Always wanting more

[Everything]

It seems that I always want more and having more and more is very exciting and joyful. The process of receiving all that I desire is the joy of all that I desire represents! The things I receive create more loving desires and more beneficial desires in me all the time. I receive toys, I desire friendships. I receive friendships, I desire a better relationships, etc. I desire a better relationship, I desire to know my self first, I learn about me and I relate in a better way.

 

Desires are pretty beneficial to mankind in my view! Are they not? I don't lack faith in my desires, neither my receiving of the representation of my desires nor the receiving of new desires. I do not believe the mind can predict what effect each desire has on their lifes. I believe the mind can only perceive how it chose to perceive what has happened, not what is happening, neither what is going to happen. Thus, I follow my hearts desire, for it has eyes beyond my percepti

[Marblehead]

I have no problem with what you have said. I think I have pretty much lived that.

 

But then, we should be able to determine when we have enough. That is, we should not create artificial desires.

 

In my mind there should be a point in time when we attain contentment. This would be when our desires become minimal and easily attainable.

 

We will easily grow tired if we are constantly chasing after unattainable desires.

[Chang]

It seems that I always want more and having more and more is very exciting and joyful. The process of receiving all that I desire is the joy of all that I desire represents! The things I receive create more loving desires and more beneficial desires in me all the time. I receive toys, I desire friendships. I receive friendships, I desire a better relationships, etc. I desire a better relationship, I desire to know my self first, I learn about me and I relate in a better way.

 

Desires are pretty beneficial to mankind in my view! Are they not? I don't lack faith in my desires, neither my receiving of the representation of my desires nor the receiving of new desires. I do not believe the mind can predict what effect each desire has on their lifes. I believe the mind can only perceive how it chose to perceive what has happened, not what is happening, neither what is going to happen. Thus, I follow my hearts desire, for it has eyes beyond my percepti

 

"To have enough is happiness,

To have more than enough is harmful;

That is true of all things,

But especially of money."

Lao-Tse

Edited March 4, 2012 by Chang

[Cat Pillar]

Yeah, I have to agree with Marblehead. Desires have their place, but they can be harmful if they're directed unskillfully.

 

I don't have to look any further than myself to see the detrimental effects desire can have on someone.

[zanshin]

Maybe it's been adaptive through human history, like the grasshopper and the ant. Those who wanted lots of things and lots of friends and lots of connections built up their stores, then they survived when really bad times came while those who had not amassed as many social and material resources did not. So desire could be beneficial, but I agree in modern times it gets pretty ridiculous. Like the flight or fight reaction, good if a predator bursts out, but when a neighbor complains about your dog or a traffic cop pulls you over better to stay calm.

[Everything]

I have no problem with what you have said. I think I have pretty much lived that.

 

But then, we should be able to determine when we have enough. That is, we should not create artificial desires.

 

In my mind there should be a point in time when we attain contentment. This would be when our desires become minimal and easily attainable.

 

We will easily grow tired if we are constantly chasing after unattainable desires.

Who desires the unattainable anyways?

[Everything]

Yeah, I have to agree with Marblehead. Desires have their place, but they can be harmful if they're directed unskillfully.

 

I don't have to look any further than myself to see the detrimental effects desire can have on someone.

Following the minds desire always has a detrimental effect on someone, because the mind is incapable of desire. The heart true carrier of desire.

 

My mind describes the symbols that represent my desire in each moment and the heart guides the mind in paradoxical ways. You may choose to neglect the heart for a while and stick to one specific representation of your hearts desire at one specific moment in space and time, but this symbol your mind grasps onto will be eternally empty and void of value. For only the heart is the source of value, not the mind.

[RiverSnake]

When the mind is active it is it's nature to collect things....whether it is books, money, cars...etc. When the mind is settled and at peace...contentment will reign in your life. Desiring more than one needs means your are still caught up in the survival process.

 

"He who knows he has enough is rich" Tao Te Ching

 

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

[zanshin]

Heart is not a greedy grasping thing, pretty sure that's something else.

[Everything]

Maybe it's been adaptive through human history, like the grasshopper and the ant. Those who wanted lots of things and lots of friends and lots of connections built up their stores, then they survived when really bad times came while those who had not amassed as many social and material resources did not. So desire could be beneficial, but I agree in modern times it gets pretty ridiculous. Like the flight or fight reaction, good if a predator bursts out, but when a neighbor complains about your dog or a traffic cop pulls you over better to stay calm.

I have felt anger many times. In those moments I only search for things of my hearts desire. Like love or peace or contentment. These create the in the moment desires which then intensifies the circumstances of hate. A desire for love, intensifies your ability to perceive the hate that You are currently experiencing. Only allowing the hate to be and letting go of it will allow the love to stabilize.

 

Like a last smoke before you quite smoking. That last smoke is not out of desire, but out of experiencing your dispreference for sigarettes for the first time.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Everything

[Everything]

When the mind is active it is it's nature to collect things....whether it is books, money, cars...etc. When the mind is settled and at peace...contentment will reign in your life. Desiring more than one needs means your are still caught up in the survival process.

 

"He who knows he has enough is rich" Tao Te Ching

 

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

Enough can be fellt by the heart as a constant sensation, but the symbol that represents this abundance is a changing symbol. The mind perceives it by guidance of the heart. You know that the source of value comes from your heart, the symbol from your mind. You always have had enough when you are the source of enough, its creator.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Everything

[zanshin]

I have felt anger many times. In those moments I only search for things of my hearts desire. Like love or peace or contentment. These create the in the moment desires which then intensifies the circumstances of hate. A desire for love, intensifies your ability to perceive the hate that You are currently allowing. Only allowing the hate to be and letting go of it will allow the love to stabilize.

 

Like a last smoke before you quite smoking. That last smoke is not out of desire, but out of experiencing your dispreference for sigarettes for the first time.

 

I don't think hate or anger is flip side of love; it's fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Not original, but I feel it is true. The idea of desiring things is a type of fear too, we look for shields against not having our basic needs, but also against other scary things like loneliness and being unloved. The epitome of being heart centered is feeling unconditional love.

 

Anyway, don't have the last smoke, big mistake. I work with hospitalized people. So people are in hospital a few days, no smoking, worst of nicotine getting out of system, thinking give it up. But first one last smoke, make a little ritual, cigarettes are in the cupboard just one then throw the rest away, ramps those chemicals and cravings right back up. Better ask someone to throw them away before even getting there.

[RiverSnake]

Enough can be fellt by the heart as a constant sensation, but the symbol that represents this abundance is a changing symbol. The mind perceives it by guidance of the heart. You know that the source of value comes from your heart, the symbol from your mind. You always have had enough when you are the source of enough, its creator.

 

IME creating complicated philosophies do not increase one's overall well-being nor does excess desire help the individual achieve lasting joy, peace and contentment in life.

 

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[Marblehead]

Who desires the unattainable anyways?

 

Hehehe. That gave me a good laugh.

[Everything]

I don't think hate or anger is flip side of love; it's fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Not original, but I feel it is true. The idea of desiring things is a type of fear too, we look for shields against not having our basic needs, but also against other scary things like loneliness and being unloved. The epitome of being heart centered is feeling unconditional love.

 

Anyway, don't have the last smoke, big mistake. I work with hospitalized people. So people are in hospital a few days, no smoking, worst of nicotine getting out of system, thinking give it up. But first one last smoke, make a little ritual, cigarettes are in the cupboard just one then throw the rest away, ramps those chemicals and cravings right back up. Better ask someone to throw them away before even getting there.

Some people like complexity. You might imagine a non smoker self and then mimmick your imagination self. This will keep the mind content in its occupation with the little details of becoming a non-smoker. For your heart, its real easy though. It knows exactly how it feels to be a non-smoker. Your heart switches from smoker to non-smoker faster then the speed of light. The body experiences the sensation a few seconds later. The mind may choose to rebel against the heart its entire life, much the same way it wishes to dominate nature, not realizing that serving nature is serving the self.

 

The example I gave was to symbolize the intensified negativity experienced right before you leave a given negative experience. Sometimes I feel sad. Deciding I will be happy, I feel my sadness intensified. In these scenareos I always allow myself to experience that last piece of sadness and then completely let go of it in the moment of experiencing it. You experience that sadness as joyful, or the sigarette as distasteful. A transformation takes place while you choose diffrent sets of values. Usually people choose to be happy and then the sadness kicks in real heart, then they realize how much they like to feel sad and thus they remain sad. No problem, but for how long do you really need to be sad, right?

 

Allot of people blame that last sigarrete for re-establishing the habbit. This is not true. It is you who decides in that moment that you still choose to prefer the sigarette. The last sigarette is inevitable, it will come one way or another. You might quite smoking for 3 years and your last sigarette is experience after 3 years, realizing how much it stinks or something. Or a friend might smoke right next to you and you don't like how it makes your clothes stink. The last sigarette is not something that you consciously chose to have in your life. It is a subconscious test, that you place upon yourself, to make sure you are a non-smoker in your entire being. You might experience visions of all kinds of tasty sugar food when you quite on sugar in much the same way, the vision is there telling you that you still are a person who likes sugar and eats lots of it, because you define the sugar as tasty. A person who doesn't eat sugar, doesn't define sugar as tasty. It makes him dizzy, ill, wanna throw up, tastes like poison, bla bla.

[Aetherous]

I personally view all spiritual concepts as harmful and useless. Normal people desire all sorts of things, and they lead relatively balanced and healthy lives. Spiritual people deny their natural inclinations, they might acheive some sense of transcendence at times, but they are worse off IMO. More imbalanced. They might take up supposedly healthy lifestyle choices because they notice an imbalance, and that throws them off even further since they're listening to their minds rather than their bodies. There's a deep split inside of them...whereas a normal person acts according to their nature. It's good to be wise about things...aware of what you're doing and the implications...but nothing should be considered off limits for you, as long as it agrees with your conscience. So the idea that you should not desire anything is something I disagree with, among many other things.

[Informer]

The desire comes from the illusion that there is anything separate to own anything else. It's not about is it good or bad, its about what it really is to help one further inquire personally.

 

Likely not having something that you want is a desire, it is not setting a goal. You can have goals without the pretense to gain ownership over something to make you feel good in reality, when you can just choose feel good in actuality, regardless.

 

It's is your choice ultimately.

 

When actuality is perceived it is realized that there wasn't really a desire for ownership, but it was a desire to feel good about you or who you think you are.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Informer

[Informer]

Goals are a course of action to take, whatever the motive is. Goals could be geared towards the opposite of greed and desire even.

 

If your course of action is based on personal greed and desire, then you are likely lost in a cacophony of illusion.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Informer

[Protector]

"A Man Will Hate You When He Cannot Understand Why He Is Still In Love"