clean air
pure water
uncontaminated food
shelter
clothing (including for the sake of convenience, shoes, accessories and all hair, skin and bath products, perfumes, tweezers, nail clippers, razors and all the gubbins you need to make you feel presentable)
physical warmth
physical comfort
strength
stamina
energy
health
longevity
physical beauty
confidence
freedom of movement (including viable transportation methods)
sex
empathetic company (human warmth)
freedom of ideas
freedom of choice
freedom of expression
love
respect
gainful, fulfilling employment
social status
a good reputation
popularity (maybe involving fame)
safety
entertainment
a feeling of belonging (wherever you are)
peace of mind (including being at peace with the idea of dying one day as well as having a workable, reliable philosophy or existential model that may or may not have spiritual underpinnings)
purity of heart (hence authenticity and intensity of experience)
lots and lots of fun, laughter and smiles
and, of course, loads and loads of money
And all of these go along with the underlying drive to continually improve the quality of each one once you have it, and usually to increase the quantity as well – more, more, more, in other words.
What do you reckon, have I left anything off the list? You’ll probably shout, ‘happiness!’, but that’s a stupid thing to try and manifest as happiness comes and goes of its own accord and trying to become attached to it when it comes only leads to disappointment when it goes. Hence why peace of mind is on the list instead, because that you can rely on, whether happy or not, which tends to make you generally rather happy anyway.act">Throw it around any way you like, I think that pretty much covers it, though, one way or another. So shall we take that as the template for our manifesto of manifestation? The rest is all down to you embellishing it, colouring it and tailoring it to your own specifications. So what prevents you having everything you want in sufficient abundance and profusion to cause you to want to be reading this book (still)?
Absolutely nothing. However …
happiness is a stupid thing to try and manifest as it comes and goes of its own accord, and trying to become attached to it when it comes only leads to disappointment when it goes.
you probably enjoy wanting more than getting
It’s true; as daft as it seems, you might actually prefer the set of endorphins – the internal drug cocktail – that is released when you want something, to the set released when you actually get it. Which, in fact, is totally understandable. For a start, it’s a state you’re familiar with, and however much you may hate it, deep down you love it really – simply because our innate nature is to cling to and love what is, no matter how turgid it may be – that’s the glue nature uses to organize itself into form and shape. Secondly, you know that as soon as you get what you want, not only will you have to deal with a new batch of responsibilities, but you’ll have to deal with the disorientation of the new and the grief of letting go of the old, because you fear change and ultimately death (which all change finally leads to).
So you invent – at the deepest level of being, with all the backup of proof from years past, all the way back to the womb – reasons you can’t get what you want, reasons which normally fit into two categories: I don’t deserve it and I’m not capable of it. These categories then subdivide into more insidious beliefs, including: it’s not fair to others who have less if I have more – I’ll be depriving them of theirs; this world is hostile and unforgiving and won’t give me what I want; others will be envious and hate (even destroy) me if I get what I want; and even if I get what I want I’ll still be miserable.
our innate nature is to cling to and love what is, no matter how turgid it may be.
And while you may be tempted to examine your own reasons in depth, in faux-psychotherapeutic fashion, I wouldn’t advise it right now, as what we’re concerned with here is not how you got into gaol, but how to get out. The door is open, and the first step is to look around you (literally and metaphorically) and accept (fully, with all your heart, soul and might) that …
you’ve got exactly what you want here and now
If you buy the original premise that you create your own reality, that your external conditions are a direct result of the beliefs in your mind, then it’s fairly obvious that what you’ve got here and now is precisely what you want, even if it sucks. If you don’t accept that, then you don’t believe you create your own reality and if you don’t believe that then you won’t be able to use wu wei to get what you want from here on in, because you’ll not be in a position of power. So you have to accept that what you’ve got is what you want in order for it to be changed or improved from this point on, according to your changing wants.
So there you are, that’s it, you’ve already got exactly what you want. Sorted. So stop reading, put the book down and go and enjoy yourself. However, before you do, there are just one or two little things I should tell you.
Well, quite a lot actually, starting with the idea of having an …
empty mind
According to the precepts of the wu wei way, once you’ve relaxed yourself enough to dance with the Dinner Lady, you then have to empty your mind. So go on, empty your mind now. Done? No, of course not, because emptying the mind is one of the trickiest things a person can attempt on this planet. However, don’t be deterred by that. Indeed, take it up as a challenge and go to it with gusto, because until you