What Do You Wish For?
There is a tale of a man who went for a walk. He walked a long time and wandered into a paradise filled with beautiful flowers, warm breezes, blue skies, and a single perfect tree. Fatigued from all his walking he lay in the soft grass under the shade of the tree and slept.
He woke and was refreshed. But hunger called to him. He thought of his favorite foods, and they appeared. So, he ate a beautiful meal until thirst came; he thought about his favorite wine and it appeared. He ate and drank and was satisfied.
After a while, as he relaxed under the shade of the tree he began to wonder how his favorite food and wine could arrive as they did. His thoughts traveled to darker places. He began to believe his food and drink had been brought to him by demons. This frightened him, and the more he thought about it, the more he was certain he had been led into a trap. Soon, he began to see demons materialize before him, one by one.
He was convinced they would torment him. They crowded around him, and began to do just that. He believed they intended to kill him. And so, he died.
But this man had fallen asleep under a fabled wishing tree. Whatever he thought became real, and with his thoughts he created sustenance, pleasure, then fear, pain and eventually…death.
The tale of the wishing tree is an allegory. The Indian guru Sadhguru explains: “The wishing tree is not a fable. It is in us.”
“We are the creators of our own reality. Whatever our thoughts dwell on, that is where our emotions go, and where our emotions go, our energy (and action) follows, and finally the body aligns with that, for good…or for ill.”
He then asks a question:
“What would you get right now if every one of your thoughts and limiting beliefs were manifested at once?”
For this author, it would mean loss, sorrow, failure, and death. Not success, wealth, love, and joy as one would expect. Why? Because when I sat down and mustered the courage to list all the things my mind dwells on, the beliefs which drive my emotions and actions, (and affect my health) turned out to be predominantly negative things, not positive ones.
Deep inside each of us is a wishing tree. We tell it our inner narrative, to the tune of 70,000 thoughts, imaginings and expectations every day. Our tree will only manifest for us what we feed it. Food. Wine. Demons. Death.
So if we say to others we want to succeed at something but our inner narrative is the belief in our ultimate failure, seeded with negativity and a continual search for ‘proof’ our outlook is correct, then we will do the things guaranteed to ensure we realize failure.
By visualizing this sacred tree inside of you, you give yourself the power to face those limiting beliefs blocking you from realizing the wonder of your life, of the fullness of your potential.
The tree wishes to be fed good things. We want to feed it good things. But how?
Sadhguru says to begin each day with this mantra:
“Today wherever I go, I will create a peaceful, loving, joyful world both for myself and for others around me.”
He explains when we commit to this, our minds become organized and the way we think becomes the way we feel, which organizes our emotions. When our emotions are organized, our energy gets organized and once the mind, emotions and our energy are organized, the body follows suit. At this point, our ability to create and manifest is phenomenal.
And it all begins with a tree. And a thought. One day at a time.
With love,
E A