Pure intention is best described as a wave or vector of intelligence. A clear intent. As it moves into mind, we experience an idea or concept, an inspiration, a focus. Into emotions, a desire, wish or need.
What often happens though is that it gets cluttered by mental associations and stories, emotional resistance, reactivity, doubts, and other energy dissipaters. Just as pure consciousness becomes filled with thoughts and emotions, so too is pure intent cluttered by same.
In the prior post Behind all Pain is Happiness, we touched on the emotional coverings of happiness. What about the closely related desire?
As emotions are the energy drivers of doing, we can look within emotions to find intention. What is behind this drive to act a certain way? First, there are general feelings. Behind that, desire. And behind that gets interesting.
We may discover there are unhealthy or conflicting feelings behind some desires. It can be quite curious to discover that behind a “positive” desire is fear, for example. The desire thus has its own canceling energy. We don’t even need to doubt to void the driver of success.
Other desires may be rooted in uncertainty, thus giving us mixed results. This is why we admire someone with self-confidence who gets results – they are not driven by doubt built into their drive. However, we’ll find that just about everyone has areas of life where they are effective and areas where they could use some work. Where there is some less healthy energetic/emotional drivers.
But all this is not really intention. It is emotionally driven desire.
Under these sorts of emotional desires is another kind. Desires driven by intention. These often then pick up emotions on their way up so can seem on the surface to be quite similar. For example, we may find an intention under those muddied emotions beneath a desire.
What’s the difference? Desires driven by emotions are coming from a me. They are reactionary and have a quality of craving. Trying to fill something empty, like wanting a new car so you’ll feel more worthy.
Desires driven by intention are quite a bit different. They are intentional, driven from a much deeper place. Intellect, soul, even the divine. Intention also has a deeper kind of power than simple emotion. One driven by the power of life itself.
These are more subtle than emotions so may not be obvious at first. But there will be a sense of push or urging, a sense of simple clarity or certainty or rightness, perhaps a sense of power moving within or through us.
You can begin to see why it’s advantageous to practice a little mindful observation of our drivers. Reactionary ones are less useful to engage. Those are the ones where we’re resisting or spinning our wheels. But intentional desires driven from within are more likely to reflect our dharma or purpose. The flow of life through us. The divine in us. Thus they are far more likely to be fulfilled.
It is learning to work with this movement through our lives that shifts life from being a struggle to being a flow, from suffering to joy, from confusion to clarity.
As we connect deeper and deeper with who we are within, much of this will be spontaneous. But the stories we have running in our lives may require a little attention to diffuse. May require some technique or attention.
The inquiry process I touched on in the prior post is the same here. Instead of “what is behind the emotion” it is “what is behind this push to act”?
We’ll feel a sense of resistance or craving if there are emotional entanglements. Although sometimes resistance can be a push back – a sign not to move just yet. So we may have to look deeper at the resistance – is this a cautionary sense? Or is it fear driven?
Soon we’ll get the idea of living a more conscious, purposeful life. One that’s a lot more fun. If we understand that intention is the flow of consciousness, we can see why cooperating is a great idea. We’re just learning to cooperate with ourSelves. Another word for this flow? Love.
Davidya
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D, am reminded how Maharishi says that the purpose of creation is the expansion of happiness. So simple yet so all encompassing. I’m guessing that every intent, desire, even craving is a smaller current in the ocean of creation’s purpose. Maybe trust is key too. Trust that one’s intent or desire or craving does have, at its root, the purpose of expanding happiness. Another good thing about having this trust: one no longer fears looking honestly even at once hidden desires, etc.
I tend to describe the purpose of creation as for Self to more fully know itself. But yes, Intention is inherently a flow of happiness.
You make a valid point. It’s all the same flow. But reactionary desires do tend to create little loops. It’s harder to connect with that happiness in little side eddies, but it flows fully in the intent itself.
Another way we could say this – the localized desire and emotion process is a mirror or reflection of the higher values. Same process but as a mirror, they reflect less than the fullness of bliss. Stepping out of localizations, we step into much greater values of happiness and more powerful intention.
Or maybe I’m just complicating it. (laughs)
And now maybe I’ll complicate further! Just to repeat point about trust. Because even in above comment there’s something about reactionary desires and little loops and eddies that could, in a subtle way, cause one to turn away from what might be perceived as a lesser desire. I understand what you’re saying and am pretty sure you live this higher intentionality more completely than I do. But sometimes even what others might deem a reactionary or localized desire is at root Life desiring itself. If one trusts that, one can courageously move to uncovering the deeper value of any desire. Even the seemingly unspiritual ones.
OK. You make a good point. I have a long habit of thinking in layers. This is a higher intention, this is a smaller localized one, unconnected to deeper being.
But the reality is, that being or presence is everywhere present. One does not have to “go deeper” to get to it. It is right on the surface. Thanks for the reminder.
It is curious how “sticky” some concepts are. This also points to the difficulty of simple awakening. Or the habit of mind to be trying to decide which is a “me” response and which is wholeness, long after me has ended. It is only the idea that a me might be there that keeps it going. (laughs)
Persistence…
There is another layer (laughs) here to touch on and complete this. The localized desires are born of the same “stuff” as the deep intentions of being. But because they are not playing in the context of the whole, there is an apparent separation. This allows contraction and suffering to occur. Even though they are pure of being, they are crimped in expression.
But if one is willing to see this, trusting as you suggest, then the relationship to the whole is restored and the suffering ends. If it still has a role in the larger picture, it continues. If not, it dissolved into Being.
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