True desires align with our foundation, the base of our life. This includes our values, beliefs, morals, authentic/non-egoic identity, and essentially everything in our life that is deeply meaningful to us. 

False desires are something we want or crave in the moment, often impulsive, and not aligned to our foundation. 

Some of my past false desires that I overly indulged in were:

-Over drinking/partying

-Staying up late

-Unhealthy eating

-Over sleeping/sleeping longer than needed

-The need to ‘fit in’ with every group

-Watching T.V./playing video games

This isn’t to say completely eliminate any desires you have that don’t align with your foundation. In fact, it might be necessary to mix them in once in a while to maintain some balance. This is simply a message, bringing awareness to the false desire paradox. 

Our true desires will frequently confront us to make changes. They tend to divert us away from the ‘familiar and easy’ path. This can evoke certain levels of discomfort. Although the reward on the other side of the discomfort can make us feel much more complete, fulfilled, or purposeful because it is aligned with our foundation.

Paradoxically false desires are almost always more appealing, easy to attain, and give instant pleasure in comparison to true desires. Unfortunately it’s the thoughts, feelings, and actions that ensue that aren’t pleasant. If we continually seek these types of pleasures we might create a false desire cycle. This is where these negative thoughts, feelings, and actions can perpetuate and compound over time amplifying the unpleasant negative characteristics, ultimately leaving us in a state of stagnation. 

As someone who has a fear of stagnation, I can say with certainty that pursuing desires aligned with my foundation rather than the instant satisfaction of false desires has truly transformed my life. 

I hope this brings some value. Enjoy:)