Four Steps to Living With Purpose

In October of 2008, I started a one year sabbatical. I knew that it was something I needed to do, and yet, wasn't sure how to explain why. Here is what I wrote at the time:

1. My life "wasn't working any more", in that I was not able to sustain the same pace, interest, drive and wisdom that I enjoyed in the past; and
2. I am not precisely sure "what" it is that I am looking for. On a grand scale, I am looking for peace and serenity, a centered existence where I work from a new personal power that is true to myself. I am in transition to stretch to a new level of maturity that doesn't require me to do more, but rather be more."

I was committed to follow my intuition throughout this 12 month period, and I knew in my bones that this was an important step in my purpose. Throughout my sabbatical, I followed four steps to keep me on purpose and increase my commitment: Clear and Connect, Ask and Allow

Clear and Connect - We talk about four levels of energy: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. We are born into this world in a pure state, and as we learn and grow, we experience life and record those experiences in our memories and our bodies. In many of these experiences, we make emotional decisions - we label as "limiting beliefs" - of how the world operates. We carry the emotional memory in our body. "Because of the human tendency to perpetuate old emotion, almost everyone carries in his or her energy field an accumulation of old emotional pain, which I call 'the pain body'." (Eckert Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose pg 135).

Connecting simply means connecting to three things: yourself, others, and your greater purpose (which may include connecting to God), and is described as a "heart connection". The more that we are connected to our purpose, our real identity without the constraints of societal and cultural expectations, and connected on a heart level with others, the happier we are. The clearer our mental, emotional and physical bodies are, the easier it is to have access to these experiences. Not impossible, just easier. It means staying present in every moment. In many challenging situations, I ask myself, "who am I and what do I want to create right now?" Connecting to myself, others and my highest intention has provided me great wisdom and appreciation.

Ask and Allow - Bruce Wilkerson in his book "The Dream Giver" asks us to look in the corner of our heart where we keep our dreams. We often tuck away our dreams, which are really our purpose for being here. Many times our ego tricks us into sabotaging our dreams - "Do I even have a dream?" "Is mine good enough?" Sometimes, once we clear and connect, a funny thing happens. We find ourselves in a very empty space. We are so used to filling every moment with something that it can be very uncomfortable to be in this space. This is a good sign! We are letting go of the ego-driven "shoulds" that dictate our lives, and clearing a space to allow our dreams to find a place in our awareness.

At this point, we are open to tap into many wonderful, creative forces in our own life. I personally believe that there are many forces and resources that are available to us beyond what we can see, touch and feel. The more that we clear and connect, the more we can ask and allow this to flow into our life.

Because our senses are sharpened, we can ask to tap into vast energy sources that are within us and all around us. How many times have you walked into a room and the "room was alive" or "it felt heavy"? You are likely feeling the energy of the people in the room. Every culture talks about unseen, external sources are available to us. We call them God, spirit guides, guardian angels, ancestors, "Source", Mother Earth - the list is endless. These are all ways that we represent what we feel but do not know directly through our traditional five senses.

Presence, meditation and visualization are powerful ways to tap into these sources because they create alpha and theta brainwaves versus beta ("high" beta is associated with intense stress). This state is sometimes described as "synchronicity" and "flow" where your life just seems to "work". I recommend a book called "The Power of Flow: Practical Ways to Transform Your Life with Meaningful Coincidence" by Charlene Belitz and Meg Lundstrom. It describes in depth many of the principles and ways to create "flow" and synchronicity in your life.

The final step - allowing - requires faith and commitment. The outcome of asking and allowing is known as the Law of Attraction and requires that we are 100% responsible for what we ask for. Ideally our requests are in alignment with our purpose, and keeps us connected to ourselves and others (in other words, does not bring harm). However, we must also be ready to accept and allow the answers, and not be attached to the outcome. There is a requirement of faith that what you have received in response to your request is in your highest good. It requires a commitment to shift your view from challenges and hurdles to a mindset of opportunities for growth and maturity.

I have lived in synchronicity and with this assumption of faith all of my life. In truth, I don't know how else to be. Throughout my life, things have not worked out the way that I wanted, and in hindsight I could always see how it worked out for the better. There were times that I was thankful I didn't get what I wanted! You could say that I color my perception in this, and you could be correct. And, my life is far happier because of this belief, especially after this sabbatical. The sabbatical was one giant step into the abyss, and for that I am deeply appreciative. That "personal power that is true to myself" that I mentioned earlier is part of my purpose. I know that I help people change their life every day. I am most successful when I consciously choose who I want to be in each and every moment.

With much love and gratitude, Mj XOXO