Six Fundamental Human Desires >> Spiritful Living® - PAX Institute

A breakthrough discovery for sustainable wellness and the recipe for a healthy spirit!

For the first time, Michele DeMarco Wilkie has identified the Six Fundamental Human Desires, those deepest longings that lie at the heart of every human life, throughout time and across culture and, allow us to thrive in any circumstance and be happy and well over the long-haul.

Meaning - Meaning helps us to make sense of life and find significance in life. It speaks to our desire to have a life filled with understanding and awareness, peace and satisfaction. Meaning gives us faith that within each moment of life there is some kernel of truth - something important or worthwhile that can orient us, carry us forward, and help us to be well.

Purpose - Purpose grounds us, motivates us, unifies our life, and directs us toward some ultimate concern around which we can shape our lives. It speaks to our desire to have a reason to get up for in the morning and go to sleep for at night, feeling as though we've done something important, something that matters. Purpose gives us faith that we have "miles to go before we sleep."

Value - Value helps us to determine what we give priority and precedence to, and what we pursue in life. It speaks to our desire to have something to work for, find deserving, invest in, and live by. Value gives us faith that there are certain things that we can always turn to and rely upon to keep us headed in the right direction while ensuring that our integrity remains intact.

Connection - Connection helps us relate to and form relationships with others and the world around us. It speaks to our desire to bond and belong, to have a type of familial warmth and security. Connection gives us faith in the power of possibility and community, availability and love.

Resilience - Resilience shows us how to flourish, not despite but because of adversity, in a way that actually improves rather than hurts our lives, and fortifies rather than weakens our spirit. It speaks to our desire to live fully, love deeply, and thrive...everyday, come what may. Resilience gives us faith that life is always worth living.

Transcendence - Transcendence helps us to wake-up to the fullness of life, to touch or experience something greater than our daily tasks and to-do lists, something truly sublime, something extraordinary. It speaks to our desire for wonder and awe. Transcendence gives us faith that there are things in life that will always inspire, encourage, and excite us.

While every person experiences, satisfies, and expresses these six desires uniquely, taken together, they are what all the great traditions, whether spiritual or secular, each in their own way, using their own language, care about and try to make real for our lives. They are the glue that holds humanity together. They reach beneath and beyond background and belief. And they are the key to achieving sustainable wellness, both individually and collectively.

Some people talk about one or two of these desires. And many people confuse or conflate them. Only Michele has identified them in sum, and defined and located them broadly enough for everyone to apply in their lives. What's more, she shows how together they are the formula for sustainable wellness.

Using these Six Fundamental Human Desires as the foundation, Michele has developed a practical and profound way for each of us to maximize the experience of these desires in all aspects of life, in good times and difficult times. She calls this The Path to Sustainable Wellness. In it she reveals the four steps and eight actions that show individuals, families, and communities how to enjoy the richest and most fulfilling and most desirable life possible.