What is February’s Bliss?

Ever hear the saying, “Marriage is bliss” or “Oh, they are blissfully in love”? Or perhaps, “they are blissfully single” (I feel like that last one is heard a little less, but it certainly is a thing!)

Given the terms bliss and love seem to go together, and February tends to be a month focused on love—it seemed like a wonderful month to talk about a second feeling that makes up joy—bliss!

Keep reading to learn more about what this word really means, why February is a good month to focus on bliss, and ways to incorporate some more bliss into your month!

Definitions of Joy:

Joy is word we use and hear all the time—yet, I think many of us (myself included for a long time!) never really stopped to think about what the word joy really means!

My very first post was all about what joy really is—and in part of it, I focused on a study that was cited in The Book of Joy. In that study, a conclusion was that the feeling of joy is actually made up of a bunch of different feelings!

These include:

-Excitement

-Gratitude

-Amusement

-Spiritual Radiance

-Bliss

For this year, I decided to focus on a different “joy feeling’ each month and to relate why that month is a good time to hone in on that emotion that makes up joy.

For February, we are going to look at the feeling of bliss!

Why Focus on Bliss in February?

Why is February a good time to focus on growing your own feelings of bliss? Well, I think it all comes back to the idea of February being the month of love!

When we are truly in love with someone, truly love someone with our whole heart, or are authentically practicing self-love, there comes a natural bliss with it.

Love is about just being your genuine self—it’s about radiating your inner joy —and I feel bliss is all about this. When you are in bliss, you feel love, a love for living in that moment right now.

Interestingly, if you look up Dr. Susan Campbell’s Stages of a Relationship , the last one is… the bliss stage.

Did you catch that? Even if you are in a relationship, the end-goal (in a way) is the bliss stage—where you are both so tapped into your wholeness and inner joy, that is from that place you love!

Whether you are in a relationship or not, love is available to you right now—and it’s blissful and joyful all at the same time! So, if it resonates with you, try practicing some bliss during this month of February (and carry it all year long!).

What’s Bliss?

When you look up the term “Bliss” in Merriam-Webster you get a two part answer.

The first definition is,

Which is quite lovely and appropriate given this space and this month. Yet, it is the second defintion listed that I truly love (pun intended!)

Being and living in bliss is truly a form of heaven on Earth. I recently was watching a sermon this past Sunday, and the minister made the point that we need to stop waiting in this life to get to Heaven. That’s an old way of thinking. Instead, we need to practice the new way of living… bringing Heaven to Earth.

It might sound like a radical idea, but we can live on Heaven on Earth—an inner and outer bliss- right now. I deeply feel that is possible when we all tap into where that inner unconditional love for ourselves, for others, and for everything lives. Oh, what a joy to be alive is felt when we do!

Ways to Add Some Bliss to Your Life

Here are some ideas of ways to practice inviting more bliss into you life (regardless of the time of year!):

1.) Practice a Loving-Kindness Meditation: I love meditation all-year long, but if you want to practice growing your inner bliss, try doing a meditation focusing on loving-kindness–it truly wakes you up to all the Heaven on Earth possibilities (on the reverse side, if you feel anything but blissful, I listed practicing a loving-kindness meditation as a way to increase your joy in my post on How to Feel Joyful When The World Feels Heavy). There are lots and lots of these meditations on YouTube—my personal favorite one to practice is Dr. Joe Dispenza’s GOLOV-20 Meditation!

2.) Take Yourself On A Date: I love how this idea is becoming stronger and stronger each and every year. Self-love is such a huge part of living a life tapped into more bliss and joy, and I feel that taking yourself on a date is a wonderful way to do that (and you get to ponder the person you would like to be in the process!). Take some time to listen within, perhaps during meditation, to what you feel like doing. Do you want to go on a hike and then buy yourself some flowers on the way home? Do you want to grab some tea and go read in a cafe? Do you want to stroll into a bookstore and spend some time perusing its shelves? It’s entirely up to you (and your intuition as Bella Lively talks about!). Take some time to listen, and then act. Then, watch the bliss that unfolds when you truly practice self-love!

3.) Read The Mastery of Love: When I first came across this book two years ago, it was one of those books that completely transformed the way I see love. The societal definition of love is really not in resonance with what love really is, and this book does such a great job at describing what love really is and the bliss it really is! Give it a read if it interests you!

4.) Listen to Some Blissful Tunes: Try listening to some tunes that just feel blissful to you. Perhaps this is more classical/instrumental tunes or maybe it is more folky/indie music. Or maybe it’s something different. Identify what kind of music puts you at ease, makes time feel slower, and just blisses you out! I love Hollow Coves, Austin Farwell, Kacey Musgraves and the song “Heaven Is Everywhere” by Johnnyswim for when I need a reminder of the bliss all around!

5.) Self-Care, Self-Care, and More Self-Care: Similar to taking yourself on a date above, practice self-care regularly. When our nervous systems are regulated, it can be argued then we are able to better tap into that inner sense of bliss, love, and joy. Simple self-care ideas can include: taking a bath, unwinding before bed by limiting your TV and reading a book, listening to a podcast, reading by a fire in the wintertime/ reading outside during the warmer months, going for a walk, doing your nails, and putting some music on when you make dinner (see #4 above!). Take some time to nurture yourself, and see if the bliss follows!

Comment below: How can you add some bliss to your life?