The Spiritual Nature of Material Desire
Desire. It’s a powerful force that triggers a surge of heightened pleasure and purpose, sending life-giving energy rushing through every fiber of our beings. And regardless of whether the object of our desire is a person, a possession, or an idea that we want to make manifest in our lives, the act of wanting something is about far more than its attainment. Desire is a catalyst that can awaken our highest qualities, our greatest human potential, and our full spiritual power.
Like the proverbial carrot dangling from a stick that gives the mule a reason to keep striving toward a destination, the act of acknowledging a desire also leads us on a journey. And this is not only a journey toward simply having but also a journey of becoming.
Desire is intended to feed you, to thrill and refresh you, and every desire, big or small, summons life force itself through you. And yet, each of us must make the choice to grant our desires permission to be, and to tend to any resistant or opposing thoughts that contradict them.
When we surrender to this process by allowing our desires to blossom—first within the unseen realm of our own heart and mind, and ultimately in full manifestation in the three-dimensional world—they have the potential to guide us to our fullest spiritual expression and our most abundant life.
The Principle of Alignment
What is your Desire Factor? In some key aspect of your life, what is something that you currently want to manifest? It could be a condition, such as landing a better job. It could be a tangible object, such as a new or newer car. Or it could be something immaterial, such as a better-feeling relationship or greater health and vitality. Once you’ve identified what you want, speak it to yourself, either silently or out loud, as a statement of intent. “My Desire Factor is _____________________.”
Next, consider why it is you want to manifest this particular desire. What about this desire inspires you or lights you up? What do you believe you will have access to by having it? For example, will you experience greater freedom? A sense of security or empowerment? Greater control over your own experience?
As you contemplate the fulfillment of your desire, how do you believe you will feel once you’ve attained it? Will you feel joyful? Lovable? Worthy? Secure? Acknowledge that the underlying reason that drives every desire is the belief that fulfilling it will cause us to feel a particular way. The more specifically you identify the underlying feeling you are actually reaching for, the more creative power you gain access to.
Acknowledge that this feeling essence of your desire exists, right now in this moment, as a particular energetic frequency that you have the ability to connect with and attune to. Establish and sustain this connection.
The Principle of Focus
As you call to mind your current Desire Factor, notice to what extent your daily thoughts and choices oppose your wanting and therefore set you upon a path of greater resistance. In what ways are you pulling in opposition to what you want? Where and how are you applying too much effort in an attempt to overcome resistance?
And now, in relation to this same Desire Factor, notice and acknowledge where, how, and in what ways you are excellent at receiving and allowing. What enhances your sense of faith and supports you in being more allowing? In this area of your life, what makes you happy? What are you supremely thankful for? What future images do you contemplate about this desire that give you genuine present-moment pleasure when you contemplate them? Take a few moments to play and replay through your mind all the ways in which you are allowing of and in alignment with your Desire Factor, acknowledging that what you focus on expands and becomes more in your experience.
Acknowledge that in every moment, there are an infinite number of things and experiences that you can choose to give your attention to. The universe is your own personal treasure chest, stocked by the divine storehouse within you, and through the power of your focus, you can expand your consciousness to accept all the good that is available and waiting for you.
Choose today to focus the power of your attention on the things, circumstances, situations, and experiences that you deeply desire, knowing that what you focus on expands and becomes more. Focus always on the presence of what you want, and withdraw your attention from the unwanted.
The Principle of Joyful Expectancy
When you think about the object, condition, or experience that is currently igniting your Desire Factor, do you typically feel good or bad?
What are your beliefs about your Desire Factor? Do you believe you are well on your way to reaching your goal or that success will be difficult or impossible to achieve? Notice whether your beliefs about your desire feel good or bad.
How would you like to feel about your Desire Factor?
What beliefs would you have to cultivate in order to relate to your desire in a way that excites and inspires you?
Raise the frequency of your dominant thoughts and beliefs to the vibration of joyful expectancy.
The Principle of Having
In relation to your current Desire Factor, notice whether you are typically more focused on the presence of your evolving desire or on the absence of its manifestation. Which do you experience more often: the feeling of yearning or the feeling of having?
What evidence is available to you right now that would support and enhance your experience of already having that which you desire? For example, if you desire greater financial security, you could use as a focal point the feeling of security that you already experience in other aspects of your life. If you desire to fall back into love or restore intimacy in an important relationship, what other sources of love and intimacy could you focus on and therefore allow to expand?
Discover the thoughts, actions, and daily practices that can serve you in shifting your focus from wanting to already having.
The Principle of Loving
Begin by acknowledging that in this very moment, you already have a relationship with the object of your desire, and allow yourself to explore the quality of that relationship. When you think of your desire, are you more often filled with feelings of eagerness and anticipation or feelings of frustration, hopelessness, or dread?
Allow yourself to notice what percentage of your daily thoughts, moods, and expectations contribute to a positive, good-feeling relationship with your desire. And notice also what percentage of your dominant thoughts are actually eroding or damaging it.
In this moment, what is “good enough” about this aspect of your life? What is working? What do you easily accept and appreciate? What are you thankful for?
Envision yourself living the full expression of your desire, and allow yourself to feel love and appreciation for all that you have drawn into your experience. Say to yourself, “Oh, how I love what I see! I love the joyous expressions and the happy scenes. I love doing what I love to do. I love being who I want to be. I love having what I want to have. I love the images of total fulfillment that I am now seeing in my mind and feeling in my heart.” Give thanks for your clarity, your receptivity, and your ability to create.
Acknowledge that there is a powerful chemistry and connection that exists between you and this as-yet-unmanifested desire, and this energy is alive. Invite it to interact with you, to guide you, and to call you toward it.
The Principle of Surrender
As you contemplate the area of your life that is the focus of your current Desire Factor, acknowledge the ways in which you are experiencing a gap between what you desire and the circumstances you are now living.
As you feel this point of tension between where you are and where you would like to be, acknowledge the clarity that has been born from it. What is it that you do want to experience in this area of your life? Identify both the material changes you desire to make (“I want to get out of debt”) as well as the immaterial (“I want to feel at ease and secure”).
Acknowledge the ways that the obstacles or setbacks you have encountered have actually served as a catalyst for your growth. What awareness, clarity, or wisdom do you now possess as a direct result of having lived this contrast? What changes have you been inspired to make?
Remember that every situation is made up of two polarities—that which is wanted and that which is not wanted—and you are the one with the power to decide on which end of this spectrum you place your focus. Choose to use this contrast the way the universe intended—to conjure within you the feeling of your desire already being fulfilled.
The Principle of Action
When you consider your current Desire Factor, notice whether you typically feel more negative or positive momentum. Do you most frequently feel like you are moving forward with ease, standing still, or backsliding?
What thoughts, attitudes, and actions might help you to reverse any negative momentum and come back into more neutrality and alignment?
During those times when you feel in perfect alignment with your desire, what types of inspiration naturally arise within you? What is the nature of the thoughts you think? What positive actions are you inspired to take?
Build on your desire’s positive momentum from a state of neutrality and receptivity.
Conclusion: It Was Never about the Desire
The act of bringing your desires into full physical manifestation is a huge part of your three-dimensional experience. It’s natural for you—as the furthest extension of the source energy that creates and sustains everything in this universe—to want to transform invisible, nonphysical vibration into physical, tangible things. The larger, infinite, Divine Self that you truly are is continually transmitting its signal to you, like an umbilical cord connecting the nonphysical to the physical. You receive this energy transmission as an idea or an impulse, and as that impulse gathers speed, it takes root in your consciousness as a desire.
There is something so deliciously exhilarating about watching a fledgling desire mature into the full realization of all that you knew it had the potential to be. And it’s thrilling to recognize yourself as an active, deliberate participant in the process of its creation and to acknowledge each of the steps you took along the way.