Ever wake up and wonder, “What am I doing here…on this planet? In any given day we have so many opportunities, so many choices to make. Most consider just getting through their day as a triumph, but at some point that mere existence begs the question: “what is my purpose in life?”
Lately, so many people have crossed my path asking this question, but not directly. What first presents itself is their overall lack of joy in life. Their sense that if they were to disappear tomorrow, their existence wouldn’t have mattered. Many search for a happiness that’s so illusive.
I’d like to share some good news. It is possible to find your life’s purpose. To wake and return to bed at the end of the day feeling completely fulfilled. Experiencing a state of constant joy for having the gift of life and being able to live another day. To journey into finding your life’s purpose, there’s a few key steps that might help.
1. Let go of your ego and go to the source – your soul
To experience this kind of joy you must know a secret. Well, maybe not a secret, but something that feels kind of like that. So many people are so dang miserable it feels like a secret when they discover it, or else why aren’t more people happy, right?
The first step in the process is to go to the bathroom and look long and hard in the mirror. Once you are there give yourself permission to jump inside the eyes staring back at you and have a chat with your soul. Yep, your soul. We all have one. It’s that little voice inside you that tells you there’s more to life. That part of you that stirs when you barely finish yet another day in complete exhaustion and frustration asking yourself: “how can this be my life? It’s not even satisfactory!”
The one challenge you’ll face is getting by the gatekeeper, your ego; that aspect of self that actually holds you back by reminding you of all the reasons why your soul shouldn’t be involved in this process. Decisions made from the ego usually involve some kind of legacy issues that the ego is perfectly fine living with. “I’m not smart”, “I’m not worthy”, “I don’t deserve to be happy”, “I’m of no value to anyone”. The ego develops all kinds of coping mechanisms that kidnap the life you should really be living. The one you became human to live.
So how do you get the ego out of the way?
2. Use meditation as a tool to reveal your soul’s desire
For countless centuries, actualized wise beings used the tool of mediation to tap into their soul’s purpose. Many people shiver at the sound of the word meditation because they are so uncomfortable with silence; they run from it and choose a life of dissatisfaction over the discipline of self-peace.
Once you decide to seek your soul’s guidance, you must prepare your mind & body before you can start the conversation. And how does one prepare for talking to their soul? Sounds crazy, but I’m telling you, it’s not and it’s possible. The only way you’ll get to your soul’s guidance is through the portal of stillness. The power of meditation comes from understanding this, for you’ll never have peace until you can get to the stillness.
There, I said it. “Never” is a powerful word but there’s a reality to it. It’s shocking that we have this ability within, a power to get to clarity, but people rarely move to acquire it. Most feel discomfort because the discipline required isn’t easy at first. But if you just show up and open your mind to the possibility, amazing things will begin to happen. Magical life shifts start to occur.
3. Commit to 21 days of meditation and listen for your soul’s direction
When you make the commitment to stillness, when you actually sit still and quiet your mind, you’ll hear your soul speak to you. What comes up at first might be the laundry list of things to do…just to be clear, that’s not your soul. That’s your to-do list and you can gently recognize it but let it go, float it down a river in your mind until silence returns. Sometimes focusing on one word can help still the mind down. Something that is simple and peaceful and clear. Maybe it’s joy. Maybe it’s clarity. Maybe it’s I am. Maybe it’s OM. In your mind just repeat that one word when other distracting thoughts jump in. Begin to feel the gaps of silence. Honor those gaps. The silence is the door to your soul’s direction.
When you meditate daily over the course of 21 days, be prepared for a new awareness to emerge. A new conversation with yourself begins. You’ll start seeing new opportunities show up in your life. Give yourself permission to listen and then act on the ideas that present themselves. This is your soul talking to you. Teasing you to jump into the truth of you and what you came here to do.
4. New opportunities appear through deep self-acceptance and action
This is the beginning of flow and self-acceptance and you don’t have to do anything to make it happen except begin leaning into aspects of life that bring you joy. New opportunities will start showing up in your life and with your new awareness give yourself permission to explore with action.
If you love writing but are stuck at some dead end job, maybe you’ll see an email or website or a poster in a café advertising a book club or an author reading. Step out of your comfort zone and participate in the opportunities that begin to pop up all around you. Lean into opportunities that titillate you, that inspire you!
5. Life flows to reveal your true purpose
Again, you don’t set out to make anything happen. With your awareness shifted, life begins to reveal real opportunities that were always around you and your life begins to flow when you sign up and fully participate in it. Ultimately, self-love is needed to begin this whole process.
And then guess what happens? By telling yourself you are worth this journey to joy, fulfillment and actualization, you begin to live your truth and start to manifest the life you want to wake up to each day. A truly deep sense of satisfaction enters the picture and from there you find your life’s purpose! Sounds too simplistic, but I’m telling you from personal experience, it isn’t. This process is straightforward. And what’s so beautiful…it’s risk free! What’s keeping you from giving it a go. Be still, listen and then let your purpose unfold.
Go ahead, I dare ya!
“The task is not to seek love, but merely find all the values within yourself that you’ve built against it.” —Rumi
[Photo by Reuben Stanton– CC BY]
Interested in more content like this? Get social with us:
Join your Tribe by Subscribing to the Seattle Yoga Community Weekly Update.
- Uniting for Joy on a rainy morning in Seattle - Dec 21, 2015
- Here is what you can do to bring kindness to the world - Aug 24, 2015
- 4 keys to success through high-powered connections - Jun 30, 2015