Want, Desire And The Will
Posted Feb. 17, 2009
I have been coming to the realization lately that there are three compulsions directing our lives: Will, Want and Desire. At first glance, they may seem the same, but really they’re not. Since everyone’s concerned with the art of manifesting these days (and no doubt, a lot are frustrated with the current global financial crisis), I think it’s important to understand these three forces as they pertain to bringing unto ourselves that which we wish to attract. Not only that, but if you’re on this site, you probably have at least a little interest in holistic wellness, and all of us at one time or another have come face to face with something we’ve wanted to change – like letting go of old habits, establishing new ones, and generally moving forward and living our lives to the fullest. I ask that you bear with me on this particular subject because it’s probably going to seem to be disjointed at first. In the end, you will see it all tied together, and hopefully you will understand the Will, Want and Desire forces more fully and how they may help shed some light on fulfilling your true purpose in life.

WANTS
“Wants” scream the loudest. They are definitely attached to the ego-self. It seems that every morning we wake up with a new list of demands taped to our forehead (as Wayne Dyer likes to put it). And even if we’re practicing positive prayer, auto-suggestion and affirmations, the “wants” come from a different part of our psyche - the part that always perceives LACK. And so, despite what we “want, want, want” we never quite arrive at the getting, because despite our best efforts, we’re actually constantly affirming the lack in our lives.

Wants are seated in the lower three chakras; the ones concerned with survival, sensual needs (not just sex, but anything to be perceived with the 5 senses), and the assertion of a separate-self. (Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus Chakras, respectively). These chakras also correspond to the functional systems of the body in the areas of the stomach down to the colon, which symbolize the principles “acquire, assimilate, and excrete." As in hunger, “wants” are a noisy and perpetual cry for satisfaction, and since there is no lasting satisfaction of them, there’s always a need for more, more, more. I’m sure you can recognize some wants in your life, but let’s move on to the next force of Desire...

DESIRES
Desire is born of a different seed. It comes from your Spirit, which is seated in the heart chakra. The word desire is actually from “de Sire” or “of the Father,” meaning that this deep, core desire has actually been planted in your spirit by God. These desires are more gentle in their urging, and most often show up in our lives as that still, small voice within. When unsatisfied, they lead to that nagging feeling inside that we’re not quite living up to the fullness of who we really are.

On an energetic level, specifically in terms of chakras, this is where our heart chakra either spurs us on to further development of the upper chakras, or we get bounced back into the lower three we previously mentioned. The upper chakras are more outward and unity-oriented (centered on communication, inspiration and connection). If we move toward desires as opposed to “wants”, we can travel upward into the 5th, 6th and 7th Chakras more effectively, activating the outward-oriented “I’ve come to serve” attitude toward mankind. In other words, we either continue to be ingrown, or we get into reaching out. And in fulfillment of desires, you do experience satisfaction.

There comes a time in life when one can sense a war between the “wants” and “desires.” They aren’t necessarily opposed to one another – it’s in the motivation behind them that one can assess which category they fall into. It’s the war of the Urgent vs. Important. For example: a want would be an urgent cry to “get the errands done right now because this is my only free time.” It’s counterpart, the “important” would be the desire to spend this free time with your kids who’ve been needing some non-activity-stuffed moments with you. It’s you who decides which voice to satisfy. The urgent errands will always be there (like hunger). But the important time with your kid may slip away until they could care less anymore.

On a physical level, when you’ve silenced the still, small voice for “desire” on the inside so many times that you can’t quite hear it anymore, one may manifest a mid-life crisis. The word “crisis” in the Chinese language is made up of two characters: one means Danger, and the other means Opportunity. And that’s exactly what’s happening. The heart chakra is the fulcrum of balance for the chain of the major energy centers (the other chakras). If you don’t start to listen again to the voice of your spirit, you bounce back down to the lower three survival chakras and you start to feel a decline. It doesn’t necessarily have to happen at a certain age – this is a state of mind. You either move UP into expressing your Divine Purpose in life, or you cycle back DOWN and continue to be a self-focused, eventually starting to implode and dis-integrate, because biologically speaking, your time here on earth has reached its high-point and now is your time to retreat.

THE WILL
This begs the question, then, how can I change? How can I move upward into expressing the desires of my heart? How can I separate the urgent from the important so that each finds its proper priority? And that brings us to the WILL.
I believe that true willpower has been rather misunderstood in our Western mind-set. It’s a handicap of our English language, or maybe we’re generally ignorant of the meaning of the words coming out of our mouths. But the will is the most powerful thing you have. Many 12-steppers often site that their “willpower” did not help them in trying to fight their addictions. Many people trying to lose weight or exercise or do other lifestyle changes also found their will to be lacking. But any LACK is always the identifying co-factor of a WANT, not a desire. True willpower is actually best expressed in willingness.

WILLPOWER OR “WILLINGNESS” POWER?
Willingness is often perceived as a weakened position. It implies openness, surrender... all the things that seem like we’re giving up. As the Bible puts it, “His power is made perfect in our weakness” ...and whether the Bible is an authoritative text for you or not, one can’t deny the fact that WILLINGNESS is the perfect example of an insurmountable power expressed in the ultimate weakness.

Think about it. If you really had the spirit of willingness, down to your core, you would have attained that lost-weight, or that exercise routine, or that lifestyle change. Or if your vision board has been obsessed with making bountiful amounts of money, you probably would move towards attracting it more easily if it were attached to a burning desire to be of service to humanity somehow with it (being a channel, not just a reservoir). Willingness would have surrendered to the flow and process of life, while desire would be the guiding factor of where that flow would lead.

I always tell people to throw away their American “muscle-it” perceptions of willpower and just give in to willingness. That’s where true change lies, and that’s where desires - not wants - begin to finally manifest. I’m now trying to grow in my understanding of how to cultivate willingness since that seems to be a major key. I can’t say I have a handle on it at all...

From past miracles in my life, I can see that many times, it completely sneaks up on you. I know that you can pray for it, and you can do affirmations and EFT tapping for it. You can even pray for the “willingness to be willing.” But above all, it cannot be forced, it must be coaxed. Forcing is in the energy of lack and struggle... it may get you short-term change, but you’ll be back to your old ways in no time.

Take the softer way, and do the changes that come from “the periphery” and therefore aren’t as scary to the subconscious (which loves to hold on to old patterns out of survival-programming). What I mean by “the periphery” is to do the changes that seem like no change at all. Changes that sneak in from the side door and don’t attack you from the front: meditation, prayer, affirmations, gratitude... those activities are less threatening and serve to cultivate the inner environment necessary for willingness to grow. I guarantee that one of these days, that willingness - the “true willpower” - will join forces with the desires of your heart, and they will come to pass.

– Carine L. Horner, CCWFN • Soul Foods Nutrition