Chapter
10

Discovering Your Path and Purpose

In This Chapter

• How knowing your purpose gives your life meaning
• Becoming a purpose detective
• How to follow your path
• Your internal guidance system

Everyone wants to know their path and purpose. People talk about it as if their purpose is outside themselves—a directive that has been given to them. You don’t have to search for your purpose; it is you. It lives within, directing your path and guiding your choices. You don’t have to know your path; every footstep is creating it. You, your purpose, and your path are one. Your life purpose was written in the Akashic Record before you were born. To know yourself is to know your purpose.

Connecting to Your Purpose

Many people are searching for the guiding principle in their life to focus their actions and provide direction. They want to express their core values in meaningful careers and partnerships. Other people have a strong sense that they’re alive at this place, in this time, for a reason. They may or may not know what that reason is, but the sense is deep and pervasive. Whether you know your purpose or not, everyone wants to leave the world a better place for having been here.

The Akashic Record holds the purpose and path of every individual and group as well as humanity at large. Before you were born into this life, you consulted with the Record to formulate your purpose and create the conditions necessary to fulfill it. Your purpose is alive and well, kept in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious, however, may not be sending you very many clues!

The good news is that your purpose isn’t something you have to find—because it’s not lost. It’s unfolding in each moment, revealing its direction in every experience you have. Your purpose is part of who you are. Although you can’t be separated from it, you can be unconscious of it. Consciously connecting to your purpose is probably the most empowering event in life.

When you connect to your purpose, you find courage and capabilities you didn’t know existed. From the moment you make that connection, seemingly disparate events in your life come together. Each separate event now has meaning and context in the whole of your life. Each one provides different tools, and each life experience was essential. Nothing is wasted. Every experience you’ve ever had seems tailor-made to fulfilling your purpose. Your life expresses a profound authenticity, and there are not enough hours in the day to do all you are inspired to do.

Are you someone who doesn’t believe life has a purpose? In some ways, that means you don’t believe in yourself. Even if you don’t believe in a purpose, it will unfold anyway; you’ll simply miss the enjoyment of seeing the connections and meaning in life.

AKASHIC WISDOM

For the primary purpose of every human being is simply to be fully engaged in this moment, and aligned with the natural flow of reality itself.

—Eckhart Tolle, author

Meaning

The primary benefit to connecting with your purpose is that it gives life meaning. You may have spent years identifying with your job or the roles you play. You may spend time and effort seeking inner meaning through the approval of people around you. Eventually, you come up feeling empty. You’re not here to play-act for others. You’re here to fulfill a purpose that has nothing to do with your job or activities. It’s anchored in the realm of the soul.

Connecting with your purpose doesn’t mean you have to change what you do. Purpose has less to do with what you do than how you do it. A purposeful life is an expression of the values and core truth within your soul. You’re not your job, your bank account, your car, or your vacation home. None of these things provide your life with meaning. However, once you’re connected to your purpose, all of these develop meaning. Your life purpose makes everything you do, and are, meaningful.

Effectiveness

Purpose gives your life clarity and focus. It becomes easier to see where to apply skills and what wastes your energy. Everyone enjoys the satisfaction of accomplishment, and no one likes wasting their time, skills, and ability. Having purpose provides greater discernment.

Having meaningful goals is motivating and energizing. There’s nothing you can’t do when you feel connected to your higher truth and are supported in expressing it. Once you’re focused on your ultimate purpose, you’re able to accomplish your goals faster and with greater fulfillment and satisfaction.

Direction

Purpose provides you with a solid foundation for making decisions. Rather than following what you’ve been taught or programmed to think and do, you’re able to gauge your choices against a higher reality. Everything you do is weighed against whether it adds to or takes away from the expression of your purpose. Ultimately, knowing your purpose provides commitment and allows you to better adjust to the changing world.

If all this talk of change makes you nervous, don’t worry: you’re not hostage to your purpose. It’s not a weight on your shoulders or a task that must be fulfilled. Its function isn’t to own your life; it’s to guide your life. Understanding it helps you know what’s important and what isn’t. Once you begin living purposefully, happiness and peace prevail.

ETHERIC ADVISORY

Once you find your purpose, you may decide to make big changes in your life. Don’t get yourself in trouble by moving too fast. Don’t worry: you won’t miss anything. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the unfolding.

Motivation

It’s hard to get excited about getting up in the morning to a job with little satisfaction and no prospects for something better. When you can clearly see that an area in your life doesn’t work toward your higher path, knowing your purpose motivates and directs change. On the other hand, the same job can suddenly burst forth with meaning when you can see that it fits into your soul’s purpose.

When your life has meaning, every day is an adventure. Every day is an opportunity to express your inner truth in exciting and satisfying activities. Your creativity can be set free, and your dreams are inspired.

There are many things that may motivate you: wanting to be a better parent, lover, or friend; wanting to improve your performance at work; or fulfilling a long-held goal. Living your purpose will help bring clarity, fulfillment, and tremendous joy to every goal and activity you engage in.

TIMELESS TIPS

As you search for meaning and purpose, connecting with inspirational speakers can be uplifting and strengthen your resolve. A good book on the subject is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (see Appendix B). Or visit his website: www.eckharttolle.com.

Support

It may sound as if life will be perfect if only you can connect to your life purpose. If only that were so! Life brings many challenges and sometimes even obstacles to the expression of your purpose. There’s no way to completely avoid difficulty or loss. It’s a fact of life that everything changes, which means we will lose people we love and jobs we’re happy in. Our sense of accomplishment will wax and wane. Having purpose in life doesn’t allow you to avoid these things.

It does, however, provide perspective. It lets you tune in to the higher picture and find the meaning in events. It lets you see beyond the horizon. What you go through may be hard, but it becomes bearable when you know there is meaning and purpose in doing so.

Detecting Your Purpose

For many people, and maybe for you, detecting your purpose is the hardest task imaginable. People are full of the directives of their parents, teachers, and society. Listening to the voice within is difficult when there are many external expectations and demands.

If you want to discover your true purpose, rid yourself of all the false purposes that have been engrained in you. It may be that you were born into your family to fulfill the family name or position. If that’s true, you will feel excitement and satisfaction in doing so. If you don’t, you’re living someone else’s purpose for you and not your own.

Your purpose is what compels you at the deepest level of your being. It may not make sense to you, or it may make perfect sense. Often, it is a complete surprise. Gandhi did not start his life thinking his purpose was to liberate India. He probably wouldn’t have believed it if he were told. It had to develop and unfold as he lived his life. He was compelled to react according to his deepest principles to the injustice around him. By following his truth, his purpose unfolded.

AKASHIC WISDOM

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, philosopher, and poet

Understanding your purpose takes time. When you’re young, your purpose is to experience life, grow, and develop your skills. When you’re older, it shifts to giving back to the world in some way—to using what you learned and create something unique.

Although some people do have a light bulb go off in their heads, in most cases you probably won’t find your purpose instantaneously. Your purpose is a journey unfolding one step at a time. At first, it’s difficult to see where the steps are taking you. After a while, however, the design begins to emerge. Sometimes you feel you have part of it but not all of it. Patience, commitment, a belief in your purpose, and energy are required at this point.

Key Questions

To start your detective work, you need to have a set of questions that focuses your search. You also want to ask for divine guidance. Your purpose is firmly entrenched in the Akashic Record, and asking for help revealing it can be useful. Consider inviting the Record Keepers and your guides to help in aligning you to the information you seek. Meditate on your arrival at the gates of the Hall of Records and ask your focusing questions to the guides you find:

• What is most important to me in my life?
• What are my deepest values and beliefs?
• What gives me joy?
• What would I do if …?

As you answer these questions, start to apply them to a bigger picture. For example, Susan found that what was most important in her life was making a connection with people. She found her deepest belief was that every person has a divine soul and is invaluable. What gives her joy is watching the light bulb go off in people as they learn something new and feel inspired. When she asked herself what she would do if she had all the money in the world, she knew she wanted to provide teenagers with the opportunity to discover their special gifts. When she formulated this as a purpose, it read, “My purpose is to connect with kids in such a way that they see themselves in their highest light.”

It’s true that Susan already had a pretty good sense of her purpose. However, asking these questions allowed her to condense it into a principle that guided her choices. She used her hobbies to fulfill her purpose by inviting kids in her community to join her. Susan is a licensed animal rescuer and rehabilitator and started a community service program through the high school. She invited kids to help by cleaning cages, feeding the babies, and participating in the release when the animals were ready to go. Her purpose wasn’t her hobby, although her hobby could be used to fulfill her purpose.

Major Life Events

A good place to look for clues to your purpose is in the conditions, circumstances, and major events of your life. You contracted these based on the purpose formulated in the Akashic Record—the purpose you came here to fulfill.

Fortunately, you’ve already done a lot of this work in the preceding chapters, so you have an idea of what you’ve faced and how you’ve reacted. You’ve learned what underlying causes and beliefs have impacted you. At first, it might be hard to locate the thread between it all to identify the underlying purpose. The clues to this are in your feelings. When did you feel fulfilled? When did you feel joy? Like Susan, add these experiences to your answers to the previous four focusing questions—and you will be close to finding your path.

Your strengths and weaknesses help send you along your path. Some people have a terrible time staying focused in school but can build anything when given a hammer and nails. Obviously, forcing an academic career on a person of hands-on skill could be a waste. Look at your strengths and separate them from what is expected of you. What do you really love doing, and what are you really good at? All of this is part of what you are here to fulfill.

Equally, the most defining moment in a person’s life can be stepping outside his or her comfort zone to embrace a project or job he or she never imagined possible. Your strengths take you to the point of growth. It’s then possible to step into a new area to develop new abilities or discover strengths you never knew you had.

TIMELESS TIPS

Two great books for finding your strengths are Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Boles. See Appendix B for details on both books.

What Intrigues You?

Not everyone feels they have special talents or abilities. Although it’s probably not true, you may be having a hard time identifying them. Another avenue to pursue is tracking your curiosity. Some people are driven to understand the mysteries of the universe. Others are curious about different people, places, and cultures. Maybe you are fascinated with concepts of metaphysics and personal development. Whatever captures your imagination and compels you to search for more information is part of your purpose.

Causes you embrace are also clues. Make a list of all the causes you have embraced in your life. Which ones were momentary, and which ones have stayed with you? Do you give money to these causes, or do you get actively involved? The ones you feel compelled to become active in are more aligned to your core.

Purposeful Exercises

At this point, you may be feeling blocked in finding your purpose. There is no universal formula. You can listen to motivational speakers and be inspired. The techniques offered here may help, but there is no one way to find it. You have to explore and dig into your feelings, beliefs, and thoughts about the world. You have to look at your experiences and your reactions to them. Unless you were born knowing, as some people are, then you have to do some work.

Although living your purpose adds meaning, direction, and support to your life, your purpose is rarely about you. It isn’t about becoming the best leader in the world, making a scientific breakthrough so your name goes down in history, or getting a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s always about giving back to the world. It’s about providing something the world needs, whether large like Albert Einstein or smaller like Susan and her teenage animal helpers.

Ultimately, your purpose will unfold as you live—and you’ll recognize it because when you’re not doing it, your life feels empty. There is only one imperative: live your principles in every situation, and you will be led straight to your purpose.

AKASHIC WISDOM

Would you like a calling to some great and glorious work? Then imagine a great and glorious work and call yourself to it.

—Joseph John Dewey, New Age writer

Simple Access to Your Purpose

You can perform many exercises to help find your purpose. Some are elaborate, and some are simple. Here’s a really simple one that taps into the free flow of consciousness. You don’t have to make lists of things that compel you or determine your skills and strengths; just let your mind free associate.

Sit down with a blank sheet of paper in a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Write on the top of the paper this question: “What is my purpose?” Don’t make a list, per se—just write down or draw whatever comes to mind. Maybe you’ll see an image, perhaps a bird or a sailboat. Maybe you’ll think of a person, a relative, or an historical figure. Maybe you’ll hear a religious passage.

Don’t stop with the first phrase or thought that comes, keep asking and answering the question again. Write down or draw as many answers as you can. No matter how hard you’re struggling to find new answers, keep going until the timer rings. Don’t worry about repeating the same answer more than once, and if you’re still getting ideas when the ringer goes off, keep going. Go until one of your answers makes you feel something different. Maybe it will give you energy, maybe it will make you cry, or maybe you will have goose bumps. Whatever brings up strong emotions, develop it.

Purposeful Puzzling

If you like to think and solve puzzles, you may enjoy this process more than the previous one. Again, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Get your notebook from Chapter 8 or several pieces of paper. Take a page in your notebook and make a heading for each of the following, one on each page:

• Your knacks and talents
• The things that intrigue you and spark your curiosity
• The causes you feel strongly about
• Your passions and creative outlets
• Your strengths and inner resources

Set your timer for 30 minutes and write everything you can think of under each topic until the timer goes off. If you have more to write, keep going past 30 minutes.

Once your lists are finished, look at the causes you feel strongly about, your passions and creative outlets, and the things that intrigue you. Are there any themes among them that emerge? Write down the various themes you find. Look at your talents, strengths, and inner resources. Can they be applied to any of these themes in a meaningful way? See if any of these themes answer the four questions posed earlier in this chapter:

• What is most important to me in my life?
• What are my deepest values and beliefs?
• What gives me joy?
• What would I do if …?

Doing this exercise can help clarify how your past actions, enjoyments, and passions reveal your purpose.

Write a Mission Statement

The start of every company or project is accompanied by a mission statement. It keeps the enterprise focused and provides the direction for decision making. After doing either or both of the previous exercises, it’s time to write a mission statement for your life. Your mission statement is a one- or two-line statement that reflects your purpose.

Here are a few guidelines for writing your mission statement:

• It must be current, alive, and well. Your purpose evolves through your life. Your mission statement should reflect this. If you write a mission statement today and next week it no longer fits, write another.
• It should be powerful and able to motivate you and excite your interest.
• It should provide clarity and be broad enough to reflect your depth.
• It should make you feel empowered and well used in your abilities.

Once you’ve developed your mission statement, post it someplace where you will see it several times a day (on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator, for example). As soon as it no longer means anything to you, change it.

TIMELESS TIPS

To see examples of personal and professional mission statements, go to www.missionstatements.com.

For example, Colin’s mission statement is very basic: To bring hope to our children. He does this through his commitment to creating a better environmental situation and through enriching life by exploring the mysteries of consciousness. Synthia’s mission statement is to create a better world by holding a vision of wholeness for the people in her life, including family members, co-workers, and patients.

Staying on the Path

After you’ve accepted that everyone has a path and purpose—even you—your life will become more focused. But nature is governed by cycles, and so are you. There will be times when you feel fully committed to your path and everything is dovetailing together, making perfect sense. Other times, you’ll feel you’re swimming against the tide and wondering whether it’s worth the effort.

It helps to know that your path was set down in the Akashic Record before you were born. Every footstep falls on that path, no matter how far off course it seems to be. In fact, many prominent people will say that it was the part of their path where they felt most off course where they learned the greatest lessons about who they are and what they’re here to do.

The cycles in life also include rest periods, so if you feel like not much is happening, take advantage of the time: do your inner work, pamper yourself, fortify yourself, or just take a break! Sometimes we’re too serious, and rest cycles let us know we don’t have to work so hard. You’re on the path anyway; the only thing you have to do is live by your inner principles. The rest will happen all on its own.

There are signs along the way that support your faith in your direction. Of course, intellectually you know you’re on the path because it’s where your feet are falling. But sometimes we all need confirmation—especially when obstacles are coming our way.

Synchronicity

Pat and John decided they needed to create an office in their house so they could work on projects together. That night when they arrived home, they found a flyer in the mailbox from a neighbor advertising a new home renovation business. Synchronicities such as these happen to everyone. When it happens to you, sit up and take notice. It means you’re riding the wave of your purpose and what you need is coming your way.

When synchronicity happens, it’s a sign that what you’re thinking and planning is moving you in the best direction possible. Pat and John wanted an office in their home, and finding the flyer confirmed that their idea was a good one. Synchronicity does not always arrive to meet a need; it usually arrives to let us know we’re on the right path. For example, Pat and John may or may not find that the contractor in the flyer is the best one for their job. Its importance was in arriving at a time that confirmed their direction.

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more unrelated events occurring together in a meaningful manner.

Being “in the Flow”

Flow is a close cousin to synchronicity. When you’re living your purpose with passion and excitement, events seem to flow together to support you. For example, just when you need more money, a new job opportunity may show up. Or you know you need to clear the air with a co-worker for a project to go forward—and much to your surprise, your co-worker is open and willing to do the work.

When you’re “in the flow,” you’re demonstrating the power of your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs to create your life. You only have to think of a need, and if it’s aligned with your purpose, it will be met. Flow is empowering and life enhancing. It allows you to maximize the effectiveness of your energy.

What Resistance May Be Telling You

It’s sometimes hard to know when obstacles in your path are tests to be overcome or messages that you’re going in the wrong direction. There are many reasons for resistance, and they’re not all bad!

Resistance may be telling you that your plans need rethinking. Maybe your timing is off and you’re pushing things faster than they can go. Resistance may be a message to slow down and be patient. Resistance holds many messages, and when you bump into it, the best thing to do is take some time away and figure out what the message is.

AKASHIC WISDOM

Find purpose, the means will follow.

—Mohandis (Mahatma) Gandhi, political and spiritual leader of India

Sometimes hitting resistance tells you that you’re on the wrong track and need to change direction. Usually, though, it’s just an indication to recheck, realign, and readjust some aspect of what you’re doing. So don’t resist the resistance; use it to fine-tune your actions.

Learning the Language

Learning to know when you’re on track is like learning a new language. In truth, it’s a language you know but may have been trained out of using. Essentially, it all comes down to following your instincts. If you look at the patterns in your life, instinctively you know what the message is and where you got stuck. You know because internally your energy either rises or drops in response.

Fulfilling your purpose increases your energy and leaves you feeling vital and alive. If thinking about your purpose exhausts you, you haven’t found the right one. Once again, let’s consider Gandhi. He may not have known he would be the one to liberate India, and he may have been tired and discouraged—but the path he was on generated energy, commitment, and vitality. It was impossible for him to ignore it.

Follow your passion; follow what gives you vitality and energy. As you continue on your path, you may find that life isn’t easy. Big purposes rarely are easy. But fulfilling them gives you inner peace and the joy of connecting to spiritual reality.

Manifesting Purpose

The hallmark to finding and living your purpose is the awareness that all parts of your life have come together for this direction. Your ability to live life with integrity brings inner peace. Living your purpose may not be easy, but the satisfaction is extraordinary.

TIMELESS TIPS

If you need a little inspiration finding your purpose, this website has what you’re looking for: www.abundance-and-happiness.com/inspiration.html.

When you live a purposeful life, you find greater levels of self-acceptance and self-love. Once you discover who you are and why you’re here, you will draw situations and people toward you. Groups of people come back together to fulfill a common goal. As you come into your purpose, you will begin to meet the people you came here to work with and start the work to complete your common mission.

If you’ve been wishing for a soul-mate relationship, living your purpose as your authentic self may open the door. True soul-mate relationships involve two people with deep love and trust working together for a higher goal. Finding your purpose and finding your mate may happen simultaneously.

The Least You Need to Know

• Finding your purpose will give you motivation, commitment, direction, and guidance.
• You can detect your purpose by examining your strengths, knacks, talents, and key life events.
• Your purpose will utilize all your past experiences and all your skills and abilities.
• Flow, synchronicity, resistance, and instinct all help you know when you are working to your highest intention.
• As you fulfill your purpose, you may open the door to meet your soul mate.