Though there's no way I could do this subject justice in a blog entry of any kind, I feel the desire (haha...) to write out at least some of my thoughts concerning the matter.  I'm not an expert on this subject, neither a philosopher or a psychologist.  However, I shall endeavor to write from my heart, my thoughts and observations, even if they may not be objective truth. 

     Often, human desire and emotion are said to step from "the heart".  I'm not exactly sure why that is, but even the ancient Hebrews talked about such things as being in their kidneys!  Without going through all of history, we can see that men have frequently distinguished desires and emotions from mere intellect and rationality, seem to lie in the mind.  While I am tempted to say that this is not true from a purely biological point of view - for without the mind there would be no consciousness to desire anything - I can understand the distinction.  Everybody has experienced the brain, good reasoning, telling them to do one thing, while the emotions/desires say something quite different.  Now, one could try to explain these things through a mass of biological hormones and psychological instincts.  Again, I am not a scientist, so I won't get into such possibilities.  Rather, how do we experience desire, and what causes it?  What are our desires ultimately for? 

     It is helpful to reiterate C.S. Lewis in this matter.  He describes in his book Mere Christianity that all desires must have a possible fulfillment.  For example, he says that if somebody is hungry or thirsty, one can eat and drink and fulfill those desires.  The physical hormones that drive the desire for sex; in the same way that desire can be fulfilled.  To paraphrase Peter Kreeft of Boston College, "Imagine going to a planet where the aliens have no stomachs, and they never have.  Yet they are always hungry.  The very idea is absurd."  Thus, it is logical that every physical desire must have some fulfillment.  I can't think of any that do not.  However, Lewis's point is that, if physical desires can be fulfilled, what about the desires of so many throughout time for something higher than themselves?  Why have people historically worshipped some diety or dieties greater than themselves?  Is there not a desire for something more than this earthly, human life, which, if nothing more exists, is ultimately meaningless?  Lewis says that if we have this desire, then there must also be some means of satisfying it.  Of course, that would be a real higher power, which he calls God. 

     I would agree with Lewis and Kreeft on those points.  However, how can we recognize such desires and recognize them for what they are?  First off, for a Christian, a desire that does not conform to God's Word, no matter how strong it may be, is impure and unholy, and should be purged.  Easier said than done I realize.  However, what about other desires for which we can find nothing explicit in His word?  I will use two potent personal example of occasions when I experience what I might describe as transcendant desires.  By transcendant, I mean those desires that somehow seem to superceed normal, explainable desires.  They empower the 'heart' (Despite biological probablilities, it is still easiest to use the heart for the center of emotion/desire), and suggest something above and beyond normal experiences in life. 

     The first of these is music.  I listen to a great deal of music, but not just any music.  Good music for me must meet at least one of two criteria:  Either they must praise God or be otherwise musically and/or lyrically profound and sincere.  There are exceptions of course, but the more of those conditions that are met in a song the better.  Here is where clear language begins to break down.  It is hard to describe exactly what makes a song "profound".  Typically, music that questions life, is very purposeful, or seeks the depths of human existence itself is very good.  The music itself can be slow and sappy, or complex and melodic, or fast and very heavy.  I could list many bands that I feel comply, but that's somewhat besides the point.  Further, the desires that these kinds of music so powerfully evoke is also hard to describe.  However, during the right song, the heart gets a tasts of....something higher and more profound than itself.  At times, it is so brilliant that a kind of sonic euforia sets in, a psychological high if you will, but soley because of the music. 

    This brings me to another aspect of desire.  We have already distinguished between mundane physical desires and desires for something beyond our normal experiences.  Peter Kreeft says something like, "Even to suffer the pains of these highest desires is far greater than fulfilling the lower, base desires."  Thus, it seems to me that to experience even a shadow of greater things, and this indeed can be painful psychologlcally, is more pleasurable than fulfilling, for example, one of the famous seven deadly sins, such as lust or greed.  I generally find this to be quite true.  Not that I am impervious to "carnal" sins, but when seeking these higher desires, normal fleshly desires do fade away and become trivial for the time being.  Not that temptation is thus conquered.  These greater desires do still invoke a strong longing, almost a kind of suffering.  Even today, at the Renyolda House with my family, looking at the history of R.J. Renyolds and his family, this kind of desire came in hard.  I had this song (again music), an intense choral piece in Latin from a movie, in my head very strongly.  You can check it out (The music and the movie clip) for yourself at: http://media.putfile.com/final-fantasy-VII-Advent-Childrenavi72  Then, looking at this ornate house, and all of the beautiful details in it, especially the old turn of the century clothing (Though why that, I'm not exactly sure) I was struck with some unexplainable, intense desire for something, perhaps ideal beauty, but I cannot know for certain.  Of course then the thought does tend to drift towards the opposite sex, which seems trivial in a sense.  However, I think God endowed women with such a strong sense of beauty, and woman as God intended would be amazingly beautiful in every sense, and I think it a wonderful thing to admire how He has created them that way.  But girls are another topic...haha. 

     Maybe I'm crazy; maybe I'm the only one who experiences such things in these ways.  Or maybe there is something deeper here in the human psyche.  Perhaps God has put these deep desires somewhere in each human heart so that we would seek him, seek the eternal, and seek truth.  I know I experience many such desires, sometimes to the unfortunate apathy of other things that I should pay attention to, but nonetheless I hope to use such desires to seek God and his ways, and the reality of all that he has made in this world until He returns.

     I don't know what else to add right now.  It's certainly not an expert opinion as I said before, but perhaps it will stir up enough minds - and passions - to seek the truth for themselves.  I hope so.  Until I think of more, or write something fresh, remember....everything.  But first and foremost, your creator.  Grace and peace.