“The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection and the water has no mind to receive their image.”

That was the first message I got from the first fortune cookie I opened when I returned from India. That seems like a fitting contract for these writings, and perhaps the full implications of that contract will become clear as we continue.

What I’d like to do is to present a model to you, and the specific model is my own life experience. That’s really all I have to offer to you – of my own experiences. I would like to clarify the reason for doing this.  It is not my expectation, or my hope, that any of you necessarily would undergo the particular journey that I am pursuing. I am not proselytizing for Ashtanga yoga.

But we in the West are faced with a very interesting predicament through a variety of circumstances, some of which are built into the culture like changes in communication media and so on. Some of them are the result of the chemicals that have appeared and been widely used – psychedelics.

We live in a society where life follows a certain pattern that has us chasing after success defined by fame and fortune and all the “perks” that come with it. We are made to believe that this is the key to happiness and feeling fulfilled. But if that is really the case, why are there so many successful people who are still unhappy, get depressed, or worse, end up taking their own lives? Doesn’t this make you wonder, “Is that really the kind of life that we’re meant to live?”

My whole life, I tried very hard to follow the template that society made for many of us—get a degree, get a job, build a career, get married, start a family. I tried to stay on the mainstream—color within the lines—but “failed” in some cases. These “failures” are the areas in my life that get the sometimes-quizzical- sometimes-pitying-but-most-of-the-time-judgmental look from others.

I sat in a taxi once where the driver spent the whole ride lecturing me when my reply to his question, “Do you have kids?” was “No.” For almost an hour, he made it clear to me why deciding not to have kids is wrong. “You have to have kids. It’s the right thing to do.” The truth—which I was not about to share with this middle-aged man driving me home—is that I did choose to have a child once in my life. But life didn’t turn out the way I planned. Her father and I split up and went on our separate ways thousands of miles from each other. I made the painful decision that she will have a better life with him than me. For that, I got criticized, judged, and condemned. People threw stones at me until I was bloody and almost lifeless. And the meanest, cruelest of them all was me. And yet there I was at the back of a cab with a total stranger telling me why I should have kids. Preach.

The answer is simple:

You discover your purpose by being present in the moment. Listening to your inner guidance. Paying attention to the messages you are receiving at any given time. Being aware of the feelings in your body when certain things awaken a desire within us. And being absolutely mindful of our thoughts. If purpose is within us, and you desire to discover consciously what your purpose is, then we must understand that spirit speaks to you in present moment. You cannot hear the message from spirit when thinking about the past or thinking about the future. Spirit speaks to you in present moment. It is a now experience.

Using Automatic Writing /Journaling to Discover Your Purpose

This exercise can be done at any particular time when you are in need of clarity or guidance. Your purpose is constantly changing as you change and grow and expand. So, this exercise may be helpful at any given time along your journey of life. Automatic writing will help you to be conscious of what is calling to you at this particular time in your life so that you can live intentionally and consciously.

As I get ready to launch Oracle School this fall, I think back to this summer and the extraordinary opportunities I had to serve the groups I was invited to speak at. I taught some powerful workshops, but I also did readings and mediumship. I’m still amazed at how this has all transpired for me, given my former resistance to fully embrace spiritual mediumship as a natural progression of my service.

I remember vividly how, years ago every time I heard the Call to this particular facet of service, well I answered it, then was suitably stunned, and promptly hung up the celestial phone. “Um, No way… too many weirdos, too many haters, too much responsibility, not enough proof, too many others doing this well, such strong tradition, not for me” etc. etc. etc.
Call back later I’ve made other plans.

Have you ever run away from the one thing that lights you up and makes your heart sing for fear of what others might think, feeling unworthy perhaps or just plain not wanting the responsibility?
I fought the truth of my life for so long I exhausted myself. I always wanted to be something else. I thought I was going to do readings only until my music career took off. I was no way going to be known as a medium, or psychic! Can you believe it? I had a ginormous chip on my shoulder about this, and yet it was calling me all the time. My authentic life was always waiting for me. I had to surrender.

Time!

As human beings, we all have one thing in common.

Time.

We are all born, and we will all die.

Yet when it happens, we seem surprised and ask WHY?

From the moment the universe exploded into existence as a cosmic fireball 13.4 billions of years ago….

Time stops for no one.

If you knew the exact date and time of your death, how would that change the way that you live?

We are all born, and we will all die.

Yet when it happens, we seem surprised and ask WHY?

As human beings we all have one thing in common.

Time.

There are times when life goes out of kilter and the world doesn’t seem real and substantial anymore. Such experiences occur regularly, either to us or other people. For example, when there’s a sudden death in the family or a catastrophe like a tornado or the house burning down, a person can go into shock. With a blank stare they reveal how dislocated their existence suddenly feels, saying things like “This can’t be happening. It’s unreal” or “Nothing matters anymore.”

It’s normal for this dissociated state to pass, and in time reality feels real again. But some people never return—after a psychotic break, for example, a percentage of mental patients become chronically schizophrenic and have hallucinations for the rest of their lives. But the feeling of “This can’t be happening, it’s like a dream” doesn’t have to be triggered by shock. When someone is ecstatically happy at their good fortune, everything can seem unreal.

I’m pointing out these experiences because they give a basis for the notion that life actually is a dream, but we don’t notice it unless there is a sudden dislocation, a moment when we glimpse the dream for what it is before lapsing back into it quite unconsciously. A passing glance at the history of philosophy indicates that the Eastern view of Maya and Plato’s image of the cave are declarations that the illusory nature of life has fooled us, with the exception of the few who have wake up and seen the “real” reality.

How do you get inspired and keep that inspiration alive, especially during tough times? First and foremost, you need something bigger than you to be inspired about. I think we are all born with a deep and meaningful purpose that we have to discover.

Your purpose in life is not something you need to make up; it’s already there – you just need to discover it.

And when you do, when you really discover what you’re meant to do, it will be the reason you get up in the morning.

Finding Your Life Purpose

Prior to discovering your life purpose, it’s easy to become sidetracked, or feel uninspired, or feel like you’ve accomplished very little.

But, what if these feelings are simply feedback that you need to keep going, keep searching, keep discovering?

What if it’s the universe reminding us not to settle for mediocrity, to continue experimenting for the one thing that lights you up?

I also believe we’re all born with a set of talents and interests that tell us what we’re supposed to be doing.

This is a question I get asked all of the time… How Do You Discover Your Purpose?

The answer is much more simple than people think…

You discover your purpose by being present in the moment. Listening to your inner guidance. Paying attention to the messages you are receiving at any given time. Being aware of the feelings in your body when certain things awaken a desire within us. And being absolutely mindful of our thoughts. If purpose is within us, and you desire to discover consciously what your purpose is, then we must understand that spirit speaks to you in present moment. You cannot hear the message from spirit when thinking about the past or thinking about the future. Spirit speaks to you in present moment. It is a now experience.

Exercises to Discover Your Purpose

Here are some simple exercises to help you discover your purpose. These can be used daily, weekly, or any time you feel like something is shifting within you and you need more clarity or guidance.

I’ve changed this column numerous times over the past few days.

 

Why? Because words matter, and I wanted to convey a message this week that is hopeful, yet still has just the right amount of indignation to it. After all, this is a moment that requires some indignation.

 

Over the last few days, I have found myself stopping, staring, shaking my head, and getting upset at what I’ve seen. My friends, this is not a moment to scroll by. This is a moment to make your voice heard. I’m not just talking about the important issue of immigration. (I think we all know that immigration reform is needed, and I do believe that we can come to a conclusion that is both compassionate and respectful of our borders.) I’m talking about making your voice heard on all issues that we face today, and that we’ll continue to face in the days, weeks, and months to come.

 

This is not a moment to lose your mind and rant and rage. I don’t believe that ranting and raging works. What I do believe works is using our voices in a forceful, confident, and collective way. What works are voices that express just the right amount of outrage, just the right amount of shock, and just the right amount of care — as in, capital CARE.

I love this message, I find that it is so true.

You can never have a happy ending at the end of an unhappy journey; it just doesn’t work out that way. The way you’re feeling, along the way, is the way you’re continuing to pre-pave your journey, and it’s the way it’s going to continue to turn out until you do something about the way you are feeling.
—Abraham

I remember times in my life where I would tell myself…

I just want to be happy!!!

But then I wouldn’t do anything different…

there was no change…

no movement…

no happiness.

I would blame it on circumstances…

on people…

on bad energy…

on addiction…

Without using the term, everyone has marked out a path in life--a path can be defined as a road map that guides you to a goal. Because every day presents some kind of goal, however small, being on a path is inevitable. It doesn't have to be a conscious choice. Yet at a certain point it dawns on most people that they have larger goals, even lifetime goals, that require long-term planning. At this point choosing a path does become a conscious decision.  

On the surface, it would appear that life presents many paths, because so many goals present themselves: finding the right partner, raising a family, settling on a career, pursuing success, earning more money, saving a nest egg for retirement. These are socially shared goals, to which more can be added, such as finding God or writing a novel. But if you look deeper, everything on this list boils down to one path only.    

This is the path of desire, which is the most natural path, since we all have desires. The impetus that keeps people on the path of desire is universal but also logical. If you want to eat breakfast, make friends, do something you enjoy, or have any other everyday desire, it's logical that expanding your desires and following a bigger dream should serve as a reliable path in life. In fact, because 99% of the human race follows the path of desire, this should prove how defective it is. The problems of poverty, crime, war, hunger, disease, and mental anguish haven't been solved around the world, and one or more of these problems reaches into everyone's life.

I find myself in Bed 3 (of a 4 bed room) in hospital.

Soon enough the girl in Bed 1 is healed and discharged. The hospital is crowded, and within the hour the bed has been prepped and a new patient shows up.

He is 60, about 5 foot 7, gray hair, a bit plump. I don’t really notice him as he comes in, but when he is under the covers and his vital signs and blood samples have been taken I can see him.

I know him. From the streets.

I have a very fine apartment in a derelict area. It is now quickly being gentrified but a handful of bug infested residential hotels still set the neighbourhood tone. We’re in the poorest urban postal code in the nation. Our neighbourhood is still the gathering space for the poor, a 5 block stretch of the people living in the underbelly of our society, flooding the sidewalks. Don’t get the idea this is a slum – in our country we don’t really have slums.

It’s in this context that I’ve seen, and come to know, Ronnie.

What if you didn’t need to know everything about your life’s purpose in order to begin living it?

There’s often a myth that your life purpose is something that you need to figure out and find up front. That unless you are crystal clear, you can’t live it.

Often when we focus so much on trying to figure out all the details of our life purpose, we can end up waiting and holding back our gifts.

If you want to live your purpose then stop waiting.

Simply begin.

Go in the direction that moves you most deeply. Take a step. When you take a step, each step will reveal to you the next step.

You don’t need to know the entire map of where you are going to get to where you are meant to be. Your purpose will be revealed to you in the process of living.

It is hard to feel stuck and unmotivated. Especially in matters of career and business. Not only are things not progressing but we may also feel like we are letting ourselves down by not taking action.


There is such a thing as being in the flow. This is when we are flooded with inspiration. It flows freely accompanied by the drive to take action. I have found in the past that these experiences come along with bursts of energy. Taking action feels more like a rush or a buzz.


As with many things there is no black-and-white answer to this question. I can only share my experience and hope that it helps someone. I have found that the lull of activity is there for reason. Maybe it's time to take a break or focus on other areas of life.


Pushing against the stagnancy often times leads to poor results. Whatever you come up with during that time is probably not going to be your best work. This, in combination with the lack of productivity can feel very depressing.


I feel that during these times productivity can be found in other areas. Maybe we need to focus on her health or well-being. There's usually some other area of life calling our attention. There could be more information we need before we can move forward in a  successful way.

What negative story do you tell other people about yourself over and over? Most of the time when we repeat our “shadow narrative” we aren’t aware of it, we can’t see that the telling of it anchors the memory deeper into the universe, making it a part of your current condition.

Take a minute to really think about this.  Do you see yourself in your story as always being disappointed by people you elevate? Do you tell a story of the world as a place you need to rebel against? Perhaps you tell a story about being a victim of other people’s issues, or maybe you tell one of you overcoming obstacles, always having to do everything yourself. Help never comes. (Sigh) Or maybe you tell a story of being pushed out, isolated by others, so you can continue to live in an illusion of being a victim, and so you can enjoy vicious gossip to vent your unprocessed anger.