"For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." ~ Galatins 5:17
I get wisdom from all sorts of sources. So don't freak when you see this. This truth is in every religion. That man's nature, ego, is in contrary with Spirit, and must do away with bad desires to be able to connect with spirit.
"A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves." ~By Swami Sivananda
This is craving in Buddhism and desires are never fully satisfied. Over and over we desire, we attach, and then we detach more from Spirit. Like a hungry ghost within, our thirst and hunger cannot be quenched. Over and over we do this. Why do we do this?
We all have a void within us. I think CC may have mentioned a gap, which may or may not be pertinent. This void, is a bottomless pit, and leads us away from Spirit, and more suffering.
I like to watch a show called Hoarders. A hoarder is someone who cannot let go of possessions, even trash, sometimes animals. They will not get rid of anything. They accumulate and accumulate until their house is full to the brim. The attachment is so strong, anytime someone tries to get them to part with the possessions or trash they will freak out, cry, become angry. They will not let go. This divides families, leads to divorce. And the hoarder is left alone in their own creation of garbage.
When the psychologists come on the show, what always happens is the hoarder has felt loss in some way. Someone may have died, left, or perhaps they never had possessions much as children. Many reasons. But this left the Hoarder with a void. And they lost it and began filling it with things. Even to the point they could not move in their house.
They get a high when they go shop, dumpster dive, or see something someone has thrown away of value. They feel like something discarded in the world, abandoned, so they fill their home with the objects others discarded.
This is like saving themselves.
The other day I watched a movie called Temptations. Obviously sex is a big desire. One, its based on biology, but it is also mental and emotional. So this woman is in a decent marriage, and meets a man who woos her. They eventually have an affair. Goes on for awhile then it is found out she got HIV. This is the stuff which is happen when desires are out of control. They separate us from Spirit, as we look to fill our lives with stuff, people, money, food, alcohol, drugs, and so forth. If you are filling the void with things like this, which deep down you know better than to do it, you need to stop. Because the void was created in us to fill it with Spirit. We have a void we are born with. How big or small it is depends on how crazy we are with desire. When we keep filling it with things not of Spirit, the void gets bigger. When we do not, and we fill the void with Spirit instead, we can lead a normal and happy life, knowing we have everything we need.
I have always found a way to survive. I have had my struggles. But I have always had enough food, been able to pay bills. Sometimes I have to sacrifice to do something. But in the end I find I have enough. We eventually have to say "I have enough" and be satisfied with what we have.
The Temptations movie was about how people see the grass greener on the other side. Another problem with desire is we always see the grass greener elsewhere, and the glass half empty instead of half full. We have to accept, we cant have everything we want in life. But we can have Spirit, and once you let Spirit in more and more, you wont need all the unnecessary 'stuff' to fill the void.
