GUIDE ON THE PATH TO SPIRITUAL BLISS
1. Distinguish between the self and the ego. So often we define ourselves through our egos (our job, our status, our achievements). But that’s not who we really are. Begin the work of find your real self, the person stripped of all of the trappings.
2. Begin to simplify your life. The complications and time/energy drains that define the ego life can pull us farther and farther off the path. Pick the most energy debilitating area of your life and begin to simplify it.
3. Take the path of least resistance. Rather than struggling against a person or situation, go with the flow. Allow things to unfold rather than forcing or manipulating them.
4. Put relationships before results or things. Put more energy into your personal and professional relationships. Treat people, even difficult people, with love and kindness. Relationships can offer far more joy than things or achievements.
5. Respond rather than react. So many of our life disturbances involve our knee-jerk reactions. Step back and allow yourself the time and space to respond from your soul rather than react from your ego.
6. Fully embrace the truth. Don’t lie to yourself or to others. See things as they are, not as you wish they were. Discover the liberating freedom of embracing reality and knowing things are as they should be right now.
7. Cure your adrenaline addiction. Don’t rush through life. Slow down. Savor and experience everything. Adrenaline provides a brief high, but no long-term joy.
8. Examine your triggers. What sets you off? Who rattles your chains? Before blaming, look inside and ask yourself “why” until you learn the source of your pain and frustration. It’s usually unrelated to the situation at hand.
9. Take care of your body. If you are tired, overweight, depressed, sick, or eat poorly, you can’t enjoy the fullness of spiritual bliss. Poor self-care is another distraction from the path to a contented life.
10. Live within your integrity. Define what integrity means to you, and then do your best to live it. Stepping outside of that will be a prickly thorn in your side until you restore yourself. It will not allow you to experience bliss.
