May you have pure fun today! Next week, I’ll be engaging in the spiritual practice of rest and will not publish a blog post. However, I’ll be back in two weeks with a brand new post. Have a wonderful two weeks! This post is about the spiritual practice of Owning Your Authentic Desires.
I grew up in a residential neighborhood where many families had children around my age. During summer vacation, all of the neighborhood kids, myself included, would gather outside and play from sun up ‘til sundown, taking breaks only for lunch and dinner. Even then, we would eat as quickly as possible so as not to miss out on the latest game or a trip to the candy store.
One of the favorite past times of the group was climbing the tree in my family’s backyard. Ordinarily, we would ride our bikes to the base of the tree where everyone else would climb the tree while I stayed on the ground to be the lookout. Technically, we weren’t quite allowed to climb that tree but hey, what is childhood without bending – ok, breaking- a few rules?
However, on this particular summer afternoon, I decided to say something that was on my mind. As everyone got off their bikes, I announced “I want to climb the tree too.”
At age 7 or 8, I understood that climbing trees required strength, balance, fine motor skills and gross motor skills- things that I had but not in abundance, definitely not enough to climb a tree. But, in that moment, I didn’t care. I wanted the thrill of climbing that tree too. Cerebral Palsy or no cerebral palsy, I wanted to break my parents’ rule like everyone else.
After my proclamation, my big sister, who was the oldest of the group therefore the understood leader, looked at me and simply said, “OK.” Then commenced the meeting of the elementary-school-aged minds! Just how were we going to get me up in the tree?
After a few minutes, we had a plan. Three kids strategically placed themselves in the tree. My sister and one other child stayed on the ground and lifted me up. Two kids in the tree grabbed me under my arms, pulled me up and sat me on a branch and the third helped me wrap my hands around a branch.
I WAS IN THE TREE!!! I couldn’t believe it! I was no longer on the outside looking in; I was in! I was in the tree, in the conversation; I was a full participant in the experience and I loved it! I finally got to see what they saw… A lot of leaves. But, beyond the leaves, I saw the top of my house and my neighbors’ houses. My perspective of my neighborhood changed and my sense of belonging with my sister and our friends grew with that one act.
As I sat in the tree, I chatted with the other kids and prayed like crazy that I would not fall out of the tree(as it turns out, sitting on a tree branch is not very easy when you have trouble with balance and muscle spasms). Meanwhile, my mother was preparing to make dinner. As she went to the kitchen sink, she looked out the window to see an empty big wheel and the feet of her youngest daughter dangling from the lowest branch of the backyard tree.
My mom, who is not one for raising her voice, opened the window and yelled “Is that Allison in the tree? ROBERTA, GET YOUR SISTER OUT OF THAT TREE!!”
“OK MOM!” answered my sister.
In a blink of an eye, I was back on the ground. Since my parents received calls from my school fairly regularly saying that I had fallen at school and was being taken to the hospital for stitches, my mom’s reaction was quite understandable.
Recently, my sister and I were talking about this memory. Only after our conversation did I realize that my time among the birds taught me a valuable lesson. Anything is possible if you are honest with yourself about what you want, have the courage to ask for it and the faith to believe it can happen. I was able to soar among the birds because I had the courage to speak my truth.
The Divine is programmed to bring us what we authentically desire, but we have a role to play. We must take action towards our authentic desires. It’s okay if you don’t know precisely the right action to take. But a great first action is to admit to yourself what you want. There is only one you. Thus, the only way that your unique combination of soul-intellect-personality-body can ever be experienced in this world is if you show up fully and own every authentic desire you have. Your authentic desires are the desires of the Divine. When you suppress these desires, you are suppressing the Divine Intelligence that created the world and you.
But, when you own your desires, when you allow your desires to see the light of day and when you actively pursue your desires, you are living fully in the light of God and allowing the love of the Universe to flow freely through you!
Love, blessings and purple,
Allison
Try incorporating this exercise into your week. If you need modifications to the practice, scroll down to the section titled Access Notes.
Journaling About Your Authentic Desires
Begin by setting a timer for ten minutes. Close your eyes. Put your hands on your heart. Take 3 deep breaths. As you take the 3 deep breaths, imagine the air is entering and exiting your body through your heart.
After you finish the third deep breath, ask yourself, “What do I most desire?” Write down whatever comes to mind. Let the words flow from your heart onto your paper or device. Don’t worry about how you’ll accomplish what you write down or how your desires may sound to someone else. Give yourself permission to dream big and bold in your journal.
The following modifications are intended to create equal access to the spiritual practice above. These modifications are somewhat general to be as useful as possible to as many people as possible. Please feel free to further tweak the exercise as needed so that you can participate as fully as possible while honoring your body’s needs.
1. If writing/typing is not possible or challenging, try either saying(verbally or via sign language) your authentic desires or making a mental list of the desires. I recommend keeping your eyes closed during your journaling process so that you can maintain your focus.
2. If you are concerned that someone might read your journal, you can do one of the following:
a. Write down your desires and then either delete the document or destroy the paper you wrote on OR
b. Do this exercise mentally or verbally. See Access Notes #1 for instructions on mental/verbal journaling.
3. If journaling for 10 minutes is too long, then journal for as many minutes as you can.
4. If you cannot take deep breaths, breathe the way you normally do. Close your eyes. As you breathe, imagine your breaths entering and exiting your body through your heart.
5. If you can’t place your hand(s) on your heart, close your eyes and imagine a bright white light shining from your heart into the world for a few moments. Then continue with the rest of the exercise.
