What if your desire isn’t the work of the devil but a powerful tool of discernment?
“God, what’s next?”
Or…
“What do I want?”
Make a list and don’t stop until you’ve exhausted every last desire.
At work, in your friendships, in bed.
All of it.
Write it down.
And if you’ve been conditioned to believe that your core is evil rather than a mirror image of the divine, if you were a part of a tradition that gets the chronology all wrong by starting the story of humanity in Genesis 3 instead of Genesis 1—as primarily sinful and egoic rather than dignified and of divinity—this will be a challenge.
The breath of the divine is more foundational than sinfulness because, before the ego, you were a mirror image, wholly loved and fully connected.
That’s good news.
It’s only good news if it’s good for everyone.
What if you could stop repressing and begin trusting yourself?
Repression is a liar.
Repression knows only extremes.
Repression loses its power when it’s aired out.
Repression sounds like:
“I’d end up sleeping with a bunch of women that aren’t my wife.”
“I’d drink a bottle of wine every night.”
“I’d never get out of bed again.”
Would you?
Or are you so repressed that you don’t know the difference between the draw of your desire and the depth of your repression anymore?
Repress, indulge, repress, indulge.
Is there any surer way to self-hate, to self-distrust?
Who benefits when our desires are despised?
Perhaps if you can’t trust yourself, you can trust authority, another answer to the question of power.
This is what I’ve come to know through my own experience and the experience of my community:
Your desire is a form of discernment.
Your desire is trustworthy, and connecting to it will show you where you’re lacking in joy, in intimacy, in relationships.
What do you want?
Make a list and discern what the universe is trying to tell you through your desire. The inner wisdom you have at your disposal might surprise you. When repression surfaces, dig deeper—what is this distortion of desire trying to say?
What is your desire pulling you towards?
Name it, sit with it, and be thankful for the clarity and goodness.
Let’s rewrite the story of desire as useful, grounding, guiding.
Let’s trust our desire as discernment.
What do you want?