Such energy creates dis-ease, despair, apathy, frustration, fogginess, and lack of growth.
There is a sure way of blocking energy.
Desire 'stuff'.
Of course we all know that too much stuff clutters up our homes, but right back to the act of desire - the energy of desire.
The energy behind the act of desiring is a block.
Thing is, we have no idea of what is perfect for us. We know what we want, we know what we could do with, we even know on a basic level what we need. But we don't understand perfect.
Perfect may mean a great and trying hardship, a frustrating relationship, financial struggle, loneliness, or failure. Perfect, because it helps us grow.
Perfect can mean being stuck in a frustrating traffic jam because that extra 20 minutes meant I later bumped into someone who will change my life for the better, who I would have missed had I got there 'on time'!
But let's stick to stuff.
Perfect may mean a smaller house or car, it may mean a caravan or a bike instead. Perfect may mean a pottery wheel rather than those paint brushes I'm constantly coveting.
Perfect is
a soul-need from the heart,
rather than an Ego-need from the head.
a soul-need from the heart,
rather than an Ego-need from the head.
And the only way to allow the former to rule over the latter, is to let go of wanting.
•
Some 20 years ago, travelling and moving through bohemian communities, I was offered a cello, free. I had absolutely zero desire for one, but had been desiring a saxophone. However, I just really dug the coolness of such a thing. I had way too much stuff in my car, later to be all sold or given away, otherwise I would have taken it.
Eventually, I bought a saxophone, which I never learnt to play properly, and 20 years later my favourite instrument is the cello.
I love the saxophone, then I love the cello too, what my soul-needs is to hear the sound of the sea from a little room somewhere..........perfect!
ReplyDeleteLovely post.x
now that would be perfect, to actually hear the sea from your room.... sigh
DeleteI think for so many, the problem lies in that we listen to our brains, or society, letting them decide what is perfect for us. Very few listen to their soul. There is a disconnect with that part of our being. But our soul is very wise, and should be listened to more often. Magical things will happen if we do.
ReplyDeletexo
we are never taught to listen to intuition. we are not taught silence.
Deleteyou've an interesting point there. maybe, no actually am sure, only very seldom we know, like really know. the rest is a format, a frame we've made up. and yet it is not easy to leave that frame behind. xx from the studio
ReplyDeleteyes, constructs, that we build when we have no other trust - such as in our own intuitions - we build them from external input.
Deleteyour cello story goes to show how life gives us what we need… I love your posts Monica, always do.
ReplyDeletexo sandra
thank you for saying so, colourful one.
DeleteThis is soooo true! - of course...What we think we want is not what we need, and yet we always get what we need... Amazing how that works ;) I realized this when I signed up for an art course on-line. It is what I wanted, what I thought I "needed" - to learn art, to be more creative. Instead I felt only anxiety staring at the canvas. And yet the anxiety is now bringing me what is really needed - the deeper need - to open to The Mystery and let go...
ReplyDeleteHere's a little something from Rumi I thought you'd like...
"Every part of you has a secret language.
Your hands and feet say what you've done.
And every need brings what is needed."
yes! the true needs attracts the thing without any effort from us.
Deletei love your story about your saxophone and your almost cello.
ReplyDeletethe thought that makes me a little sad and causes me worry is this: how were you to know that the cello would be the perfect thing? and that the sax would not? i know that life presents situations, and the universe was trying to give you a gift in that moment 20 years ago. the thing that is so tough is to learn to let go of desire when you logically don't think that what you are desiring is possibly not what you need in life. logic. maybe that's the problem maybe listening to something deeper and trusting the universe is the answer?
yes, i agree entirely. it's letting go of desire, especially, of pushing for our wants. and cultivating trust.
Deletemy focus was so strongly on the sax, all my energy was on that, that it didn't leave room for the right thing to enter.
i think that if the sax was the right instrument, i wouldn't just have wanted it, i would have felt the lack of it as a void.
lol great story
ReplyDeleteahhh the comedic irony of life
love this quote:
"when you want what you have, you have what you want"
Love and Light Monica
yes! lol
DeleteFor a while I got rid of a stuff, lots of it. My house is minimally decorated and yet there are things I can't really let go. Small things that make me happy.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with desire but I think that in my case it's a coping mechanism. It helps me numb my fear of being vulnerable. Your post is amazing!
I must admit I have fallen into the trap of longing, wanting, mine are not "things" per say as more wanting the perfect experience. I am loving these posts. Thank you.
ReplyDeletereading your last few posts, monica, and feeling into the days that i live this pema chodron resurfaces:
ReplyDelete"Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all this to happen; room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. When we think something is going to bring us pleasure, we don’t know what’s really going to happen. When we think something is going to give us misery, we don’t know. Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. We try to do what we think is going to help. But we don’t know. We never know if we’re going to fall flat or sit up tall. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure."
i think we sometimes use many things in an attempt for false security rather then doing the work to truly heal. i'm just learning this. in learning this i realize i need (truly need) less and less.
xo
erin
yes, and the healing work never ends. our instinctive resources walk hand in hand alongside our evolved responses. perhaps for always.
Delete