BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Achieving a state of Bliss

Note that I say 'Achieving' - in the present tense. It's not something to be done tomorrow, or the next day, the next week...it's not a question of holding on until then, it's a question of letting go NOW.

I sincerely pray that those experiencing resistance, unhappiness, resentment and suffering as a cause of their emotions will be adequately open to be able to release the resentment, unhappiness, suffering and resistance surrounding their hearts, and relax freely in the liberated state of just being.

Nobody can make us feel anything less than perfect because we are the manufacturers of our own emotional state. If we feel in a particular way - Resentful, angry, hurtful, envious, vindictive - it is because we choose - and permit ourselves - to feel that way.

It is all very well commenting on, or criticising others for their attitudes, but we first must be devoid of lingering attitudes of this sort, ourselves.....

There is nothing wrong with feeling an emotion.
The damage - and danger - occurs when we subsequently cannnot release it, but harbour and nurture it within us.
It takes up the room that Compassion Wisdom and Love should occupy.

And which would you prefer to cradle within your heart?

alexandra,when a person has to suffer physically she or he goes thru a lot of mental trauma as well.
what can that person do to ease the pain,to feel happy?
my sister has facial nerve neuroma and hence her once very beautiful face doesnt look so now.she is a brilliant student and hardworking person and very strong willed.
what can do i to make her feel happy?she has no friends and feels very unhappy about it.
can u help pls?

Look, you must understand that on a forum such as this, it is almost impossible to address such heart-breaking issues adequately. But I saw a programme about a little girl who although once absolutely gloriously beautiful, suffered horrific facial injuries in a fire.... She now has no nose, and her face is one big burn scar....her eyes are small slits, and she has no lips.... she has to wear a wig, because her hair will never grow again, and both her hands are stumps, virtually, because her fingers were burned off.... By rights, perhaps she should have dies, such was the desperate severity of her injuries....but she was a little fighter, and she pulled through...
She will need remedial surgery for at least the next thirty years, because scar tissue doesn't grow or stretch....yet I have never heard or seen a more cheerful, funny happy little girl. She laughs and has friends, because her personality wins through.

But if this is not sufficient to help your sister put things into perspective, then ask her to merely look around her. Look at her brothers, sisters, mother, father, friends, relatives....have they stayed the same, visually? Have they become older and have their facial features changed?
Every single living thing is subject to the changes nature, illness and ageing brings. With no exception.
I myself have had to accept a minor disability, but I promise you, whilst initially it caused me anxiety, I know that this is part of life, there is no reason for me to NOT be going through this, and I do not resent or dislike my state.

Karma may well have played a part in my destiny. Well, so what?
Accept with an open heart and a glad mind. Know that this is a lesson....in something. Embrace the life each day brings, and step out of yourself, because ultimately what you look like is not who you are.

Alexandra,how can i enjoy each moment?as eckhart tolle says how can i live in the now.
frankly enuf i have been able to do that a bit.it has helped me and i dont feel depressed anymore.
how can i be in a state of bliss every and all the time?
are u so?

This is not something that happens overnight....As with any new 'skill', there is a certain amount of training involved, and there is a further need to persist and persevere....It's like any form of beneficial exercise...sometimes, we just don't feel like doing it....we've had a hard day, and going for a five kilometre run is the last thing we feel like doing....but we know it is good for us....we know we feel better for it, and we know that the moe we do it, the less of an ordeal it will become, because practise makes 'perfect'....

Similarly, changing our frame of mind, our 'Mind-Set', if you like, from one established and habitual state to another, takes time, effort and work. So first of all, understanding - REALLY understanding - that our past habits have brought us to a state of craving, grasping and delusion, is a difficult thing to master, because, after all, sometimes, it actually feeels nice to dwell in the moment of illusion....
But as you know, this is not a feeling that will last.....So gradually, over time, you re-inforce the knowledge in your mind that the only place to abide in, is here. The only time to abide in, is Now.
You have to Surrender the clinging and attachment...You have to trust that dwelling in a peaceful and serene Present, is by far the most perfect and pleasurable state to be in.
But you have to taste it and try it for yourself. Judge it for yourself. Live it for yourself and see it for yourself.

Outwardly, there may certainly be times when your live is imersed in sadness, suffering and difficulty. That is as Life is. But if you recognise that everything ebbs and flows, comes and goes, then INWARDLY, you can remain calm and blissful. And then serenely, gradually, your inner bliss will manifest outwardly too....

And no. Certainly not, I am not always so. But I can honestly say that I am far more so now, than I was before....

Practise, practise, practise....

yup!i get it.
thanx a lot!
practise and practise and thats what i will continue doing!

It isn't easy. Simple, yes. Easy, far from it. But that's because we have been conditioned - by our upbringing, by our circumstances, by our parents, friends and cultures - to behave in a certain way, to believe in certain things....
This is not to say that you have been deliberately misled by those around you. Far from it, for they have been subject to the same influences...
But it is merely a case of learning new things...of understanding that there may well be better and more effective ways of Living the Life we have. And even if it proves everything you have learnt so far, to be "wrong", that's OK. It's not a question of apportioning blame or responsibility anywhere. It's just a case of starting to do things - to think, say and do things - differently, from now on.