Did you ever notice that when you were happiest, you felt a sense of unity? A feeling of one-ness with your loved one, or your laughing child, or an awesome sunset. A sense of safety, security, that there is no opposition between “me” and “unsafe world”.
So happy!
You may have felt this in church, or when praying or meditating. Or when singing in a choir or with your family. That sense of unity, of being part of something bigger than you are. And feeling safe within that.
Being involved in a just cause is a good thing, yet happiness that goes up with success and down with failure, which fluctuates with changes in circumstance, is not permanent. Real, everlasting happiness is peace of mind. A state that is not dependent on the outer world. You can be in the midst of a difficult circumstance—going through a breakup or bankruptcy—and it is still possible to achieve peace of mind.
Peace of mind is that balanced state of the autonomic nervous system when the thoughts have subsided. It is called Sattwa.
More about Sattwa in the next blog, and the Ayurvedic approach to finding peace, happiness and health!
Question: When did you last experience that sense of peace and bliss? What was the circumstance?
