The Body of Bliss

In many of the old yoga books, it is said that through devoted practice one “obtains the highest bliss.” I once thought that this talk of bliss was hyperbole, sugar coating the practice to give it an out-of-this world appeal. But today I realize just how essential it is for all beings to experience the body of delight.

This delight is not to be confused with the pursuit of pleasure. Many go for a big meal at the raw sushi bar, binge on the latest Netflix special, or vacation in Vegas. But pleasures come and go. The sensory experience of delight has a different flavor. It is not exotic or expensive. It is never remote but always near. It is palpable as the brushstroke of a breath, the lub-dub of a heart beat and the pulse of a nerve. As we come closer and closer to ourselves through stillness and serenity, it emerges as the clear light of awareness.

Direct experience of the body of delight is necessary today as many people are cast under a shadow of discomfort and dis-ease. Far too many dislike their own body, or worse, harbor feelings of self-loathing. In our culture of commodification, we get duped into believing that something or someone outside of us will fix this. The online marketplace lures us, coaxing us to seek fulfillment via Amazon Prime and PayPal purchases. But the sensation of samadhi is always available in still quiet moments. When we sweep the dust and cobwebs from our hearts and minds, a spacious, quivery, pulsatory feeling gets revealed. You just need to give permission for delight to course through you like blood flow, spreading through your every pore and nourishing every cell of your body.

You don’t have to travel to Morocco or Bali or Costa Rica for communion with your own body of delight. It is with you in glow of the sky at dawn, the taste of morning tea, the touch of the hand of a dear friend. Like learning a new language, you only need to listen with patient care to the vibration of delight inside of you. What does it sound like? How does it move? What does it feel like? Once you touch it, once you know its presence, then you must simply belong to it like a lover yoking to his or her beloved.