Your Deepest Aspiration

Sometimes you hear a voice through the door

calling you, as fish out of water

hear the waves, or a hunting falcon

hears the drum’s Come back. Come back.

This turning toward what you deeply love

saves you.

-Rumi

We are often most able to find peace and calm when we are in touch with what matters to us most or what we might call our deepest aspiration. In turning toward and connecting with our deepest aspiration, we can find refuge and comfort when faced with inevitable suffering.

Pause for a moment and reflect on your deepest aspiration. 

First, become aware of the state of your heart. Notice if there is a sense of peace or anxiety, contentment or dissatisfaction, emptiness or fullness, connection or longing. Acknowledge the most pressing wants and needs in your heart. Perhaps you are wanting to overcome an obstacle at work, wishing your child could feel more confident, wishing you could improve your finances, hoping to obtain a new job or promotion, or wishing to improve a relationship with a family member.   

Next, pause and reflect on the possibility of a deeper longing, beyond your most pressing wishing and desires. Although there is nothing wrong with your most pressing needs and desires, consider if there might be something more. 

Ask yourself, “If I got what I wanted right now, what would it really give me?” Ask yourself, “What does my heart really long for?” and “What most matters in this life?”

Pause and listen.  

What feelings or images come to mind? How do you imagine yourself when you relate to your deepest aspiration? What version of yourself do you see? What actions reflect your deepest aspiration? Perhaps you aspire to be more loving or helpful, or calm and joyful, or patient and kind.

Whatever you discover, bring this image and feeling fully to mind in the present.  Let whatever sense of deep aspiration you found during this reflection become more present and appreciated as you move throughout your day. 

When we are in touch with our deepest aspiration, we feel most at home with who we are, and we are well poised to continue developing in ways that align with our true or most authentic self.  

Dr. Thomas Lindquist, Psy.D.

Licensed Psychologist

Visit us at lindquistpsych.com

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