Feeling Your Soul's Desire and Having Yearnings Fulfilled

And here I am again with step 3 Feel Your Soul's Desires from Martha Beck's "Taking Your Life Back". This step is primordial and was key to getting my life back on track.

It felt like returning home to a warm, loving embrace that I hadn't experienced in so long that I'd forgotten about it and now that I'm back, I don't want to leave again.

I hope it's the same for you as well. I strongly advise that you complete the exercise at the bottom of this post.

So, why do we expect so much from others? How could anyone possibly know what we want when we don't express it in clear, unambiguous terms.

People are not mind readers yet there is this constant dissatisfaction when non-verbalized, unspecified needs aren't met.

We don't really know what we want, Beck says. We know that something's missing but we don't know what it is. We're seeking...

The obstacles to our progress are our minds which function within the narrow confines programmed by our families and cultures from the cradle. The soul tells us what we want and need, the mind tells us what we think we need.

At this stage, it is time to clarify and specify our soul's needs and stop listening to our obsessive minds. She puts it like this:

The soul knows I want freedom from worry, the mind thinks I want to win the lottery. 

The soul says I want to feel connected with all things, the mind translates  I need the perfect, romantic soul mate to make me feel connected.

Become still and go within to the silence. There we can feel the deep, abiding passion and conviction of the soul's desire. The mind's needs tend to feel frantic, panicked and grasping.

When you feel this way, breathe deeply a few times  to centre yourself, then let go deep enter your well of stillness to identify what your soul truly desires.

One way to identify your soul's desires

Get a sheet of paper and at the top, write Things I want. Fill the page with everything you want: a better job, to be size 6, win the lottery, etc. When you're finished get a new sheet of paper.

At the top, write Things I yearn for and start writing. When you're finished compare the two lists. Martha says you will find that what appears on this list is completely different from the Things I want list; that was created by your mind.

The logical mind wants a car because – we yearn for freedom and mobility; we want hot sex because – we yearn for intimacy; we want to be beautiful because – we yearn for acceptance.

You need to get clear on one thing: the needs of soul or Inner Being is always right.

Don't get caught up in how your yearnings will be fulfilled. Accept them for what they are for now and relax. Whatever you try in your current mindset probably won't work... because cars, sex and beauty don't automatically lead to freedom, intimacy and acceptance. 

Allow yourself to be comfortable with not knowing and the more you let go of the "how", the faster your deepest desires will come to you, and they will. It seems like magic but it is very natural indeed.

I'm having some amazing experiences from following Martha Beck's advice; they are incredibly satisfying.

Now go to it people and then continue with the last in the 4-part series, Trust your life to unfold perfectly.


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