When Desire and Realization Are the Same
The first time I had an inkling that everything that happens in consciousness (the experience of being a person in a world) was predetermined was over twenty years ago, after a study group I led. The Secret was big then and there was a lot of talk about how one could manifest what they wanted simply by wanting it enough. I had feelings of incongruity about this idea, but I had not yet sorted it out for myself. An attendee came up to me and said that anything she wanted manifested within a few days. As I walked away from this conversation, I had the thought, “What if she wasn’t manifesting but her desire for something indicated it was about to show up?” In other words, her wanting wasn’t making something happen, she was simply in tune with what was to happen.
I noted two things in my life
when it came to desire and something showing up. One was that if it was not
going to show up, trying to make it do so was a struggle. It felt like swimming
upstream. The other was that when I had an acute, pure desire for something, it
did show up. That desire was not the usual coming-from-lack but seemed to come
from deep within me. In fact, it felt like the desire and the desired object or
situation showing up were the same thing. Certainly, if I could make myself
want something in that pure way that resulted in the desired object or
situation, I would! But it was not in my control.
That pureness of desire has
come not just for things that show up in the world. It has come for things like
love and peace. Once, when my life was busy, I took a break and went to the
mountains with my wife and sister. As I sat near a stream and relaxed, I felt a
deep peace, and thought “This is what I want.” Later, in hindsight, I
realized that moment was a turning point. It took some time, but from then on,
my life slowed way down and got simpler.
I have come to see that sharp
moments of longing for God were, in fact, the awareness of the nearness of God.
It felt like want but it was an indication that the connection to God that I
wanted was in fact right here.
So, while the Buddhists say “have no desire”, some desires are, in fact, an expression of what is being realized, whether object or situation—or God.
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Comments
powerful.
faith enhancing.
thank you ever. n
I have it every time I go to buy a lottery ticket
The phrase “the script is written” when taken alone can be seen in a number of different lights. However, when the preceding sentence is included, “Yet there is a plan behind appearances that does not change. The script is written.” It is apparent that this is not a reference to the predestination that occurs in the dream state.
“We but see the journey from the point at which it ended, looking back on it, imagining we make it once again; reviewing what has gone by. (L-158).
Wapnick concludes:
“The “we” is not the self we call ourselves by name but rather the “decision maker” in our minds –outside time and space and outside the ancient ego script. And here the choice is certainly not predestined. It is thus clear that the Courses statement “the script is written” in is not to be understood temporally all.” (Question 35)
‘The plan behind appearances that does not change. The script is written’, is referring to Gods answer to the dream, the Holy Spirit.
The desire that impels purchasing lottery tickets is located in a misunderstood identity.
The pure longing for connection in God -Truth arises from beyond that misunderstanding.
There is no hurdle to jump. Only a misunderstand to forgive.
I am the only one who uses the comment section to practice teaching. It would be great to read someone else's thoughts. Why don't you contribute something.