What does it mean to be unhappy if not to be frustrated about not having what we want?
Every person on Earth has an apparently nonsensical fear of bliss to some extent. Even though it makes no sense, there it is, and this fear exists side-by-side with our longing for bliss. Yet bliss is our birthright. We have every right to live in a state of supreme bliss and sublime joy, which are qualities we struggle to adequately describe in any language.
No matter how unhappy we are, somewhere deep inside we haven’t forgotten that this fear is not natural. Indeed, if this weren’t the case, it would be far easier to accept our frustrations in life. For what does it mean to be unhappy if not to be frustrated about not having what we want? Embedded in our unhappiness, then, is the promise that the opposite could be true: we could be happy. Since both are present, we feel ambivalent about how we should be experiencing life. From this follows another ambivalence: Is it OK to long for pleasure, or should we fear it?
For some of us, we have much less fear than desire. If this is us, we feel relatively fulfilled and our lives are rich and joyful. We have a deep capacity to experience pleasure, and we have a trusting attitude toward life. Since our concept of life is positive, life expands. For us, it’s not that hard to overcome our remaining defenses and fears that close off expanding further into bliss.
Most people, however, fear happiness more than they desire it. If this is us, we will basically be unhappy, feeling life is passing us by. Life will seem meaningless and like we somehow missed out on it. Our capacity for experiencing pleasure will be very limited. We will be numb and mired in apathy. In our lifeless state we won’t trust and will be withdrawn from life, and we will resist looking within ourselves for the cause of our suffering.
Jill Loree grew up in northern Wisconsin with parents who embraced their Norwegian, Swedish and German heritage. Foods like lutefisk, lefse and krumkaka were prepared every Christmas. And of course there was plenty of beer, bratwurst and cheese all year round.
She would go on to throw pizzas and bartend while attending college at the University of Wisconsin, and then moved into a career in technical sales and marketing. She would settle in Atlanta in 1989 and discover that the sweet spot of her career would be in marketing communications. A true Gemini, she has a degree in chemistry and a flair for writing.
One of Jill’s greatest passions in life has been her spiritual path. Raised in the Lutheran faith, she became a more deeply spiritual person in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) starting in 1989. In 1997, she was introduced to the wisdom of the Pathwork Guide, which she describes as “having walked through the doorway of a fourth step and found the whole library.”
In 2007, she completed four years of training to become a Pathwork Helper, and stepped fully into her Helpership in 2011. In addition to offering individual and group sessions, she has been a teacher in the Transformation Program offered by Mid-Atlantic Pathwork. She also led marketing activities for Sevenoaks Retreat Center in Madison, Virginia and served on their Board of Trustees.
In 2012, Jill completed four years of kabbalah training and became certified for hands-on healing using the energies embodied in the tree of life. She began dedicating her life to writing and teaching about personal self-development in 2014.
Today, Jill is the proud mom of two adult children, Charlie and Jackson, and is delighted to be married to Scott Wisler. She’s had more than one last name along the way and now happily uses her middle name as her last. It’s pronounced loh-REE. In 2022, Scott joined her full time in their mission to spread the teachings of the Pathwork Guide far and wide.
