{"id":82839,"date":"2017-09-22T12:03:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T16:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=82839\/"},"modified":"2017-10-02T15:47:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T19:47:54","slug":"mean-say-bliss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/it\/journal\/mean-say-bliss\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Mean When We Say “Bliss”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Join the 21-Day Meditation Challenge!<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

Chances are, if you ask ten people what “bliss” means to them, you\u2019ll get ten different answers. Bliss is a word that gets tossed around frequently in yogi and spiritual circles, but elicits a wide range of different reactions, from the cynical eye-roll to the eager head nod. But what does it mean to achieve bliss? And how do we know once we\u2019ve achieved it? And most importantly, why does it make a difference?<\/p>\n

What exactly is bliss?<\/h3>\n

Intellectually speaking, bliss is one of the main byproducts of daily meditation. And meditation<\/a>, when practiced consistently, is one of the most reliable tools for accessing our inner state of bliss.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where is the bliss? And how do we know we\u2019ve tapped into it when all we\u2019ve done is think about our to-do list while sitting in meditation? Or we\u2019ve played out conversations we recently had, and we\u2019re not even sure if we\u2019re doing it right?”<\/em><\/p>\n

These are all very normal thoughts and ideas to have. But first, I want to ask, have you ever sat on your bed or couch while watching television or streaming a video late at night after a long day, and you reached a point where you felt like you experienced a time lapse? In other words, more time went by than you realized. In meditation, this phenomenon is known as going into the gap<\/em>, which means you may also occasionally have the experience of a time lapse in between your thoughts, where more time goes by than you remembered.<\/p>\n

The gap is a portal to our pure bliss state within. It\u2019s such a serene state that making contact with it in meditation causes our mind to fall silent. However, we\u2019re not aware of it while it\u2019s happening. And after the fact, the only thoughts we were aware of were the thoughts and experiences we had just before and just after we were in the gap. Same as while watching television late at night. All we\u2019re aware of is what was on the screen before and after we fell asleep.<\/p>\n

The gap creates a temporary loss of awareness that can feel very serene and blissful. Not every meditation will feel like this, but it\u2019s good know that when it happens, when you find yourself forgetting what you\u2019re doing in meditation, that it\u2019s not such a bad thing. In fact, those are the moments when you\u2019re tapping directly into your inner bliss.<\/p>\n

Bliss can be identified more tangibly as a loss of awareness, whether substantial or temporary. You are essentially in a thoughtless state of pure awareness, which is one of the experiences that makes meditation feel very blissful.<\/p>\n