Bliss 101

Hands up if you want to experience bliss! I do. And hands up if you feel you're subjected daily to subtle and not-so-subtle insinuations that bliss comes from getting this car or that companion, earning this much money, and being admired by that many people. It doesn't work that way, even according to newspapers and other media that trumpet such promises. They also parade stories of "ideal" relationships gone sour, unhappy millionaires, and lonely celebrities. Clearly such "bliss" comes with a sting in its tail!

There weren't newspapers or televisions in the days of Job, a character written about in the Bible. But if there had been, his story would have made prime material for tabloid papers and television shows. From a life of great prosperity and respect, he suddenly crashed tragically low to destitution, disease, despair. A new understanding of God eventually came to light for Job, however, and this restored him spiritually. Consequently he saw beyond his self-concern and unselfishly prayed for others. This undoubtedly helped them. But it also led to Job's own restored well-being and wealth.

In calculating what truly constitutes bliss, it's worth considering an interpretation of Job's turnaround experience found in Science and Health. Its author, Mary Baker Eddy, who lived through her own transformation from destitution to revival, writes: "Job said: 'I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.' Mortals will echo Job's thought, when the supposed pain and pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly, working patiently, and conquering all that is unlike God."  ^{Science and Health, p.262.}

Perhaps it could be said that before practical good was restored to him, Job first moved beyond the "hearing of the ear" to the delight of "seeing" God. This may mean he was elevated from hearing and thinking about God to experiencing God as actual reality. That's bliss like none other. In fact, to whatever degree we genuinely "drop the false estimate of life and happiness" as material states, we find that God-conscious bliss is our true, spiritual state. It comes with our status as the man and woman God creates in His image. The only true estimate of ourselves is the recognition that we are God's reflection and exude all His/Her qualities, including calm and vibrant bliss.

The bliss God supplies is a steadfast, unselfish joy (not personal highs), an individual inner happiness that outwardly embraces others, a glow of knowing heavenly good—here and now. And there is a road map for attaining the unselfish traits that lead to this bliss. It's in a part of the New Testament called the Sermon on the Mount. ^{See Matt., chaps. 5-7 .} Most specifically, the Beatitudes given by Christ Jesus ^{See Matt. 5:3-12 .} are concise directions for true Christly living. They provide moral and ethical guidelines, and make it possible to love unselfishly.

You could call these few, but infinitely deep, ideas in the Beatitudes a basic course in bliss—Bliss 101. If we accept and act on them, they bring a consistent inner contentment. And they lead to the kind of inner discovery of spiritual reality that Job experienced. The kind of discovery that brings physical healing and tangible restoration of good.

I can recall several instances where the unselfed love taught by the Beatitudes headed me where I needed to go for joy. In one case, it led me to as simple a thing as stopping to talk to someone in need when I was feeling an urgent pull to complete an assignment. In another case, it led me to give up a career to which I had devoted several years of effort.

Invariably, unselfish love has led me to a deep satisfaction—a clear consciousness of the presence of a loving Parent, radiant with approval for His/Her child. What has always followed has been practical evidence of this approval. For instance, the urgent task was still completed in good time. And the pathway that has replaced the sacrificed career, which once seemed so alluring, has proved differently but equally satisfying in countless unexpected ways. I've used the talents I had been honing for my hoped-for creative career, and I've done some of the world travel that the other career had promised. Nevertheless, these have been bonuses after the fact—the bliss came from feeling I was doing the right thing by God and therefore for all.

There aren't a limited number of openings for those yearning to know more about God's love and approval. The opportunity for bliss is offered to each of us, now, by God, through Christ, and living the spirit of the Beatitudes opens the door.