How to Follow Your Bliss and Live Your Soul’s Purpose

What It Really Means to Follow Your Bliss, Find Your Life Path, and Live Your Soul’s Purpose

By Natalie Eve Marquis

I want to talk about what it means to Follow Your Bliss, because most of us have got it all wrong. First, I’ll share a quick illustrative story, and then we’ll dive into the details of what it really means to follow your bliss.

My pal Tennousei and I recently hiked Bell Trail in Rimrock, AZ. It’s seven mile (round trip) well-traveled trail that leads to a magically clear pool of water in the heart of Wet Beaver Canyon. The sun pours into a small cove-like area that is protected by red rock canyon walls and sycamore and juniper trees. The sienna colors of the canyon walls, the leafy greens from the trees, and the clear Arizona blue sky, are mesmerizingly reflected in the pool waters. Most who trek this path are understandably focused on getting to the pool of water that is a delight to the eyes, while also being deep enough to dive and swim in.

However, for Tennousei and I, we found the many side trails leading down into the creek to be equally magical; finding groves of blackberries and trumpet and datura wildflowers, shady glens with mystical tree formations, and red rock respites rising out of the creek like a clan of turtlebacks. The birds, butterflies and dragonflies were more plentiful down by the creek as well. With each discovery I felt my shoulders relaxing and my heart expanding. The hike, with its well-worn primary path as well as the many less traveled side paths, was a delight for the senses and the soul.

Is there Just One ‘Right’ Path to Our Bliss?

Many of us search earnestly for our path as if our soul has only one path and one purpose. Just as I delighted in both the main trail and all the magical side trails on my hike, we are free, encouraged even, to explore all the paths that light us up and bring us joy.

For example, my soul came here to teach, create, communicate, and to experience and share joy. How do I know? Because these are all things I absolutely love to do. I do them whether I’m paid for them or not. I do them because I’m fascinated with learning about them, understanding them, and experiencing them. They are things I’m passionate about and it lights me up to do them.

For someone of us, though, we’ve lost track of what truly brings us joy. When this has happened to me, it’s because I started looking for the answers outside of myself. I thought there was a “right” way and “wrong” way but I didn’t know what that was. We’re not alone in thinking like this. In the book Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani writes, “I discovered that when my life seems directionless and I feel lost what it really means is that I’ve lost my sense of self. I’m not connected with who I truly am and what I’ve come here to be. This has tended to happen when I stop listening to my own internal voice and give my power away to external sources, such as TV commercials, newspapers, big drug companies, my peers, cultural and societal beliefs, and the like.”

She said what she ultimately learned from her near death experience was that she didn’t need to struggle so hard to figure out her life purpose and path. She says, “I now know that everything I need is already contained within me and is completely accessible if I allow myself to open up to what I sense is true for me…and the same is true for you.”

So how to do we open ourselves up to what’s true for us? This isn’t always easy because many of shoot down what our heart truly desires because we tell ourselves that what we’re drawn to isn’t big enough or important enough. We mistakenly think our life purpose or path has to be something grand, like saving the children or the whales, or growing a multi-million dollar business. Or that following our bliss guarantees us fame or fortune. The soul doesn’t care about grand gestures or fame or fortune. All it wants is to experience life to the fullest, to love fully and fiercely, and for us to be the fullest expression of ourselves that we can. When we do this, we impact all those around us and all who come into contact with us in the most beautiful way and that vibration of love and joy ripples out in the world.

Anita writes, “The only thing you need to learn is that you already are what you’re seeking to attain. Just express your uniqueness fearlessly, with abandon! That’s why you’re made the way you are, and that’s why you’re here in the physical world.”

I believe following our bliss is our life purpose and that there are many paths we can take to fulfill that purpose. So going back to my own example of teaching and creating. To fulfill my desire to teach, I could explore many paths: I could teach elementary school children, become a professor and teach at the college level, or I could teach adults through workshops and retreats. I could teach one-on-one as a life coach, counselor, trainer, or mentor. I could be a paid instructor or I could volunteer. I can also teach via books, blogs and videos. I could teach on any subject that lights me up – writing, art making, design, marketing, creativity, intuition, or spirituality. And if I shift to my creative calling, that could be expressed as being a painter, writer, inventor, designer, crafter, musician, dancer, and so on. And it’s completely possible that two paths can merge. They don’t have to, but they can. It’s quite possible that both my creative calling and teaching calling can merge. I could be an art teacher or I can use my creativity as a teacher in how I design and present lessons or courses. We each have dozens of paths to choose from, but how do we know which ones are right for us?

When Joseph Campbell said to “Follow your bliss”; its permissiveness filled us with hope. Yet, it also caused some of us pain and confusion. This is because we mistakenly thought it meant:

• I only get one ‘bliss’.
• There is only one path to bliss.
• My work or career must be my primary source of bliss.
• If I am following my bliss, I’ll be happy all the time.

These are all myths and none of them are true. In my experience, “Following your bliss” is less about finding a path and more about exploring all of the paths that light you up.

‘Follow Your Bliss’ is a Powerful Navigational Tool

We go off track in following our bliss when we treat it as an end result, rather than as a navigational tool. In my work as an intuitive reader, I can tell you that a frequently re-occurring message from our angels and spirit guides is that they are nudging us do more things that bring us joy. On a metaphysical level this makes sense. According to David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness in the book Power Versus Force, joy vibrates at twice the frequency of feeling neutral. Joy vibrates at 540 where as feeling neutral vibrates 250). And when it comes to feeling joy versus apathy, joy is ten times more powerful. Joy vibrates at 540 while apathy vibrates at a measly 50).[2]

Let me interject here that while I am encouraging us all to follow our bliss, I am not advocating a hedonistic lifestyle of pursuing pleasure for pleasure’s sake. Quite the contrary. Pleasure seeking is often an attempt to fill a sense of emptiness. We over spend, over eat, maybe drink and party too much, and still fill empty. Pleasure seeking activities distract, while joy-filled activities bring us deliciously into the present. When we do things that bring us joy, it fills us up and is deeply satisfying.

In a blog article about following your bliss, Valen Dawson says, “You also start feeling fully the true pleasures of things because you aren’t using pleasures to medicate yourself.” [5]

I’m often asked, “I have so many options, how do I know which path is the best to take?” The answer truly is simple. Pick the one that fills you with the most joy. Using joy as a navigational tool is meant to guide us with big decisions, such as which career to pursue or which state to live in, as well as for tackling our daily “to do” list. But it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. If we allow ourselves to work on things we enjoy for at least part of the day, then it’s easier to tackle the less appealing items later, such as cleaning the house, doing the bookkeeping, folding the laundry, etc.

For those of us that are growing businesses, we often get stymied by all of the advice we see online – we’re told we have to do social media, create funnels, and grow our emails lists, etc. And this is just the marketing advice. Then there’s other advice about how to manage our finances and distribute our products. All the incoming advice can be overwhelming. To get yourself back in alignment with your soul’s highest good, shut out all the “should’s” for a while. Then pick one of the things on your to do list that you would enjoy working on the most and do that. When that one is done, or when you’re ready to tackle another, pick the next enjoyable project, and so on. Or, if you’re person who regularly avoids the work you don’t enjoy, then consider using the pleasurable projects as a reward. For example, I promise myself that once my bookkeeping is done then I can work one of my creative projects. Or, once I finish filling out all the paper work to update my professional liability insurance then I can work on writing a new blog article, which is fun for me.

We can create and live a life that is deeply fulfilling by following the stepping-stones of joy. Of course, following our joy won’t eliminate life’s challenges and hardship. Yet, when we incorporate doses of joy throughout our day, it can soften the edges of those experiences. It also doesn’t mean that we’ll never feel afraid or worried again. If we are truly following our bliss, it’s going to entail stretching our comfort zone.

I saved this quote that says, “The journey will be messy and scary. Following our bliss instigates the “hero’s journey” and is meant to stretch our comfort zone and bring out our inner hero, which is typically done through tests and trials; meant to hone our character and ability to live our bliss.” (author unknown)

Our Heart-Felt Desire is a Magnet 

The late Neville Goddard, an influential spiritual author and lecturer, went one step further in his teachings. He said, “Desires are words of promise or prophecies that contain within themselves the plan and power of expression.” In other words ‘desire’ is a seed and that seed contains within it the blueprint (plan) for exactly how that seed is meant to express itself in the world. An acorn becomes an oak tree, a pumpkin seed becomes a pumpkin, and a

sunflower seed grows into sunflower. This means that we don’t have to worry so much about how to follow our bliss. We just need to keep following the stepping-stones of joy and desire, and our unique plan and expression will organically unfold before us.

I also believe that our heart-felt desires are like magnets pulling us in the direction of our soul’s purpose. The seed that you sprang from contained the blueprint and plan of all that you’re meant to be in this world. Your heart felt desires and passions are magnetic forces meant to help you stay on track so you can realize the full potential of your unique blueprint.

Source energy is all about expansion, and since we are part of source energy, we are meant to grow and expand. And, this isn’t always comfortable for us. It requires us to face our fears and to stretch our comfort zones. I believe this is another reason why such heart-felt desires and callings were planted in our hearts. All the juicy, joyful feelings we get from following and living our bliss ultimately outweigh the discomforts and challenges we’ll face along the way.

We Need Daily Doses of Joy to Raise Our Vibration

From a vibrational standpoint, we also need regular, daily doses of joy to counteract our biological tendency towards negative bias. Human biology was built to detect problems in our environment to keep us safe, so we could spot the tiger in the woods and run to safety. While humanity has evolved and most of us now live in relative safety, our biology hasn’t caught up. We are still constantly looking for what’s wrong in our lives. It is far easier for us to name all the things that aren’t working for us – like the annoying boss at work, the gossipy co-worker, too many bills, not enough pretty shoes, too much work, not enough play, etc. This propensity to notice what’s wrong, along with the accompanying negative thoughts and feelings, can really drag us down. This is why practices like daily gratitude, which vibrates at a frequency of 500, and following our bliss are so important.

Valen Dawson also wrote: “When you start radiating bliss, something incredible will start happening.  Bliss is a frequency. Our bodies actually respond to bliss on a cellular level. Have you noticed that certain elderly people look nothing like their age? Have you noticed that these certain people are also living a blissful life? They have chosen to be happy, and it shows up in the cells of their body! Have you noticed the extra energy that you have when you are following your bliss? It seems like you don’t get tired or even hungry. You don’t want to stop what you are doing! This is our body responding at a chemical level to bliss”.[5]

Following our bliss matters. I believe what lights us up was programmed into us on a cellular level, not only so we could experience our greatest joys, but also to ensure that we’d follow our unique purpose and path. That heart-felt tug you feel inside to follow your bliss? Remember, it is a seed that contains both the plan and power of expression. It’s your divine blueprint. Keep following the tugs of joy, and you will grow into all you were meant to be.

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Additional Reading: 

• Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani (Book)
• The 4 Myths About Following Your Bliss 
• Why ‘Follow Your Bliss’ Is Bad Advice
• What If Today You Started Following Your Bliss And Said, “To Hell With The Rest”

FOOTNOTES

[2] David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., Power vs. Force and the “Map of Consciousness”

[5] http://www.yourownlife.org/what-if-today-you-started-following-your-bliss-and-said-to-hell-with-the-rest/

About Natalie Eve Marquis

An intuitive healer and teacher, Natalie’s mission is to help people break free from fear and enjoy life to the fullest. She is the founder of the Reiki Release® Emotional Healing Method, a powerful process that pinpoints and releases the root cause of emotional blocks and negative beliefs. Natalie teaches all levels of Reiki certification both online and in person. She also provides a variety of fun and informative workshops on intuition development, past life healing, dreams and symbols, personal growth, and more.