What do you really want?

Last post we discussed the role of the sub and super conscious components of your consciousness, the ability you have to make them work for you towards getting whatever it is you want from life. But what is it that you really want? Do you know? Is it material possessions, a great career, spiritual enlightenment, a trip on the QE2?

Those all sound great, and I am sure that anything you can add to the list will be just as good. If you already know what you want, you may as well skip this article as I am now going to try to help those who have no idea what they really want.

Sometimes we feel so lost or confused, so beaten by life, that we have either forgotten those wonderful childhood and teenage dreams, or we believe that they are not attainable ore even desirable, or we feel that we don't want or need those things anymore, have moved on, but don't know what we do want. Sound familiar?

Maybe you have sat down with pen and paper or had long discussions with family and friends as to what you want, in the vein of what career should I pursue, where should I live, should I marry that person? We arrive at answers all nice and logical, try them out and often, we fail. Why is this? What is going wrong? Each time we try something and fail, we feel more beaten, less sure of ourselves, less inclined to try to be happy and find ourselves. But something keeps nagging us and well, here you are.

Whichever situation you are in, you can discover, rediscover, or recover whatever it is that you want.

If you look carefully at the phrase "What do I want?" you will see that without defining the "I" in the question, you cannot really find the right answer. What I mean is, what someone else wants or thinks would be good for you, as seen from their perspective, may not be good for, may not be the thing you will succeed in, because that person is not you. You are you and your wants and needs are unique to you. Even though you may have been brought up alongside siblings and peers who have succeeded in becoming lawyers, doctors and rocket scientists, even though your parents were accomplished musicians or train drivers, that does not mean that you will be any good at those things. I mean, you can be good at them, but you may not feel fulfilled, happy. And that's what you want, isn't it? Fulfillment.

So you need to direct your question relevant to the "I". You. And who are you? I'm sure you will be able to tell me your name, address, and your entire life history, but this is not you. It is a story about what you are doing, what you have done. But it is not you. You are whatever you came into this world as. You are your soul. You are the soul that came in with a list of things to accomplish on this earth, and a list of karma or unfinished business that you need to sort out before you leave again. (For those who do not believe in reincarnation, continue reading because the message here is useful either way.)

And once you discover who you are, you can then address the question "What do I want' with more clarity. So how is this done, these 2 things, finding out firstly who you are, and secondly what you want?

I have a couple of suggestions that worked for me. To discover who you are, you can have a look at your numerological and astrological charts. They are both based on your date of birth, and whether or not you believe in these things, they work. This is because the whole universe operates on numbers, mathematics. This is a really complex subject, but if you want to dip your toe in, start here http://www.ipod.org.uk/reality/reality_mathematical_universe.asp. Fascinating.

But back to the charts. If you had your astrological chart drawn up you would see that everyday astrology is very limited. There's no such thing as saying "Oh I'm an Aries so I'm ambitious". Your self is a lot more complex than that, and this can be discovered if you have your chart drawn up by an excellent Astrologist. Numerology too, if done by an expert, is amazing in its accuracy. So if you are in doubt as to who you are, this is the place to start. You can get good astrological charts from many sources - I can recommend Jonathan Cainer http://www.cainer.com/. Or you may find that numerology is more your thing. I can let you have a free brief chart if you like - simply post a comment and I will organise it. Or you can try http://www.decoz.com/. Mine was astoundingly accurate and allowed me to choose pursuits that I love and am good at rather than continuing to try to do what others thought was best for me. Best thing I ever did.

These charts will give you an insight into who you are, what you're good at, what you should maybe avoid, what will be easy, what will be difficult etc. And once you've checked all this out, deep down you will see that you knew it all along but got lost along the way. Then the next thing is to find out what you want. Armed with your new knowledge of "I" you may already know, but if you don't, meditation is the thing that will unlock the answer.

Meditation. Now I'm sure some of you immediately imagined figures seated on a hard floor, eyes closed, someone chanting in the background, the sweet thick smell of incense, and endless time to meditate in. To some of you this scenario may be familiar. To others it may seem foreign. But meditation in order to connect to the super-conscious, the all-knowing spirit that does know what you really want, need not be taken in the traditional form.

This is because to reach the super-conscious, you need to raise your brain waves to higher levels, and there are many ways to do this. For those who have tried the traditional form of meditation and failed, as I did, you will find a way that you will enjoy and it will work. You will be able to open what I call 'the big library in the sky' to access all that has been, is and will be known.

When one meditates, the brain which normally emits beta waves, moves through alpha and theta waves, going finally into delta waves which are the ones you want. What is all this?

Well, your billions of brain cells use electricity to communicate with each other. An EEG can measure this electrical activity which comes across as wave patterns.
Beta brainwaves pulse at frequencies between 13 and 60 pulses per second (Hertz scale) and are common when we are alert, tense or afraid. Somatostatin and Noradrenaline are released which have adverse effects on the body and emotions.
Alpha waves pulse between 7 and 13 when we are relaxed but awake. Acethylcholine (growth hormone) and Dopamine are released. We can learn and retain facts more easily.
Theta waves, 4 to 7 pulses when we are asleep. Melatonin and Serotonin are released which are beneficial to the body and emotional state. We become more creative and perceptive and learn more quickly in this state. Ever heard of "let me sleep on it"?
Delta brainwaves, 0.1 to 4 pulses per second when we are in deep sleep or unconscious. At this level the brain suspends all its functions and lets us have deep rest. Melatonin, DHEA and Human Growth Hormone are released. If you are awake and experiencing delta you will feel great bliss.

When the brain suspends its functions during delta, i.e. the conscious mind is no longer blocking our intuition with all sorts of learned 'logic', then the super-conscious can be accessed and you can experience "aha" moments where suddenly you know the answer to something that's been bothering you in all your waking hours. Often when people wake after a deep sleep, they find they've solved their problems in their sleep. Having said that, it is possible to discover answers during alpha and theta, but it takes some training.

How to meditate in a way that suits you and does the job, gets you down to alpha, theta or even delta? You don't need to be double jointed and familiar with Sanskrit. What you need is to find a way that puts you into a deeply relaxed space. I have a CD called "Sleep Ocean" by Dr Jeffrey Thompson and it really relaxes me. I also find that a relaxing walk on the beach at dawn wakes up my inspiration. You can listen to music, chant, walk, lie still, sit still, swim with dolphins, go sailing, make pottery, play the saxophone, whatever works.

Try out a few things, keeping in mind that you need to NOT be thinking when you meditate. Thoughts will come but take no notice of them. Remember the delta state where the brain suspends activity. That's what you want. Just drift. You are already familiar with the feeling. You may have been watching rain run down a window and just drifted off. That's meditating. And when you've found a way that works, before you start, ask your question "What do I really want to do with/about...." and then meditate without thinking about it. The answer will come to you when it's ready.