The Nature of Desires
As we have discussed, according to the Myth we are considering, the cause and driving force of any manifestation, any realization, is desire. No other force can “start” the engine of manifestation – neither thought, nor mere understanding, nor a set of reference points or “keys” will create a stable, functioning structure unless they are based on desire.
Moreover, we have mentioned the important distinction between desires, needs and whims, which are often subjectively perceived similarly, but are completely different in their nature and potential for realization.
Recall that the Myth calls a desire the force of attraction that arises between certain inner potentials of the mind and the corresponding possibilities in the environment. The Myth calls a need the force of attraction between manifested objects (the body and what derives from it) and the resources necessary to sustain their adequate existence: one can speak of needs for food, sleep, sex, social fulfillment, etc. The Myth calls whims the attractions that develop between representations arbitrarily formed in the upper layers of the mind and objects in the environment to satisfy them. In this framework, the realization of desires leads to the growth of the mind (increase of its power), the satisfaction of needs is necessary to maintain the embodied state, and indulging whims leads to the dissipation of energy and degradation.
It is clear that if the mind severs the link between a desire and its basis in the depths of the mind, desire becomes a whim (is destructured) and loses its evolutionary potential, just as a need that consumes more resources (energy, time) than it actually requires effectively becomes a whim.
Accordingly, the key question is the ability to distinguish these pulls.
To understand the nature of desires, one must recall another aspect important to the Myth. The Myth states that the basis of manifested existence is the self-knowing activity of the Great Spirit – the universal nondual being/mind, one aspect of whose existence is self-reflection in the aggregate of its differential manifestations. This self-knowledge occurs through the establishment of interactions between those manifestations, in which the “subjective” component – the “mind” – is attuned to the “objective” side – “being” or the “environment.” In other words, in each manifestation of mind (that is, in each individual being) there is a constant, continuous series of interactions of that individual stream of mind with the “objects” of the environment (or with its own elements), in the awareness of which the mind’s potentialities are realized and its actualization occurs. The mind finds its way through reality, makes contact with it, records the environment’s reactions and its own responses to that contact, and thus “knows” itself and the world.
At the same time, the growth of the mind – its actualization – proceeds in such a way that some acts of awareness and some realizations serve as the basis, support, and groundwork for the next ones, and accordingly each step logically and lawfully follows from the previous and in turn leads to the subsequent.
Thus, as soon as one realization has been accomplished, a necessity arises for a certain next contact, the next interaction.
This necessity can manifest in a “direct” direction – as the striving of the mind toward further steps, further development, or in the “reverse” direction – as the attraction of the mind toward what, in its view, might help in that development. It is clear that a striving that has not found its object does not lead to the growth of the mind, and an attraction arising “from outside” the mind can very easily be destructured (if an error occurs, a genuinely valuable developmental interaction is replaced by something merely attractive for external reasons) and turn into a whim. Only when a striving is balanced by an attraction, when the mind clearly understands what and why it strives for, and that object is truly recognized and identified as attractive, can we speak of desire. Thus, desire is the striving of the mind to enter into interaction with an object attractive to it for the purpose of actualizing its next potencies, realizing its next possibilities.
Accordingly, to decide whether a given pull is a desire, and therefore whether it requires realization, one must, first, find its roots (a desire is rooted in the depths of the mind, a need – in the body or personality, a whim – in transient fluctuations of the mind), second – determine its relation to the overall character of the mind’s development, and third – discover its “evolutionary” prospect. In general, any one of these steps alone is sufficient to identify a desire as such.
We should note further that, from the standpoint of the Myth in question, this check can be carried out only at the stage of the desire’s “germination” (that is, the primary identification of a striving or an attraction), because when a pull has already taken shape and is energetically charged, its nonrealization leads to the growth of a shadow, which can have even more negative consequences for the mind’s development than the dissipation of energy on the realization of a whim. We have said that magic is not a way of suppression or restraint, but a way of control, and control is possible only at the stage of the “sprouting of seeds.”
Thus, the effectiveness of a Magus largely comes down to the skill of timely identification of one’s desires, determining a suitable environment for their realization, and timely control over one’s energy. Magic is a way of acting, and of course it is impossible to act without making mistakes. However, an unrealized desire can be a more significant obstacle on the path of development than involvement in a whim, so “it is better to regret doing something wrong than to regret not having acted that should have been done.”
If you do not know whether it is yours or not, then there is no need to ask yourself this question. When it is yours, it becomes obvious immediately.
A person usually does not track or realize the origins of their ‘desires’, and when the ‘desire’ arises and demands realization, the person starts to suppress it by finding ‘objective’ reasons, for example, telling themselves that the desire is bad or will never be fulfilled… and then… begins to suffer because of it… When you say ‘the desire is rooted in the depths of consciousness’ – it means nothing. The mind digs in the ‘depths of consciousness’, and the mind, as we know, is very limited by the vocabulary and the semantic core of concepts it operates with during thinking. If a person knows themselves well, there is no need to analyze if it is a desire or a whim. It is recognized on a non-verbal level. Consequently, a person acts based on a correct understanding of themselves, their inner being, their essence. And… there are no inner contradictions, no need for ‘correcting’ oneself or fitting into someone else’s ‘correct’ image… Just feel how energy flows in the field of your awareness and act with the least losses – but how to do this cannot be explained in words. It can be taught through empathy…
It is extremely touching to read enlightened comments from a predator hunting for the attention and energies of others)
You have been working with these methodologies for years, you know yourself inside and out, you feel what, where, and how. You’ve learned many lessons and validated the correctness of your judgments through your experience. Other people, however, have never thought of these distractors and that they exist, or that something must be done about them. You write and understand yourself, but that doesn’t mean that everyone understands you. I understood this article, but there are those that you read five times and each time understand differently. You need to get used to you and your style.
We live in a world of predators. Every person is a predator, except for those who can feed exclusively on blue light. …When an interesting person is encountered on the Path – you want to touch them, to know, to take something new and to integrate this New into yourself. I wrote about this five years ago https://enmerkar.com/en/way/harmonious-coexistence-of-predators and the energies… those energies you mean are not yours and not mine. They exist for those who are able to perceive them and interact with them. A few years ago I asked for your blessing to interact with those energies, to which you replied with a question: – What about the forces you interacted with, didn’t they give you their blessing? – At that time, I didn’t know the answer… sometimes answers come later… Perhaps they did give it. They gave a blessing because I healed. The medicines I was taking didn’t help, and there was no money for serious treatment. I wrote to you about this… Don’t be quick to judge a person you know almost nothing about…
Is the ability to ‘interact’ a criterion? The Roman Empire interacted, absorbing the culture of the countries it was destroying. Hitler interacted with secret knowledge while killing people. With magicians, it’s the same; when power becomes the main value and goal, they improve their lives and externally evolve, but internally they turn into destroyers of their consciousness and surroundings and into demons. The true criterion of the presence of predators within oneself is the ability to love. The ability to give everything you have for someone else. PS the second criterion is the necessity to defend oneself in response to the slightest criticism and ‘judgment’, always leaving the last word behind.
‘To love is to extend one’s selfishness onto someone else.’ Very clearly stated.
Thank you for this comment. So I am indeed on the right path (despite the accusations of weakness from the one to whom you are writing this comment).
You probably misunderstood something. Right now, especially now, I only communicate with very strong people, whom not only I do not accuse, but I infinitely want to thank and do everything for them to feel my attitude towards them.
I wrote this in response to Ekankar’s comment))) After all, this is not a Forum, so confusion arises))) Until a comment is approved, it is not clear under whose comment you write.
When you click ‘reply’, you see the inscription ‘leave a review for the post….’ above, look at whom you are replying. That is why I do not like forums, chats, VK, FB. It is better to just talk, even over the phone is better than writing.
GLA, it is your problem that you took Maxim’s comment personally. It is clear from the indents that he correctly hit ‘reply’ to Ekankar’s comment; his answer just comes after yours. That’s all! If you’re confused about who the reply is addressed to, write the nicknames of whom you are addressing. This isn’t difficult.
2 GLA. Thank you. I completely agree with you. The mighty Russian language would not allow that in English))) I just re-read my comment – it can really be understood totally differently. It was about the fact that I am grateful for comments here that put the predator who accused me of weakness in their place. But I completely agree that the main thing is Love.
Hello! Allow me to correct you a bit…. probably instead of ‘criterion for the presence of predators’, you meant ‘criterion for the absence of predators’……… this is not an attempt to provoke you – just other readers may not understand what you meant……………………………. in the previous comment I was not discussing criteria. I believe that the search for criteria of correctness in actions is a personal quest that each must undertake themselves……………………. Your criteria of correctness may not match mine….. Soulmates are defined by commonality in criteria of correct actions. ….. As for me personally. If I am sick – that is wrong. When working with energies on a non-verbal level, one quickly understands that it is impossible to heal from diseases or pain by taking something from someone in a predatory way. To heal, one needs Gebo, the need for energy exchange. Moreover, the exchange consists NOT in taking the ‘good’ and giving the ‘bad.’ First, the energies of both sides unite, and then each side takes (copies) what is useful to them, what they need. I would like to learn to feed only on blue light….. but for this, you need to connect with the energies of the Earth in a certain way and at a special place.. ……………………………………………………………………. Hitler eventually degraded, and the Roman Empire collapsed……………………………………………………………………….. and we could have had constructive interaction if not for that Love, which unfortunately turned out to be a stumbling block………………………………………………………………… Love is when you are happy. If you are unhappy – that is not love. I hope you are happy.
Predators do exactly that – they get rid of discomfort, including diseases, by taking something from someone. I understand what you mean, if you feel ‘non-verbally’ the pain of someone – there is no desire to take from them. But only enlightened beings or those with a highly developed consciousness can fully feel everything and everyone. Most, due to such ‘lack of awareness’, may not notice the absorption of others’ energies. I did not assert that you absorb, I see that you inherently deny the possibility of this, especially in response to Enmerkar’s words, and usually behind such denial, predators hide.
However, what interesting approaches… … ‘Moreover, the exchange consists NOT in taking ‘the good’, but giving ‘the bad’. First, the energies of both sides unite, and then each side takes (copies) what is useful to them, what they need.’ … It does not work that way. Would you be so kind as to name the author of this methodology? I am extremely interested to see who it is. Where does this come from? … ‘I want to learn to feed only on blue light… but for this, one must connect with the energies of the Earth in a certain way and at a special place…’ … Who suggested this to you? Frankly, I’m a bit shocked by such statements. … Firstly, why exactly blue? Secondly, also in a specific place… Aah, here it is, love-carrot.. that same.. I will refrain from further discussion. —————– ‘If you are unhappy – that is not love…’ … There are about a billion unhappy people here. You are not alone in this… —————– ‘Your criteria of correctness may not match mine…’ … These are correct criteria. Quite right.
This site was an intermediate, preparatory stage for the beginning of serious study of Kabbalah. Thank you for that 🙂
This morning I met a ‘strange’ woman on the street; well, she was out of her mind. Passing by, she repeated several times: ‘put away your black monkey.’ And here I read your book, and it mentions this or that monkey. In general, you know, the descriptions of rituals, rather their atmosphere, somehow seem familiar to me. Those smells, creatures, the air. It seems to me that the most important thing I am starting to understand is about purity. It is useless to get rid of the impurity within oneself as long as there is soil for it. This is basically what the church preaches, but somehow not like that. Probably due to the contradictions that arise there. On one hand, ‘do not judge’ or I don’t remember exactly, something about ~in a pure vessel, everything is pure~, and on the other ‘nothing impure will enter the kingdom of heaven’ and ‘cleanse yourselves from your impurities.’ It feels like both are true and not true. Well, you, of course, do not preach anything; you simply tell.
I have a strange need to link information from the article to a visual example. For instance, let’s take ‘desire’, the realization of which leads to growth in strength and consciousness, and also ‘whim’, which can easily be confused with the same desire, and the distinction comes from the fact that whim – is a method of ‘discharge’, which conversely dissipates strength and leads to degradation. It seems it is written clearly, but it turns out the distinction is defined by the aftertaste? When you have already, in general, accomplished it, and the ‘fruit’ is eaten. This subject has been discussed as I remember, just like the topic with predators – we seem to love to walk in circles… So it is not clear to me – is it a desire that will lead to strength growth or another ‘discharge’ – whim? But in this article, I captured an important clarification that I severely lacked. ‘Attraction’ and ‘striving’ – this allowed me to analyze the roots of my ‘inertia’ towards magic, under which the attraction was hidden. But this is my personal topic, for clarity it does not fit very well. For clarity, it is better to take the commentators of this site. I wonder who among you comments out of attraction, who out of striving, and who harmoniously based on both (share how it works for you, what attracts you, what are you striving for…?))) Who has crystal clear desires and who has distorted ones and are whims? Furthermore, I will say that distortions are not always visible to the people themselves, but those ‘logs’ are very noticeable from the outside… So I don’t even know what to take for clarity – logs in someone else’s eye or splinters in my own.
Milita, there isn’t enough firewood to burn the logs right away. Let’s set up the dams here for Enmerkar, although it’s probably already done.
p.s. By the way, I have my own understanding of proverbs – you need to get used to it. ‘In someone else’s eye, you can see a splinter, in your own – a log is not seen.’ I, on the contrary, see logs in other people’s eyes, thinking that in my eyes are splinters (modestly justifying to myself that I need splinters, after all, I’m not God to be completely without flaws…) I know, I know… Splinters, logs – there is no difference. That was a little digression.
This was a misunderstanding. Everyone understood everything. The question is closed.
Hello! Why does unreciprocated Love occur? It is precisely She, not need or whim. What event of the Macrocosm reflects such a phenomenon in reality? Or is it caused by Karma?
There is no such thing as undivided Love. Only emotions, attachment, and dependence on another person’s energy can be undivided.