Recently, I heard a delightfully shocking talk by Vernon Howard where he revealed a marvelous life-changing discovery (1-12-1979, S1). He said, “You really don’t want the object of your desires- girl, man, house, auto- but what you really value are the thoughts about them.” Go real slow here so you don’t miss the point. Study your desires to see if this is true. The mind plays a trick on itself that the acquisition will bring you to a happy place within. And even though you have acquired many of your desires over the years, you are no closer to the happiness you promised yourself.

My wife and I have been watching a series on TV, and every character has a wish or desire to acquire an object or to arrive at a better, happier place. Every character is sure their desire will bring contentment and happiness to their lives. They struggle, scheme, and do all manner of things to reach their goal. They suffer when anything stands in the way. This is living a life of hell.

Once again, we really, truly do not want the desire (object), but the personal thoughts about the desire. We find a weird safety in those thoughts. We want the ache to go away. We are not talking about food or anything necessary for daily living, but the wild imagination of how your life would be heavenly if you acquired whatever you are desiring. Correcting this mistake made by millions puts you into perfect contentment. Happiness and contentment have always been present inside of you at this very present moment. You have forgotten the way home. The mind will only aim at the next desire, and then the next. A life of the next. It’s time to wise up and break all pain cycles.