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True aspiration has a lot of expressions.
So when I say, “What is your true aspiration or true desires?”
it can take different shapes in different moments.
Sometimes it can be, “I aspire to feel love, I want to love without holding back!”
you know.
And sometimes it is for truth,
“I really want to know truth, just
reality, what is reality!”
And sometimes our deepest aspiration might be a sense of, you know,
that peace that surpasses all understanding, you know,
profound peace.
So there is all those different expressions.
Sometimes it’s for creativity, to live in a really authentic, creative way.
Each of these has… there is a common denominator.
And I am going to give a kind of definition for true aspiration or true desire which is:
Our true aspiration is always in some way to manifest fully who we are.
It is what is already and always here that we want to manifest, unfold it, live it.
It is not for something outside ourselves or down the road.
In fact, the only place that you can actually experience a true desire
is in the moment.
It can only be felt right here.
So some of the criteria, the signs of true desire,
when you have arrived at your true desire or true aspiration,
it is about really manifesting your potential in some way,
it is about a quality of presence that can experience it in a living way,
and you will feel a kind of sincerity.
I can say for myself that when I am prayerful and
really in touch with what matters
it feels total sincere, like… there is just… there is no “been there, done that”,
there is no edge, there is no… nothing but just that purity of
“yeah, this really matters”
it has a kind of an innocence to it.
And for me when I am really kind of in that, there is a sense that
something is calling me home, that I just want to
relax back and rest in the awareness and love that is here because that’s home.
I want to come home.
So I am giving just some of the flavors.
Now the Buddha taught that our entire life arises from the tip of intention.
So that whatever your intention is right now – whether it is the surface waves of
wanting, craving, fear
or it is that deep tender place of longing,
whatever your intention is - that then creates what happens out of it.
It is kind of like your karma unfolds from your intention.
And so that means in a conversation if your intention is in some way to prove yourself
or to dominate or to get approval or whatever
the conversation will unfold in a certain way based on that
a kind of egoic level.
And if you are in a conversation and your intention is to
take the risk to really
not prepare in any way but be totally available to connect and to understand
you are going to have a whole different experience.
You know, the Poet Mark Nepo calls that “exquisite risk”
when our intention is to absolutely come
unarmored into the moment
so that we are available - to be available to be changed,
available to have real connection…
What is our intention?
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