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CannabisSativa
USA
23 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 30 2010 : 4:12:00 PM
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| How can I stop wanting things in life? I'm tired of this, I want so many things and can't get rid of this. |
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Scorpio1987uk
Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
57 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2010 : 10:10:45 PM
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You basically described what the road to Enlightenment is all about, the release from desire, pain and suffering.
I still have a lot of desires so I am nowhere near Enlightenment, it takes many thousands of years over many lifetimes. You should read books by the Dalai Lama he is very good in teaching how to overcome desire. The main point you should know is that desires such as lust and greed are all born from ignorance, the trick to stop ignorance is to analyze every thought you ever have in your mind. I have been doing this for nearly a year and I have noticed a great difference in my lifestyle, I am happy with less material things than before, even though I still want new stuff it is not so bad anymore.
Next time your brain says "I want this or I want that" just think instead "I am happy with what I have and I am lucky enough just to be alive in this world" Which is true because to be born as a human is a great achievement. Repetition also helps to reinforce positive thoughts and if you get negative thoughts just ignore them. Think as thoughts as waves in the ocean, there are so many and they come and go every second, the trick is to float above it like a boat and they won't influence you so much, otherwise you will drown in your thoughts. :)
Enjoy the stimulation of the chakras and you will feel that everything is good, some Buddhist monks have mastered desire so much that they lock themselves in a small dark room for months at a time with nothing but food, water and their own body, and they are perfectly happy. If they can do that then I think you can make it without needing the latest game console or a new pair of trainers. :P |
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Ananda
3115 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2010 : 04:37:01 AM
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Well, this might work and might not. I use the energy behind all my desires and point it toward the highest desire there is "enlightenment" and from what glimpses i've had. It's the end of all desires, in that exploding fountain of pure bliss and love no desire can arise it's the ultimate satisfaction there is. Attaining what has to be attained!
So that's one thing you can do, as for the other things; They are: daily practices and Self inquiry and selfless service and looking out for sages. I've been going at it for quite some years now and i am still using my frustration and thirst toward the one and only desire and Yes there is progress even though it might feel sometimes there isn't
Love,
Ananda |
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manigma
India
1065 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2010 : 07:15:25 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by CannabisSativa
How can I stop wanting things in life? I'm tired of this, I want so many things and can't get rid of this.
Find your self.
And trust me, you won't want anything else.
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Clear White Light
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2010 : 08:46:44 AM
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| This is why practices exist. As you practice you begin the process of de-identification. When your thoughts, feelings and memories are able to be perceived as being separate from your self, you will begin to experience a lessening of desire and a gradual detanglement from the clutches of the mind. Desire is on the level of the mind, and by utilizing practices we begin to experience life beyond the dictates of the mind. At this level of experience, desire transforms from being something that distracts us, divides our attention and causes us to experience suffering, into a powerful force that can be focused like a laser beam in order to accomplish our goals. |
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Clear White Light
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2010 : 09:11:37 AM
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Also, it is important to note that we can actually utilize our mind's tendency to desire in a positive way. Our desire can be a sort of barometer that helps us detect our attachments. If we can learn to be attentive to our desire and the things that call it out, we will know exactly what aspects of our mind/life we need to work on. So desire doesn't always have to be a negative thing. In fact, there is nothing inherently negative about it at all. There is no reason to perceive the arising of one state of mind as being lesser or greater than any other state of mind. They're all just happenings in the space of the mind. They come seemingly without our bidding and depart almost as quickly.
Becoming frustrated by desire is a bit like wearing a wide brimmed hat on a particularly gusty day. No matter how many times your put the hat back on your head, the wind is just going to blow it off again. You could go back and forth chasing that hat around all day if you wanted to. Or you can wise up and not put it back on again; at least until the storm has passed. Desire can be like that; you can be with it without necessarily having to wear it. |
Edited by - Clear White Light on Oct 31 2010 09:14:04 AM |
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jeff
USA
971 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2010 : 12:47:00 PM
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As Manigma said, touch your inner self and it becomes easier than you think. Focused giving up of desire usually leads to focusing on desire. The Ego has clever traps. Follow the practices, connect to the Divine in you, feel the energy flow and then new cars/homes/etc... become pretty meaningless.
Namaste, Jeff |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2010 : 12:59:57 PM
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Hi CannibasSativa and welcome to the AYP forums 
I agree with Jeff. The desire to get rid of all desires is just as much of a trap as any other desire. In my experience, desires fall away on their own with consistent twice daily cultivation of Inner Silence through deep meditation. Fighting with stuff only seems to help strengthen it's grip. It is in the letting go of trying to control, steer, and manipulate Life to be something other then how it is that seems to stimulate release/openings.
Glad to have you here.
Love!
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swaha
Lebanon
88 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2010 : 1:10:30 PM
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find your center and learn to find it again and again, more and more..
meanwhile, any destructive intention will cause more harm than relief..
no desires, no life.. befriend them but know they are not 'you'.
enjoy the car, the trendy this or latest that..
play the game but don't take it seriously..
neither suppression nor indulgence..
only watchfulness...and conscious breaaaaaathing |
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nirmal
Germany
438 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2010 : 4:00:35 PM
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Excellent Clear White Light. I love the wide brimmed hat story! Very appropriate and meaningful response to the question.
L&L,
nirmal |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2010 : 4:20:00 PM
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Hey bud
I echo what Carson said, especially this:
quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
The desire to get rid of all desires is just as much of a trap as any other desire. In my experience, desires fall away on their own with consistent twice daily cultivation of Inner Silence through deep meditation. Fighting with stuff only seems to help strengthen it's grip.
This is also my experience. Along the way, you might find that desires become "softer"... they stop causing misery and you're free to follow or ignore them as you see fit.
The mind is incapable of stopping desires. It's rather hopeless
Happy journeys
cosmic |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Nov 04 2010 : 4:32:01 PM
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quote:
Hey bud
God you make me laugh Cosmic .... I just about blew a gasket on that one! 
Love!
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CannabisSativa
USA
23 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2010 : 6:17:53 PM
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Thanks a lot to everyone and also thanks for the warm welcome.
(^_^) |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Nov 06 2010 : 5:13:45 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
God you make me laugh Cosmic
Happy to return the favor, bro  |
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Topic |
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How to destroy my desires?
