My desires are mine right? That seems pretty obvious. I mean, I thought of them. I created them in my mind. It’s me that wants them.
It might seem like they are yours however let’s analyse this. Let’s challenge this notion of ownership by looking at some facts.
A desire is simply a thought about something.
A thought is always about something. It has content and every thought is an expression of some aspect of creative intelligence.
All thoughts are sourced in consciousness.
How do we know this? If I’m not conscious I’m not able to have a thought in the first place. I need to exist, I need to Be in order to think. Without consciousness no thinking occurs. Therefore thoughts are sourced in consciousness.
Consciousness is a field of energy and information.
As any leading-edge physicist will demonstrate, the basis of life is not made up of discrete, separate building blocks of matter. Quite the opposite. The basis of life is like an ocean of energy. Every form and phenomena in the universe (and that includes you), is an expression of this underlying field of energetic creative power.
Therefore your desires are all coming from a universal reservoir of creative intelligence. You are a localised, individual aspect of that universal field. In this way you are an outlet for some impulse of that creative potential that is bubbling up in anticipation of manifesting into something more tangible. It is as if nature is seeding you with the desires in order for the play and display of life. This is nature’s way of making things happen, of making things interesting and varied.
Desires are to be honoured because they are worthy of your attention. In many philosophical traditions, desires are regarded as the enemy, as if they are an obstacle or distraction to us being peaceful and free. In the Vedic world view we see them as nature’s way (ie your universal nature) of enticing you into action. They are the mechanism to get you on the move. And those desires are not yours. Rather than being the author of them, see them as coming from a deeper, more expanded place.
When we let go of authorship, we let go of attachment and control. This is extremely liberating because it frees us up to enjoy. Your job is simply to follow the desires. Check them out. Investigate. Stay alert. Pay attention when they change. Take note when they seem to be falling away. Look for trends and patterns in the way desires are forming as this is vital information about the direction in which to move. In the absence of attachment to ownership we open ourselves up to the excitement of allowing desires to lead us in the direction of opportunities for charm.