NEWSLETTER

January 2004    Volume 1, No. 1              ISSN:  1548-2836 Copyright LWI Press.  F-R-E-E
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In This Issue from LWI Press and
LIVING WITH INTENTION

1.  Feature Article:  What Do You Really Want?
2.  Some Thoughts to Ponder
3.  Valuable Resources
4.  If You Enjoy Poetry
5.  Homework for the Month
6.  Closing Comments

FEATURE ARTICLE

                   WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?

 Everyone, without exception,
 is searching for happiness.

                                               — Blaise Pascal

   Oh yes, the seemingly ellusive, often fleeting "happiness."  Is that what you really want?  If so, what do you believe will make you happy?  Right now, take a moment to write down a few things that you believe will bring you happiness.

   What do you believe is most important to you?  What do you truly desire?
 
   Unfortunately, most of us tend to spend precious little of our time consciously considering these questions.  If you just wrote down a list of things (or circumstances or people) do you truly believe they will result in your happiness if you had them?  Or if you think you don't actually know what it is that you really want, is it any surprise you don't seem to be getting it, or at least that you don't seem to be getting it much of the time?

   It's as if most people take their personal journeys through their lives without any "destination" in mind.  They may think they're going somewhere, but they have no conscious idea about "where" that is.  Many of us are very clear in our own minds that where we are isn't where we wish we were, but we have great difficulty figuring out what it is, exactly, that we think we are "lacking."

   Many people will tell you they are not as happy as they would like, or they wish they had this or that, but they don't have much clarity about why they are unhappy or what to do about it.  Most of us continue to look "out there" for things, or people, or circumstances that we think might result in our happiness.  And then we soon discover that once we get what we think was going to make everything "better," the hollow, empty feeling returns once again.  We're back on the same old, worn path, looking "out there" for the solutions to our "problems."

   With a little thought and some deep introspection, we really can clearly identify what it is we truly desire.  We can find out "why" we thought we wanted this or that.  We can discover within ourselves exactly what it is that we truly desire.

To live as fully, as completely as possible,
 to be happy ... is the true aim and end to life.

                                                                  — Llewelyn Powers
  
   I am absolutely certain that I know what you REALLY want, although I may have never even met you.  The reason, of course, is because we all - every single one of us - ultimately want exactly the same thing.  Most of us would say we want to be "happy."  And if each and every day of our lives was another joy-filled experience, imbued with a profound sense of peace and contentment, then I believe we would, in fact, be "happy."

   Think about it.  Anything else you might put on your list about "what you REALLY want" is there simply because you think it would make you happy if you had it.  If you were completely content and at peace, it would be because you had everything you could imagine that you wanted or desired, and you felt threatened by nothing.  You would feel completely secure since you would realize that nothing could "take away" your peace and joy.

   The perceived difficulty we face, of course, is that we often try to attach our happiness to other people or to things.  Whenever you believe that someone else or something else holds the key to your joy and contentment, then you can become fearful that he or she might leave you or somehow hurt you, or some "thing" you possess could be taken from you.

   Eventually, you will come to fully realize that it is YOU (and not someone or something else) that always holds the key to your own peace, contentment and joy.  While it can seem extremely difficult to reach such a realization and fully integrate it into your life, it is NOT impossible.  You CAN do it.  And you can begin by consciously realizing that what you really want is peace and joy.  Having had that realization, you can then begin to adjust your perspective and expand your perceived context (altering, if necessary, certain beliefs you have - some of which you might have had for a very long time) in order to "achieve" the peace and joy you REALLY want.

   You can begin to consciously make choices that will support your most deeply held desire.  And believe me, your most deeply held desire (regardless of what you might now think) is not that you get a new car, or have a big house, or find a new boyfriend or girlfriend, or that your parents express their approval about what you have (or haven't) done....

   You really want peace, contentment and joy.  Why not start now to make conscious choices that support, rather than suppress, that goal?  Why not begin to dismiss anything that you know will result in turmoil, resentment or anger?  Why not let go of that which is not working in your life, and choose something else?

   It's your life.  And each moment of every day, you WILL make a choice.  Decide now to choose wisely.  Decide now to choose peace rather than conflict.  Decide now to choose love rather than fear.  Choose to BE that which you truly desire.

SOME THOUGHTS TO PONDER

   A particularly inspiring "book" you might want to acquire and read (in fact, you might want to read it many, many times) is the Tao Te Ching.  Written by Lao Tzu in China about 2,500 years ago, it is often described as a true masterpiece.  Read it a few times, and you'll understand why.

   I'm particularly fond of Stephen Mitchell's English translation (some would say, "reinterpretation") of the Tao Te Ching.  You can buy a used copyof his translation on Amazon.com for as little as $6.00.  I think you'll want to be sure to include it in your library.  One of my favorite passages (one you might recognize, if you're familiar with my writing) from Stephen Mitchell's translation is this:

  See the world as your self.
  Have faith in the way things are.
  Love the world as yourself;
  then you can care for all things.

                                     — Tao Te Ching

   I invite you to carefully reflect on each line above.  Consider the impact it would have on your life if you did each of these things.  What if you did see the world as your self and had complete faith in the way things are — not the way you might think they are, or wish they were, but the way they actually are?

   When the day arrives that you decide you're simply going to have to give that "meditation" thing a whirl (or if you would like to gain a deeper understanding of what "meditation" is, what it does, how to do it, etc.) then pick up a copy of Ram Dass' terrific book, Journey of Awakening.  It's the finest introduction to meditation I've ever come across.  I think you will find it well worth reading whether you've never seriously "meditated" or if you've been doing so for years.

   Each month we will include a few lines from a couple of poems that readers have found to be particularly inspiring, helpful, or just plain fun.  Please submit your favorite poems by e-mail to poetry@livingwithintention.org and we'll include as many as we have room for each month.  Please be sure to let us know exactly where we can find the poems you submit, the author and publisher (if known), and any comments you'd like to have included with the poem.

                     ******************************
From Secrets of the Heart by Kahlil Gibran.  Published by Hallmark Cards, Inc., by arrangement with The Citadel Press, page 15.

    Humanity, which you and I together share,
 is a brilliant river singing its way,
    And carrying with it the mountain's secrets 
 into the heart of the sea.

    Knowledge is a light, enriching the warmth
 of life,
    And all may partake who seek it out.

    Life is that which we see and experience
 through the spirit;
    But the world around us we come to know
 through understanding and reason.

                    ******************************

From The Matrix by Gregory Spohr.  Published by LWI Press in Part II of the book, How Life Really Works — 12 Principles You Can Use to Create the Experiences You Most Desire, page 264.

 The Matrix is real.
 I doubt it's the construction of some future race
 Of machines.
 But it is real, nonetheless.
 Until we awaken
 We will be held in its web
 Of deception.
 We will think and believe
 That what we see around us is true.
 We will continue to think
 We must protect what we have — 
 As if it is ours to begin with.

 Yes, the Matrix is real.

                    ********************************

   Each month a suggested exercise is presented that can be very helpful to those of us who believe we have not already attained "enlightenment" or the lofty level of "true mastery."  Here is the exercise for this month:

   Draw a line from top to bottom down the middle of a blank full-size sheet of lined paper.  At the top on the left side write the title "What I Want" and on the right side write "What I Don't Want."

   Now write down as many things as you can think of that you want on the left side in about one minute.  Try to be spontaneous and don't dwell on any one item.  Just start writing for about a minute.  Then do the same type of thing on the right side of your paper, listing things you don't want.  Again, be as spontaneous as you can and don't dwell on any of the items as you write.

   When you're finished, put the paper aside for a day or two, and then get yourself a couple of blank sheets of paper and go back and look at your two lists.

   For those items on the left side of your sheet (those things that you DO want), jot down things you are now actually doing to achieve them.  If you can't think of much you're now doing to achieve what you said you want, consider the possibility that you don't really want some of those things — you just THINK you do.  Now transform each of your "wants" into an affirmative statement on a clean sheet of paper.  For example, if you wrote, "To be rich," now write "I am wealthy beyond my fondest dreams."  If you wrote, "To be healthy," now write something like "I am always healthy and enjoy an active, vibrant life."  Turn each of your "I want to be..." statements into "I am..." statements.

   Now look at your "What I Don't Want" list.  Take each of the items you listed as something you don't want, and write a new statement on a clean sheet of paper that you ARE the "opposite" of what you don't want.  For example, if you wrote that you don't want "to be fat," now write something like "I am trim and fit."  If you wrote that you don't want "to be poor," now write something like "I experience abundance in every area of my life."  You'll probably find that some of your new affirmative "wants" are quite similar to some of the "don't wants" that you turned into positive attribute statements.

   You now have two new sheets of paper with some excellent, and meaningful TO YOU, positive declarations.  Take a moment each day (twice a day, if you can) to read those positive declarations out loud.  Let yourself hear you stating, "I am trim and fit."  Let yourself hear you state, "I am wealthy beyond my fondest dreams."  Do this for four weeks and discover that your world has already started to look different to you.  And all you have done is replace "wanting" with "being" in some of your thoughts.

   It doesn't matter if you're 5'6" tall and weigh 384 pounds, if you continue to clearly state, "I am trim and fit" you'll find that you'll start doing things that support BEING trim and fit....  Give this simple exercise a try.  It works in every area of your life.  It doesn't cost anything, and you just might be startled by some of changes you see in how you are perceiving your own life.

   Thank you for allowing me to share this issue of the Living With Intention Newsletter with you.  As more and more people begin to become consciously aware of Some Facts of Life, and embrace the tremendously beneficial value of Becoming Aware so they can begin Living With Intention, profound changes will take place on our planet.  Remember, let's BE the solution to whatever problems we perceive.  Let's BE the answer, no matter what the question.

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Published by LWI Press, 120 W. Caroline Lane, Chandler, AZ 85225.  Copyright 2004.  All rights reserved.  ISSN:  1548-2863