Desire a Richer Tapestry
“In order to get, one has to have the energy to want.” (Hawkins,1995)
Universal Desires:
Inherent in all of us is a basic, universal and compelling drive to have a full life. We desire a sense of purpose, to have good health, to feel secure and have the freedom to shape and create our lives.
When we allow the negative influence of doubt and fear to stop or slow us down, we have conflict and unease. On the one hand we have the push to go forward and fulfill our desires, which would be a natural progression. However, when there is conflict, the flow is interrupted, and as a consequence, more struggle than necessary will show up in our lives.
Desire is A Higher energy:
“The activity of desire is a forward-moving or expanding. Motion of Life Itself and can never be dispensed with. Without desire, attachment would not be possible.” (King, 1935)
A spiritual teacher, Dr. David Hawkins, who developed a means of calibrating and measuring truth, measured and analyzed different levels of consciousness. He stated that the energy level of desire “motivates vast areas of human activity, including the economy.” He says the energy in desire is higher than the energies that keep us feeling powerless.
“In order to get, one first has to have the energy to want.” (Hawkins, 1995)
He also said, and I agree, that Madison Avenue and TV have a major influence on our desires. Today in the Western culture our lives are filled with choices ad nauseam, leading to problems distinguishing between desire and human appetites, which are quite a distance apart on the scale of consciousness.
Appetite on the other hand…
Appetites are more basic and instinctual compared to desire, which becomes the impetus or springboard to the road of higher achievement. Desire can be an opening in the gateway to a higher level of consciousness. Appetite is an accumulation of energy that is the basis for forming a habit, quite often to our detriment. Initially our habits are voluntary. However, after multiple repetitions our mind gets used to dealing with whatever arises in our daily lives in a certain way. Before long we are trapped in habits and find it difficult to break free of them. When we start performing our tasks over and over in a certain way, we tend to lose our capacity to live life creatively. Sometimes in an effort to stay safe we squelch our desires to the point where we no longer know what they are. Living without desire, however, is not a state in which to stay.
Ancestral gifts:
I encourage you to never overlook the desire imparted to you by your family of origin, especially your parents. Find that thread of gold and polish it until it becomes yours and is a beacon pulling you forward and pushing you onward.
Why does Desire have to be fueled by Courage?
Desire has to be fueled by courage as courage is the level of consciousness that moves us to create. As you examine your family’s legacy of desire and courage, remember that they may have had courage in a different way than you do; however, you inherited their underpinnings.
“The wings of humankind is its aspirations”. (Rumi & Philip Dunn (Translator), 2000)
Without desire, a full passionate life is not possible. Desire is the driving force that moves us forward toward fulfillment. It is important, however, to know the difference between desire and human appetite.
Not all desires lead to happiness.
If someone desires financial security, for example, one needs to have a larger frame than that. What does financial security look like to you? How will this financial security be a part of the greater good in your life? Many say they would be happy if only they could win the lottery. How would winning the lottery serve your purpose? Maybe it won’t, and the universe sees to it that such a desire will not be filled. Maybe you are not able to use all of that money with wisdom.
Just as courage does not always lead to the “greater good” in your life, neither does desire. It might take a lot of courage to rob a bank, but it is not a leap into greater good in the life of the one who does the robbing or the one who is on the receiving end of such a threat.
Desire and spiritual life are not mutually exclusive.
All noble acts and great works of art arise out of a deep and sometimes powerful urge. Consider the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa, who were very passionate people. The Vedic tradition teaches that our desires primarily are to assist us in the understanding of our soul’s purpose or our life’s deeper pull to fulfill our purpose for being here. Failure to understand our life’s purpose leads to pain and suffering. It is one of the reasons people are not able to achieve the happiness they seek.
According to the wisdom of Vedas, the source of Yoga science and philosophy, as well as an inspiration for Buddhist teachings, we have four levels of desires interwoven with who we are.
First is dharma – longing to fulfill your unique purpose, or what am I here to do.
Second is Artha – the desire for the means to fulfill one’s dharma such as good health and finances, in other words, material comforts.
Third is Kama – a longing for pleasure, beauty, comfort and sensual intimacy.
Fourth is Moksha – a longing to be free of the burdens of the world, through spiritual realization we gain the ultimate freedom.
Some dark underpinnings of desire:
It is important to understand there can be a destructive side to desire. When we get greedy and want immediate gratification, desire can show its dark underpinnings. Our culture tends to feed that part of us that is impulsive, with the two-year-old sense of urgency and immediacy. “I want it now,” says our two-year-old self.
In the examination of our desires, and how we live them out in our lives, we need to use discernment to see if we are getting blinded by them. Are we becoming excessive and destructive? Are we, if need be, wise enough to shift back on the seesaw of balance, a course correction, if you will?
Our Desires are informative: be curious!
It is important not to denounce our desires, as they are exquisitely accurate in revealing our life purpose. To have a full life we must address the restlessness and dissatisfactions prevalent in our daily lives. Do you attempt to stay safe and secure, instead of focusing on the expression of unlived dreams.
We must learn how to hold a healthy tension between what is expected of us every day, and the part of us that has dreams yet to be fulfilled. Part of our growth is to refine our ability to discern between desires which come from the soul and ones which will cause further confusion, conflict, and pain.