Drfreneau wrote:You must first know yourself before you can seek that bliss which is uniquely yours. Know yourself the oracle said, the unexamined life is not worth living Socrates proclaimed, seek your Buddha nature Sidhartha urged. Bliss follows the discovery of self, the heroes journey is a journey of self discovery and awareness. First listen, Benedict said to his monks, listen to yourself and to god, listen to find yourself. Listen to your dreams, listen to your heart, listen to your myth. In these places you will find yourself and in so doing your bliss.
And so it has begun and forever it shall be, the path of the hero is a treacherous and dangerous path but yet filled with surprises and unpredictable miracles that we may suddenly find its either a reincarnated saint, or twisting evil force that's pulling us in all distorting ways in a turbulence.
What troubles me most is how to find our own bliss? I recall my time when I was young and I seem to have so many interests and tried all sorts of things, but i never tend to stay with one thing. How do we know ourselves that we truly love something?
Its a troubling thing or a struggle for one to find themselves in what kind of bliss or sanctuary they belong to. As Joseph Campbell had recalled in his interview the Power of Myth, he urged that we need to spend at least an hour a day to immerse ourselves in our own bliss, meaning our own happy space, even if it means putting on a corny music that no one else likes, but just yourself, is an example of find our 'True' bliss or inner sanctum.
It means that it has nothing to do with how the outside world or anyone else looks at you or maybe judging you or having any sort of discriminatory or disagreement about what you love to do, instead you do it because you feel connected someways to a higher entity. Higher entity I mean like your mind, heart and soul is in harmony despite having a stressful life effected by economic, social, or any other outside forces.
Harmony as in you don't care what they think or what they say, because it don't matter how late in the night it is you still going to get up and do it! As if time don't exist when you enter that zone and you are revived again after a tiring day at the office with the energy of pushing yourself to the limit for reaching higher. (the Victory gesture of Boxing champions)
It takes courage, for the hero to learn at the very beginning to develop this trait because without courage, for us is the same thing, we wouldn't take the first steps when the opportunity comes to our door step because maybe its a little inconvenient or uncomfortable due to the unpredictable situations. You know like I was afraid to take a long journey bus ride through the ghetto just to get to a boxing gym that was the only gym nearest my home in the neighborhood.
We are urged or tempted to prevent walking out the door to discover ourselves further. And remain in a secured or routine life-style just doing the same thing over and over again. Little things that make us afraid and fear for the unknown...
So keep looking and always try new things, its a long process, but when you find it its yourself to keep forever.
"I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want." - Muhammad Ali (The Greatest)