Desire Inventory Practice: The Daily Shadow Alchemy Method for Clarity, Power, and Asking
One of the simplest ways to become powerful in Shadow Alchemy is also one of the most overlooked:
Practice desire.
Not desire as fantasy.
Desire as clarity.
Desire as something you can name directly.
Teaching Call 5 assigns a deceptively potent method:
A daily desire inventory.
This is Existential Kink (EK) applied to real life: learning what you want, asking for it cleanly, and noticing what happens when desire is expressed without disguise. t5
Why Desire Inventories Change Everything
Most people are more fluent in what they don’t want than what they want.
They can list complaints endlessly.
But desire is a different muscle:
directness
honesty
specificity
willingness to be disappointed
willingness to receive
Shadow Alchemy trains desire because desire is the true compass of the unconscious.
What Is a Desire Inventory?
A desire inventory is simple:
Set a timer (5–7 minutes).
Write answers to a prompt that excavates what you want.
Fast.
Unfiltered.
No spiritual censorship.
Prompts might include:
What do I want right now?
What do I secretly desire?
What do I want more of?
What am I craving?
What do I want to feel?
Different prompts reveal different layers.
Desire is infinite.
Clarity is the practice.
The Dom Skill: Telling People What You Want
One of the teachings here is that being able to state desire clearly is a form of relational power.
It is a dom skill in everyday life:
“I want this.”
“I would prefer that.”
“What I’m asking for is…”
Most people hint.
Shadow Alchemy invites clean desire.
This is not aggressiveness.
It is clarity.
The Practice: Asking Others What They Want
The inventory is not only internal.
The assignment expands outward:
Practice asking people directly:
What do you want from me right now?
What do you want out of this interaction?
What would you prefer?
What are you hoping for?
This is penetrating presence.
It makes conversations honest.
It stops unconscious power games.
Receiving Yes and No Without Collapse
A huge part of desire maturity is this:
You express desire…
And sometimes you receive it.
And sometimes you don’t.
Shadow Alchemy trains your capacity for both outcomes:
fulfillment
disappointment
frustration
clean refusal
clean consent
Desire becomes safer when you can tolerate reality.
The Advanced Layer: The Channel of Fulfillment
One of the most intelligent parts of this teaching is learning to ask:
How is this desire actually fulfilled?
What is the channel?
Desire is often abstract:
“I want freedom.”
The coach’s question becomes:
How will you know when you have it?
What changes internally?
What becomes different in perception, reaction, and lived experience?
Shadow Alchemy is often about inner results, not just external ones.
A Weekly Structure (Simple and Sustainable)
Try this for two weeks:
5 desire inventories total
5 minutes each
Different prompt each time
One direct desire spoken aloud each day
One moment of asking someone else what they want
This builds clarity fast.
No drama.
Just practice.
Existential Kink and Desire
Under Existential Kink, desire becomes even more interesting:
Sometimes what you want consciously…
is not what you want unconsciously.
Desire inventories begin illuminating:
longing payoffs
rejection patterns
the pleasure of not having
covert resistance
This is why desire work is such deep shadow work.
Return to the Shadow Alchemy Hub
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Start with Lucy Baldwin’s complete Shadow Alchemy overview for readers of Existential Kink and EK-style embodied shadow integration
Frequently Asked Questions (Desire Inventory)
How often should I do desire inventories?
Even once or twice a week creates clarity. Consistency matters more than volume.
What if I don’t know what I want?
That is exactly why you practice. Desire clarifies in layers.
Is this part of Existential Kink?
Yes. EK is radical honesty with unconscious charge. Desire is one of the most direct doorways.
What if I ask for something and don’t get it?
That is part of the practice. Desire maturity includes receiving no without collapse.
Next Steps: Enter DOMINION
If desire work feels central for you, you are ready for the deeper field.
Shadow Alchemy is the practice of radical approval, embodied desire, and penetrating clarity over time.
That is what DOMINION: A Field of Radical Approval is for.
DOMINION is Lucy Baldwin’s EK-themed community for those ready to live the practice:
desire excavation and daily inventories
embodied Existential Kink beyond story
radical approval without bypass
taboo longing metabolized into freedom
the end of exile