Here is some more detail in regard to the fourth essential point of spiritual enlightenment, freedom from desire. The full four points were explained in the first part of this series. I covered thoughts in the last article and now we will discuss emotions because the basis of everything is the way you think and the emotion that it leads to. Once you live in a state of spiritual enlightenment you will be able to use your feelings unencumbered from the murky blanket of emotion.
The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.
E. E. Cummings
What you love is a sign from your higher self of what you are to do.
Sanyana Roman
People often ask for guidance. “What should I do?” is a typical question I am often asked.. The reason you are asking this question is because you do what you think you should do, to fit in with others and gain their approval.
The action to conform is driven by your emotional reaction to what happens around you. All is not lost because you have a inbuilt guidance system that, just like magic, literally makes you love what you are made to do. The trick is to separate what you love from the emotional reaction of “this is what I should do” You do this by following the path of spiritual enlightenment or put simply, personal development.
Freedom From Desire
Part of the spiritual enlightenment process is freedom from desire. Desire is your emotional pull towards a preference. The emotion you experience makes you move towards certain things irrespective of whether they are good or bad for you. The emotion creates a needy feeling that propels you toward something that you may not really want. The point is that you are making your decision based on an intense feeling that appears to be the ‘right’ thing. Your emotions however often make you do things that you would not normally do if you were thinking clearly.
Freedom from desire is often also expressed as freedom from the material world. Many people base their lives on getting more possessions or becoming a success based on this tenant. The rationale is that if you don’t have as much or better, you are not as good. This is incorrect thinking that is clouded with emotion. When you are free from the material world you can still have whatever, you want however you are liberated from the slavery of working for possessions just to keep pace with your colleagues. Here is a simple example.
Get Your Big Screen TV
You see that the neighbours have a new wide screen plasma television and theatre system. It’s a fact and you know that Gary your neighbour earns less than you do so you feel that you better get one too. You spend many thousands of dollars on a similar system when your goal for the year was something altogether different. Tragically this is indicative of how many people operate. It is an emotional decision that you easily justify by telling yourself that you work hard and you also deserve a new television.
If you were to see the thoughts that created the emotion which in turn made you buy the television they run along these lines;
“Hey how does Gary afford that? I can’t afford that and he earns less than me”
“What will people think if I don’t have one?”
“People will think that I am not a success”
“John across the road will think Gary is doing better than me”
and so on.
The important part is that there is nothing wrong with the purchase. The purchase by itself is neither positive or negative. Enlightenment allows you to understand why you are buying the television and gives you the clarity to decide for transparent reasons NOT hidden reasons. You don’t need to work harder just because you need to keep pace with your peers.
Who Thinks Women Are Possessions?
Here is a more complex example and is typical of many people. A client of mine was driven to succeed in business and with women. This emotional and unconscious drive created pressure and stress. When describing a recent relationship breakup with a woman, his description sounded like he just lost a possession not a relationship.
An analysis of the ‘why’ behind his drive to succeed in these areas lead to the revelation that he believes his father will love him more if he is a success in business and with women.
Is this true? The answer is no it is not true.
When pressed for examples of why this would be the case, the best example he could muster was an observation of his father’s behaviour during a particular event. My client’s observation was very brief and heavily laced with assumptions that were both fantasy and biased. This is what your mind creates when you do not think clearly. In this case he had been carrying this emotional cloud for decades. Remember it’s not easy to see that your vision is obscured unless you look at the results you have created in your life.
What Is The Truth?
When you are not “clear” your world is biased and emotional. You cannot see the truth. You are viewing the world through distorted glasses. This particular gentleman may miss the opportunity of a truly successful relationship just because he is looking for a trophy instead of love or compatibility.
In the quest for liberation from the material world there is a major mistake to be avoided. This mistake is predominant but not exclusive to the spiritual community.
Emotions & Freedom From Desire
Emotions are generated from thoughts, and they are distinctly different to feelings. Feelings give you guidance in life and the emotions that are mistaken for them push you in the wrong direction. Past emotions are physically stored in your body and removing them from your system is beyond the scope of this article.
When you think clearly and without emotion you will be free from emotional desire and follow a path that allows expression. The trap here is that many people who think they are free of emotion are in fact only suppressing emotions.
Everyone needs to express themselves to be spiritually healthy. Healthy expression means to pursue your preferences instead of your emotional needs. This is impossible without fixing something. It is your thinking that needs to be corrected to eliminate your emotional need and allow space for your true expression to manifest.
The mistake found frequently in the spiritual community that you need to avoid is – being led by the opposite emotional reaction. This often appears to be the solution. In this case the mistake is to give up material possessions altogether. Many people shun the material world in the mistaken belief that;
- You become a better person.
2. You are free from emotional desire.
3. You are now on the spiritual path.
4. That’s what God wants you to do.
5. Material possessions are bad or evil.
All of this is grossly incorrect. When you shun the material world you are just experiencing the opposite emotional reaction to the exact same situation described above. Material possessions are simply and only material possessions. You need to learn to see them clearly as such.
When you shun the material world it means you are going left, driven by emotion to reject possessions. When you are caught in the material world you are going right, driven by emotion to acquire possessions.
Balance
Your freedom and the key to a great life is in the middle. Neither left or right. Free from the emotional force that drives your life. Free to follow your path of preference. You need to master the material world instead of being a slave to it or conversely closing your eyes to it.
The hardest part of obtaining true freedom from desire is in dealing with your emotions. They block your ability to see what you think. The easiest, fastest and most thorough way to improve your life and master your emotions is with direct help. Join the growing band of people around the world who benefit directly from my experience through coaching or through one of my workshops.
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