What do I want?
There is a reason why you were drawn to this. Perhaps your soul is extending an invitation to you — an invitation to get in touch with the deepest part of your self. Your deepest self, your essential being, is the source of all being — the field of pure consciousness that manifests as the infinite diversity of the universe. Power, freedom, and grace are attributes of this field. So too, are happiness, joy, and bliss.
Over the course of my career, thousands of people have come to me with various problems and challenges in their lives. My career began as a physician, and in the beginning most of the people whom I met had some form of illness such as heart disease or cancer. One day I was sitting with a patient who had heart disease and I happened to ask him, Why do you want to get better?" The look in his eyes told me, What kind of ridiculous question is that?" He told me, Doesn't everybody want to get better when they're sick?" Yes, I said," but why do you want to get better?" He replied, If I get better, I can go back to work and make more money." For some unknown reason, I persisted in asking him, why? Why do you want to make more money?" Apparently amused, he agreed to play the game and said, Because I want to send my son to a good university." I asked him why he wanted to send his son to a good university. He said," I want my son to get a good education so he can build a successful career." I kept asking him the question? Why, why, why?." In the end he answered, Because I want to be happy."
Since then, I have played this game not only with sick patients wanting to get better, but with anyone who wants anything. You can try this yourself. Ask anyone what they want, and when they tell you what they want, keep asking why until you hear the ultimate answer: Because I want to be happy." Happiness seems to be the goal of all other goals, and yet most people seek happiness in a roundabout way.
There is a reason why you were drawn to this. Perhaps your soul is extending an invitation to you — an invitation to get in touch with the deepest part of your self. Your deepest self, your essential being, is the source of all being — the field of pure consciousness that manifests as the infinite diversity of the universe. Power, freedom, and grace are attributes of this field. So too, are happiness, joy, and bliss.
Over the course of my career, thousands of people have come to me with various problems and challenges in their lives. My career began as a physician, and in the beginning most of the people whom I met had some form of illness such as heart disease or cancer. One day I was sitting with a patient who had heart disease and I happened to ask him, Why do you want to get better?" The look in his eyes told me, What kind of ridiculous question is that?" He told me, Doesn't everybody want to get better when they're sick?" Yes, I said," but why do you want to get better?" He replied, If I get better, I can go back to work and make more money." For some unknown reason, I persisted in asking him, why? Why do you want to make more money?" Apparently amused, he agreed to play the game and said, Because I want to send my son to a good university." I asked him why he wanted to send his son to a good university. He said," I want my son to get a good education so he can build a successful career." I kept asking him the question? Why, why, why?." In the end he answered, Because I want to be happy."
Since then, I have played this game not only with sick patients wanting to get better, but with anyone who wants anything. You can try this yourself. Ask anyone what they want, and when they tell you what they want, keep asking why until you hear the ultimate answer: Because I want to be happy." Happiness seems to be the goal of all other goals, and yet most people seek happiness in a roundabout way.
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