Recently, it’s become a popular notion that the way to happiness is to “think like a monk.” The idea is to surrender our ego and give up the pleasures we naturally experience through our five senses.
In other words, the “think like a monk” movement would have us relinquish all of our worldly desires. As the author of the forthcoming book, The Desire Factor, I’m on a mission to forever debunk this advice! The fact is, desire is not evil or hedonistic. It’s the driving force behind all creation.
There are 3 common misconceptions about desire that we need to overcome if we’re to live our most prosperous lives:
Misconception #1: You should think like a monk because desire is the root of all evil.
Like most people, you’ve probably been ingrained with the message that the pursuit of desire is evil or hedonistic. And that it’s nobler to think like a monk and desire world peace than to desire a joyful, abundant life.
If this was your conditioning, you’re definitely not alone. The narrative that desire is evil goes back a long way in our human history. The Bible cites desire as the reason that Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Hinduism and Buddhism advocate the “think like a monk” mindset, cautioning us to renounce all desire for worldly things. And what is the net result of this conditioning? Either we acknowledge our desires and feel guilty for having them. Or we attempt to diminish the strength of our own wanting. Both of these paths lead to unhappiness. Because we are meant to allow our desires to flow and to be fulfilled.
Misconception #2: You should think like a monk because you don’t deserve to have it all.
Think for a moment about the root of the programming that tells us it’s evil to desire material things. You’ll see that it is based on a belief that we don’t deserve to live abundantly. The “think like a monk” mentality would have us view life in terms of black or white. Either we’re spiritual, or we’re materialistic. Either we value our inner connection with the Divine, or we value external comforts.
But it’s a very limited view of life that sees things in terms of either/or scenarios. Life is inclusive. Things are rarely either/or. They’re both/and.
The fact is, we are divinely designed to experience the best of our divinity and our humanity. We’re all born to have it all and to fulfill our individual desires, in partnership with the Spirit that created us.
Our worldly desires – whether for a new car, a new house, or a new level of financial prosperity – are not shallow. These desires are born within us for a divine purpose: They lead us to realize and bring into existence more of our greatness, our potential, and our unique gifts.
Misconception #3: You should think like a monk because you are separate from the Divine.
The idea that we are somehow separate from the Divine is perhaps the most painful misconception of all. It sets us up to believe that our human desires are evil. That we need to renounce them in order to connect with our idea of Spirit or God.
The fact is, you are a spiritual being living in a physical world. You are an extension of the source that created all things. You don’t need to think like a monk to realize your divine nature, because you cannot be separated from your divinity.
The benevolent energy stream, which created you and all things, wants you to be radiantly healthy. It wants you to be prosperous because abundance is its very nature. It wants you to be happy, to feel perfectly at peace, loving and loved, wise, successful, confident, joyful, and free. And you don’t need to “think like a monk” in order to achieve these states of being. Because you are an extension of the energy that creates all things.
Desire is the first step in all creation. Without desire, nothing happens, and there can be no motion forward. Without desire, the universe and the planet on which we are all living would cease to exist. Without desire, you would not grow, expand, and evolve.
Burning desires come forth as an activity of your Divine Self. They wake you up to realize that it wants to do more for you, with you, and through you. When you want something – provided it’s not hurtful to you or anyone else – this is your spiritual Divine Self tugging at your heart’s door, trying to get your attention. Following this inner impulse is the path to the peace, happiness, and prosperity you desire and deserve.
Christy Whitman is an energy healer, Master Certified Law of Attraction Coach, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Having It All: A Woman’s Guide to Unlimited Abundance. Her forthcoming book The Desire Factor: How to Embrace Your Materialistic Nature to Reclaim Your Full Spiritual Power is available for pre-order now at www.thedesirefactor.com. She communicates with, and for, The Quantum Council, a collection of non-physical ascended masters who desire to help humanity understand that we are divinely designed for well-being, abundance, success, and loving relationships. You can take the first step in alignment and creating your desires by a free 30 day program called Watch Your Words by going here: www.watchyourwords.com.
