Toss the resolutions this year: How bad do you want it?

There's a thought from old spiritual traditions and belief systems that desire is bad -- the cause of endless cycles of suffering, karma and greed. 

Greed destroys, but desire is not greed. Desire is the engine of life. If the Buddha did not desire freedom, would he have attained enlightenment?

In a call today with the wonderfully brilliant Danielle LaPorte we discussed her new project, The Desire Map. It was a special guest call for the Fire of Love Community, and it left me with the resonance of something magical -- the feeling of my life mission and path opening up effortlessly, as I was pulled into the strength of my core desire to fulfill that calling.

There's a fountain of abundant flow in that surrender and awakening to the core desire.

Danielle has that special ability in her essence. It's something she's honed and polished and perfected in herself to such a degree, that simply connecting with the energy is reviving and strengthening of its own accord.

She said something in this call that stuck with me and broke through some kind of dam that was building up inside -- she said, "Ask yourself, how bad do you want it?"

I was asking about overcoming obstacles, resistance, and that place when you hit against the wall of not knowing what to do next...

How bad do you want it?

I know my core desire, so this was like jet fuel to unleash my creative drive for my work -- it started flowing strong soon after!

But what if you don't know what your core desire is...? And what about the other desires?

Danielle says, go for what makes you feel good.

It's a simple approach, and a powerful formula. That's what the Desire Map is about, and it's the same system she's used herself over the past eight years.

Somewhere in you is a set of core desires that drive everything you do. You may not even be aware of it, but these core desires are at the root of all your endeavors, your ambitions and your interactions in the world. I believe that at the heart of these core desires is one true core desire, and if you can find that and build a life around that you're golden.  

So I say, toss the resolutions this year -- go for the core desire instead. Push the edges of the impossible.

If it's a true core desire, it's something that's part of the very essence of your soul. And when you open up to that longing in you, and you surrender to the desire to really meet that condition, something clicks. There's a reservoir of strength and clarity that starts feeding into your reality.

To get to the core desires, track how you want to feel...

Choosing fulfillment turns the tides of history.

When we make feeling good a priority, everything changes -- our individual lives change, and social systems change. How we make and spend money changes. How we teach and learn changes. How we love changes. Think of all the freedom fighters and activists who decided that openly loving and respecting whom they wanted to, made them feel good. That feeling of liberation was more important to them than social acceptance, and it was worth the risk to fight for equal rights. black, white, gay, straight -- whoever they were, regardless of what category they fit into, their desire to be free and fulfilled revolutionized society.

Heading toward your core desired feelings will revolutionize your life."

- Danielle LaPorte, The Desire Map

Here's an excerpt from the full chapter: The Magnetics of Feelings 

Do you know what you want in the core of your being...? How bad do you want it?  

Ask yourself.

Love,