Finding Your Life’s Purpose
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Finding your life purpose is an important and exciting step on the path to spiritual freedom and truth.
The majority of people in the world have no idea what they want, or who they are. Uncertainty is both inevitable and valuable to some degree, but without at least some concept of purpose and desire one is left drifting aimlessly through life.
Your life’s purpose is a source of inspiration and guidance that you can rely on for the rest of your days on this earth. It will be a sanctuary during challenging times and a light along your path as you expand into each new experience.
Before seeking your individual purpose you should understand the primary universal purpose. This will help you remain grounded and focused in all you do; in order to live truly rewarding and exciting lives we must all align ourselves with the deeper cosmic purpose.
There are many ways to interpret and explain the primary purpose of life. But the simplest way to understand this is to observe the movements of the natural world.
At the most fundamental level what is the universe, or the natural world, doing?
From the vast reaches of space to the tiny world of subatomic particles a clear, essential flow of purpose emerges. The universe is expanding, creating, and observing from a state of non-locality. Only a small amount of research will verify this statement.
Space continues to expand from the point of the Big Bang. New stars and planets continue to form over huge stretches of time.
Life on our planet emerged from microorganisms and expanded into the myriad creatures and forms we see today. Every plant begins as a tiny seed with the potential to spread and grow into a massive forest, and every animal starts out as a mere spec of organic material that is encoded with all the instructions for growth, learning, and procreation.
Being in alignment with the primary universal purpose means to constantly learn, grow, and experience happiness; this is expansion. Furthermore we should honor our creative impulses by exploring our desires and seeking their fulfillment. In all this we find the deepest bliss by living fully in the present moment and being detached from the contracted perspective promoted by our ego mind.
The above paragraph captures the essence of expansion, creation, and observation. This is every person’s primary life purpose, and the simple path to enlightenment and happiness.
Beyond this we each have our own individual sense of purpose. Some teachers call this the secondary life purpose but I like to call it the unique purpose or the life calling; of course the terminology is not as important as the actual seeking.
So how can you find your unique purpose? How can you know you are living on purpose and not just chasing the transient desires of your ego?
The first step is to find your true values.
Rather than allowing your heart to be led by the obligatory values society pushes your way, you must take the time to listen to your inner voice and understand what really matters to you. With meditation, silence, and rigorous self-honesty it’s easy to know what you really value and cherish.
Your true core values are the starting point for finding your life purpose. Once you know what matters to you it’s a simple matter to figure out how you can build your life around these principles.
Another important factor in discovering your true purpose are the natural talents and strengths you embody. We are all born with certain preferences and capabilities, and these traits lend a clue to what our purpose in this life might be.
For instance you may have always loved fiddling with nuts, bolts, and tools. Or perhaps you have a knack for listening to others and helping them see their personal struggles from a new perspective.
You may know your strengths early in life or you may discover them over the course of time. Talents known in childhood and those emerging in your thirties are of equal worth; what matters is that you feel a deep affinity to or connection with a particular activity or process.
Despite what the highly flawed “educational” system suggests, there are many different kinds of intelligence. Therefore every person may exhibit unique talents and preferences. Don’t spend a second worrying about what other people think you should enjoy; focus fully on the activities and topics that invigorate you and fill you with a sense of life and alertness!
Once you know what matters to you in life, and you understand where your natural strenghts and abilities lie, you’ll have a fantastic foundation for finding your purpose in life. From here you should find some quiet time and ask yourself the simple questions: “Who am I? What do I want? Why am I here? How can I best serve?”
Do not think about the possible answers to this question in the same way you might ponder a trivial pursuit question. Just ask, either aloud or silently, and notice the immediate response that arises.
It’s a good idea to spend some time, perhaps even a few weeks, asking these questions and noting your immediate response. You are seeking a purpose on which to build every day for the rest of your life, so please don’t rush the process.
You might ask yourself these questions as soon as you awake in the morning, and take note of your immediate answer. Upon first waking your mind is in a pure, unfiltered state of honest assessment and observation, so you may find some very interesting answers from this exercise.
Ideally you should set aside some time for meditation (which you really should be doing regularly anyway). Before beginning your basic meditation, sit for a minute or two asking the questions, then let go and enter your meditative state.
NOTE: If you’re not familiar with basic meditation please fill out the brief email form in the right margin of this page to receive your free, comprehensive guide to basic mindfulness meditation. The MANY benefits of basic meditation practice will change your life for the better across multiple dimensions.
Your answer will emerge, and it will be undeniably clear. This may happen quickly, or it may take some time, depending on how clear and calm your mind is. And almost certainly you will find that your purpose involves helping or adding value to the lives of others in some way.
It’s important to understand the EVERYONE has a unique purpose. This privilege is not reserved for scientists, spiritual teachers, and historical figures. Your purpose may appear large or small to someone looking at it from the outside, but make no mistake: whatever your purpose is, it absolutely matters on a global scale!
The more people are aligned with Universal Purpose and centered on their own unique purpose, the higher and more positive the vibration of our planet becomes. By finding and honoring your purpose you not ony create greater happiness and abundance for yourself, you also quite literally make the world a better place!
This article is a great starting point, but it really only scratches the surface. Finding your life purpose is a very personal, experiential pursuit and only you know the true answers to the questions:
Who am I? What do I want? Why am I here? How can I best serve?”
These answers need not necessarily arise in the form of a specific verbal explanation. Most likely you’ll receive subtle clues and ultimately arrive at a deep, serene, intuitive understanding of what you are in this world to discover and offer.
Best wishes on your sacred quest. I hope you’ll return often and share your comments.
Tags: find your life's purpose, finding your life purpose, life's purpose, my purpose in life, Spiritual Enlightenment, spiritual purpose, Spirituality, the purpose of life, your life purpose, your life's purpose
Synchronicity Book | Life Purpose | Spiritual Enlightenment Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
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Do Everything On Purpose « Power Of Positive Thinking Says:
August 6th, 2009 at 1:48 am
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Meditation For Finding Your Life’s Purpose « Spirituality And Personal Growth Says:
August 6th, 2009 at 2:01 am
[...] It will aid you in finding and connecting to your true purpose. But I also recommend you apply some of the concepts found in my complete article on finding your life purpose. [...]
Tanja Says:
August 14th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Spiritual Enlightenment for me, is a waking-walking meditation. It happens everyday, all the time, with everything I encounter. It all is a reflection back to me of some aspect of myself, no matter how much I don’t want to look at it, or that I enjoy the view, it is all the same. I think that is why people like to be out in nature so much, it reflects back to them the beauty they feel on the inside…that simplicity to just be, free of judgment.
We hold spiritual retreats in Hawaii & Mount Shasta, based on the principle that the island or mountain is your teacher/ your mentor, and you learn from it as it teaches you what your heart & soul are crying for. We simply facilitate the retreat, & our methods are based in NLP, Huna & Shamanism.
We make a difference in our online community daily on Facebook, just look up Transformational Voyages there and be inspired by our daily quotes from Maui.
Aloha Always,
Tanja
Finding Your Purpose Says:
August 15th, 2009 at 12:21 am
i enjoyed reading your article. it is well written and very thought provoking, however as we have no real idea of what the Universal Power really wants for us, what happens if our chosen purpose in life is not in alignment to the chosen path for us by Universal Power?
If we have to follow Universal Power, what happened to freedom of choice?
These are thought provoking issues as well. I believe that universal Power will allow us to explore whatever realm of our lives we choose, just as I as a loving father will accept whatever my son chooses to do.
Thanks for the article and I look forward to reading more from you.
Aaron Says:
August 15th, 2009 at 4:54 am
RE: “If we have to follow Universal Power, what happened to freedom of choice?” and other notes….
Great observations of course, and I’ll have to respond by saying all words are only pointers. As Lao Tsu said (paraphrased) “that which is spoken is not the true way, for the true way cannot be spoken”.
I’m not the kind of guy who runs around quoting all the well-known philosophers, but this line among a few other is golden. As is “ever desireless one sees the mystery; ever desiring one sees the manifestations.”
Spiritual philosophy is all very much paradox. The best we can do is speak or write from our essence, knowing we’ll resonate with some but not others.
“Thought provoking”, as you put it is a fine end.
Honestly I think whatever we do, whatever happens, is perfection. If our planet careens off it’s orbit and sinks into the middle of the sun that’s perfect, and if our society evolves into an enlightened utopia that looks like Star Trek meets Atlantis, that’s also perfect.
I don’t believe in predestination, I simply believe that our human intellect is highly flawed, and thus our perspective of good, bad, and ugly is not in alignment with the pure “isness” of the universal flow. Whatever happens is perfectly appropriate in the cosmic order.
Do I solemnly live each moment of my life this grounded and centered? Of course not! LOL… I’m very much attached to the preferences that came with the body.
Thanks for sharing. Keep coming back.
Find Your Life's Purpose In Three Easy Steps | Life Purpose | Spiritual Enlightenment Says:
August 25th, 2009 at 9:01 am
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