Ancient Taoists discovered how to make bliss happen. And modern science validated the landing sites for chemicals that create bliss. Stress blocks bliss.
Like many, I’ve had significant stress. Growing up in an alcoholic family, I was sad most of my life … Then I had my dream life as a dancer and choreographer!
But at 24 years old, it was ripped away from me when I crashed through a windshield smashing my spine. When I woke up, I was paralyzed from the waist down.
With long years of effort, I’ve overcome those obstacles to enjoy glimmers of bliss. You can too by following this simple path. It empowers anyone to achieve blissful moments of union with the divine.
1. Eliminate Irritants: Irritants come in many forms: chemical, emotional, physical, sexual, environmental, mental, and spiritual. Irritants damage your health and well being. To achieve bliss, you must identify what’s irritating you and eliminate it. But sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you must accept what is and come to peace with its presence in your life to feel happiness.
2. Nourish Yourself: What’s nourishing to you may irritate another. Nourishment comes on many levels. Food, drink, art, beauty, and nature, are all forms of nourishment. The company that you keep can benefit you or drag you down. The way you feed your senses, your spirit, and your mind also adds to or subtracts from owning ecstasy.
3. Get Comfortable in Your Body: Growing up Catholic, I read about saints’ lives. Some suffered terrible pain yet still knew religious ecstasy. Not many can do that. To get comfortable in your body, you need to do more than get out of pain. Society is jammed with messages that you’re not OK. Getting comfortable in your body means feeling you’re OK however you are.
4. Use Your Natural Resources: You have three power plants in your body: your heart, your smile, and your sexuality. How do you feel when something makes you happy? Aren’t you charged up when you feel love? Throughout the ages religions try to control sexual expression because of its power. Yet systems of enlightenment use sexual power to grow the spiritual self. Use your natural resources to grow bliss.
5. Love, Admire, and Respect Yourself and Others: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you is the Golden Rule. But what about recognizing your success? You deserve admiration for all you’ve accomplished. Would you act the way you do if you treated yourself with respect? Give love, admiration, and respect to others … and also to yourself to expand into moments of bliss.
When you lose a beloved child you never get over it, the pain is always with you. Transforming stress is well nigh impossible.
Dear Jane, I’m sorry for your loss. I do know that we get to choose what we focus on. May I recommend http://www.traumahealing.com as a resource for you?
Wow Dr Linda. that is a life so similar to mine. I grew up with alcoholic parents to, and went to 12 different schools by the time I hit grade 9. And raised a religion that made me more of an outcast. There definitely wasn’t times of bliss.So I followed in my parents footsteps, and became a alcoholic, and a drug addict. That is when I thought I had bliss. But when I couldn’t stop, that is when I lost the bliss, and the stress became my life. Now clean, and for 9years, and doing so much inside work,of my past, to dealing with the stress of life, to have a blissful life today.
Thank you Dr L:inda for helping me to recognized my stress, and bliss.
Lots of Love.
Dear Patrick,
Thank you for your comment. I’m proud of you for the work you’re doing and have done on yourself to heal. You’re an inspiration for all those around you.
Blessings, Dr Linda
Eliminating MY stress would mean killing my husband !! Most of the time I can just about manage to cope, but he has Aspergers, dementia, is old and disabled; and all these make him angry, aggressive and demanding. He is definitely dragging me down – and my own health suffers. I never have a break because wherever I go he want to go too; and he would not have anyone in the house while I went on my own. He does not like being interrupted if he is watching TV, reading, snoozing, writing, on the computer, thinking. Yet he will happily interrupt me whatever I am doing, requiring instant attention. I have tried to meditate, but it is next to impossible if you get interrupted.
Dear Veronica-Mae,
No one can deny that you have a difficult life. Your best hope to transform stress and live a good life is to look for what’s good or at least OK and embody that sensation for as long as you are able – at least 15 seconds. May I refer you to rickhanson.net. Dr. Hanson has an abundance of resources to help you find peace and joy in your life.
Blessings, Dr. Linda
Your life sounds like my life (my stress may mean killing someone else). I am full-time caregiver/RN case manager (certified) for my husband. The local Alzheimer’s Support Group is useful. Dr. Hanson’s website looks encouraging. You are in my heart. Breathe.
Thank you, Dr. Linda, for these 5 powerful and PRACTICAL ways to relieve stress. I’ve read many self help, spiritual healing books and this article is worth printing and posting on my wall. Much love to you!
i particularly like using your natural resources, and the 3 power plants, partially autonomous, partially voluntary, partially instinctive: thank you
Thank you! I needed this today. I probably need it everyday. I sit here once again wondering what direction I’m going with the guy I’ve been dating for the last two years. He has struggled with addiction pretty much the entire time duration of our relationship. For those who may not be familiar, I have grown quite accustomed to living in constant fear and trying to figur out his inconsistencies. Rarely do things make sense and when I try to communicate with him about it, it generally leads to a major blowup, which then leads to not talking for days, weeks, months. I now find that his actions don’t bother me nearly as much as my own. I cannot, for the life of me figure out what I am hanging on to. I feel drained… ALL THE TIME!
Sorry about that! Guess I felt compelled to vent. Thanks again for your encouraging words.
[…] The 5-Fold Path to Bliss: Go Beyond Stress to Renewal […]
Beautiful post Dr. Berry! Your life story reminds me of a quote by Orison Swett Marden: “This is the test of manhood (or womanhood :)) How much is there left in you after you have lost everything outside yourself?” Truly inspiring.
Deep reaching ideas for health and happiness. Lots to explore. Thanks Linda.
Thank you for reminding me!