The Need To Know

Can you imagine stopping. Stopping everything and just breathing, having stopped all the distracting thoughts, the endless talk the inner debates. Can you imagine simply experiencing your breath and in that moment allowing the beauty of the world around you to flood over you. For in every moment of our life we experience that breath hand yet most of us never give it a second thought.
We perhaps have heard of people who have been given weeks to live. Suddenly, many experience a sense of clarity that gives life renewed focus and purpose. Every breath counts and is gratefully received and every second exploited to the maximum possible.
Most of us do not experience that clarity of purpose. Can that sense of clarity and desire be found without having to face death? Can we experience inner peace now?
We are all searching for something. Many look in ancient traditions, or the certainty of the past, While others seek only the novelty of the future. One seeks the thrill of the group while another seeks isolation hidden deep in the Himalayas. Each is looking for something - few ever can say they have stopped looking because they have found what it is they desire. Advertisers spend billions of dollars reminding us of our lack because they know we a re searching for a nebulous, poorly defined inner yearning. We all give it different names, depending on what it is we need in life. If our life is full of distress we search for peace, if we are alone perhaps we seek love, however I suggest that these are all words of a deeper spiritual yearning that transcends culture, education and social niceties. Rather it is experiential. We may curiously seek answers that are easily forgotten when a solution is found. That is why the search for inner peace transcends philosophy, because it is not about questions but the deep inner physical experience of certainty that mere head knowledge does not offer. It is felt within our being.
If I need something, perhaps I am dying of thirst, then only a drink can satisfy me even if I am so parched I cannot even express the words intellectually. If I am being rescued it would be logically absurd to say help me as the rescuer grabs hold of me and yet, the clarity of our need to remain alive overrides the logical need to beg.
In such times of extreme clarity of focus, social protocols go by the way side. Nothing is allowed to stand between us and its fulfillment. Only the real thing will do. If we need food, then pictures of fruit, or plastic models will not satisfy our hunger for fake food cannot satisfy the purpose of satiating our hunger. In the same way, unless we learn to experience out thirst for inner peace, love, tranquility, if we do not live filled with this wonderful feeling, we are like a plastic model shell that does not satisfy our purpose to exist. If we cannot experience e joy, we cannot truly share it with others. If we do not experience peace we cannot be a peace maker. It is in those moments of gratitude that we step onto the bridge between the mortal and the immortal, when we approach the divinity within us. We must feel that peace within.
This is not intellectual. It has been said that the more people intellectually search for 'Truth', the more untruthful the 'Truth ' becomes. If we are run by intellectual curiosity then we we will find one answer and then be led on to the next series of questions triggered by the next news broadcast or the next person we meet. Curiosity is transitory; the experience of our inner life has a sense of certainty about it. When we have come to inner knowledge then we know. There is no doubt. Yet like the person whose great thirst overrides any need to intellectualize his need for water, a person who has a need to know, a need that is so clear in himself, will find his inner self. A person who has been dying of thirst experiences a great inner gratitude when finally his thirst is quenched. He does not debate with the bearer of the water why he did not come earlier. He takes and is grateful that his life is saved, yet to someone without that need it is mere wooly nonsense, If I am nit thirsty I may argue over which cup a drink should be served in or whether I want ice or a squeeze of lime, but if I am extremely thirsty I care only for the water. In the same way, when I come to know my deepest needs I am no longer a puppet of protocols.
So many reject joy because of past hurts. Perhaps they reject the experience of their heart because of a failed romance. Yet who would reject a drink of water in the desert because they had nearly experienced death by dehydration?
We are meant to experience happiness, but I suggest true happiness transcends the illusory distractions of the latest technology or advertising. Early 2008 a group of people were offered wine in which they rated their preference. At the same time their brain functions were measured using brain imaging technology. What was expected was that people told they were drinking a highly expensive wine rated the drink as better. What is amazing is that the brain actually experienced a greater degree of pleasure even though everyone was drinking exactly the same wine.
Is happiness just an illusion then? Was the joy experienced by our near dead desert traveler an illusion? No. Likewise when we know ourselves the satisfaction obtained when our needs are met is just as real. We need the simplicity of a child so that we can approach our yearning for inner peace with simplicity. U is not complicated. Intellectualism would have us analyze every step. When we experience a yearning pointing us in a direction, do we overanalyze whether the yearning is valid or would it perhaps be best to ask what the yearning is pointing us too?
Like the person who facing death suddenly values every last breath we must take hold of every breath with intense gratitude. We must come to appreciate the singularity of this moment called now where all our burdens and social distractions melt away. Tomorrow is the greatest of illusions, for we are never guaranteed a tomorrow. I is in the now that the subtlety of this life becomes real to us.
For us to experience e this joyful reality, we must experience the thirst that impels us. To find inner peace we must experience a process of acknowledging ourselves and discovering our heart. This process is made possible by cultivating the field of our heart and allowing the seeds of our desire to grow to fruition. We must open our heart and embrace life.

The Seed of Desire

Inside of us are seeds of desire. Perhaps you desire wealth, prominence, recognition or simply peace of mind.
Yet for most of us these thoughts come and go as quickly as the millions of sensual experiences bombarding our body each day. If we don’t take a few moments reflection then much of our thought is deleted from our existence.
It is the same with desire.
A desire comes, we leave it to be choked out by the weeds of anxiety, to be left un watered, withering and dead on the hard busy road of an unreflective soul, or perhaps our desire is stolen away by the critical censure of a discouraging neighbor as a crow steals unattended food.
If the seed is to grow it must be cultivated, the soil prepared, the ground nourished and the seed watered. For our desires to grow our heart must be prepared. For every desire is a reflection of a greater desire that is truly us. Of course, we need to take care of the responsibilities of life, We cannot neglect the kids simply because we want peace of mind.
Searching within takes time, introspection cannot be rushed, it cannot set to someone else’s timetable. Rather we must take the time to reflect on our experience and contemplate the reality of our own experience.
There is no test or pass grade, only the realization of our own experiences.
The mind on the other hand loves questions and wants us to rush, to grab at the first suitable answer and move on. The heart is experiential and desires certainty. Hence the process of opening up to our inner truth should be progressive, reflective, regular, in fact daily. We must build on our own internal experiences discovering the beautiful garden within.
Just as a person must kn9ow how to count before they understand algebra, or understand algebra before they understand calculus, we must build our understanding until suddenly the new language of numbers opens up to us a new landscape of understanding. That which we once could not see suddenly becomes our reality as we understand.
We must learn to listen to the heart, to again feel. This is not a struggle or the concentrated isolation of monasticism, for it is a journey and we are meant to enjoy the ride. We move forward when the heart is ready and when it feels right. Enlightenment is ajourney and not some far off goal. It is an experience. It is when our experience coalesces into a simplicity that allows our heart to holistically know.
The heart does not want to think …. Yes but, if this is true, then ….? No, the heart wants certainty. It is based on experiential knowing of your own fundamental desire.
That desire must be quenched like a parching thirst in the desert, we must discover and feel the joy, love and happiness within.
What am I feeling? Am I truly intouch with my true inner feelings? Or do I allow distractions and the latest idea to take hold of my mind and trick me into thinking I desire something that an advertiser wants sold?
I once heard a story of a young boy and his school friends been invited to grandpa’s farm. Sunday morning, Grandpa offers them the produce of his far, with cream and ice-cream.
“do you like them?” asked the proud farmer.
“O yes” replied the boys, “what are they?”
“Strawberries.”
“There not strawberries!” retorted the boys “They don’t taste like a strawberry thick shake at McDonalds!”
For here is the proble3m. We often expect our experiences to match preconceived notions. The boys had an idea what strawberries should taste like. To enjoy the fruit properly they need to let go of their preconceptions. We need to observe what we experience and not allow it to be tainted by social and family expectations. We must let go of the story, the description, the label, because if we have assumptions of what happiness is we may dismiss it when we have it put in front of our face.
We must learn to again trust our feelings.
Sooner or later every one of our little constructions will be washed away by the reality of time. Time stops for no man and as we sit at the end of our life what will be left but my feelings. Will they be feelings of joy? Will I have followed my heart or will I look back and find I have followed someone else’s script.
Everyone wants to tell you what to do, who to be, what must be done. Will I listen to my heart or to others? Will I embrace the fundamental thirst for every breath. Will I take hold of this opportunity called life and feel deep inner joy? This life should mean something and we need a way to access the heart to experience its meaning. We need to experience the self, the life that until we opened our heart we never knew existed.
When we come in touch with the me that is within, and love that me unconditionally then we can live in the heaven within.
It is not dependent on external, conditional, acceptance or on the hope of a future world. Rather, the process of experiencing our inner world offers to us a joy that can be had regardless of our circumstances.
True joy, peace, fulfillment and success come from within, a deep inner satisfaction.
Most believe that there are certain requirements to be met if our life is to be satisfied. Needs must be met. Desires sustained. Yes we must fulfil our responsibilities and enjoy the friuit of our labour. But what if all you have attained was suddenly taken from you? our purpose is fulfilled then within we have lost nothing.
This requires a lot of self understanding and relearning of our heart. It does not take a lot of time, although the unfolding of the heart is not to be rushed. It doe not require special circumstances, although we need to progressively open up our heart. Slowly the scene will open to us and suddenly the light bulb will light up.
Circumstances in life may change, and the definition of external success will change. Will we experience the deep inner unchangeable joy of our heart or be ever chasing the culturally conditioned messages of advertisers?
If our happiness is dependent on external elements then if those things change, and they will, then whar will happen to our happiness? If our happiness is built on the true foundation of a revealed heart then its foundation is sure. If not then we will come to the end of our life and ask “is this all there is?” Will we be left unsatisfied desiring more?
We can only eat so much cake. The first peace is great, the second nice but if we keep going we end up sick.
The joy of the heart is not like that. For true joy can be had again and again. The more joy we have the better it gets.
The mind wants to play tricks with us. It is curious and quickly wants to get an answer and search no further.
The heart wants to experience peace and bit by bit, step by step, as we learn to listen to it, it will open to us a beautiful garden within that is unique to each of us and which no one else can share.
In this search the seed of desire will flourish, cultivated and watered by our own reflection, the seed of desire will grow.