I believe that once we find our way back to our Selves, we find our purpose. Our purpose therefore, initially, must be to find Self. How exactly do we do that?
To start with, we need to accept that we do have choices. If accepting that you create your own life in detail is too much of a stretch right now, then start with accepting that you have a choice in how you process what life dishes up for you.
Choice… we are our choices. We choose what to focus on as life happens – therein lies our power. No matter what our circumstances, we all have the power to choose to be the highest vision of our highest version of ourselves in them. All circumstances, good or bad, are equally suited to this. Peaks or valleys, either will do.
Ego loves variety, the play of pain and pleasure. It is fascinated by contrasts. Self enjoys this for a while, but eventually tires of it and craves the peace and silence of pure being. When the mental illusion leaves us disillusioned, it’s time to wake up to what lies beneath.
Does this feel like too much of an effort? Here’s some food for thought.
The search for Self is worth the trouble because without it all is trouble. Without self-realization, we will be consumed by desires and fears, repeating themselves meaninglessly in endless suffering. We remain forever hungry and thirsty, longing, searching, grabbing, holding, ever losing and sorrowing. The state of timeless perfection to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken away, is worth the search. In it, all desires and fears are absent, not because they are given up, but because they have lost their meaning.’
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Being Well
We undertake two simultaneous journeys in life. I like to visualize them in the shape of a cross. The outer journey is where we are going in time and space. It is the horizontal line of the cross. It is focussed on past and future and is made up of many steps. The inner journey, on the other hand, is how we are going. It is the vertical line of the cross. It is about deepening the awareness of our Being in the timeless Now. Being Well – and the result is well-being. It is made up of one step – this one.
We begin to discover Self by becoming as much something-ness as possible. Think of yourself as a drop of dye in a bowl of water. The more concentrated your colour, the more you will colour the water you’re in.
Start with the things you are passionate about: they are not random; they are your calling. When you embrace that which draws you, speaks to you and charges you out of all and then build your life around that, you become Self-actualized. Castaneda talks calls this ‘following a path with heart’.
Another analogy for finding your Self is seeing it as the process of chipping away the layers of stone to uncover the sculpture, the work of art, your essence. This is the core of your being, to be brought to the surface, to be expressed.
Living from Self is the best way to relate to the world. Open and authentic, we attract like-minded people and helpful circumstances, smoothing the road ahead.
Along the way, we need to honour our Selves and stay centred in that. We are taught to place others first, yet being self-centred, so we stay in touch with our Selves, is often the better gift to give to others. The peace and joy we emanate then, will help them find their own.
‘Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’
Howard Thurman