When I lifted this weight a few of weeks ago, I let out a primal scream. It was an involuntary response to giving it everything I had.
Afterwards, when people at the competition asked how I felt, I found myself saying, “I’m happy with how I did”.
I hadn’t considered the juxtaposition of these two ideas until being invited by Lian and Jonathan to appear on their popular podcast, Primal Happiness.
After meeting Karl seven years ago, I was inspired by his Mother Nature’s Diet philosophy to adopt a kind of ‘primal’ lifestyle. This meant doing things like spending more time barefoot, eating more whole and natural foods, moving my body more, and so on.
As I’ve shared previously, I also tend to think of myself as ‘the happiest guy I know’. Happiness is foundational in my life. It’s something I choose to prioritise in every moment.
After saying ‘YES’ to doing the interview, I found myself contemplating ‘Primal’ and ‘Happiness’.
What I saw first was the meaning that Lian and Jonathan intend with their podcast title. On their website they define Primal Happiness in this way:
“It’s Primal meaning intrinsic, fundamental and natural, and Happiness meaning the state of being at ease, connected and in flow. So we’re saying that just like everything else in nature, happiness is our primal state.”
This is something I certainly experience to be true; that behind my stories and thinking exists always a state of bliss.
When the body expresses something primal, like letting out a scream (be it during sex or while lifting more weight than you ever have before), thoughts are dispersed and you are flooded with the bliss of being.
In less obvious ways too, I found ‘primal happiness’ to mean a couple of other things.
First, I saw how choosing primal ways of living generates happiness in my life. Eating whole and natural food contributes to my happiness through producing clean and steady energy. Walking and running barefoot provides me with a connection to the ground that contributes to my happiness. While modernity has it’s long list of benefits, there is also a cost to our comforts. When we consider the distance conveniences create between us and our nature, we begin to see the diminishing return of industry and technology. The happiness we’re searching forward for is often right behind us.
Second, I considered how the primal – as in the first or original – meaning of the word ‘happy’ was something slightly different than what it means today. In the late 14th century, when the word happy emerged from the Old Norse word ‘happ’, it actually meant ‘lucky, favored by fortune, being in advantageous circumstances, prosperous’. In this sense then, I saw the relationship between ‘being primal’ and ‘prosperity’. It is my experience that as one aligns more with their true nature, the coherence of their state of being increases. As this happens, their impact on others and their receptivity, rises. This, of course, leads to them becoming more fortunate or lucky. It’s not really magic. It’s pretty straightforward. People who are less distracted by their thoughts (i.e. more primal), tend to be more trustworthy, more self-loving, more loving towards others and tend to have more impact in the world in general. It is this kind of person who is most favored by fortune.
Considering how much I have to explore and share concerning these concepts, it is no wonder that when we reached the end of my interview, Lian asked if I would be up for doing a part two.
You can listen to both of those interviews at the links below. Please also like and follow the Primal Happiness facebook page. Lots of their episodes are really awesome! My good friend James Tripp appears on a couple of them as well.
Primal Happiness Podcast w/ JP Morgan Part 1 – How to use the energy of thought to create your dream life
http://j.mp/JPPrimal1
Primal Happiness Podcast w/ JP Morgan Part 2 – What happens when you invest yourself
http://j.mp/JPPrimal2
