Maybe It’s God and Your True Self You’re Craving

I’m on a diet trying to lose the ten extra pounds of lard I gained during Covid. But I crave peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, caramel crunch trail mix, and oatmeal raisin cookies.

I realize my crave meter is out whack, and it’s not just food I crave. I want more likes on my daily Instagram posts. I yearn for others’ approval. I demand immediate responses to the texts I send friends, and I seek more physical pleasure and joy. My cravings often churn in my gut like a Tasmanian devil wanting more of what I have or don’t have. Grrrr!

The Buddha says cravings and attachments are the primary sources of our suffering. Left unchecked, they lead us to experience self-doubt, anger, and depression. Yuk!

Merriam-Webster defines craving as an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing.  A craving is a strong, intense desire for a specific object, experience, or substance. It’s an overwhelming urge or longing for something or someone, especially when it comes to food or addictive substances. The term is commonly used to describe a powerful and often difficult-to-ignore yearning for a particular person, place, or thing.

Cravings are driven by various factors, including physiological, psychological, emotional, or environmental influences.

Our consumer culture teaches us to buy more, get more, and attain perfection by getting the latest gadget, diet program, or get rich scheme. Social media depicts photoshopped bodies we too often strive to model. And picture-perfect relationships on the cover of People magazine make us yearn for someone to complete us.

The brain’s reward system, which triggers neurotransmitters like dopamine, can also contribute to cravings. We’re driven to get what seems out of reach.

But once we get what or who we want, the hunt for something or someone to make us happy is over and our brain stops producing its dopamine rushes. Our addiction then loses its fuel as we realize that underneath who or what we wanted is simply another human or job or item that can’t bring us complete fulfillment.

Become aware of when your normal dreaming or goal setting for something you want has turned into an obsession.

Pinpoint the exact craving that’s causing you unnecessary suffering.

Identify the root cause

Like digging out the roots of dandelions so they don’t come back, get out your shovel and get to the root of your craving. What need do you have that’s not getting met? How can you fulfill your need in a healthy way?

Practice daily meditation. Take your needs to God 

Find a quiet place each day to be present to God. Then talk to the Creator like you would a trusted friend.

Ask God to help you figure out how the Creator is inviting you to grow in the midst of your craving.

What positive virtue is God drawing you to integrate into your life? Be still and listen to the Creator’s Voice of Love for guidance.

Practice the opposite of craving

The opposites of craving are acceptance, contentment, and balance.

These virtues invite us to experience satisfaction and gratitude for ourselves and our lives, free from intense desires or attachments.

Practicing gratitude and self-acceptance are keys to taming our cravings.

Use a mantra to rewire your neurons

Our thoughts create patterns in our brains that become neuron pathways. If we continue to feed ourselves negative thoughts such as “I’m no good. I need someone to make me whole,” those negative thoughts become engrained in us.

Replace those negative pathways with a simple mantra that can rewire your neurons, such as saying, “I am good. God made me whole as I am, how I am.”

Find healthier alternatives

Identify healthier alternatives that can fulfill your underlying needs.For example, if you have a craving for a specific activity, find alternative activities that provide a similar sense of enjoyment or satisfaction. I’m learning to replace peanut butter and chocolate ice cream with no-fat frozen yogurt and blueberries.

Set realistic goals

Establish achievable goals and milestones related to the behavior or substance you’re trying to control. Breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps can make the process more attainable.

Seek wise counsel

Share your heart with supportive friends, family, or a spiritual mentor.Talking with a trusted person about your concerns and sharing your progress with them can provide encouragement and accountability. We all need wise counsel in our lives.

Reward yourself

Establish a reward system to celebrate replacing your cravings with a positive, balanced approach to yourself and life. Celebrate your successes with positive reinforcement to support the healthy behavior you’re trying to cultivate.

In each of us there’s a natural longing for union with the divine and a realization of our true nature. All other pursuits are ultimately rooted in our desire for connection, meaning, and purpose.

The fulfillment of every need and the attainment of genuine happiness can be realized only through the discovery of our Oneness with God and the realization of our True Self.

While material possessions and relationships may bring temporary happiness, they are impermanent and fleeting. God alone is the source of unconditional and unwavering love, peace, joy, and fulfillment that surpasses anything the world can offer.

The Creator is an ever-present companion who understands you completely, loves you unconditionally, and guides you toward your highest good.

In times of distress, God’s presence offers comfort; in moments of weakness, it grants strength; and in the face of despair, it instills hope.

Seeking “God alone” allows you to discover truth, wisdom, and love. It awakens you to the reality that you are one with the divine. It invites you to understand that all other pursuits and desires ultimately find their fulfillment in your relationship with God as you understand the Creator.

As you deepen your connection with God, you also unveil your True Self—the Self that transcends your mind-made ego, your limited, often negative self-image.

Your True Self embodies the essence of your authentic being, beyond the illusions and conditioning of the ego.

Often described as pure consciousness, divine essence, or the divine spark within, seeking God alone and your True Self invites you to unlock the deeper truth of who you are, and opens the door to discover you are already One with the divine.

The next time you sense an unhealthy craving for someone or something, pause and consider whether the root of your desire is actually a deeper longing for more of God and more of your True Self.

Notice how this shift in perspective replaces the craving for what’s temporary with a recognition of the eternal: finding fulfillment in God alone and living from your Truest Self in God. 

—brian j plachta
brianplachta.com

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