Follow Your Bliss? It’s Not What You Think

“Follow your bliss.” We’ve all seen countless memes and heard people say this in blogs, interviews, and conversations. When you ask people what it means, they often reply, “do what makes you happy.” However “follow your bliss” and “do what makes you happy” are not necessarily the same thing. 

The phrase “follow your bliss” was first coined by Joseph Campbell, “an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology…. Campbell [theorized] that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities.” In his classic book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell describes the “myth of the hero” which includes the “pattern of a heroic journey and asserts that all cultures share this pattern in their heroic myths. This book also outlines the conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero’s journey.” 1 

In an interview, Campbell was asked what he meant by the phrase, “follow your bliss.”

Campbell stated that “follow your bliss” means “follow you calling” because when you follow your calling a natural bliss arises within. 2 

This natural bliss within is our true state of being. It can be felt when we feel calm and peaceful. It is the natural state of an enlightened mind. 

“Following your calling” means fulfilling your life’s purpose. Your soul came here for you to awaken to your true nature and to help others do the same. You came here to heal, to learn, to evolve, to experience and to transform your awareness and consciousness. As part of the process you are called to fulfill different roles in your life such as spouse, parent, child, professional, and spiritual seeker. These “callings” sometimes change during the course of your life. 

When we follow our callings, we are in alignment with our divine Self. There is a sense of inner peace and harmony with the Divine. Divine grace can then naturally flow through us and our actions. This inner peace and harmony with the Divine and the experiencing of Divine grace open our hearts and minds to experiencing the divine bliss that is our natural state.

However, sometimes following our calling does not automatically lead to a feeling of inner bliss. Sometimes following our calling can be challenging and painful. Sometimes there is an inner conflict between what a person is called to do and what a person wants to do. This conflict leads to suffering. For bliss to arise, we need to accept and embrace our calling rather than resist and resent it or wish we were doing something else. At other times, following our calling involves hard work and struggle as we learn to master new skills, to heal and transmute aspects of ourselves, to follow our inner guidance and to live in alignment with our true selves. Sometimes this is what is needed for us to access our natural bliss within.

The meaning of “do what makes you happy,” depends your definition of happiness. “Do what makes you happy,” is often interpreted by people as “do what gives you pleasure.” Pleasure is different than divine bliss. Pleasure is the sensation we get from experiencing things outside of ourselves. We are biologically wired to feel pleasure and to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Things that are life enhancing are meant to feel pleasurable, and pain is there to protect us from potential harm. Thus, pleasure is a healthy human emotion and an integral part of being human. 

On the other hand, pleasure is temporary. Once the pleasure subsides, we search for something else in order to feel pleasure again. Thus, we are continually seeking happiness in the form of pleasure in the outside word: from actions, people, experiences, or mood altering substances. This constant seeking of happiness from things outside of ourselves never succeeds in giving us true happiness, because pleasure is temporary. Indeed, research has shown that the more a person tries to obtain happiness, the more unhappy he or she is. 

Taken to extreme, pursuing happiness in the form of pleasure can lead to some very negative consequences. It can lead to a person neglecting responsibilities, engaging in selfishness, or engaging in behaviors that are harmful to oneself and others. 

For example, a well meaning parent continually tells a child to do what makes him happy. One day the parent tells the child to stop playing his video games and do his homework. The child refuses, telling his parent, “You always tell me to do what makes me happy. Doing homework makes me feel unhappy because it’s so hard. Playing video games makes me feel happy. So I’m going to follow what you taught me and just play video games because that’s what makes me happy.” 

People who are cruel and sadistic feel happy (ie. derive pleasure) when they hurt and torture animals and other people. So telling such a person to “do what makes you happy” can lead to very harmful consequences.

Most addictive behaviors begin as an attempt to experience pleasure, to feel happy. The person then becomes psychologically or physically addicted, leading to all types of problems.

Happiness can also be defined as joy, fulfillment, contentment and bliss. We are happy when we are content with our lives and with what we have, when we feel safe and supported, when we feel love, and when we have loving relationships with ourselves and with others. This happiness strengthens our immune system and adds to physical and psychological well being. 

In conclusion, there is an interplay between “follow your calling,” “follow your bliss,” and “do what makes you happy,” that can be better understood through self-reflection. As humans, we seek pleasure; we seek happiness through our actions and our relationships; and, on a deeper level, we seek that inner state of bliss, which is our natural state of being. As spiritual beings, we came here to heal, to learn, to evolve, to experience and to transform our awareness and consciousness. Our souls came here for us to awaken to our true nature and to help others do the same. For some people, doing what makes them feel happy leads them to their life’s calling and their inner bliss. For others, it leads them away from it. The path is for each of us to discover and follow our calling, find our bliss, and then share them both with the world.

Here are some questions to reflect on along your path:

How do you define happiness?

What helps you feel content? 

What gives you pleasure?

What do you find fulfilling?

What is the relationship between love and happiness, between love and bliss?

What is your calling?

What blocks you from experience your inner bliss?

What can help you to experience your inner bliss?

Blessings,

Paul

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1 https://www.jcf.org/learn/joseph-campbell-biography

 2 Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, 1988 (available free on YouTube)