Your Inner Feeling of Bliss

by Loy on 21 September 2011

Dear Rabbits,

Can I suggest the most simple precept to guide and direct your entire life?

Listen to your inner feeling of bliss.

A rabbit’s life is as simple as that, and if yours is more complicated, it’s because you make it more complicated.

It might sound painfully obvious, but do you actually live by this? So often other considerations take priority without our realizing it—convenience, other people, money, a feeling of control, habits, etc.

What could be a more simple and well chosen precept to guide and direct your life? Whether looking at a relationship, deliberating a career path, picking a word in a conversation or which head of kale to eat from someone’s garden, ask yourself “what will bring me bliss?”

Bliss could take many forms, including love, peace, or joy. But if you are allowing anything else to guide you, you might be wasting your life.

It sounds simple, but most of us aren’t used to listening to our inner feeling of bliss. And how weird is that?! It seems like nothing should be more habitual or instinctive! So why is this?

I see two reasons: one is that many of us live in a very brain-centered world. We live by our brain more often than our heart. We are rational, and there are many benefits to this. But there are problems as well when pursuing bliss, love, or joy. See, rationality and brain don’t know what the heart can know, and the heart is where our bliss resides. You don’t look for clothing in a restaurant, so why should you look for bliss in your mind?

The other reason we don’t often listen to our inner feeling of bliss is that listening takes effort. Especially the type of deep listening which is required for the heart. Listening takes effort, practice, space, and time. In other words, it’s terribly inconvenient when seen from our modern, fast-paced, internet perspective.

So I encourage you to make the time and space for your heart. Trust your heart and let it guide you to joy and love. If your heart is what feels bliss, if your heart is where bliss resides, then there is no more simple, cheesy, nor true answer to achieving bliss than “listen to your heart.”

Love,
Loy

Confidence In Sunshine

by Loy on 7 September 2011

Dear Rabbits,

Are you confident?

I often struggle with the idea of confidence, and I’m sure many of you do too. Even the answer to “what is confidence?” sometimes seems unclear. But confidence is so important to understand for anyone who wants to live simply and live well.

Without confidence, we’ll spend more energy preparing for contingencies than living. We’ll be nervous about pleasing and impressing other people. We’ll create “if only”s as excuses not to be happy just yet. We’ll worry and worry and our mind will go a mile in one hundred directions, but we won’t take a single step forward.

So to live simply, confidence is necessary.

I think part of the reason confidence seems so unattainable for so many is that we don’t have a proper understanding of confidence. So what is confidence?

Well I can easily tell you what it’s not. The confidence I’m talking about isn’t a high self image or ego or feelings of invincibility. You will always make mistakes, so if you rest your confidence in your abilities, intelligence, or awesomeness, eventually, that will be shaken. Your confidence might soar one day and plummet the next…and what kind of a confidence is that? Confidence is for relying on, so it had better be reliable!

The confidence I’m talking about is confidence of the “confidence in sunshine, confidence in rain” variety. True confidence is resting in the reassurance that everything is as it is, and that’s okay.

This is the confidence that will bring about a peaceful life with calm, attentive steps. A life without the rushing around, worrying about people’s opinions, nervous buying, and insecurities.

I see confidence as a sort of fundamental faith in the forces of life. Confidence is sort of a foundation and energy for our beliefs and desires. It is something that shapes and enables our lives. It gives us a foothold.

So how about resting our confidence in the stability of the universe, in the order of things? Trust that things are as they should be…not because there is a “should be” and things inevitably match up with that, but because there is a “way things are,” and that is how it should be!

If this sounds a little vague and you’re curious what this looks like more specifically, have no fear: we’ll be returning to the idea of confidence pretty regularly in the future. So stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Love,
~ Loy

Kittens, Rowdiness, and Utopia

2 September 2010

No bunny photograph today. I’m computer-free at a festival this week [Burning Man], Loy ran off for a meditation retreat in the blackberry bushes across the street, and hopefully, if all goes well, this will be automatically posted in a couple days. But I wanted to tell you that there is excitement! If you don’t […]

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Getting Over The Roman Empire Syndrome

31 August 2010

Note #1: I’ve been scrambling in order to run out of town for a bit to the Burning Man festival [eeee!], so I’m a bit behind with comments and e-mails and such, and will be for another week. I love you all! Don’t think I don’t! Note #2: This is not only the first guest […]

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Your First Step Towards A Minimalist Life

25 August 2010

I must warn you…I’m about to get creepy-intuitive… You, dear reader…I can sense that you are likely intrigued by the idea of minimalism and living with less? Yes? No, don’t be afraid by my near-psychic powers. It’s okay. Breath and look at the cute rabbit. I also see…oh…this surprises me…that there is a good chance […]

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Let Things Grow Old

6 August 2010

Do you allow things to grow old? We’ve been taught to consume with a fear of old and an artificial need for new. “Don’t fix it; get a replacement. There’s a stain; get a new one. I’m bored, let’s purchase something fresh!” So…how old do you let your things get? Some people buy a new […]

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The “Mine Game” is Stupid

28 July 2010

[An essay written by Loy.] Few words are so meaningless but also the cause of so much grief as the word “Mine.” “Mine” is misused, overused, and causes frustration and stress more than any other word. In fact, it’s used by humans in an entirely schizophrenic way. As a rabbit, I find it fascinating how […]

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Every Day A Double Rainbow. 3 People To Learn From.

17 July 2010

in which simple smiles are the best smiles. Because they are. Yes? Excitement is such a strange thing. We’re usually so hard to impress. With the internet and television, we’ve already seen everything. And if we’ve seen it all, then how can we really be overwhelmed with amazement and take joy in anything?! Well, it’s […]

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