Why you are already happy

Last year I was introduced to Advaita philosophy, which states that we are intrinsically happy, and all we have to do to avoid suffering is to enjoy who we are.

At first glance, it seemed too simplistic to solve the complexities of our miseries. Then it dawned upon me that my own experiences in meditation and being out of body substantiated this concept. Numerous accounts of both Out of Body Experiences (OBEs) and Near Death Experiences (NDEs) I had read about over the years confirmed this for me as well.

In meditative states where we let go of everything and empty our minds, we enter a state of peace and sometimes even love and happiness. In my OBEs, I have experienced the same thing. I would float formlessly and blissfully either in a black or white void. Amazingly, the majority of people in their NDEs exited their bodies and arrived at a similar state. They did not want to come back into their bodies. They wanted to stay in that blissful state.

So why is that state not captured and retained for the rest of their lives? How can we experience it all the time here and now?

I believe that state is experienced because of the release from the constraints of being in our bodies. Through practiced concentration or actual removal of our consciousness from the physical, we are no longer limited.

Is it possible that the bliss is not separate from us? That it is not a place to go to but WHO WE ARE? Maybe that is why it is so readily available and accessible once people let go of their bodies. Without this body and the brain that goes with it to encase and bind us, we are back to full expansion—infinite consciousness itself. Eternal and indestructible. No insecurities.

Meditators, OBErs, and NDErs might think they shifted into a different reality or went to a new destination. But what if they accessed their true identity instead? No longer obscured by the lens of their human body and mind, their perception of self widened and became aware of that infinite consciousness. If they visually saw a place, maybe they assumed it was the realm that made them feel happy, not knowing it was their own essence, and the realm in their visions was merely a manifestation of how they felt.

It makes sense that all suffering comes from identifying with limitation. By thinking I am my body, I have to constantly cater to material desires that does not give me permanent satisfaction. I stay in fear and worry because I know there is a deadline and expiration to everything. I fret over disease, old age, and eventual death.

But if I know I slipped into an earth suit as infinite consciousness experiencing temporary physicality on this planet, life here becomes an adventure not to be rushed through or stressed over, but to be experienced as an unfolding, fascinating journey of discovery and exploration. All the aches, pains, and travails that come with it serve to challenge us to express our fullest potential, enriching us if we choose to see things that way.

Therefore, I must stay aware of who I truly am beyond this body and life—expanded, boundless, and eternal. To access this identity, all I have to do is remember to relax my whole body and release all thoughts, even if I am performing a task. This is not always easy to do, of course. But the more I remember to do it, the more often I can be in this state. And if a task does not allow me to do so, I wait for the task to be completed before I begin. I do not have to wait until I meditate, get an OBE or NDE. I do not have to wait for death to release me to be happy. To be me.

So let’s get out our ID card of happiness that came with us as our birthright. Dusted off and ready for use, it is ours to enjoy!

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Check out my book The Power of Zero Expectations: 7 Steps to Freedom from Disappointment on Amazon.