Thursday, June 8, 2017

The Power of Having True Burning Desires

Do You Have A True Burning Desire?  Do You Know The Power in Not Having?

Imagine for a moment having a desire to eat an apple or an orange.  Oops, start over.

Imagine for a moment having a desire to eat an egg, or two.  (It is a blog about our ketogenic diet challenge, after all.)  It doesn't take a whole lot of imagination, or effort-ing, to walk or drive to the nearest market, purchase eggs, bring them home, then prepare them to eat.

Imagine now you decide you prefer locally produced eggs.  You can pay (or barter) with a local producer or neighbor.  Or, you can raise chickens yourself.

This will require a little more effort-ing, won't it?  Can you now imagine having a stronger, more burning desire for eggs to go through the extra effort to raise chickens?  You have to build a structure for them to live and be safe through all seasons, feed them,  mate them, then wait for eggs.  Some chickens may die.  You may be successful.  But, it will take more effort.  And patience, right?

Where does the desire come from?  Can you feel in your body, or heart, or somewhere within where this desire lives?  If you are just going to the store to purchase eggs, it may be harder to detect this desire.  It becomes more like a rote activity.  You know you need to eat, you know you will eat eggs, you purchase them at a certain time or day of the week, and then you have eggs.

No big stretch.  Rinse, repeat.

Today, we live a life that affords us the luxury of just going to a store to purchase whatever we desire.    I use the word 'desire' in this context loosely, as we consider it more of a need.  Because we think of eating as fulfilling a need ~ we can just go to a store to purchase our food or go to a restaurant and let someone else prepare it for us ~ we miss out on an entire creative process.  We don't get to tap into our inner resources, or resourcefulness.

Of course, we may desire something really tasty.  This will give us the opportunity to express our creative energy while cooking up something delicious.

However, often, when it comes to procuring and preparing food, we can be completely unaware of this unfolding creative process that begins with a spark.  Our Spirit is nudging us, and we feel this as a desire, or a craving.  Having the craving/desire means there is something we want that we don't yet have.  We will need certain skills and raw materials ~ our intent, will, desire, and imagination ~ in order to manifest our desire.  (Or, just a car and some money.)

Naturally, our brains have a way of interceding with this process.  Our body/Spirit can be trying to direct us to a particular type of food that would be most nourishing, however, our mind often misinterprets our cravings.  Or, overrides them.

Typically, we are not aware of this process happening.  Instead, we tend to be caught up with 'more important' tasks.  Like going to our jobs.  Work.  It takes up a lot of our focus.  But is it really our desire to work for someone else?  Or do we think that we have to, to pay our bills, to provide shelter, to be able to purchase eggs at the store?  Is spending time commuting in a car ~ often in heavy traffic ~ to get to work is normal?  (Get to work is almost a misnomer.)

Have our natural desires and inclinations been somehow co-opted ~ re-wired into a desire we now believe we have, but maybe we really never did?  Maybe we are living out a reality based on the desires of a few?  Maybe there are a 'few' relatively speaking, that benefit from the type of lives we have created, and all accept as 'normal' 'real' or 'necessary.'  Maybe those who have the means (especially those who control Hollywood and the media, the masters at creating images and sparking our imaginations) can paint pictures for us so well, that we believe the pictures represent our desires, and we by-pass our own true desires.  We juxtapose the stories and desires of their characters onto our own lives.

Hopefully, we like what we do at our job, and we get to invoke our creative processes, and tap into our inner resources and resourcefulness.

However, I believe in many ways, we have forgotten what it is like to have a burning desire ~ for anything, but especially just to have food, and to survive, among other things.

I remember having moments of planning how to spend a couple dollars to get something to eat for both myself and my dog.  Money was tight.  Let me tell you, I had a strong burning desire to just take care of my basic needs!

The most 'real' part of the process of having a desire, and bringing it to fruition is the intangible, unseen energy involved that catapults into action once we bring to our awareness our desire.  It's the creative spark that gets ignited, although it is easy to miss this when all we have to do is go to a store to purchase eggs.  (Actually having what we desired is the end of the manifestation process, and therefore has the least power.  It's sort of anti-climatic. It's past tense.  There is far less charge and anticipation having, then desiring.  We are more in the moment, and therefore able to access our power when we are feeling our burning desire.)

We often go into auto pilot mode, especially with respect to thinking about food.  

We disregard our inner promptings, or conflate our real cravings for something unhealthful.  We are multi-tasking so much, that we may just decide to get something to go instead, not wanting to 'be bothered' with cooking.  That would mean having to clean up a mess afterwards.

When in auto pilot, we forget.  We forget a lot of things, because we are in a trance.  We don't know we are in a trance, but we are.  We live much of our lives in trances without our knowing. 

Often, we let others do the creative work for us.  We let them make what we need, so that we don't have to put forth our own  effort.  We let others make decisions for us as well.  We go into trances listening to 'experts' and suddenly lose our power.  We think they must know better than us.  "They must be aware of what I need more than I am able to know for myself."

So, again, we surrender over our process as creative beings.  We have laziness disease in aspects of our brain.

What do I mean by that?

We would rather let someone just tell us what to do.  We want to feel better, yesterday.   Instead of doing some of our own research, or tuning into our own inner knowing, we just begin to employ what the experts say we should do.  We may have an inner sense that the advice may not apply personally at that moment, but, we tend to ignore that inner voice.  It's very subtle.

For example, I have a desire to feel vibrant.  I'm experimenting with this diet to see if it takes me to the next level.  As such, I'm reading what I can from others with more knowledge about ketogenic diets.

I was reading about how one should make sure to consume plenty of salt when first trying a ketogenic diet. Since there is often increased urination when first switching to a very low carbohydrate diet as water that is required to hold in glycogen is no longer needed.  Therefore, many recommend consuming ample salt.  The right sodium and potassium balance will help keep certain symptoms like fatigue, headaches, nausea and cramping at bay.  It can also help prevent postural hypotension ~ that feeling of dropping or fainting when coming to an upright position after sitting or lying down.

I live in a desert.  We work out every morning.  I've had some slight nausea here and there.  I have had several bouts of postural hypotension in the past ~ which is an uncomfortable sensation in my head ~ therefore, it seemed like a good idea to increase my sodium intake.

Well, some part of me had a resistance to putting salt in my drinking water, but I blazed forward with the 'mineralize my water' agenda.  I rationalized that maybe I was thirsty because I had too little sodium versus too much.  I was once again eating (drinking the salt water)  to prevent an issue that made me uncomfortable ~ going according to the expert advice ~ rather than trusting what my body actually craved and needed.  I ignored that subtle sense of resistance, like an almost voice saying, "no, don't need that right now."

You could say, I was consuming something to avoid something which is just acting in fear, couched as following expert advice.  I was acting in fear, and gave my power away.

The advice wasn't wrong.  I just wasn't paying attention to the cues I was receiving, and doubted my own knowing, again.  So, while in a 'believe the expert' trance, I consumed salt just as suggested.  Then I woke up with puffy eyes, and an extra pound of water weight.

Thankfully, karma (consequences of my actions) responded in kind to that rather quickly, before continuing with my sodium water to my detriment.  The reaction I had, thus, became my teacher.  My burning desire to have more clear and bright eyes, without the puffiness, reduce fasting glucose, and lose excess fat still burns strong, and keeps me present and alive.  Until I get preoccupied with other things.

Ah, now that is more refreshing than a glass of water with salt in it!

Generally speaking, we don't take the time to conduct our own experiments, and learn from trial and error.  We read everything we can, almost in a panic, to ensure we are 'doing it right.'  As if a month of eating mostly animal foods and fats will just kill us on the spot.  Never mind that our ancestors pretty much only ate animal foods and fats for thousands of years.)  We often make it more complicated than it needs to be.  (Like just eat the amount and types of animal foods and fats needed to sate the appetite for one month as an experiment.)

Once upon a time, we had no choice.  We lived or died by our experimenting.  We learned which plants were safe to eat by trial and error.

We also lived in an extended family tribal community.  The elders guided us, and passed on their hard-won wisdom.  It was the 'job' of the elders to guide and mentor the young, and to teach them the skills needed to go out on our own and hopefully make good choices.  They would teach the appropriate skills to evolve and grow into healthy, decent, contributing members of the tribal community.  They would teach their sons to be honorable and strong.  And how to protect their mothers and sisters.  The daughters would learn how to help provide for and nurture the whole family.  The degenerate and weak-minded, or non-conformists were handled appropriately.  Typically they were weeded out to maintain the integrity of the tribe.

Can you imagine living before the advent of current technology and modern conveniences ~ as our ancestors did?  The desire to ensure the health and survival of the family would have been constantly burning within, like a slow ember that doesn't ever go out.  No doubt, there were times where the resourcefulness of our ancestors was really tested!

Not having things we need or desire helps us grow.  We (hopefully) learn the necessary skills to acquire what we most need ~ whether in terms of safety from invaders/predators, or to avert hunger, or manage during economic crashes, natural disasters and/or wide spread power outages.  I guess what I am trying to say is that when our lives are truly at risk, and life takes us to that edge, our burning desires are strong, which can make us feel really really alive.  Every bit of energy is utilized to maintain our life, and the life of our loved ones.

There is power in the desire.  There is power and movement, although unseen, in the firing off of electrons in the brain as we conjure up our plan to acquire or create the object(s) of our desire.

For someone embarking on raising their own chickens to produce their own eggs, this may require spending some time watching YouTube videos of others raising chickens.  They may need to research what the best methods are.  The best/most affordable feed.  The best/most efficient and appropriate shelter.

Another option is to just get quiet, and tune in.  Perhaps by putting the intention out to raise chickens, and silently asking for some guidance and clarity about the best way to go about it, some answers will bubble up.  Even if the guidance is to get on YouTube, it will be more clear where to search.  A way will be shown, and the right resources will manifest once the intent to fulfill a desire is declared.

We have more power than we realize.  More resources within than we know.  We must stretch ourselves to find out.  In our modern lifestyle, it is easy to live much of our lives in a trance, and go numb to or tune out from what we actually desire.  When we had to 'work' to live ~ find our own food, make our own shelter and clothing ~ we had a burning desire within us all the time.  We had a burning desire to live and survive.

It occurs to me sometimes that the powers that be have put forth images via television, magazines, and other forms of media, that have short-circuited our natural desires.  Images, ads, celebrities, etc., cause us to desire something we may not really need.  Or actually desire.  We have just been convinced through smart marketing  that we must have XYZ products to be happy, youthful, fulfilled, healthy, or what-have-you.

We must want to be successful professionals so that we feel accepted by our peers and society, right? We must want to do a lot of effort-ing to help others fulfill their desires, and realize their goals, happy with our meager reward (a salary), for which we get to accumulate things.  Some of those things we may never truly desired at a deep, soul level, but so what.  We procured them.  Those commercials (very hypnotic trance-inducing tunes and imagery) told us what we needed and desired, including which pharmaceuticals we should take.  Never mind that long list of fine print with side effects that the narrator quickly spews out as the list scrolls by.

But was climbing up the corporate ladder really our true inner desire?  Or were we made to believe it was the only noble desire to have, post graduating from college?  Maybe what we really had was a  desire to fit in, be accepted, and feel good about ourselves by having a career ~ an identity.

Could it be that we actually had no real desire to pursue a career?  Perhaps we had a very subtle inner sense that we just wanted to live on a piece of land, and have a homestead.  (Okay, that's my dream!) Maybe we would like to find our ideal mate, settle down, and raise a family.  Maybe as a woman, being a stay at home mom sounded appealing, but we were practically afraid to admit that.

And now that our society is geared towards living in urban areas, and having a career, where would one go at a young age other than an urban area?  We are being funneled to live in a certain way, whether we are aware of it or not, and whether we actually desire it or not.

I'm speaking especially to women, however, it can be true for men as well.

What if our true desire is to express our innate qualities inherent within us as either a male or female?  To hunt and protect, or to create and nurture?  To feel really alive?

Just because society says it is wrong ~ to only want to get married, or that it is cruel to hunt, or selfish to be having kids when the world is 'over populated' ~ doesn't mean it is wrong.  It only means that we are being taught to go against our own true and natural inner desires, and become re-wired to believing we desire these other things.   In the end, does working 50+ hours per week at someone else's company really fulfill us?  Are we learning useful skills?  Can we build or remodel a home?  Create our own clothing?  Cut our own hair?  Fix the plumbing or electricity?  Our car?

Are we chasing clouds, living in a trance, and numbing out to our true desires?

I hope many are not, but I fear most of us are.

Do we really desire to live the way we are living, or have we been so completely convinced that having a good career, and living in an urban area where all we desire is a short drive away is ideal?

Some say they can't imagine not working.  They can't imagine living in a smaller town.  They believe they would be bored.  They like to be able to participate in cultural activities.

Like Ariana concerts?  Or Miley Cyrus?  Hoards of young flock to see these women and others perform.  They go and watch these celebrities gyrate on stage in super revealing outfits, singing rather  sexually explicit lyrics.  Their little brains get mightily influenced.  Talk about going into a trance! ( I linked to a couple of their more tame videos.  Sorry, but this is not what I would want a daughter of mine to aspire to!)

Perhaps many now believe that people who live in rural areas are innately racist.  Or city-ist.  Prejudiced against urban areas.  Maybe that would be an Urban-a-phobe?

Do we really benefit from that type of 'culture' and all of our modern conveniences?   Or are we perhaps missing out on opportunities to cultivate our character?  Learn in a way that Nature and Life itself can best teach?  By the seat of our bootstraps, the sweat of our brow, the willingness and dedication and burning desire within our hearts?

There are careers that can be very fulfilling and meaningful.  And there are people well suited for careers.

And there are those who are moving away from the type of lifestyle that has us enslaved to someone else's desires.  There are those who are going back to creating their livelihood by working the land, and becoming more self-sustaining.  They are engaging the creative process.  They are following their burning desire to be more self-sufficient, and live more sustainable lives.  They are raising their children in natural environments.  They are teaching them to have a good work ethic.  And how to be resourceful.

And, how to desire, and then create all the apples and eggs they could ever dream of.

Live your True Nature.  Take time to listen to what messages are trying to reach you.  Tune in.  Trust Life!  And by all means, take the longest journey from your head to your heart, and connect with your heart's desires.  It's bigger than you.  It's why you are here!

Having a desire does require effort!  You get to test yourself, and push past previous limitations and comfort zone.

And, you get to put those raw materials for manifesting your desire into action as you reach for your goals!

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