Which mind are you listening to right now?
Although it may seem that needs are only of the body and mind, the soul does have desires—longings that often translate into needs of the body-mind. However, the perceived needs of the body-mind are filtered through our thoughts and beliefs. They have been developed over our lives and become tainted by misrepresentations of what we think to be our needs and desires. The pure longings of the soul can become harder to access over time, with the build-up and subsequent overlay of externally created ideas, “shoulds,” “can’ts” and “what ifs.”
So, how do we access our true soul desires? First, we must learn how to distinguish perceived needs and desires from true longings. Most actions we take in the course of waking hours stem from real or perceived mental, physical, or emotional needs. Of course, some of these are related to fulfilling actual physical needs, such as eating and sleeping. The rest are creations of the mind that reflect personal and societal thoughts and beliefs. For example, I need a mate to complete me, I need this job to fulfill me, I need the right shoes, I need to show who is boss, I need ice cream now, and on and on.
How much focus do we really place on our soul desires? I would venture to say the answer is a minimal amount, if any. Some of you might be surprised by that, but let’s take a look at who rules our actions. The director is not your soul but your mind, full of “logic” and justifications for everything. Human beings have taken self-justification and external judgment to the level of an art form. It’s amazing the twists and turns a basically sound mind can make in order to justify a decision or an action. This goes for eating that ice cream as well as marrying that person who isn’t really right for you.
With all this activity occupying our minds, where is the space for connecting to our soul desires?
Most decisions made without conscious connection to our soul desires are made to fulfill perceived needs. There is no judgment in that statement—it is just so. One of the reasons for us to be incarnated in these human bodies is to learn to express our souls through our bodies as opposed to living to fulfill the body without considering our souls. The body is a vehicle for that expression and can also be enjoyed and appreciated, just preferably not to the exclusion of soul fulfillment. We are given five senses in order to perceive this world, enjoy this world, and live in this world.
We also have access to additional senses so we can bridge the physical and spiritual realms—to understand the spiritual through the physical mind-body and to express and fulfill the spiritual through the mind-body and enhance our experience in this realm of existence. These additional senses include various forms of intuition, higher or broader awareness, clairvoyance and other psychic phenomena.
Accessing the longings of the soul takes some attention and practice. It takes going beyond the perceived needs and bypassing the noise of the needy voice in our heads. Practicing awareness and meditation are both helpful in this endeavor. Awareness happens through the process of repeated self-questioning and openness to honest answers. For example, if a need arises in your mind, ask yourself the following:
- Do I really need this?
- What is my motivation?
- Am I being honest with myself?
- What is really bringing up this thought of need?
At first, you may not know what the answers to the questions are. Or you may still buy into created needs or choose to act on them no matter what. However, the simple act of pausing to question is a huge step, much bigger than it might seem. In that space created by the pause, there is infinite possibility. That space is like the Void, in spiritual speak and in our Body Tarot: Major Arcana cards (link). The point or space of the unknown is where pure potential exists.
Once you learn to distinguish your mind chatter from your true self (soul), an opening for your soul’s voice will appear, and it will begin to speak to you. In time, through practice, you will be able to access the potential for knowledge and understanding of yourself and the world around you.
When you quiet the brain and open yourself to the broader resources of the Mind, you can access the greater wisdom of life as well as your own truth.
In a simple mediation I asked myself, “What are the desires of my soul?” The following was what I heard in response:
- To love and be loved
- To express truth
- To guide others in expressing and accessing their truth
- To share the beauty of this world and this life
- To share my light
That is a lot simpler and clearer than what my mind would likely come up with when asked the same question. The soul knows. It has wisdom and insight beyond what our incredible minds can create. It is connected to something bigger and greater than any one individual, and through accessing that knowledge base, it can be a great resource for guiding our personal fulfillment and much much more.
Sarah A. Sporn – The Evolving Intuitive
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