Innocence and the Spirituality of Desire

Thank you Cheyenne!  It was important to me to look deeply into “want” and “need” as motivators.  I think the nature of desire is misunderstood.  “Need” drives us to the grocery store to get bread, “want” drives us to explore something new.  And you are right on in saying that in time, with the maturing of our soul, we learn to desire more what we need.   I remember a comment by Eckhart Tolle regarding a question about positive thinking and the regarding the Law of Attraction and he said something close to “do you really think we are conscious enough know what is positive for us?”  Sometimes suffering and frustration is just what we need to break through old resistance and find new awareness. In our growth of awareness and consciousness we do align our wants and needs and what we manifiest.    And this does take time and long-term commitment to growth.

Love,
Sajan

WOW Cheyenne!  My computer screen is still sizzling from your passionate response on my post.  This is hot stuff! 

You know,   I think you and Eckhart are saying the same thing.  The public thinks of “positive” as a good or happy outcome, where in the quote “do you really think we are conscious enough to know what is positive for us” I think Eckhart  intended the “positive” to mean “beneficial” or “good for the soul.”   In the Power of Now  Eckhart continues after this quote (and forgive me if I do not get the words exact, I have the Audio book and I am going from memory) to say that suffering and hardship are sometimes the most positive things that can happen for our awareness and growth, and that in increased awareness and surrendering to shed resistance to what is, even among suffering, we find the peace of God.   And in comparison, this can make “happiness” seen like quite a shallow thing.

You ask Che, “has everyone gone insane?”  And to this I answer that modern society encourages materialism, instant gratification, pain avoidance at all costs, and the concept that if we work enough, spend enough on the latest products, get enough plastic surgery, take enough medication, work out at the gym enough,  that we too can be in perpetual bliss and party with the stars.  Sounds insane to me.  When I spoke of “desire” in my post I meant something like “wow, she intrigues me, I want to know her”  not   “I GOT to have the new touch screen phone that will play music, text, adjust my toaster and record my favorite TV shows when I am not home.”  The first is a desire of the heart and mind, the second is a conditioned fear response to “have” or be left behind.

The saddest thing to me is I see this “insanity” in what is suppose to be spiritual teachings.  There is so much material out there that perpetuates the ideas that we need to be happy and blissful, surrounded in white light, and overflowing with material abundance and I think this encourages spiritual immaturity.  This makes me think of the words to a song written by Paul Simon;

“And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence”

Our own darkness is one of our greatest teachers, our suffering can define and refine the character of our soul, our silence will reveal what is real and what is happy-horse-dung. 

So I say seek what our hearts desire and embrace the pleasure and the pain of the adventure it leads us to.

And YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Cheyenne,  we really do not need anything!  I want to be, I DESIRE to be aware, alive, adventurous, happy , sad, passionate and drained of happy-horse-dung!  I am the Velveteen Rabbit and I want SO MUCH to be REAL! 

Lots of Love,
Sajan with the twitchy nose