In this magical world of connectedness; instant intercontinental telephone service, television that broadcasts live into our living rooms from every corner of the globe, cell phones that will allow us to take and send pictures around the world to each other with the press of a button, e-mail, Skype, the world-wide web internet, an ever increasing plethora of dating services and social networks, it seems we are hungry for, searching for, even desperate for connection. What are we really looking for? What is it that so many of us spend so much of our time and treasure seeking? What do we really want to connect to? At the core we are all searching for the deepest authentic connection – the connection with our authentic self.

We are conditioned to believe that what we need to connect with is out ‘there’ somewhere and so we search. We spend much of our lives looking for role models, mentors, teachers, and gurus to guide us on our path. We read endless self-help books which purport to tell us the answers for which we seek. There is nothing wrong with this and, in fact, finding the right person at the right time can be a powerful connection that will help us move more authentically into what is right for us. However, it is important to realize that the truest teacher, the authentic mentor, the right person will always point you back to yourself. There is no other truth. Being connected to your SELF is the ultimate connection.

We spend much of our lives pursuing material things; a bigger house, a newer car, more in-vogue clothes, a loftier career or more powerful position, pleasure, comfort, security. Although there is a very temporary happiness that can be found in these, it can never be lasting. So our searching, our desire is endless. There is an ancient Tibetan saying that trying to satisfy desire by fulfilling it, is like trying to quench thirst by drinking salt water. One gets more and more thirsty the more salt water one drinks until finally one dies. Our endless striving for connection outside of ourselves is like trying to quench our thirst with salt water. We can never be truly satisfied and the insatiable craving that arises takes us further and further from true happiness and leaves in its wake great pain, misery, and suffering.

We often think that if we go after what we want, we will probably get it; then we will be happy and secure. The mass media have latched onto this line of thinking and intone it like a litany: grab, grab, grab! Yet sooner or later the whole smorgasbord of things begins to lose its luster. Then the sensitive person asks, “If I go on grabbing and grabbing, at what point do I become secure and feel no more need to grab?” This question can lead to some far-reaching realizations and fundamental changes in our lives.

Our real needs are much too vast to be satisfied with things, no matter how much or how many we manage to acquire. The more we try to get, the more acutely we feel those bigger, undeniable, unmet needs.

So how can we be truly satisfied and lastingly happy? The only remedy is to stop – to give up the search and turn the flash light within. That is the only place you will discover the truth. That is the only way you can be free. That is the only lasting satisfaction. That is the only way you will really experience authentic connection – the connection with your SELF.

There is an ancient story told about a prolific diamond thief who sought to steal only the most expensive and desirable of gems. This thief would hang around the diamond district to see who the buyers were, so that later he could pick their pockets.

One day he saw a well-known diamond merchant purchase the jewel he had been waiting for all his life. It was the most beautiful, the most perfect, most flawless of diamonds. He was elated. He followed the diamond merchant as he boarded the train, and got into the same compartment. He spent an entire three-day train trip trying to pick the merchant’s pocket and grab the diamond. When the journey ended and he hadn’t found the gem, he was very frustrated. He was the best of thieves and although he had employed all his skills and talents, he still was not able to steal this rare and precious jewel.

When the diamond merchant got off the train, the pickpocket followed after him. Finally, he just couldn’t stand it anymore and walked up to the merchant and said, “Sir, I am a diamond thief, legendary in these parts. I saw you purchase that beautiful diamond, so I followed you onto the train. Though I used all the skills of my craft, which have been perfected over many years, I was not able to find the gem. I must know your secret. Tell me, please, how did you hide it from me?”

The diamond merchant replied. “Well, I saw you watching me in the diamond district, and I suspected you were a pickpocket. So I hid the diamond where I thought you would be least likely to look for it – in your own pocket. He then reached into the thief’s pocket and pulled out the diamond.

This story points to the diamond, the priceless jewel that is in your pocket right now, the pocket of your heart. It’s in the heart that is the core of your being. Any looking outside of yourself somewhere, to someone or something to find it, implies that it is not already right here where you are. All you need to do is turn and look at the radiant priceless beauty that is here… the perfection of you.

When we mistakenly believe ourselves to be separate we suffer untold misery and confusion. When we are disconnected from ourselves, we are disconnected from others. We feel alone and afraid and exhausted from frantically searching for self-validation in all the wrong places. Our deepest need is for the joy that comes with knowing ourselves and from that authentic place, loving and being loved, knowing we are of genuine value to others.

We all come into this experience we call life with a blueprint, a plan. That plan is a roadmap to guide us to live a fulfilling, complete, and joyful experience. The outer world serves as a mirror and our inner world has a magnetic force that draws to us what we need to evolve to the next level. All we need to do to see that we already have everything we need is to let go of our beliefs that we need to ‘seek’ in order to find - that in some way we are not already complete in and of ourselves.

Many spiritual seekers feel called to far-flung places across the globe in the interest of pursuing the path of their enlightenment. This may indeed be the right course of action for certain people, but it is by no means necessary to attaining an enlightened consciousness. Enlightenment can take root anywhere on Earth, as long as one is an open and a ready vessel for higher consciousness. All we need is a powerful intention, and a willingness to do the work necessary to move forward on our path.

Lasting joy, ever-new joy, is a permanent aspect of our inner selves and is not separate from us at any point. We do not have to travel to find it or imagine that it resides only in the body of another or in possessing things. In fact, what the best teachers will do is point out that this very precious elixir is something we already have. In fact, at the core what will be discovered is this joy is who you already are!

So when we find ourselves on our path, not knowing which way to turn and wishing for guidance, we can turn to ourselves. We may not know the right answer rationally or intellectually, but if we simply ask, let go, and wait patiently, an answer will come. Sometimes the answer will show up as a connection with a mentor, a guide, a coach, who will be able to help you clear the blocks and limited beliefs that silently sabotage your access to your own authentic self. This is not a reliance on another, but simply a well intentioned assist from one who knows that your blueprint is truly within you and will use all their skill, talent and experience to direct you back to yourself.

The connection paradox is an interesting one. Once we let go of the need to grasp – let go of the need to search outside of our self for connection, the more connected we will be with ourselves and others. Others will be magnetized to us and there will be a depth of connection that transcends the physical, that transcends the material. It will be a connection that is everlasting and ever joyful. It will be an authentic, effortless connection with your SELF and all of life. Welcome home.