Desire – Page 4 – The Work of Byron Katie with Grace

July 9, 2015

Are You On An Enlightenment Plan?

How does it feel to keep thinking you need to change, improve, grow?

‘I need to make sure I’m thinking positively and joyfully at all times. I have to avoid the negative, dark thoughts. I must remember all thinking is an illusion anyway. I’m not really seeing anything accurately. I need to picture my happy outcomes and keep imagining the wonderful possibilities. I must stop focusing on the dreadful, frightening possibilities…..’

Have you ever read books, gotten more into metaphysics and spirituality….

….and noticed your mind suddenly has a new voice full of little spiritual ideas and suggestions?

All kinds of new ideas. They sound great. They’ll get you to the kingdom.

Exciting!

Only. Hmmmm.

This voice seems somehow familiar.

This voice sounds nicer than others. It sounds more genteel and open. It’s got a really sweet tenure and color.

And yet.

Something smells fishy.

(Rip off the pink sweet mask)

Ah-ha! Dictator Self-Hater Strikes Again!

You see, that mind can take anything and begin to use it to stay on the self-improvement-is-the-goal path. To not truly relax with where you are, now.

I know, because I do it myself.

But I really did it with the project of meditation at one time.

I was so anxious, I knew that what I really needed was to meditate.

People are calm who meditate all the time, right? It’s proven that meditating is the right thing to do. Along with eating well, exercising, being kind, sleeping all night, and being self-less.

Yeah. That’s right!

So I decided after semi-meditating for a decade or so….

….I’m meditating an hour a day.

No excuses.

This will happen, rain or shine.

I’m very disciplined at times, when I set my mind to something. I started every single day with one hour of meditation. Even if I had a fever (which I did once). I sat up in my chair, took position (it didn’t count in a bed or in any other position, I must be sitting up very straight) and set my alarm so I wouldn’t peek at any clocks.

After one year I prided myself on 365 days of meditation, not missing one single day.

I was well into my second year of this when I went on a meditation retreat.

While there, it occurred to me I was “doing” the “right” thing.

Here I am, doing the right thing! See me, oh great universe? How ’bout this, God? You gonna bring me supreme awareness? Abundance and flow? An anxiety-free life?

Look at how good I am! I work sooooo hard. I read books, I watch videos, I meditate, I listen to spiritual teachers, I study, I correct my thinking, I’m practically obsessed with awakening and enlightenment and peace….

….it’s all I ever think about!

Um.

It suddenly hit me.

I was doing all these things in the name of Me. “I” will wake up. “I” will achieve the greatest achievement….self-realization. “I” will arrive and it will be fabulous.

The Universe will basically say “you look mahvellous.”

I’ll feel like a million bucks. And I’ll probably HAVE a million bucks, too!

Ouch. A subtle ouch, but nevertheless, an ouch.

Because this achievement that was going to happen was off in the distance, in the future, some day.

This isn’t quite it yet.

I remember a good friend who caught the same disease….

….er, I mean the same penchant for insight….

….said she was going to save up a lot of cash, because later, when she was enlightened, she probably wouldn’t care about cash.

So who would we all be without our beliefs that we absolutely must do things like meditate, think positively, save up for later, try harder, or improve?

This is not an invitation to the hopeless resigned place of despair.

It’s a reminder that what we really want has to ultimately be possible here and now, not later.

A reminder that we are not in absolute control. We are not isolated islands floating around with something missing.

It’s not an unfriendly messed up universe that sometimes spits out less-than-perfect people with faulty minds.

Who would you be without the belief that you’re going somewhere? Or that you NEED to go somewhere?

I find this astonishing (at least my mind does).

Really? Actually let go? Relax and give up (in a good way)?

Who would I be without the thought that I must improve my thought?

Not so discouraged. Not feeling like a failure. Not ping-ponging around with that dictator voice that’s got either a self-improvement whip or a doing-it-so-good-and-right whip.

I’d be meditating for the sheer joy of it, not because it’s the right thing to do for getting somewhere.

And if I had a fever….I’d probably stay in bed, lying flat and resting.

I’d be laughing!

“Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it’s about befriending who we are.” ~ Pema Chodron

“Conditioned mind is perpetually focused on something other than what is–another time or place, another something that must be done right now. When we don’t succumb to ego’s urgency, fear, and anxiety we can relax, breathe and be, right where we are, right where Life has place us in this very moment.” ~ Cheri Huber

Just for today, take a very deep breath, and be with yourself. See yourself in the mirror and notice how awesome you are. Relax your muscles, your speed, the need to change your mind, your to-do list, your plans for awakening.

And you don’t have to. If this doesn’t happen, that’s OK too.

All is very, very well, without you needing to do anything about yourself.

Wow.

Much love,

Grace

P.S. Summer Camp Fridays are from 7-8:30 am Pacific Time! Very unusual early, beautiful summer morning hours! We’ll still have 4 more of these in the month ahead. Join us if you like.

July 1, 2015

On The Other Side of Fear Is Surging Joy!

hesitationmonkey — Waiting??? Who would you be without your thoughts that create hesitation? (This is my sister, by the way, not me).

Hesitating.

Holding back.

I’m standing on a diving board in my wet bathing suit.

My grandfather has his gray professional work slacks on, a thin black belt, pale blue shirt tucked in, tie recently removed and two open buttons at his neck.

He’s rolled up his sleeves to mid-forearm and holds a wavy gold-colored glass with a paper towel wrapped around it full of iced coffee.

“Okay, try again.”

I look down at the blue rough-surfaced diving board and my bare feet, my eyes blood shot from so much chlorine all afternoon.

My sister’s and I were all swimming in the backyard pool, screaming and throwing an orange and white beach ball at anyone who jumped off the diving board. The jumper was always trying to somehow sit on the ball on the way down into the water and force the whole thing way under, so it exploded out of the pool into the hot Oklahoma sky like a rocket.

But when my grandpa came home, we got quiet.

It was serious diving drill time.

He’d watch us and coach.

Today was a little different. He said it was high time my sister and I, the two older girls, learned to do a flip.

“You’re gonna step-step-step just like your dives, raise your leg up high and come down pushing hard with your whole weight right at the exact end of the board, arms up, reach, tuck your knees in and roll.”

My sister, 18 months younger, was already climbing the silver ladder steps out of the pool and waiting for me to go.

I stepped fast, did my jump down at the end of the board.

And once again did a jack-knife dive head first into the water. Just like my sister had done a second ago before me.

Just like I had done the other fifteen times off the end of the board with my grandpa staring me down waiting for the flip.

Dang-it.

“I can’t do this.”

“Sure you can. You two aren’t even trying it. So what if you flop, at least you’ll have tried!”

I was climbing the step ladder out now, and my sister was standing on the diving board looking like she was concentrating hard.

We felt like we had been there for hours.

Grandpa was not budging. He was standing there like a soldier. Can’t he go back inside? Jeez, leave us alone!

Who needs flips for crying out loud? Why now? Why us?

And then my sister ran, with fists tightly wound into balls, down the diving board.

Up, up she went….and she rolled into a ball and landed feet in the water first.

She came up shouting, both arms raised in the sky.

“I did it! I did it! I did it!”

Oh shit.

And then all in an instant of awareness and movement, without thinking about it anymore, I got into position myself, a huge surge of energy running through me.

Step-step-step down the board, jump, curl into a ball and flip right over. Feet first into the water.

Bam.

I did it too.

Coming up to the surface I was elated.

I looked at my grandpa. “Good,” he said. “Now practice that.”

And we did. Over and over again.

But I never forgot that day.

Would I have done the flip all by myself? It seemed like without my sister doing it first (my YOUNGER sister, by the way, who was NOT supposed to do things before me, growl) I would never have risked what seemed so frightening, and so unnecessary in the big scheme of things.

I would have been happy doing a simple dive, probably.

But perhaps through the powerful surge of competition, or through someone similar to me showing me what was possible, or through continually trying–hesitating and holding back–and then for some unknown reason, flinging it all to the wind and jumping….

….I felt total and complete joy in that moment.

Who would you be without the belief that you’ll fail, or it will really hurt and you’ll do a belly flop, or you’ll land on your back with a huge smack?

Who would you be if you didn’t think about the future anymore, even the future that will happen in literally 5 seconds after you jump?

Wow. Exhilaration.

“Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” ~ author George Addair

Click Here for a beautiful short video to inspire you to feel what happens….without believing that stressful thought.

You can.

And if you need encouragement, ask.

Much love, Grace

May 15, 2015

When Will I Ever Get There?

The other day, I was listening to (yet another) audio teaching about growing my business, running webinars, marketing and creating a production plan and hiring a team….

….and I had the thought “this is ridiculous”.

Not the actual teaching and audio, which was superb (and for which I am grateful) but this is ridiculous that I’m constantly and compulsively thinking I need to learn something.

I need to get something. I need to catch a drift here. Things will be better…soon.

Meanwhile….

….I need to GROW my business. I need to GROW my bank account. I need to GROW my inner peace. I need to GROW my personal health and fitness. I need to GROW my awareness. I need to GROW my relationship with my partner, kids, family. I need to GROW my love and joy.

Oh man.

There it is, an energy of something being off over the horizon.

Including Spiritual Awakening, which isn’t here.

Yet.

Chasing the carrot! The ever-dangling carrot just out of reach of the horse’s mouth.

Yummy carrot if I only stretch, push a little harder, race, strain and go a little faster!!

But who the heck would I be without that “almost there” thought permeating everything?

I mean, really….the mind thinks “almost there, not quite there yet” about everything.

Money, health, wealth, love, success, happiness, awakening.

Who would I be without the thought that any of these things are ALMOST there (but not quite)?

Wait. What?

Huh?

Without the belief that this isn’t it?

Dang. (Slow whistle). Woah.

I notice, it’s all here.

It’s right here, all complete, all brilliant.

No searching required.

Here’s a computer, and a bookshelf, and a standing lamp, air in this room, a bathrobe hanging on a hook, an arm, a hand, kitchen noise happening, footsteps on the porch, a silver ring on a finger, a pen.

Absolutely fantastically glorious!!

“I got myself into a right pickle. I became exhausted with the whole thing. With the spiritual concepts, the teachers, the awakening stories, trying to get there. I had been trying, trying, trying soooo hard to get there. I was brought to my knees. I was exhausted from trying. Fed up with spirituality. Nauseated with the whole thing. I didn’t want to hear the word ‘consciousness’ or ‘awakening’ ever again. That’s how BAD it got….It had ALL become second hand. And I looked at a chair in my childhood bedroom and thought ‘oh’. Life is right here. All these things I’ve made into destinations. But they are here. It’s a chair! It’s a chair!” ~ Jeff Foster

Turning the thought around:

It is all here already. There is no ‘almost there’.

No just-around-the-corner. It’s here!

Money, health, wealth, love, success, happiness, awakening.

RIGHT HERE!!!!!

Can you feel it?

“You can neither look for the truth, nor find the truth, nor lose the truth; for all the time you are the truth.” ~ Adyashanti

Much love, Grace

April 29, 2015

Can You Await What The Stars May Bring?

Since I’ve been teaching a course on Desire and The Work, I’ve been reflecting almost daily on the experience of desire, and questioning stressful belief.

The word desire originally comes from Latin meaning “await what the stars will bring”.

Desire, with this joyful definition, feels like a dance in the present moment.

But the word can conjure up a lot of distress and conflict.

Sometimes…..

…..desire leads to anguish.

Shouldn’t I try NOT to desire? Aren’t there BAD things that will hurt if I got them? Or destroy trust, or hurt other people?

I can’t just go stealing my neighbor’s television set, I mean….seriously. That would be WRONG.

Right?

Unrequited love, striving to achieve career success and exhausting yourself in the process, being practically violent to yourself in the gym or on a diet, controlling yourself from lust or cravings, feeling jealous of those who have what you’re sure you want.

What to do?

The thing I’ve found most illuminating is inquiry.

First….ask why you want what you imagine you want.

Not HOW you’re going to get it. Which is what the first question usually is, and the action follows that “how” without taking a breather.

The mind thinks “I want money, I want a good body, I want fame, I want enlightenment, I want to be with him/her, I want love, I want praise, I want this, I want that….” and then takes off trying to figure out how to get it.

Project Get.

What would it be like to be without the belief that you should have it exactly the way you want it?

What if it was fun to watch what you want fade, blaze up, fade again, and make no difference to your life at all?

What is desire….awaiting what the stars may bring….when you feel no stress about it?

What if what is here is not a problem, and neither is where you are going?

I find, every time, freedom to be exactly here (without the *thing* I think I want–like a million dollars–ha ha) is so beautiful, so exciting, so fun….

….the desire morphs into a compassionate peace beyond all belief.

And every time, I’m closer to the thing I wanted in the first place.

Which is love, joy, trust, silence.

Every time.

“Desires that destroy their subjects, or objects, or do not subside on satisfaction are self-contradictory and cannot be fulfilled. Only desires motivated by love, goodwill and compassion are beneficial to both the subject and object and can be fully satisfied…..The entire universe strives to fulfill a desire born of compassion.” ~ Nisargadatta

If you have something you want fulfilled, and you are suffering about it….

….begin to inquire.

Why do you want it? What would you have, if you had it? Are you sure you are unfulfilled without it?

Can you feel joy, ecstasy, mystery, happiness….before you acquire the thing you think you want?

Do it backwards.

Live the turnaround right now.

Enjoy being what you desire.

You can do this.

Much love,

Grace

March 31, 2015

The Purpose of Life Is Happiness

happyhearts So many questions about the Desire virtual class starting Thursday.

You may find answers by clicking right HERE.

In a nutshell, each class you will log-in (and dial-in using your phone or skype) to a webinar and follow along in exercises geared entirely towards:

a) identifying what you’re lacking in important areas of your life

b) noticing what does work in these areas, even if very small

c) burning your stressful beliefs by questioning them

d) naming and claiming your own personal core desired feelings–the living turnarounds–in these same areas you care about the most

I’ve loved doing this work myself and found it sooooo affirming.

Ready to sign up now? [rps-paypal]

I’ve identified what I really thought I wanted, what felt desirable, in many areas of my life.

I’ve wondered openly what I would have, if I attained my greatest desire.

In the end, it’s usually some kind of feeling….safety, happiness, excitement, ease.

What is it you desire? What do you think you’d have, if you got it?

Are you sure you can’t feel this now, in the present….without attaining that great desire, that condition, that person, that object?

We’ll question our stressful stories around moving towards what we think we want. We’ll do this together in the class, I’ll guide you through.

After doing this work (combining the Work of Byron Katie and desire mapping and exploring feelings) I’ve landed….for now….on my own core desired feelings:

Amazon, Luxurious, Mystic, Serenity

Just saying these words feels creative, delicious, and like powerful medicine personal to my path.

As I do The Work of Byron Katie, when I arrive in the turnarounds, the opposites to my stressful thoughts (the last step in The Work) I can call in these feelings, these words, and imagine how I would live if I felt these feelings.

Some examples.

I notice I desire time, insight, being of service, and freedom from dread—instead, joy.

So what do I perceive is NOT working when it comes to time, insight, being of service and freedom from dread?

Well! Glad you asked!

Time: I don’t have enough.

Insight: I need more time with my teachers and books.

Being of service: I could reach more people.

Freedom from dread: Life seems like more fun without dreading something in the future (ha ha!)

I start with the one on top of the list: I NEED MORE TIME.

I get a good solid sense of a situation in which I believed this to be very true.

Yah, I got it. Yesterday when I had to pick up my kid unexpectedly right in the middle of rush hour traffic, right in the middle of recording my podcast.

I need more time!!

I take this situation through inquiry.

Is it true that I need more time?

Yes Yes Yes.

Absolutely?

Uhm. Well. No.

How do I react when I believe I need more time?

Frustrated, tight, clenched, small.

Who would you be without the belief you need more time?

Wow, in that moment? Hmmmm.

I’d be freely moving from microphone, into car holding keys, wearing my cute slippers, heading out to the school. Break time. Time to talk with my kid. Listening to 3 messages from one of closest friends in the world. Breathing deeply. Relaxed.

Turning the thought around: I do NOT need more time. I have ENOUGH time.

Can I find real examples, genuine examples, of how this could be just as true…..or truer?

Well….one of the most important things in my life are my kids and spending time with them, and that’s what I get to do when I pick her up. It doesn’t even have to be long, it only takes 20 minutes door-to-school-to-door.

I also notice I’m not dying today (I know that’s dramatic, but its an example)!

I also have enough time because I am not a special case–I get just the right amount of time for me–not unlike many other humans.

I have enough time to buy groceries, get gas, work out at the gym, read books, write these Grace Notes, work with clients, create classes, facilitate retreats, do interviews, record podcasts, watch Birdman last week (won best picture), work with deeply important spiritual teachers, go out to lunch with a colleague, and meditate.

And that’s only starters.

What if I felt amazon, luxurious, mystic and serenity when it comes to time?

Ha ha! *AWESOME!*

Waaaaaaayyyyy different than powerless, scarce, tiny and frustrated.

Nice turnaround to live, these beautiful feelings I identified for myself.

You can do this too.

You can zone in on the unique feelings you celebrate, honor and love to experience when you turn your stressful thoughts around.

Come find out how on Thursday….join us!

If you can’t because you’re in an alternate time zone, or you’re scheduled, don’t worry.

This means its not right for right now.

You can follow the process I just outlined and find your core desired feelings, and your stressful beliefs about why you can’t get there, and take your beliefs to inquiry using the four questions.

I know you can do it.

“I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. From the moment of birth, every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affect this. From the very core of our being, we simply desire contentment. I don’t know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness.” ~ Dalai Lama

Love, Grace

March 28, 2015

How To Find The Joy of Desiring Without Wanting Any Outcome

When I was a teenager, if you had asked me about what I wanted to do in my life, what I really loved, or what I truly desired….

….I would have looked at you oddly and kept my mouth shut.

Those were rather frightening questions.

So much can go wrong with how one answers.

First of all….the person asking might take what you say and use it against you later.

“She SAID she’s got a crush on Evan Matthews. I HEARD her say it!!”

(Group of kids are standing around laughing, pointing and cackling about the news).

Or….the person to whom you have revealed what you want is offended or disappointed.

“I worked so hard cooking this meal, I can’t believe you ate dinner somewhere else, that’s so rude.”

Or….the response to your desire is luke warm or uncomfortable.

“Going to that play sounds totally boring.”

What about great far-reaching desires that take a long time, or are challenging to accomplish? Sometimes the response to these are very dismissive or critical.

“Are you sure you’re smart enough for medical school? Do you know what it takes to succeed in business? Don’t you get too nervous on stage?”

And finally, some of the most painful inputs about what we desire can come from groups, institutions, whole societies, religions, schools.

“Don’t bother trying out for varsity. If you feel attraction for that person, something’s wrong with you. Be careful what you want, you can make a mistake. Your desire is greedy, bad, selfish.”

Yikes.

I noticed so much conflict in my own movements towards what I thought I wanted, I got more and more and more careful, timid and tentative about going for anything.

Or I wanted to secretly sneak things behind the backs of whomever was watching me (like eating).

It’s very painful to have great desire and be sparked by a fire, and then think of it as messed up, too hard, sick or impossible.

I love doing The Work on my desires, when they’ve felt uncomfortable, unfulfilled, or misdirected.

One of my favorite things is to identify what it is that worries me about something I find attractive. Or what it is that would be much better if I had it than things are right now.

“What would I have, if I had this item, this experience, this dream come true? What would be possible for me?”

Hmmm.

I remember doing this work on MONEY.

Oh money.

I really did want money so desperately. I always felt off with money. Loving it, feeling embarrassed about loving it. Wanting to hide it if I had it (from all the other jealous or competitive people). So miserable without it.

What would I really have, if I had lots and lots of money?

I would have ease. I could relax. I’d have time to read, meditate, write and visit gurus. I would feel thrilled and expansive. I would feel blissful. I would feel care-free, unafraid, untamed, free.

I’d feel safe.

So now the next great question….what is preventing you from feeling these wonderful feelings right now, even as you desire money?

Are you sure you need money, in order to feel safe? Comfortable? Cared for? Abundant? Able to learn?

Who would you be without the thought that you can’t feel safe, thrilled, excited, blissful, generous, loved and accepted right now, right here in your life, without anything added (or subtracted for that matter).

Gosh.

I’d feel curious.

I’d feel much safer suddenly. I’d feel trusting. Grounded. I’d feel kind of excited.

I’d notice that right now, even without the thing I want (person, item, experience) I’m breathing, looking about, and things are happening.

I want to clap!

I feel joy!

How do you think you’ll be more open to moving closer to money….with stressful thoughts about it, or an open mind and curiosity and a feeling of safety?

How do you think you’ll find that fabulous mate, or go through cancer treatment, or stop overeating or smoking cigarettes….

….filled with anxiety about how awful or weak or boring you are….

….or open to feeling this whole present experience and not missing a drop of love, awareness, safety or peace in the moment NOW?

It’s such a fun life to find the exquisite beauty in what I’m pursuing, to be drawn towards it, to discover the joy of noticing how lovely it is.

Now is when I’m doing the noticing.

Ha ha!

And yes, it really doesn’t matter if I get the thing at all.

“When you have no destination in view, you can go anywhere. You realize that whatever life brings you is good, so you look forward to it all. There’s no such thing as adversity. Adversity is just an unquestioned thought….

….We think that because Jesus and the Buddha wore robes and owned nothing, that’s how freedom is supposed to look. But can you live a normal life and be free? Can you do it from here, right now? That’s what I want for you. We have the same desire: your freedom….

….Abundance has nothing to do with money. Wealth and poverty and internal. Whenever you think that you know something and it feels stressful, you’re experiencing poverty. Whenever you realize that what you have is enough and more than enough, you’re rich…. I love having money, and I love not having it.” ~ Byron Katie in 1000 Names For Joy

This great discovery is the feelings in the present, at the core.

We’ll be having a wonderful time putting words to these present moment feelings in the upcoming Desire & The Work course that starts next Thursday.

Every week, we’ll explore an area people consider in their lives to be fulfilling, interesting, and fun.

We’ll identify stressful thoughts….our adversity towards these areas….

….and we’ll question our thoughts using The Work.

We’ll combine some of the lovely work of Danielle LaPorte author of The Desire Map to celebrate the unique flavor we have in our particular expression of whatever this is we’re being.

We’ll come back to reality, now.

Which I always discover is very friendly, when my thinking doesn’t get in the way.

A Smile and A Gentleness

There is a smile and a gentleness inside. When I learned the name and address of that, I went to where you sell perfume. I begged you not to trouble me so with longing. Come out and play! Flirt more naturally! Teach me how to kiss. On the ground a spread blanket, flame that’s caught and burning well, cumin seeds browning, I am inside all of this with my soul. ~ Rumi

If you’d like to join the 6 week journey of exploring desire, questioning the stressful thoughts that appear, tasting the flavors that seem just right for you….now….then click HERE.

Love, Grace

P.S. If you missed the webinar on the introduction to Desire and The Work of Byron Katie….Click HERE to watch and listen.

March 17, 2015

Your Heart’s Desire

myheartsdesire Desire and The Work of Byron Katie Webinar for everyone 10-11:30 am Thursday March 26, 2015.

We will begin a journey into what Desire is, and can be for us when its joyful, clear, and thrilling. Anyone is welcome to join for no charge.

DESIRE! Hooray!!

Put this information in your calendar if you’d like to attend. It WILL be recorded, so if you can’t make it, don’t worry–you’ll be able to listen in later and I’ll leave the recording up for several days.

To attend by phone (limited to 25) please dial 425-440-5100 and enter pin code 305799#.

To join via skype call “join.conference” from your keypad then open the keypad again and enter the guest pin code 305799#.

To listen in and send your responses or question via the web, click on the link below for the Event Page. You can do this if the phone line is full!

Click HERE to connect via the web on 3/26: Join The Desire & The Work of Byron Katie Presentation

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The really interesting thing about desire is all the ways it gets twisted up in our hearts and minds with fear, panic, loss and emptiness.

I’ll explain.

So if I’m sitting on my couch and have a desire to make good money doing what I love in the world….

….but a split second later I think about my low bank account, and how my car is damaged and needs repair, and how the house I live in has a broken refrigerator….

….my mind is running fast and bouncing around like a ping-pong ball from desiring money to considering what I need the money for (desperately).

I hardly let myself have a moment of peaceful enjoyment, the imagined joy of what could be possible, before I kicked myself in the shin with what a failure and how overwhelming this is.

Sad, disappointed.

The thoughts are stressful: you’re a loser, you don’t know how, you should have gotten a better education, you should have made different choices, you need more energy anyway, it’s almost too late.

Boy howdy!

How do you react when you believe these kinds of thoughts?

I want to go to bed, drink alcohol, watch TV, escape, sigh, surf the net. I might snap at the people around me. I stay home. I don’t try anything new.

Who would you be if you slowed way, way down and imagined yourself without the beliefs the you’re a loser, you’ve failed, you should have done it differently?

Without the belief that you know what’s better, that you know what’s right?

Without the belief that your dream or desire for more is wrong, or wasted, or bad?

This is a hard thing to imagine sometimes, but try.

Who would you BE in this moment without the belief that there’s no use, you’re a failure, and your dreams are too big?

Hmmm.

None of those thoughts?

Woah.

Something in me would stir.

I might even get excited, and have a spark of energy. I’d feel more trusting, I’d relax even while I’m picturing a future vision.

If you turn around the idea that Desire is dangerous, impossible, not for you, or disappointing….

….what do you notice you desire?

Fortune, influence, romance, love, connection, security, enlightenment?

How could your desire be present right now?

If you lived this, and followed the breadcrumbs of your desire through the woods….

….how would you behave? What would you say? What would you do?

What if there was no need to grab? What if you celebrated your desire, sincerely, and shared it with everyone?

“Your aims are small and low. They do not call for more. Only God’s energy is infinite–because He wants nothing for Himself. Be like Him and all your desires will be fulfilled. The higher your aims and vaster your desires, the more energy you will have for their fulfillment. Desire the good of all and the universe will work with you.” ~ Nisargadatta

You are part of this wonderful universe, so don’t eliminate yourself, but let yourself be cared for and nurtured and loved. Reach out.

Question your stressful thoughts about why you can’t get what you want, or your confusion about your worth.

What disturbs you about your desires? What do you long for?

Write me back by hitting reply to this email and let me know–I may cover it in next week’s webinar on Desire.

“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” ~ Rumi

Love, Grace