Big houses, fast cars, and bikini models are my desires! These are the words (or thoughts) of most of the young men in our consumerist society. I think it's time we distinguish the difference between authentic desires and conditioned desires. Conditioned Desires
In the year 2022, we are conditioned to want two main things. Security and Consumption. Our parents and family want us to get a stable job so that we can survive (but not thrive) indefinitely. They want our desires to give us security with no regard for our higher well-being.
Corporations want us to feel a sense of lack (which they accomplish via marketing) so we buy the things we feel will make us whole. Marketing is specifically designed to condition us into feeling unworthy without their product. It works because we buy something and feel better for a day or two, but material items cannot fill the hole we feel in our soul.
Only the unwavering pursuit and ultimate attainment of our authentic desires can fill that hole.
Authentic Desires
Nobody can tell you what you want with your life. It’s absolutely impossible. This is why it’s quite difficult to begin to talk about authentic desires. I can’t tell you what yours are. You can’t go to a guru, teacher, parent, coach, or anybody to receive consultation. Those actions would be futile.
Your authentic desires can only be found by connecting with yourself. Connecting with your own body, your feelings, your mind, and soul. It’s an intuitive process that can’t be taught logically. It requires time, love, and attention to distinguish between when your ego is talking and when your soul is talking.
Oftentimes your own ego will try to convince you that it is your soul speaking. It’ll try to convince you to pursue the conditioned desires. The things society deems makes a person successful, but your soul knows to be wasteful.
We must have discernment between the voices in our minds, and follow the higher voice. Being alone within nature is the best way to quiet the ego’s voice which only wants external validation and power. The voice of the soul will begin to speak once the ego’s voice has been silenced by the greatness of nature. If we fail to do this, we certainly end up on a path that results in regret.
The Vision Quest
Ancient cultures across the globe knew of the benefits of solitude within nature. Too much time within an environment of unnatural influences can have a devastating effect on the mind of a human. Nobody can seriously argue that their purpose here on planet earth is to accumulate as many houses as possible. This was simply a conditioned desire.
There are many types of activities that are considered to be a vision quest type of experience. The important part is that the purpose of the vision quest is to reconnect with nature and quiet the ego’s voice within the mind.
The result of this typically involves the understanding of why the individual is here on earth. An understanding of the unique gift that they were born with, and their purpose in giving their gift to the rest of humanity and all living participants in the universe.
Read Next: "Becoming the Wise Man or Woman"
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