NOT WANTING

All conflicts between individuals or groups stem from conflicting wants. All our problems at bottom come from wanting. Even one kind of not wanting is actually negative wanting.

Consider: I don't want a cat (but if that one stays, I don't object) and

                   I don't want a cat (and if you don't get rid of it I'll call the vet!).

All our problems come from wanting: If we don't get what we want, we are, at the least, dissatisfied. If we do get what we want, we are satisfied for a while but then we want more of it or we want something else. Wanting is never satisfied. The only cure is to be free of wanting.

But how?

There are two ways:

1. Put your mind on something else. You can't want something you are not conscious of because wanting is always accompanied by consciousness. But if the want is very strong, you may not have the will power and concentration to do this.

2. Look to see if it is actually desirable. All wanting depends on seeing that something is desirable. If you can see that actually it isn't, the wanting will evaporate.

Consider a small boy looking at a bowl of fruit. The more he looks, the more saliva and impatience is generated. (How can he get at it without being caught?) But if he were to sink his teeth into the most luscious looking and discover that it's made of wax, you couldn't force him to have another bite. (Unless he likes wax fruit).

NEW PROJECT: TRUTH CANNOT BE AN ADD-ON FOR THE EGO!