Create by Cindy Griffith-Bennett
“What is my purpose?” As a psychic and spiritual counselor, people often ask me how they can find their purpose. Most expect to fulfill their purpose by doing a particular job or by volunteering, but I offer a radical suggestion. What if you fulfill your purpose by “how” you do something, not “what” you do? Let me explain.
Think of your purpose being fulfilled when how you live your life is directed by your highest spiritual value. If how you do something is more important than what you do, then, your job can be purposeful no matter what it is.
What if compassion is your highest spiritual value? Whether you’re a beautician, mortician, or politician, you can do what you do compassionately. The beautician can be a compassionate listener. The mortician can show compassion by creating a safe space to grieve. The politician can compassionately weigh the needs of the many with the needs of the few. No matter your job, you are following your purpose via compassion.
You can live purposefully through being compassionate in everything you do, including compassionately interacting with people and situations at home, at work, while driving, and even while shopping! Edgar Cayce would call this expressing your Ideal. When you are living your highest and ultimate spiritual value, you are living your Ideal. When we are living our Ideal, we are fulfilling our purpose. How freeing is it for your purpose to not come from what you do for a living? Edgar Cayce taught how to find your Ideal, and below I have translated his wisdom into finding your purpose.
HOW DO I FIND MY PURPOSE?
Think of someone you respect. They don’t have to be alive, you don’t need to have known them or even met them. The person could be a character in a book or comic strip.Think about why you respect him or her. I think of my sister Gray and her Husband John and how they moved their family for three years from Australia to the USA just to help my parents. I also respect Jesus because he was kind to people that others judged as bad.Make a list of the qualities you respect. The qualities you respect in others are the qualities that resonate with you.These qualities are a part of your purpose. So, in my example, I would see part of my purpose being “Family” and “Kindness.”
Okay, so now that you have your purpose, how can you start living it? Since Ideals and Purpose are aligned, here is what Edgar Cayce recommended to help you implement your Ideals. He said that it’s important to have the right head space or mental qualities to help you live your Ideal in your life. He then recommended making a list of the actual things you can do to put your Ideal in action. So, there are two more steps in living a purpose-filled life.
HOW DO I LIVE MY PURPOSE?
Think of what mental qualities might help you. I need patience when dealing with my Mom and I need mindfulness to remember to be kind.Now make a list of HOW you can put your purpose into your daily life. I daily help my Mom take care of her finances, and I practice being kind to people by finding ways every day to help people feel good about themselves.Do what is on your list, and you are well on your way to fulfilling your purpose!
Some final thoughts about living a life of purpose: It is important to take care of yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep, eat well, have some fun, and don’t take your goal of purpose so seriously. If I am hungry or tired, it will be much harder for me to be kind and if I don’t take time out for fun, I could resent helping Mom.
Use your purpose like the Northern Star to guide your actions and help you know you’re on the right track. Yet, like no sailor ever expects to end up on the Northern Star, purpose is not a goal as much as it is what you strive toward. You won’t always be perfect at your purpose; you will fall short, forget to take care of yourself, and get off course. Let go of expectations to be perfect at fulfilling your purpose. Simply do the best you can. Remember, another trait you most likely respect in others is forgiveness, so practice forgiveness on yourself as you sail forth and live a more purposeful life.