If I were to ask, Are you focused on the essence of what you want?, what would you say? Would your answer be yes or no?
Or would you say, Essence? I’m not even sure what that is.
I’ve found the distinction between package and essence to be a really helpful analogy in my own LoA journey.
The package is what you want—the specific goal you want to achieve, the particular shiny penny you want to acquire, the exact experience you want to have.
- I want to buy the house at 123 Cherry Lane. Only that house will do.
- I want to be in a relationship with Bob. Only Bob will do.
- I want to get that job with that title at that salary. Only that will do.
The essence is about the vibration of your desire. The essence is about how you want to feel.
I talked about this package versus essence analogy in LYL #010: How to create a vision portfolio—that really works
I shared my vision portfolio is first and foremost about how I want to feel, not necessarily attaining or experiencing the exact things pictured in the images. And that’s very much because of the distinction I’m making between package versus essence.
We often get hung up on the package of what we want. Another way to say this is we get overly fixated on the package of our desire.
For instance, you really want a promotion at work. That promotion is all you think about. You’re going to be so happy when it finally happens. The promotion is the package.
As long as the promotion doesn’t come, you’re waiting. You won’t be truly happy until you achieve your goal of the promotion. The package is this tangible outcome. You either get the promotion or you don’t.
But what you are really after—the essence of what you want—is to feel inspired at work. That’s what you think the promotion will mean, what it will bring into your life. Inspiration is the essence of what you want.
This means the essence of what you want can manifest differently than the singular package you envision.
If you get overly fixated on the package—the specific, tangible thing—you can miss opportunities for the essence to make an appearance in your life.
“If you’re focused upon the essence of what you want, you’re open to every possibility that could satisfy that essence.” —Abraham
And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
When you focus on the essence of what you want, you’re giving the Universe room to work its magic. The essence of what you want can show up in so many ways—and so many ways beyond your current awareness.
Limiting the Universe to only one way—the single, exact package you imagine—is very limiting. It handicaps the Universe from conspiring with you.
Bottom line: The package is often constraining. The essence is always expansive.
And so if I were to ask you now, Are you focused on the essence of what you want?, what would you say? Are you focused in a way that is constraining (that’s the package) or are you focused in a way that is expansive (that’s the essence)?
Let me share another example of this package vs. essence analogy at work.
Let’s say Mary wants to lose weight. She wants the scale to reflect such and such number. Mary is very focused on that particular number she wants to see on the scale.
That number is what I’m calling the package of what she wants. It’s a specific, tangible outcome she’s focused on.
What is essence of what Mary wants?
The essence of what she wants is ease and Well-Being. The essence of what Mary wants is confidence and freedom.
As she focuses on the package of what she wants—seeing a certain number on the scale—she does not feel ease and Well-Being. She is not feeling confident and free.
Mary will feel those when she arrives at her goal, but in the meantime…she’s feeling various flavors of negative emotion.
That’s the pitfall with focusing on the package rather than the essence. Too many of us, as we focus on the package of what we want, are postponing feeling good until our desire has manifested.
Now, that’s not always the case. You may be focused on the package of what you want—the very specific shiny penny or the precise goal—and be feeling really good. In that case, carry on!
But for many of us, when we focus only or mostly on the package of what we want—and therefore are not focused on the essence of what we want—we are living in a state of postponing feeling how we want to feel. A state of postponing feeling good.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting what you want. Your desires are meant for you.
So I’m not saying Mary shouldn’t want to lose weight and see a certain number on the scale. I am suggesting, though, it is only by focusing on the essence of what you want that are you able to actually be in receiving mode for your desire.
When you want X, Y, or Z because it will feel so good to have X, Y, or Z, but you don’t feel good now, you are not in receiving mode for what you want.
That’s why for anything you desire—anything—it really pays to get clarity about the essence of your desire and focus there. Doing so is a shortcut to being in receiving mode.
“The essence of that which is like unto itself is drawn.” —Abraham
Another way to say it, like attracts like.
To be a match to your desire—that specific tangible thing you want—means focus on the essence of what you want.
Let’s look at this example from Abraham.
“The essence of a relationship is a feeling of Well-Being, a feeling of companionship, the feeling of home, the feeling of love, the feeling of trust, the feeling of adoration being received, the feeling of adoration going through you. The essence of a relationship is splendor. The essence of a relationship is sensual and secure and life-giving and expansive and funny and proud. The essence of a relationship is not lonely.” —Abraham
This means if you are wanting a relationship and the essence of your vibration is lonely, then you are not a match to what you want. Because the essence of a relationship is vibrationally very far from lonely.
While you might have a different way to describe what the essence of a relationship is to you personally, I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to describe the essence as lonely.
“So your work, as you stand in the absence of something wanted, is to pretend it, to imagine it, to become so familiar with the essence of what it would feel like when it comes, that even though it hasn’t come, you still feel good.” —Abraham
When you are focused on the essence of what you want, you can align with that essence immediately, in this present moment. When you do, not only do you immediately feel how you want to feel, you are putting yourself in receiving mode for the package of what you want.
Remember: “If you’re focused upon the essence of what you want, you’re open to every possibility that could satisfy that essence.” —Abraham
So what about it: Are you focused on the essence of what you want?
You might be thinking: I’m not sure. Or, how do I even know what that essence is?
Here are two questions that can shine a light on the essence of your desire.
- Why you want what you want?
- How will you feel when what you want manifests?
These two questions are taking you in the same direction.
When you ask why you want want what you want—and then perhaps an additional layer or two of Why?, you will uncover the essence of what you want.
Likewise, fast forwarding to your desire having manifested and tapping into how you will feel is another way to discover the essence of what you want.
“It makes no difference whether you want the specifics of it or not; it is the vibrational essence of the subject of your attention that is attracted. That which you really, really want, you get—and that which you really, really do not want, you get.” —Abraham
