As people we thirst for experience.

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When we have an experience that feels wonderful, we desire more of it.

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This desire is both physical and emotional.

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Yet it can lead us into a trap if we are not mindful.

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It does not matter what kind of experience it is.

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It could be a special relationship.

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Or perhaps the thrill of an accomplishment.

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Even some extreme sport that brings the adrenaline rushing through our body.

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Or maybe some ritual or mystical experience that opens us up to new consciousness.

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And the trap is in constantly wanting to repeat or increase the experience.

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We desire more and more of it.

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To get back to that blissful state.

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We become attached to the idea of being there again.

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And that is the challenge.

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How do we navigate the waters around such strong desires?

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How do we learn to cultivate those experiences without chasing after them?

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It is not easy.

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For the pull we feel to find that feeling or love or joy or bliss can be so strong.

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We feel it it not just in our heads and our hearts but in our bones as well.

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Just to be with that lover one more time.

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To feel the rush of skiing down that gigantic mountain.

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And experience the bliss of that deep meditative state.

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It all calls to us over and over.

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Yet if we chase after those experiences we diminish ourselves in some way.

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We feel incomplete and that we are missing something.

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And nothing is further from the truth.

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Anything that we experience and feel from the outside world is already within us.

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The love we felt, the joy and bliss, the thrills and excitement, they are all within us.

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Of course we do not have to give up those amazing experiences.

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The trick is to enjoy them without being attached to them,

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To cherish them and hold them in our heart without rushing to the next one.

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Being fully present to where we are, even when we are not in one of those experiences.

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Life is not about being in a peak experience all the time.

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It is about appreciating those experiences and all the ones in between.

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When we learn to stop chasing experiences we can learn to appreciate more of what is right in front of us.

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What experience are you chasing? How can you let go of the attachment and still enjoy what life brings to you?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant