by Roger Gabriel (Raghavanand): The ignorant man asks for material possessions, the intelligent man asks for enlightenment, but the wise man just loves and receives everything…
We all have desires. In fact, ideas of what you want and don’t want are regularly popping in and out of your head. But how often do you stop and ask yourself what you really do want—and even then, how much of the time are you really sure?
What you put your attention on grows. It’s a technique for manifestation that will be discussed later, so it’s very important to make sure your desires are in line with your life’s goals, or you just might end up with a lot of unnecessary things or uncomfortable situations.
An Example of Desire
There’s the story of the man who had everything materially, and one day decided that he needed to find God. His friends told him that he wouldn’t find God in the U.S., he would have to go to India. So he took a flight to Delhi, got off the plane, and told a taxi driver he was there to find God. The taxi driver said that God wasn’t in Delhi but he would take him to Rishikesh, that’s where the Beatles went.
When the man reached Rishikesh, he jumped out of the taxi and rushed up to the first holy-looking person he saw. “I’m here to find God,” he said.
“You’ll need to go up into the mountains,” said the holy-looking person. “That’s where God is; follow that trail.”
So off the man went, following the trail up into the mountains. As he climbed higher, the trail became narrower, the sun set, and it became night. The man struggled on in darkness, he had to find God. Then suddenly he stumbled, slipped, and began rolling down the mountainside, into the black abyss.
Fortunately, his coat caught on a branch and he hung there, dangling in the darkness. “Help, help,” he cried.
“Just let go,” came a loud voice from the darkness.
“Who’s there?” asked the man timidly.
“This is God, just let go,” replied the voice.
The man thought for a moment and then shouted, “Is there anyone else there?”
Do You Have Freewill?
If you ask people if they have freewill to choose the life they want, most of them will tell you yes. However, how much freewill do you actually have? How many of your desires are just repetitions of past memories or a result social conditioning?
Most people’s lives are governed by past actions and memories. You call this the software of the soul, the program that runs your life. You do an action, which creates a memory, which leads to a desire, and then a future action to fulfill the desire. Even though you think you have freewill, most of the time you are following these same patterns over and over again. You’re like the hamster on its treadwheel, running faster and faster, thinking it’s getting somewhere, when in fact it’s just going round and round. This is limited possibilities. The desires you have and therefore the life you create for yourself are limited by the past.
Meditation Frees You from Limitations
Meditation is the tool that allows you to escape from this self-created prison of the past. All memories are in the thinking process. Meditation allows you to transcend or go beyond thoughts. It gives you access to a field of infinite possibilities. Through a regular meditation practice, you can begin to step out of limitations so that you can desire and obtain the life you truly deserve.
What Is Your Soul Profile?
Knowing that you can desire anything is very freeing but can also be confusing. Now you’re spoiled for choice.
How do you know what is correct for you? I suggest finding somewhere quiet and answering the following questions, to create a simple profile of your deeper self, you can call this your Soul Profile. Some answers may change with time so look through the questions again, periodically.
- What makes me joyful?
- What is my purpose for being here?
- What would I like to contribute to the world?
- Who are my roles models?
- What kind of relationships nurture me?
- What can I offer others in relationships?
- What are my unique talents?
- What qualities do I admire in others?
- How did I feel at the peak moments in my life?
- What kind of world do I want to live in?
- What can I do to serve humanity?
Of course, it’s still okay to have desires for material possessions, relationships, etc., but the answers to these questions will help guide you on your spiritual journey. You’ll also find that as you move forward with your spiritual goals, your other desires will automatically begin to support your journey. Your whole life begins to reflect your spiritual journey.
However, before you look at the steps to manifest your desires, the Vedas caution you not to be greedy or overindulgent, which it says leads to instability, chaos, confusion, delusion, mental weakness, addictions, and illness (mental and physical).
8 Steps for Fulfilling Your Desires
Try the following steps to help manifest your desires.
1. Ask for Guidance
The heart is more refined and closer to your source than your mind, which easily gets confused and filled with doubts. This doesn’t mean you should abandon your commonsense and the rational mind, but always remember that first impulse from your heart, this is your Higher Self talking.
- Sit quietly, close your eyes, and bring your awareness into your heart center, in the middle of your chest.
- Ask, “What do I really, really want? What does my soul yearn for?” and then just listen. Try not to judge or evaluate, just listen to the message from your heart.
You can also ask for advice from friends and experts, but be careful to only ask those who can support your goals.
2. Focus Your Attention
Now bring your attention to the area you want to change or where you want the desire to manifest. By bringing your attention to something, you are focusing energy in that area.
3. Set an Intention
Here it’s important to make sure you are desiring what you want and not what you don’t want. Remember: what you put your attention on grows. For example, rather than desiring for the pain in your knee to go away and thereby focusing on the pain, desire to be able to run and jump and dance freely.
With your attention set, express your desire in a simple phrase or sentence. This gives direction to the energy, and it activates the energy to begin manifesting your desire.
4. Release Your Desire
The next step is to release your desire to the Universe. This is best done at the beginning or end of your meditation practice or just before you go to sleep at night. This is when you are closest to your source.
With your attention set, silently repeat the desire and then let it settle back into the silence. This is like planting the seed of the desire in the silent field of Infinite Organizing Power.
5. Detach from the Outcome
Now you let the Universe handle the details. If you remain attached to the outcome of a desire, you limit the possibilities to one outcome. Detaching is like saying, “This is what I think I want but, if there’s something better, please send that along instead.” The Vedas say, “Desiring for the fruit of an action implies lack of faith in the Divine’s willingness to give all.”
6. Practice Patience
In today’s world, it’s easy to want instant gratification but remember in your essence you are eternal. Nature moves in rhythms and cycles, everything has its season. By rushing things, you often end up with something of lesser value. Trust and allow the Universe to unfold its perfection. Again from the Vedas, “When we use our power righteously, all good things flow to us.”
7. Learn Acceptance
The moment is always perfect. Sometimes you have to accept that the Universe knows best and recognize that sometimes it has greater plans for you. Accepting the present moment allows you to see the opportunities and create your perfect future.
8. Find Fulfillment
Enjoy the bounty that manifests every day. Your ultimate goal is to be able to spontaneously fulfill all your desires. This can only happen when you enter higher states of consciousness. Here you are totally in harmony with all the laws of nature. There is no longer any need for desire as everything you could possibly want is presented to you at exactly the right time and place.
To return to the statement at the beginning of this article, when your life and motivation is completely centered around love, everything wonderful spontaneously flows to you.
