Double Trouble - #18

Jungian analyst Marion Woodman divides people into two types: people who spend their time pursuing personal transformation and people who are content to watch television and drink beer.  She calls members of the latter group "happy carrots."  Woodman advises that "happy carrots" are to be respected and left alone.

Soon our scandalous inquiry and investigative analysis of desire will be but a fond memory. I'm imagining that the happy carrots among us will be relieved.

Before moving on, here is a "how to" example of making contact with and following a desire to fruition.

My bottom line desire is to think of myself as a person who is involved in creative artistic endeavors. For years I believed that I wasn't artistic so I largely ignored my desire.

Being with the yearning that burned inside as I read an invitation to join an online artist and writer's class convinced me to sign up.  Noting my excitement when a class member, who was also a psychotherapist, mentioned she blogged led me to follow up on an advertisement in the Nutcracker Ballet program for website technical advice.

Busting past stubborn resistance and learning how to upload documents and store pictures from my camera on my computer led to designing a blog using my own photography. 

Being fearless when Blog related technical difficulties threatened my sanity and gaining trust that my expert helper would eventually figure out Feedburner issues were both stepping stones to realizing my desire.

Learning that when I sit down to write, it is enough to have a vague idea of what I want to write. Not freaking out as my anxiety level rises when facing writer's block keeps me writing. Enjoying it when a flash of an idea appears and capturing it before it gets away brings immense joy.

Noticing how rewarding it is to go over and over my words until I'm satisfied enough with them to walk away for awhile and let them sit. Then returning to go over them again. And again. 

Recognizing the deep breath and smile that comes prior to   pushing the publish button. 

All these steps go into realizing my desire.

What steps do you need to take to realize your desire? If you think of yourself as a happy carrot, do you have relatives or friends that need your encouragement to meet their desires?

 

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

Trouble in Paradise - #17

You may be finding that searching for your inner most desire is more arduous than collecting 75,000 light bulbs. 

Dr. Hicks's enlightening collection, that we viewed last week, was the result of his unrestrained desire for certain external objects. 

A desire for things germinates internally but comes to fruition in the  world. In order for this type of desire to be fulfilled, there needs to be access to things already in existence.

Let's take a look at other types of desire: desires that can't be satisfied by purchasing or displaying artifacts in the external world. Desires that often go unnoticed and tend to be specific to each person.

These desires are first cousins to creative impulses because they bring something totally new to the world. 

This type of desire suggests a particular type of activity; one that has more in common with flow than schedule. Activity that doesn't depend on a blueprint or doesn't focus on owning a commercial product.

This desire is deeper and more elusive than those that require  following directions or acquiring possessions. This type can be frustrating because it has a tendency to appear and disappear without warning. 

It is worth continuing the search because when we discern and honor this type of desire it is the basis for increasing joy and improving your well being. 

Next week, watch for Double Trouble as we continue to explore the concept of desire and learn how to give voice to both our internal and external desires.


Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

Desire Continued - #16

Meet Dr. Hugh Francis Hicks,* a Baltimore dentist whose mother offered him a light bulb when she noticed he was bored with the toys in his crib.   In his lifetime, he filled his basement with 75,000 light bulbs, creating what he dubbed "The Mount Vernon Museum of Incandescent Lighting."

Dr. Hicks followed his desire for seventy years until he died in 2002 at the age of seventy-nine. He would advise you to:

Pay attention to anything that makes your heart sing or beat a little faster or that induces a feeling of longing - no matter how miniscule. 

Don't wait another minute to honor the desire you have been offered. Consider it a gift that needs to be opened.

That's right - don't talk yourself out of or ignore your desire or give up when the going gets tough. Don't let someone else talk you out of pursuing your desire - begin working towards it.

You may be saying - I don't have any desires. Baloney I say. Your desires may be huge or tiny - it matters that you learn how to tune into your own inner longing.  Your essence is unique and it needs its own special diet. What are you hungry for?  

Go ahead. I'm seeing a light bulb hovering over your head.

Next week - trouble in paradise.

*Michael Kimmelman's interview with Dr. Hicks is detailed in The Accidental Masterpiece, 2005. Mr. Kimmelman will be lecturing at the Des Moines Art Center on April 19, 2012.

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

Meeting your Desires - #15

As you spend time in the Present Moment, are your desires making themselves known?

One of the benefits of being Mindful is an increasing awareness of one's desires. 

Desires can be elusive notions that appear briefly and just as suddenly disappear.  Minuscule yearnings, often ignored for years, are ripe with unrealized potential.  

Mentioning the archaic word desire in this day and age seems slightly naughty or vaguely unwholesome. 

In the past, paying attention to desire was seen as a necessary self-activity comparable to the self-activities of thinking, judging, and deciphering emotions.

We are going to resurrect the word "desire" from its shady twenty-first century reputation by christening it with a more historically accurate definition: inner knowing that has its origin deep inside our sense of self, makes the heart sing, and excites parts of the brain.

If you are able to capture your desires before they flit off to your  unrealized-desires holding tank, you will be tantalized by their power and beauty.

Soon you will create something uniquely 100% You. Helpful hint - use your focus!

Next week - meet a man who followed his desire.



Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall