Freedom From the Need to Have

Every day as I look at the headlines on the apps I use to see articles about those areas of interest that resonate with me, I click on some of those headlines in order to read the full article. Invariably, something on the sidebar of the newspaper, magazine or ezine in question beckons me to buy it, to join it, to send an enquiry in order to get more information in order that I buy it in the future. Sometimes those little ads in the sidebars are very temptiing indeed. I want it.

Long ago, when I was in my late 20's I recognized that the desire to have something (in that case it was in fashion magazines that told me that if I bought that dress, or that brand of lipstick, that perfume, or those designer shoes, I would be endlessly beautiful), had little to do with what I might feel after I purchased the item. And so I learned not to look at such magazines, and in the process lost most of my interest in having certain items in my wardrobe or bathroom. I recognized how free I had become, by mere virtue of the fact that I no longer purchased and looked at such magazines (this was before the internet).

I also recognized that I had freed myself from the need to have such items. And that is where today's article is leading. As you lose your need to have ... to have whatever it may be ... you become free. Think about it. You go to a mall and see something. You decide you need to have it. If you have enough money in your wallet, space on your credit card, or money in the bank to buy it with your debit card, you go ahead and buy the item based on that momentary need. Or a friend gets something and so you believe you need it as well. Or you crave something you can't afford for years. In the craving there is a need. And ultimately, in the need there is a lack of freedom. Lack of freedom from what? From need.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't have things. But it does mean you should begin to need things less. As you do so, you will find freedom. It was Jetsunma Ahkon who said: it isn't having that makes us joyful: it's freedom from the need to have that makes us happy.

Also visit my new website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books.

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch:
 
Rewiring the Soul

Click here to download the first chapter.

To see the Table of Contents click here

Reviews From the Back Cover:

"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, Director, Center for Sacred Theatre, Ashland, Oregon; author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre

"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world & practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd; Founder Trans4mind.com; author: Daring To Be Yourself 

"The human being's directory to the soul. A breakthrough for those seeking practical assistance, those of a more mystical bent & every soul awaiting discovery." Toni Petrinovich, Ph.D.; author: The Call: Awakening the Angelic Human

The Tao of Spiritual Partnership

To download the first chapter, click here
To see the Table of Contents click here

Praise for The Tao of Spiritual Partnership

“All humans seek the illusive touch of another's Soul, which opens us to the sense of belonging to something bigger than the self. Dr. Kortsch has given us the true "tao" of relationship in this brilliant exploration of emotional tapestry. We will be grateful for this illumination of spiritual partnership for generations to come."
Chris Griscom: Spiritual Leader, Author (among others) of: Ecstasy is a New Frequency

“Eloquent and comprehensive, showing how your primary love relationship may be a sacred vessel that transports you and your partner to a place of mutual healing and expansion.” 
Robert Schwartz: Author of Your Soul’s Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born 


The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self 

My new book: The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self, is just out. Click here to download an excerpt. 
Here is a brief excerpt from the Introduction:

It is your right to live a life of love. It is your right to understand that loving yourself first is not a selfish way of behavior, but one that allows you to live that life of love. However, it's highly probable that you never got the instruction manual explaining exactly how to accomplish this. Possibly your family - and it may have been a loving family - considered loving the self an act of selfishness. Or perhaps the members of your family simply didn't practice loving the self, and of course, what you didn't see - what was not shown to you - while you were growing up, meant that you just didn't learn how to apply it to yourself. The closer you are able to move towards loving yourself, the closer you will be to living a life of love - quite independently of whether you are in a love relationship or not. A life of love can be lived with or without a partnership, because a life of love implies that you know that it all begins with you by loving the self. The more clearly you understand how to love yourself, the more clearly you will see that it is very hard - if not impossible - to love others in ways that are unrelated to fulfilling any of your needs. Loving yourself first is - for so many of us - one of the hardest things we will ever learn how to do. But know this: the benefits affect you in every particle of your being - body, mind, and soul - and are greater than you will ever be able to imagine.

Note: If you are wondering why this blog is now only appearing on alternate days (excluding Sat/Sun), it is because I also post on my other blog on the others days. That other blog is The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.