21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

‘The little desires are connected to and call forth the bigger ones… And so every desire is worth paying attention to, even though we know that if we track it far enough, we will discover that this longing will never cease. But that is the definition of divinity from the viewpoint of sexuality. That full, bittersweet, empty feeling is like incense in a church — it announces the presence of God.

‘… Sexuality certainly brings people together and makes life feel full and vital. But it is also the path toward that extreme of desire, that ultimate love that usually feels unrequited, which is the eternal and the infinite. The opening made by desire, that hole in our satisfaction, is the opening to divinity, and only there is our desire brought into the realm of the possible.’

Thomas Moore — Original Self (My emphasis)

These experiences of ceaseless desire and unrequited desire are indeed significant ones, as Moore suggests. We reach out to create pleasure in the world. We create form but at the same time move towards formlessness. It is the essential paradox at the centre of ourselves and at the centre of all that exists. The Oneness of all is form and formlessness, and neither and both.

In knowing ourselves, we learn to let go. In this sense, we move toward formlessness. But, in reaching for pleasure, we create form. It is the awe at the beauty of the world and other people that inspires us. And it is ultimately beauty that we seek to create in being pleasure for others.

Grand notions of ultimate fulfilment are just visions of an impossible Heaven. Therefore we

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