Chasing Bliss: A Sound Bath Reflection on Presence
- Mat Creedon
- Jan 11
- 5 min read
A Sound Bath Teaching on the State of Presence
Welcome to another Afterbath Session with Mat Creedon 🌿
This Sound Bath reflection explores what I often call the state of presence — or, as I like to describe it, chasing bliss.
Not because bliss is missing.
Not because there’s something wrong with you.
But because the act of chasing reveals something quietly important: the part of us that is already at ease tends to get overlooked.
This Sound Bath teaching isn’t about self-improvement or becoming a better version of yourself. It’s an invitation to notice what’s already here, beneath the noise of the mind.
Sound Bath Awareness and the Illusion of Seeking
Presence is the state of being fully conscious and aware of what’s happening right now, without mental distraction.
No commentary.
No judgement.
No reaction.
Just awareness.
I call this chasing bliss because the moment we start chasing bliss, we’ve already implied there’s a problem that needs fixing — that bliss hasn’t arrived yet. And it’s the chasing that causes most of the mischief.
The irony is that there’s already a part of you that is bliss.
That part is your awareness.
Sound Bath and Awareness: The One Who Watches
Awareness is the part of you that watches life unfold without needing to interfere.
It observes thoughts, emotions, sensations, and events the way you might watch a movie. It doesn’t need to fix the plot or take sides. It simply notices.
In many ways, this is similar to dreaming. When you’re dreaming at night, you’re often watching events unfold with far less concern for your personality — your reputation, your beliefs, your petty wins and losses.
In waking life, however, those things suddenly feel very serious.
Beliefs become identities.
Opinions become battlegrounds.
Right and wrong become matters of deep emotional investment.
A Sound Bath practice gently invites you to step back from this seriousness and notice the one who is watching it all.
Sound Bath, Belief Systems, and Navigating the World
We do live in a world with laws, borders, and social agreements. We can’t all simply do whatever we like without consequences. Society creates shared rules not because they’re perfect, but because not everyone is on the same page.
These systems act as a kind of glue between very different belief structures.
What I’ve learned over time is that navigating life successfully doesn’t require agreement. It requires not taking things personally.
If someone thinks you’re wrong, there’s no need to be offended. You’re probably thinking something similar about them. Often, people cling tightly to beliefs because they’re afraid, and they hope that convincing others will bring peace.
It rarely does.
A Sound Bath approach doesn’t ask you to abandon your beliefs — only to hold them lightly.
Sound Bath and Chasing Bliss in Everyday Life
Trying to find bliss can feel like attempting to exit a freeway when you’re stuck in the far right lane, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and no amount of indicating gets anyone to let you in.
You might think others need to move out of your way before you can feel at peace.
But that’s not how it works.
You don’t need different people.
You don’t need better circumstances.
You don’t even need fewer thoughts.
Bliss isn’t somewhere else.
A Sound Bath simply helps you notice what’s already here, beneath the effort to get somewhere.
Sound Bath and the Breath: The Simplest Doorway
Here’s a simple example.
When you’re doing something that requires precision — threading a needle, typing a password, carrying a full cup of water — you may notice that you hold your breath. That breath-holding creates subtle stress in the nervous system, and over time it compounds.
One of the simplest doorways back to ease — and one that Sound Bath supports beautifully — is breathing.
There is only one thing you must do to stay on this planet right now.
You must breathe.
That’s why when someone is upset, we instinctively say, “Take a deep breath.”
As breathing continues, the nervous system settles. You begin to realise there’s nowhere you need to go, no one you need to be, and nothing you need to solve in order to feel calmer.
If you miss a breath, that’s fine. You always get another one.
Sound Bath and the Mind’s Favourite Interruption
Of course, the mind has opinions about this.
It often says something like:
“Yes, yes, breathing is good — but first let’s just solve this one incredibly important problem.”
It’s a bit like saying, “I won’t breathe until I finish this sentence, and this sentence will be so brilliant that everyone will finally see how intelligent I am.”
Have you ever realised, halfway through an argument, that you’re actually wrong — and kept arguing anyway? Not because you believe it, but because admitting you’re wrong feels unbearable to the ego.
Facts are a very shallow form of knowing.
Experience goes deeper.
But awareness goes deepest of all.
Sound Bath work gently brings you back to that deeper knowing.
Sound Bath, Animals, and the Wisdom of Being
The mind is excellent at doing.
Awareness — and the heart — are better at being.
Animals demonstrate this beautifully. They don’t need to prove their worth. They’re content simply to exist.
We’re not trying to become animals, but we are pointing toward a state beyond constant human overthinking — a quieter, softer, more spacious consciousness.
A Sound Bath offers a direct taste of this.
Sound Bath and When the Chase Ends
Sadness and happiness are two sides of the same coin. When you stop running from one toward the other, the chase naturally ends.
And when the chase ends, bliss begins to rise — not as excitement or drama, but as a quiet, steady contentment.
As the Buddhists like to say —
when realisation dawns, you laugh at the sky, and it falls back on you like a big blue pancake.
A One-Hour Sound Bath Invitation
To support this teaching, I’ve created a one-hour Sound Bath designed to help you rest in presence rather than think about it.
This Sound Bath isn’t something to analyse or understand. It’s something to experience.
👉 You can listen to the full one-hour Sound Bath here:
There’s nothing you need to do while listening. No technique. No goal. Simply allow the sound to meet you where you are.
A Final Sound Bath Reflection
This Sound Bath teaching isn’t asking you to escape your life or fix yourself. It’s an invitation to stop running for a moment and notice what’s already here.
You don’t need to chase bliss.
You don’t need to earn it.
You may find it’s been quietly waiting for you all along.
— Mat Creedon
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It helps this sound medicine reach the people who may need it most.
With gratitude,
— Mat Creedon 🌀
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