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Hi, I'm Sophy ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter. This week we'll talk about the spirituality of following one's bliss.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred. 
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Follow Your Bliss
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner: You are going about your business when you stumble onto something that has your name on it. Or, to be more accurate, a task with your name on it finds you. Its execution may require inconvenience, self-sacrifice, even risk. Yet you step forward and encounter your destiny . . . And when you accept the task that destiny has set before you, you become free. Perhaps the only exercise of real freedom comes from doing what you were meant to do all along.
Dick Leider: Where your gifts and your joy meet the needs of the world, there lies your purpose.
From The Power of Myth:
BILL MOYERS: Do you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?
JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. My general formula for my students is "Follow your bliss." Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it.
Ever since Joseph Campbell first told his students at Sarah Lawrence College to “follow their bliss," many Christians and other religious people have erroneously interpreted them to be hedonistic and narcissistic in nature. But that is a terrible misunderstanding of his intent, because following one's bliss, as Campbell saw it, wasn’t merely a matter of doing whatever you want. It’s about identifying that pursuit which you are truly passionate about and attempting to give yourself absolutely to it, for in so doing, you will find your fullest potential and thus be able serve your community and the larger world around you to the greatest possible extent, (which is exactly the opposite of the shallow interpretation given by those who see following one’s bliss as merely self-indulgent). For instance, following one's bliss may have to do with a love of and gift for writing. 
Christian monk, Brother David Steindl-Rast, commented on Campbell's "follow your bliss" philosophy by saying that bliss “is what you really, really wanted to do in life, but it has to be understood as Campbell, himself, understood it, on the deepest level. If you take it superficially and think it means just 'do what you like,' that is a very different thing from what Campbell was saying. Your bliss is your blessedness – what you find in your deepest heart of hearts. For your bliss, you are willing to sacrifice things. Your bliss is not simply your private bliss; there is no such thing as private bliss. In our heart of hearts, we are united with all others." So bliss isn’t about “if it feels good do it, do it if it’s what you feel.” It’s about where you feel the deepest sense of being alive, where you are most at home, when you are most full of energy, most free, most centered, most authentic, most related, most content. Bliss is about finding out what this is for you and then not being afraid to follow it … because this is the creative life-energy, or Divine source, stirring within you. This is the mysterious power of the universe, which some call God, calling to you.
Now I want to make it clear that I’m not talking about merely doing something that makes you happy on a personal level – that’s not what bliss is. Campbell’s concept of bliss is much more significant than that. What I am talking about is probing our imagination and heart with honesty and courage, and attending to what we discover there as being our authentic, unique purpose in life, the thing that would satisfy us beyond obtaining a job with a certain salary and benefits, the thing that would be of most benefit to the rest of the global community. Finding and following your bliss then becomes a calling, a responsibility, a vocation to carry out for the sake of the rest of the universe, not just yourself. Of course you will achieve a level of personal satisfaction or contentment when you find yourself pursuing the right path for yourself, but that isn’t a selfish endeavor. It’s like what Dick Leider says, “Where your gifts and your joy meet the needs of the world, there lies your purpose.” It’s about fulfilling your purpose, your destiny, for the sake of a larger picture.
Following your bliss may or may not involve a career change in middle age. It might, certainly – and statistics show that in recent years, many adults change career paths during middle age. In fact, it is expected that today’s college student will change careers several times within their lifetime. Fifty years ago you might have changed jobs, but not entire careers. But in this new century, it’s not at all seen as strange for a man in his 50’s to enter law school, or a woman in her 40’s to go to seminary. That said, following your bliss might not involve a change in your work at all, because in reality, that is not always possible for a variety of reasons. But many are able to find and follow their bliss without ever leaving their current situation.
For instance, there is a bus driver in Chicago who sings while he drives. He doesn’t sing softly to himself, he sings so that the whole bus can hear. His name is Earl, and he has been interviewed many times by Chicago media, where he usually tells people that he is not actually a bus driver. "I’m a professional singer," he says. "I only drive the bus to get a captive audience every single day." His "bliss" is not driving a bus, though that may be a source of enjoyment for some people. His bliss is singing. And the supervisors at the Chicago Transit Authority are perfectly happy about the whole arrangement, because people line up to ride his bus. They even let other busses pass by so they can ride with the "singing bus driver." They love him! Because here is a man who believes he knows why he was put here on earth. For him, it is to make people happy. And the more he sings, the more people he makes happy. He has found a way to align his purpose in living with his occupation. By following his bliss, he is actually living the kind of life he believes he was meant to live.
We are all unique, amazing, spectacular creatures. We all have a purpose or calling to find and follow. Some of us have more than one, and if we are lucky enough to hear those callings, and find a way to pursue them, we have the best chance at living our lives as our true, authentic selves. And people who live their lives as their true, authentic selves are much more able to care for and contribute to the rest of the world. As Brother Steindl-Rast said, “Your bliss is your blessedness -- what you find in your deepest heart of hearts.”
May you discover your bliss, whatever it is, and find a way to pursue it! 
Until next time,
Sophy |
Below you'll find some offerings from other WDC members about bliss, some in the way Campbell expressed, others as a sense of joy and peace. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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Spiritual poem encouraging one to listen to his or her inner voice.
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Now for a few comments about my last newsletter on patience:
From njames51 
Sophy - love to read your newsletters. They make me ponder, to examine myself, to be tuthful about "HOPE" (is it still with me, after those young years of youth, when HOPE for the future was full of color and wonderment). Patience, I don't have much of a problem with it. I'm pretty laid back, mellow - untill I've stood in line at a store -then the anger starts creeping in. Nobody says 1 thing........I yell out "O.k. where's the other cashiers! NOW!"
I feel I endure alot from some people, but I practice patience just because my parents never became upset about anything. They were mellow and patient. Even my garden I'm sowed seeds, planted flowers, check the roses - I am very patient and am thrilled when the litle Morning Glories or Sweet Peas pop from the soil. God at work, creating from a seed, a gift of flowering vines, blooming baskets.........Great subject - Patience.
Always an insightful newsletter. It makes me THINK, and pray, and Ponder.
Thank you so much for your kind words, and sharing a bit of yourself. Glad you were touched by the newsletter. What wonderful parents you had to bless you with their patience.
    
From larryp
Sophy, my wife and I go annually to a place of seclusion to spend a couple days away from the 'rat race.' In the place we go, there are lots of hummingbirds and I love to wake up in the morning and watch them around the feeder. You have given us a good lesson from the hummingbird. I am working on my next spiritual newsletter - about perseverance - it seems we are thinking along the same line. Thanks for a thoughtful newsletter. ~~ Larry
Thanks so much for your comment, Larry -- we DO seem to think similarly about spiritual things.
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From Maria Mize 
Loved your newsletter Sophy. Very appropriate in this fast-paced world where we want it, and we want it now -- can't wait -- or so we think. All good things come to those who wait. Patience is the virtue that comes only from learning to wait. Love the life lesson conveyed in such a simple, lovely scene. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the kind comment.
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming, they are greatly appreciated! And on behalf of myself and the other regular Spiritual Newsletter Editors larryp and kittiara -- thanks for reading!
Until next time! Sophy
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Spiritual: October 22, 2008 Issue [#2668]
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