“The person who suffers from inner poverty is relentlessly driven to accumulate on the material level.” – David R. Hawkins, Letting Go
As humans, we tend to want to hold on to things tightly.
This can take many forms. It can be a desire to acquire objects, people, or certain relationships. In short, we have a desire to acquiring happiness.
The truth is that our natural state is happiness. Our nature is bliss.
Meditation for Bliss
We are all oneness, and we are all bliss.
When we sit to meditate, we have the opportunity to tap into that bliss state, showing us the process of who and what we truly are.
Operating from love, happiness, or bliss becomes not an end goal, but the whole process. By accepting bliss as a part of the process, we can find bliss.
Each moment contains bliss; each moment is bliss.
Give yourself the chance to let go of what you think should or could make you happy, and allow yourself to just be. The art of letting go is surrendering preference to the outcome; it is stepping away from the concept of who and what we think we are.
Happiness in Steps
We live in a culture where happiness is acquiring a goal, achieving it, and then setting another one immediately.
Instead, consider letting go of the outcome. Remember: the magic is in the process
For example, let’s take a look at Nancy. She wants to lose 15 pounds in 60 days, so she sets a goal. On day 50, she still has 7 pounds to go. She decides to consume a total of 500 calories a day the last 10 days of the diet in order to meet her goal.
The question is: What did Nancy learn? She was focused on acquiring the goal, but did she learn a lifestyle of nutrition and healthy eating? Did she take time to learn how to prepare food, or how to choose which foods to eat? Or did she only want achieve the number on the scale and then walk away from the process, to set a new goal?
Our culture tells us that happiness is to be acquired. Once we acquire and achieve a goal, we set another one immediately. Happiness in this way, in steps, is fleeting.
Happiness in States
To see happiness in the process, break it down. It is the mental, physical, and spiritual process. It is expanding awareness around what we’re trying to better in our life.
Let’s stay with the example above, and think about the goal of losing weight.
Instead of focusing the narrow solution of counting calories, Nancy could take a look at the big picture. She could ask herself what is her Why: Am I trying to look good for others? Am I looking to be healthier because type 2 diabetes runs in my family? Is it both?
By understanding her Why, Nancy can focus on the mental, physical, and spiritual process.
The mental process is about what is going on in her mind. For Nancy, is she doing the research necessary to achieve her goal? Is she reading the books, watching the videos and listening to the podcasts that will educate her for success?
The physical process deals with the body. For Nancy, is she doing the physical activities necessary? Yoga, swimming, cycling are all great activities that are very easy on the body. Or does she choose bootcamp, Crossfit, or long-distance running — quick fixes that are tough on the body?
The spiritual process is not the sense of a belief system or structure, but rather a connection between mind and body through the ancient practice of listening. Your body will always tell you what it needs, it’s a matter of tuning to the connection, which meditation can help us achieve. For Nancy, listening to what her body wants could mean being less likely to reach for the bag of chips or candy bar, and more apt to reach for the nutrition her body is actually calling for.
Happiness in Letting Go
Our culture tells us we can acquire happiness, but in reality happiness is what we already are. It’s very simple. We complicate it. Happiness isn’t found in the future, it can’t be relived from the past.
Instead, happiness can be found in each moment. Acquiring it is not a long, drawn out process — it’s right here, right now. It is sustained through subtle changes you practice and implement over a lifetime, by letting go of the thoughts surrounding fear of the future or shame from the past.
When we let go of the results, we find magic in the process.
In meditation, we let go of expectation and speculation. We become the process, and have the ability to connect to our truest self. We can recognize that mind, body and spirit are not separate; they are all one. We are all consciousness, we are all oneness. In meditation, we have the chance to dip into that oneness, and to glimpse the truth of who and what we are.
