The Energy of Desire

I talk a lot about desires (and dreams and goals and possibilities, I am ‘possibility doctor’, after all!).

And here’s why. So many of us have put our desires on the back burner. That was most definitely true for me when I was busy working for a living, settling for a job that helped pay the bills, build for my retirement (or so I thought), and offered medical and dental insurance. But this ‘working for a living and settling for a job’ was so very unfulfilling in every way.

I was starving my desires until one day they simply withered away. Years later (many years later, by the way), after careful tending, watering, and weeding, they were growing again…and thriving. And even today, I still need practice in nurturing and embracing my desires.

And I’m not the only one.

I talk to younger women who tell me that they’d rather be liked than be happy. And so they silence their voice and squash their desires. I wonder what their life will be like in 20 years. Will they have completely forgotten their passion and dreams because they buried their gifts and spent their life trying hard to simply ‘be liked?’ This breaks my heart. 💔💔

I talk to older women who are ready for retirement but they see retirement as an end to their identity and not a new beginning of possibilities. They were too busy raising a family to think very much about passion and desires.

I talk to spiritual women who tell me that desire is ego-based and that desire leads to attachment and that leads to suffering. And no one wants to suffer, right? So they practice not desiring and all of my talk about goals, dreams, and desires really annoys them.

I agree that attachment to a particular outcome could lead to disappointment. And even if we attain the particular outcome, we’re not satisfied for very long – we want to experience the next level of joy, satisfaction, and success.

So desire gets a bad rap.

Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.  ~Rumi

And to paraphrase Rumi, we all have the indwelling desire to express our gifts and talents that we were created for. Yes, the world needs the special gift that only you have. And there’s a good chance you have a desire to express that gift. And yeah, you have other desires, too.

But I discovered a secret. It’s about the energy of desire.

If you can move forward toward a heartfelt desire, or an inspired desire – this is a desire coming from deep within to express more of who you are, more of who you have come here to be, more of living your aligned life – the attachment factor is missing.

Let me put this a different way: if you think that the fulfillment of a desire will make you happy, then that’s going to create attachment. The subtle reasoning is that you aren’t already happy. You’ll be happy when you accomplish this desire or goal. This accomplishment is a wonderful checkmark ✔️for the ego.

However, if you can connect with the energy of a desire that is an expression of your soul, of your inner genius, of your inner brilliance, then you’ll see that you are already happy. You’re not chasing something to MAKE you happy, you are choosing to experience something that is the fulfillment of your very nature

Then the particular outcome of the desire isn’t more important than the experience of the desire. Less stress, less anxiety, and less force. And that means more fun, more joy, and more possibilities. 

And I’m on board with that! Big time!

Say “YES” to yourself by connecting with the energy of your desires.

About Janet

Janet is a transformational coach who helps women move beyond the negative voices in their head so they can unleash their purpose, unmask their self-confidence, and uncover possibilities that they have been blind to. Bottom line: she helps them to stop settling, start experiencing the magic of their dreams again, and live their aligned life.