For a long time, I walked around not knowing what I wanted. I certainly didn’t know how to get what I wanted either.
This was true in high school so I played video games. This was true in college so I participated in lots of activities.
I knew what I didn’t want and that was enough for me. It wasn’t until I was 24 that I was shown how to get what I wanted.
However, I still struggled. I didn’t want to ask for the things that would go beyond modesty. I also didn’t want to ask for things that would show my imperfections.
Anything worth getting will show character flaws and give the opportunity for these to be corrected.
In the book Autobiography of a Yogi, a Himalayan saint named Babaji tells his student, “Few mortals know that the kingdom of God includes the kingdom of mundane fulfillments.”
It is important to manifest our desires. We can’t skip steps in life. Now or later, our interests may lie in the spiritual or the building of character qualities. Or, we may seek more physical desires.
One cannot be built without the other. It is important to use the physical with purpose to build and experience qualities we are all capable of. These can include love, joy, happiness, responsibility, varying degrees of leadership, and many more.
The use of the image maker in our mind is a tool that needs to be honed. To get clear on what you want, here are three tools you may try:
Journaling. Use a guide to go through this process such as The Artist’s Way. Sitting and writing your thoughts down is a great way to fail in this exercise. It’s hard to make this a habit when there is no purpose behind it.
Talk to people who have the life you want. You may have this in your direct environment and you may not. Ask them how they figured out what they wanted in their life. If you can’t talk to them, read their books, listen to their podcasts, and join their email list if they have one. Tim Ferriss is someone I do not have conversations with but have learned a lot from. I have had many mentors in my life who are not widely known as well. Chances are you do too.
Meditation. This tool is one I use every day. At first, it is hard to learn. We aren’t used to sitting for long periods of time. Be gentle with yourself. Start with sitting five minutes a day. Like journaling, do not start without guidance. This is a recipe for giving up. There is a lot of free content out there and YouTube videos if you can’t afford to learn from someone. However, I highly suggest learning from someone who knows this practice.
The first step then is to listen. Listen to your thoughts through a practice like journaling. Look at the lives of those around you or those you aspire to in the public eye. Connect with yourself through meditation.
These practices will help you know what you want in life.
We all start somewhere. Maybe you already have everything you want from the world. That’s great. Now it’s time to connect to a more expanded state of being.
If you would like to learn how to meditate, here is my resource.