putting desire on the map

How many people go through life trying to do what they ought to do, fearful of judgement, fearful that they will say the wrong thing?  Instead of looking to their own feelings, they look at what will please others and as a consequence that desire, that quality that says, "This is what I want and I will reach for it," that passion for life, isn't developed. 

~ Marion Woodman

I believe Desire is the antidote to a society that is all about being driven.

Desire is the wild child running through the forest in her barefeet, climbing trees, blowing kisses and beckoning us to come play. 

Drive is the machine that cuts down the forest.

A return to desire can allow for healing to happen - for you, for me, for our world. Coleridge called desire "love's pure flame" - a return to desire is to light that flame of love.

My friend Danielle LaPorte has a new book coming out tomorrow - The Desire Map. I read an advance copy. Loved it.  If you like my thoughts on Ambition vs. Actualization or on Being Drawn instead of Driven, you are going to want this book (and it isn't just a book - it's a whole package of goodies).

That it is called The Desire Map is not insignificant.  In a world filled with books, blogs, and magazine articles wanting to give us directions with how-to this and seven steps to that, we are stuck in a limited view. Just like when someone gives you directions to get from point A to point B in your car - you are consumed with looking only for the street signs and landmarks they have indicated. And if you happen to be distracted and miss one, you're lost. You miss the entire landscape in your preoccupation with signposts.

Instead of directions, Danielle gives us a map. A map is a full, whole lay of the land. It highlights the landscape. You can see the many ways to navigate, you can always find your bearings, you can choose a different path to the same destination. You can walk across the countryside and aren't limited to the roads. And desire, in case you didn't know, means "from the stars" - also a great navigation tool for humans throughout history.

With the stars and a map as your companions, this book will help you find your way home to yourself, to re-ignite the desire spark you were born with and hear the cry of your soul.

If the supressed desire in the unconscious is not recognized as a soul cry, if it is ignored, the soul is put to sleep instead of awakening into its symbolic delights - in nature, in imagination, in relationship.

~ Marion Woodman

The Desire Map launches tomorrow - and there's a party, of course - come join the party!