Everywhere you go, there are courses and books and videos on how you can create the life you want. And given that my field is imagery and visualisation, this is usually what people think I’m about.
Yes and no.
Yes, because having a clear sense of what you want and then making it happen is such an important skill to learn.
No, because you don’t know what you want, you can’t create it, and your life is not your life. Furthermore, even if you create the life you think you want, this doesn’t guarantee more than a momentary satisfaction.
You don’t know what you want
The problem here is that the ‘you’ who wants things is often not the part of you that knows what you really want, or what the real possibilities are. The bit of you that wants is often the out-of-date imagination, the imagination that is influenced by the past, by your reactions to your experiences, by your society.
It is only when you get to a deeper level of your free imagination, the one that Einstein relied on,and harness it to guide your life, that you can see the bigger picture, understand that you can want something that goes beyond what you’ve previously known, and even discover that what you truly want is not only in your highest best interest but also that of everyone around.
This is a real turning point in life, and will lead you to a profound new beginning.
You can’t create it
Creating a life implies that you have control–you get an idea and you can do it. And in a way this kind of control is what is playing havoc with our planet.
You want what you want and you make it happen, whatever the cost to everyone around.
Creating is actually a conversation between you and life. Life will be asking something of you, and you will be asking something of life, and in that interaction is the true magic of creation.
It’s not your life
The idea of “my life” is a kind of capitalist notion of ownership, and is probably the source of most of the unhappiness people feel as they consider what is wrong with their lives. Think of ‘your life’ as the way you participate in life itself, and improve your relationship with life rather than trying to make your life perfect.
It usually turns out that loving life is much easier than loving your life, and that what life is offering you each moment goes so far beyond that little territory of “your life” that you will see that your dreams have already come true.
Satisfaction and Joy
The most important thing about achieving what you set out to do is that you strengthen that bit of you that can have a vision, follow it through, and celebrate it when you achieve it. The more you do this, the more confident you will feel, and the more you will be able to keep visioning and keep creating, and the more satisfied you will feel. But if you don’t find the bit of you that feels peaceful and joyful no matter what happens, you will be on a roller coaster between satisfaction and disappointment.
Satisfaction is the feeling that you’ve done well, or your life is good. Joy is the gift of the soul, and is an expression of the love of life itself.
How to Have it All
Joy without setting intentions and achieving them leaves you powerless to effect change in the world. Satisfaction with your achievements without joy will keep you on a treadmill forever.
Why not have both?