Desire (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Desire

[Think]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

So this is the best way for the universe to bring you what you truly want — it only brings you abundance of whatever you truly enjoy. Without joy the default is scarcity.

But Steve,

Is this not a real phenomena?

Unfortunately I can only speak of personal experience - which of course is not shared, so I am relying on others having like experiences.

Does it not seem true that whatever thoughts you hold in your mind, soaked with emotion and expectation, are the things that you invariably attract into your life?

I know (knew) many people who have fallen into this downward cycle.. expecting the worst, fearing he worst, and receiving exactly what they expect. I think you refer to phenomena like this yourself in some of your posts.

And my intention is not to discredit the entire post, I am entirely for being genuinely thankful for everything that we can possibly muster up the feeling to be thankful for, but come on - if a lack of gratitude were to prevent the manifestation of certain circumstances how many things would the human race *not* be experiencing right now?

How many people are grateful for cancer? Hunger? Constipation ?

Mark

[danas]

Great post steve, it really hit the spot.
A while back I applied for an amazing workshop with which will really help my career, including meeting the worlds top people in my feild of work. Ive been accepted, but since I applied Ive been abroad twice, I was looking forward to staying in one place for a while. As the trip is coming up, I became sick- I kept saying to myself I really dont want to go, because its so much stress to leave the country again and again. (its happened almost monthly since Janurary2006.) but this morning I awoke with appreatiation, especially after reading your blog.
What I desired so much manifested, and now I better appreciate it! And I do. Thanks.

[billybrads]

I think what Steve is trying to say is that when people are not grateful for the level of health that they currently have in their life they receive less health.

It is not that they truly want or desire cancer. What happens is people are not grateful for the health that they DO have in their life, so the universe does not give them more health, because the universe does not want to give us something that does not bring us to our true state, joy.

For example somebody could want to be rich, so they are not satisfied with their current level of income. Thus instead of being grateful for what they do have, they are ungrateful that they don't have 'enough' of.

If we are not happy with a $100, then instead of giving us something we are not happy with, another $100 the universe gives us less or nothing. If we were happy and grateful for that first $100 then the universe will respond accordingly and give us more of what makes us happy, another $100.

Easier said then done though, at least for me...

[Jeff Lilly]

Let me make sure I understand:

1. I desire bananas (just to pick something at random ) and the universe gives me bananas, and I'm grateful for the bananas, then the universe will send me more bananas?

2. Or is it this way: I desire bananas, the universe gives me bananas, I'm grateful for the bananas, and the universe "thinks": "Oh, he's got the bananas, he's glad, I don't need to send him any more."

It sounds like you're saying (1) is right, which would be GOOD. I've been working with model (2), which ties me in knots, because then I don't know how to get more bananas!

Is it (1) or (2)? Thanks in advance, Steve!

[Alan!]

Think and Jeff Lilly may like to read the entire post again.

Its actually written quite clearly and succinctly if you care to understand and realise it. Ask and it is given. Ask and it is given and disdain it, the universe will hear you and stop sending you gifts that you don't like. Ask and it is given and appreciate the gifts, and the universe will give more.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Think

if a lack of gratitude were to prevent the manifestation of certain circumstances how many things would the human race *not* be experiencing right now?

How many people are grateful for cancer? Hunger? Constipation ?

From a subjective perspective, what you perceive to be the experience of the entire human race is merely a projection of consciousness. There is no human race "out there" in a form that is separate from you. It's all you.

I have met cancer survivors locally and online who are deeply grateful for the experience and what it taught them about life.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lilly

Let me make sure I understand:

1. I desire bananas (just to pick something at random ) and the universe gives me bananas, and I'm grateful for the bananas, then the universe will send me more bananas?

2. Or is it this way: I desire bananas, the universe gives me bananas, I'm grateful for the bananas, and the universe "thinks": "Oh, he's got the bananas, he's glad, I don't need to send him any more."

It depends on your intention. If you desire more bananas, it's #1. If you don't desire more bananas, it's #2. Either way is fine. You can say "thank you" with or without intending increase.

The situation that manifests scarcity is this one: I desire bananas, and the universe gives me a banana. I'm pissed off that I only got one banana instead of a whole bunch, since I want a lot more than one. I resent the fact that I have only one banana, while somebody else right next to me got two. That's totally unfair. I guess that if I want more bananas, I'll have to find a way to get them. But isn't that greedy? After all, there are people who have no bananas. How can I justify having bananas when so many people have none? And so on...

[Jeff Lilly]

Thank you, Steve! That was very clear.

Your note on the manifestation of scarcity nicely describes my gut-level response to money, and explains why I'm tens of thousands of dollars in debt, despite having had a good income for many years.

I know you've been saying this same message in various forms for months. But it's like I only really heard it for the first time today.

Ok, time to turn this ship around!

[Nikos Sokin]

Just to clarify, for those for whom it may make a difference, I believe Steve meant "Guan Yin" in mainland pinyin, or "Kwan Yin" as would be the Taiwanese transliteration.

[빈센트]

I suppose there is a confusion between being ungrateful and just not noticing. The big message is to be more aware of what you have and what's coming your way. If you don't notice something (an opportunity, for example) coming your way it will be like it never existed in the first place. You can't grow unless you know what you have already. Right?

[eastcoastgirl]

This article comes at a good time for me because I have been trying to be more grateful. I started doing it because I read that gratitude increases happiness. Researchers have found that people who naturally have a happy, positive outlook on life are also grateful and that people who naturally have an unhappy, negative outlook are not grateful (http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/). They also say that you can teach yourself to be more grateful. When I first started, sometimes the gratitude was forced, but the more I do it, the more I genuinely feel it.

My goal was simply to feel better—that is, not unhappy. But then I found out through today's article and others that feeling gratitude can also help manifest my desires. Awesome!

I do have a question for Steve. I read today's article and then read the Jan. 22 one on "Gratitude." I'm confused about the power of Level 1 gratitude for activating the Law of Attraction. In the Jan. 22 article, you spoke of Level 1 gratitude as being kind of weak, but in today's article, you seem to be referring to Level 1 gratitude, but it's not so weak. Am I wrong about that? How do the ideas in the two articles line up?

[edmamula]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lilly

I know you've been saying this same message in various forms for months. But it's like I only really heard it for the first time today.

Aha! moments are wonderful, aren't they? Good luck getting the ship turned around!

[Scientist]

I'm stuck on the channeling idea. I've read about it before, but it left me with many questions.

For example, in the blog entry, Steve channeled Quan Yin, but what is Quan Yin really? Is it not just an imaginary entity that an individual or group of individuals fabricated? How would channeling Quan Yin be any different than channeling Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter?

What is it that you are connected to when you are channeling? Are you just imagining the whole thing, or are you somehow connected to the eternal essence of a deceased person or imaginary entity? Are these gods that people channel not imaginary? If a person or people create a god, does that act also create a spirit of that god or some other kind of essence?

[takkaria]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

The situation that manifests scarcity is this one: I desire bananas, and the universe gives me a banana. I'm pissed off that I only got one banana instead of a whole bunch, since I want a lot more than one. I resent the fact that I have only one banana, while somebody else right next to me got two. That's totally unfair. I guess that if I want more bananas, I'll have to find a way to get them. But isn't that greedy? After all, there are people who have no bananas. How can I justify having bananas when so many people have none? And so on...

I'm not a Christian, but this reminds me of the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20. The workers who work all day in a man's vineyard get a full day's wage, but complain that the people who worked for only one hour get the same wage. There's that same idea of being grateful rather than being ungrateful there, though it's not quite the same context.

[Andrew Brunelle]

I am a cancer survivor, a brain cancer survivor and I am truly grateful for the experience, as it has given me a new-found perspective on life and death, and has led me to believe that death is not the end and that there truly is nothing to fear. I am now grateful for the health I have now, and look forward to getting even more health. Great, great post, Steve. Couldn't have been more timely for me.

I guess this is a form of level two gratitude as Steve had pointed out, and what I had been living for quite some time. I am grateful for everything I have experienced since my cancer, because I know that I could have been dead had I been around in a different time period and being alive, experiencing anything, even the worst of the worst, is certainly better than being dead. So, I take the good with the bad and am eternally grateful for it.

[judge45]

It's all about positive energy.

If you have a desire and it's of a positive nature, then how can it manifest while you hold onto or experience negative energy.

It's like saying when you're a millionaire, then you'll be happy, I doubt that would ever happen, for it's in the moment that the emotion, desire and intention must exist.

You change the now by changing the now.

You have to accept everything you have good or bad, because it's all good, even when it seems bad.

Kooky

Jeff

[Michelle]

I guess it is about looking for what is right with your life as opposed to what is wrong with it.

This is my challenge in this area.

[billybrads]

I have a lot of trouble with this one too. What I actually desire is more confidence and creativity. There is so much negative talk in there, my head, that it is hard to see the times I am feeling confident or creative and to be grateful for them.

I have not always been like this, but a serious of misfortunes and misteps kind of broke my spirit and led me to a long period of inactivity.

This period of inactivity took a lot of material things from me, but what bothers me the most is that I do not feel as capable, confident, or creative as I once did to do something about it.

For example, snowboarding is something that at one time I was completely confident doing. I taught snowboarding. I could ride any part of the mountain. I could do backflips on my snowboard, 720's, ride all different styles and terrains. After letting my skills go for a couple of years, for a plethora of reasons (all of them probably bad, but nonetheless) it is very disheartening to see where I am.

My skills have detiorated and that stinks, but what really gets to me is not that I can't do the things I used to do, but that not being able to do them takes away a creative outlet and creative expression of myself from me.

Sorry if that background was unnecessary, but here is my question. (I think I kind of already know the answer, but possibly somebody could help me put my intellecual knowledge into practice.)

Is the process of recapturing and cultivating certain states of mind the same as the process for attracting material items?

I assume that if I want to feel more creative, confident, and capable the first step would be to feel gratitude for the times, no matter how small, that I do feel these states of mind. How do I do this? How do I recognize when I am in these states? What do I do to show my gratitude?

I have to admit I actually avoid areas of my life that I was able to at one time most greatly express and feel good about myself, because it seems so discouraging how my skills and ability for expression have diminished. I know that this method is not getting me anywhere.

I apologize for being a 'woe is me,' and me me me poster, but hey I would love to have the positive, selfless attitude of some of the people I have seen on this forum I'm just not there yet.

[judge45]

Billybrads,

It's all about the 'now'

How do you feel now, how do you think now.

Most people build the future by taking the past and bypassing the present (now)

Something bad happens, you're not good at snowboarding anymore, you lose your job, your leg, your money.

Whatever it is, it's some kind of learning experience designed especially for and only for you to grow.

Things stay bad as long as the past is refocused into the present (now)

If you want to change anything, the answer lies in the thought and emotion that you decide to have right now.

Technically, the past and future are totally irrelevant. They do not exist, therefore they do not matter at all.

This I think is the most fundemental part of existance.

Most people either regret the past or fear the future and exist in a state of denial of their true power, the power of now.

I'm only recently learning through this site especially the importance of the moment and how it is the only thing that matters.

One you realise that, then you can focus all you energy into it and reap the benefits.

Nothing can hurt you or make you feel bad unless you give it your permission.

There's a reason for everything even the torturous things.

HTH

Jeff

[billybrads]

Jeff- Thanks so much for your post. I think you are so right, but I guess this would lead me to my next question. How do I stay in the moment of NOW? How do I let all these thoughts of past and future deteriorate?

Is this something I can do with this idea of gratitude? Can I have my desire to be to move into an eternal conscious state of now? Then learn to appreciate each and every time I feel I am in this moment of Now.

Today I went snowboarding and I have to admit although I do not enjoy myself on the mountain as much as I once did, the feeling of exhaustion I am feeling right now feels really good and that might be enough of a reason to continue.

In any case at one point I did register to myself just to get into the NOW, feel the mountain, feel the breeze, feel everything. Be a witness to my own life in a way. Ok, this moment felt really good (at least in comparison to some others I had) This moment was fleeting however.

I guess the first step is to appreciate this one moment of nowness that I did recognize and feel and I do.

I would certainly, most definitely like to feel a hell of a lot more nowness though. Hey Universe keep the nowness coming!!!!

[Dylan]

A thought - what if you focused on deriving your sense of satisfaction with your level of present effort, as opposed to the result?

I run into a somewhat similar situation as yours with practicing music. I know when I've played really well, and it's painfully obvious to me when I've slipped a bit. But of course, the reason for my frustration is because I have a memory of playing better, and that memory invades my present perceptions. However, if I ask myself "Am I doing my best now, right now, given my circumstances, energy level, etc.?" - and I make that question the measure of my experience, I can feel very satisfied and encouraged, even if I'm not "objectively" playing as well as had previously.

[Robert Avila]

Does anyone have some personal stories of Channeling?

This was an entirely new concept to me....but here is the strange part.

About 2 minutes prior to reading Steve's article on desire and learning about channeling I was actually channeling and didn't realize that was what I was doing!

I stepped away from my computer...to take a break and watch "The Big Idea" -with Donny Deutsche.

As I stepped away from the computer, I felt compelled to bring a legal pad with me to jot down some ideas....which I seldom do.

While watching successful entrepreneurs being interviewed I began to reflect on my own business challenges. I wrote down a few ideas I brainstormed that I needed to implement in my businesses.

Next with pen in hand.....a question popped in my mind.

"Dad, How do I know if my ideas will work....and my businesses will be successful?"

The questions just came to me ....out of thin air. My dad actually passed away when I was 16....and I am now 35. I guess I thought...if he was alive today I would have asked him the same question.

Well....

As quickly as that question came to mind......I began writing down the words of the voice that came to me....the answer ...this is what I wrote:

"Everyone believes in you ....You are my son.

I love you, Dad

I Miss you =( "

This really shook me up.....I have never experienced anything like this before.

What was even more amazing.....was immediately after this....I went to stevepavlina.com and came across his article on Desire, where he mentions channeling.

Steve's description of channeling was exactly what I experienced only a few minutes prior !!!! The timing was incredible!!!

Wish you the best!

Robert