence.

You live in the moment and savor every second of your gift of life. At the end of a hectic day, you are still full of vigor and zeal, for you have not wasted precious energy on hurry, worry and stress.

You are looked up to and many seek your counsel, no matter what your position in work, school, community or family may be. You are patient, calm and peaceful. Your powerful essence draws others to you.

7. Be Abundance

You know the meaning of abundance is not being monetarily rich, but wealthy with bliss. You are filled with love, peace, joy and harmony. You spread your abundance selflessly to all you come in contact with.

You are a sage, a prophet and a preacher of love and happiness. You empower and motivate through your shining example the knowledge that we need not be rich to have lavish abundance in our lives.

You are forever grateful for what you have and you constantly show your appreciation and respect for those who help you and to the heavens above. You are a pillar of strength and wisdom and freely share the lessons of life you have learned.

You have no expectations of others, but endeavor to experience what everyone and what life has to offer. You walk humbly with an open heart, greeting everyone as brothers and sisters on this journey of life. You are a shining example of how people should live—not perfect, just striving to be better than you were yesterday.

As we endeavor to walk the path of bliss—to act out of spirit for the good of all—we venture out alone. We must have the courage to stand true, to know the potential of blissful living.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward into uncertainty while facing your fears. Just the act of commitment and effort will bring you the power to adapt and change.

Know that you will lose some friends, but gain many more. Know you can light the path but you can never make someone walk the road.

Not everyone will understand your commitment to living a better life. Most will not have the courage or the will to change their habits and know themselves for who they are. Stand in your truth with integrity and fortitude. Don't fear what others may think.

Seek encouragement, wisdom and praise from inside. Know that by following your heart, you will inspire others to follow their own hearts too. Know that when you connect with the bliss of life, your world will be transformed and truly amazing!

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