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Last week I stumbled upon Joseph Campbell’s Wikipedia page….I thought this blurb on the history behind his most quoted saying was great….
One of Campbell’s most identifiable, most quoted sayings was to “follow your bliss.” He derived this idea from theUpanishads:
- Now, I came to this idea of bliss because in Sanskrit, which is the great spiritual language of the world, there are three terms that represent the brink, the jumping-off place to the ocean of transcendence:Sat-Chit-Ananda. The word “Sat” means being. “Chit” means consciousness. “Ananda” means bliss or rapture. I thought, “I don’t know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not; I don’t know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not; but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being.” I think it worked.[51]
He saw this not merely as a mantra, but as a helpful guide to the individual along the hero journey that each of us walks through life:
- If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.[52]
Kajal, I have so enjoyed this blog! You and your sister are quite special and similar in so many ways, it seems. Both so creative, grounded and wise…
Thanks Jen, you are so sweet! It’s soooo nice to know there are people out there reading these posts :). I’m hoping my sister will soon become a contributing author here….because I too think she is so creative, grounded and wise….she will definitely add a lot to this site! Hope you all are doing well!