This is a question that begs for a question as an answer: What do you want?

Desire is an important compass, and I think we use it less than we should. When we listen wisely, desire will tell us where we need to focus our time, money, and energy to get the results we want.

The problem is that we rarely listen wisely. We tend to distrust desire, suspecting it of conspiring to rob us of sense and dignity. When we do listen to desire, we may sometimes do so uncritically, as kids in a candy store.

The key is to listen to the direction in which desire calls us, while letting go of the destination. Listening like that will show you exactly what to learn next.

Here's how to listen to desire.

Start in a quiet place. Quiet has nothing to do with the level of external noise, but everything to do with the level of noise between your ears. Bring your attention inward and settle into your body. Let your breathing deepen.

Begin to notice your body sensations. Observe and acknowledge them without trying to change anything. Take your time so that every part of your experience can be noted. This is about coming home to yourself. It's the equivalent of pausing on a journey and finding a still place from which to check your compass.

Now invite into your awareness the things you most want for the year ahead. (The time period is up to you. If you are planning a vacation or retreat, use the length of time you plan to be gone.) Let these desires come into your awareness and simply observe them. You might jot them down if there are very many.

Having named what you desire, notice which desire has the greatest charge or energy. Then ask yourself, “What will that give me?” Pause and listen as the answer comes to you. It may arrive as a thought, a sensation, a shift in emotion, or an image. Just be present to whatever comes.

Keep asking “What will that give me?” until you feel you have reached the core of this desire.

By listening to your desire in this way, you’ve used it as a sort of compass that points to something really important and valuable to you, something deeper than the desire itself. Now that you know what that something is, you can ask, “What can I learn to move in that direction?”

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