Yoda the cat keeps jumping on my lap with his mouse toy as we play fetch and I keep reminding him that it’s Your Life on Purpose work time. But he doesn’t seem to understand, so if you hear a mouse squeaking toy, that’s him saying hello. I just poured a delicious cup of coffee and am thinking of my students who -- about to enter their last year of school- are struggling to find clarity in their life’s direction. Today’s episode is all about finding clarity. Because, let’s face it: we all feel a little lost at some point in time. I know I have before and it’s led to some of my favorite memories. It turns out, however, that this is a good sign. It’s a sign that we are pushing ourselves beyond status quo and hearing what Joseph Campbell calls “The Call to Adventure” or as I like to call it, The Call to Purpose. It’s an inward journey. One that does slay dragons, meets mystical maidens and knights, and takes one far beyond the earlier reaches of adolescent maturity. It’s one’s collective evolution into a higher form of one’s self. A journey that from the observer may look nothing out of the ordinary, but on the inside involves miles of spiritual vagabonding. -------------- Feeling lost sucks. It feels like floating on a life raft in the middle of the ocean of life as you watch a shark fin circle around and around and around. Try these paths the next time you feel a little lost: Writing for the Purpose of Investigation Yes, I’m a bit biased here, but writing is so often overlooked as a vehicle to draw out clarity in one’s life. Why does it work? Because when we sit down to write (like in a journal), we bring to light meaning that has been inside us all the time. Just 5 minutes a day, trust me, with one day setting aside a bit more time to let your mind dance. This is what the Beat Generation writers are so famous for. Writers like Kerouac would hike to the top of a mountain, yell in splendor, then write feverishly in their journal writing down everything and anything that came up from the bottom of their mind. You meet a new part of your self every time you sit down to write. Meditation to Investigate The Senses Like writing, when we sit down to meditate, we grow more confident in the uncomfortable. As the mind races, we pull the mind in with the smooth and steady inhale and exhale and allow muddy water to settle. Just watch the TED talk by Amy Cuddy. Cuddy’s research shows us how when we move the body into postures that display confidence, our hormones shift into actually feeling more confident. Meditation requires confident posture: spine stacked, shoulders gently rolled back, slight lift in the chest bone. Want to try meditation? Take a listen to a few meditations I made at yourlop.com or you can find them on Insight Timer. Living From The Heart The Yoga Sutras call this purusa. It basically means to practice two forms of love: self-love and compassion to others. To live from the heart means to let go of the past and to stop beating oneself up and to send love to what has brought us harm. During a meditation not too long ago, for instance, I couldn’t stop from thinking about the tiny bugs that have brought Lyme Disease into my family and caused my wife (and me by extension) so much grief and torment. I kept imagining the bugs crawling throughout her body and felt carnal anger rise in me. So, instead of ignoring it, I focused on it intensely. I switched from hate to love. What happened surprised me. I immediately saw the Lyme spirochetes as living and breathing organisms just like myself. I began to feel compassion for them. They need a host and require my wife’s body to fuel their life. They don’t mean any harm, but instead are seeking out clarity in their own primitive life. Instead of wishing them dead, I felt love for them because I understood them. I imagined a radiant light and with a newfound appreciation for the spirochetes, I imagined telling the spirochetes that they are no longer welcome. Their harm is no longer welcome. They must move on. Since this meditation, I’ve gained clarity on what Lyme Disease has taught me and my family. It’s deepened my love for my wife, fueled my desire for personal growth, and has brought to the forefront that which is important in my life: love, laughter, and gratitude. Vicarious Learning I’m a sucker for a good memoir. Why? Because unlike a personal development book like the many written by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Joseph Campbell (among others), a good memoir goes deeper into the anecdotes of another person’s human experience. Through learning of another’s struggle or suffering — called dukkha in Sanskrit — we can gain clarity in our own lives. Recently, I picked up the memoir, Brain on Fire, and have just a few pages left to finish it. I’m devouring this story because it relates so much to what I’ve seen my wife go through the past few years. A one-time writer for The New York Post, Susannah Cahalan, went from lexicon extraordinaire to brain-fogged flight risk in the psych ward in a matter of days. After many weeks of ambiguous doctor reports that summed up the hospitals confusion, doctors finally found out that inflammation of the brain caused Cahalan to lose her identity and motor function. Brain fog, lethargy, a roller coaster of emotions — this became the day-to-day for Cahalan. This is not much different from what I’ve watched my wife go through. Reading Cahalan’s story, helps me empathize more with my wife. It helps me find clarity through compassion. Letting Go to Float Call it “Letting Go and Letting God” as Dr. Wayne Dyer used to say or call it Isvarapranidhana as Patanjali did thousands of years ago, it’s the same thing. When we let go and realize that there’s a higher power at play, it’s a bit like learning to swim. When we first try to swim, we flail and exhaust our energy. Eventually, through practice and coaching, we learn how to let go into the buoyancy: we undulate our body efficiently so we can glide through water. As long as we breathe, we float. Thank you for joining me :)
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