I want to hit the bliss states :). I mean, people talk about so much bliss and ecstasy you almost can't bear any more, and nearly pass out with the pleasure. All the major lineages I've researched talk about meditation leading you to states of unparalleled bliss, and freedom.

I'm incredibly privileged to live in this place and time. Right now, practices that used to be secret across multiple traditions and cultures are available to study openly, without spending a lifetime at a guru's feet. This also helps see patterns, to separate the genuinely useful practices from superstitious dogma. My basic needs are met and I have sufficient time to practice.

As I see it, there are two possibilities:

a) all the spiritual stuff is real

b) it's just an illusion of the mind

Either way, I'll gain greater knowledge of myself and subconscious, and hope to enter bliss states which, by many accounts, are actually deeply satisfying (unlike the majority of experiences I normally have).

So then, if there's a choice between aiding the process to get there faster, or allowing it to blossom in its own time, I'd be foolish to risk it never blossoming and throwing away this golden opportunity.

The other thing with just allowing it to blossom, is how do you know it will? I've been practising for over 20 years and have only had glimpses of deeper states, never previously being able to repeat them. If you're doing the right practice I'm sure deeper states will blossom. But unless you have some way of measuring whether your practice will be productive, you just risk getting nowhere fast.

Don't these lineages also tell you the bliss and ecstasy is but a distraction and that you should not pursue it as the end goal?

Yes, 100%. That's why I liked Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond where the author is clear about that. But I need to start from where I am. He says you hit these states and initially love them, but eventually become dissatisfied with them too, so you keep going deeper into pure consciousness, tranquility, etc. That seems like a healthy approach, not denying them but rather realising they aren't the ultimate end. But as I'm not there right now, I use them to fuel my enthusiasm, but don't expect them to be an end in themselves.

Thanks for your detailed response and to read your perspective.

I can see why you would go for this and experience it, especially if you practiced for 20 years. It seems you thought about it well.

On b) I would entertain the idea that the mindstuff is always an illusion and what the mind is, is a pointer to Conciousness (Cit)

I studied for over 10 years now, but I did have superlative experiences that helped me inform my life choices and outlook in a positive way once you get beyond dogma and so on.