Page 173 - Spirit- Teachings from the Highest Source

attaining the object of our craving. It is only necessary to look at
the common habit of cigarette smoking, where the craving is so
strong that nothing will be allowed to replace the cigarette, not
food, not love, nor any urgent need. Every thing becomes
subservient to the cigarette. "But I need to smoke," is the common
cry, we have all heard it said, if this is a need how is it that so
many survive without it, and how many die because of it. The
physical needs of humankind are few, the spiritual needs are
fewer and more simple, yet, man in his way fails to see this and as
a consequence occupies himself developing more fads to add to
his "needs" list.

First of all it would be a good exercise if one were to get a
pen and paper and make a list of the needs of their body; the need
of food; the need of cover; the need of sleep etc. See how long the
list gets. Next go through the list and recheck to see if there are
any wants there, do you really need all that has been listed? If on
the recheck you find no wants listed then you need to check again,
- didn't you. You now see how impossible it is to separate initially
the needs from the wants. Check again. Each time you check you
will find that many of the needs you thought you had were just
wants. What you need is to survive in this life. You may ask why. If
you don't survive long enough to fulfil our spiritual needs then
you have not used that which has been given to you to get that
which is necessary to get closer to God. Surely this is the prime
need. Earlier we said that the spiritual needs were simplest to
achieve.