(See the blog on Purpose – Personality)
Buckminster Fuller spoke about our limited understanding of our purpose, comparing us to honey bees. A bee’s purpose is to go from flower to flower gathering nectar and pollen. They return this to their hive, where fellow drone bees convert it to honey / food for the colony.That is their apparent purpose.
However, while doing this purpose, their hairy legs gather pollen which spreads from flower to flower, cross pollinating.This is necessary for 80% of plants to reproduce. In the area of edible crops alone, we rely on pollination for 1/3 of the food we eat. That is what I consider the larger purpose or global purpose or perhaps spiritual / soul purpose.
Viktor Frankl’s professional purpose, as a psychiatrist, was to complete a book he had begun. I doubt he thought that writing Man’s Search for Meaning was a soul purpose – to globally cross-pollinate concepts of purpose and meaning and longevity
I was fortunate to learn about spiritual / soul purpose decades ago at a Discover Your Soul’s Purpose workshop with Mark Thurston – based on Edgar Cayce ARE principles (Association for Research and Enlightenment). Mark was a soft spoken, monotone speaker, and over100 attendees were crammed into a poorly air-conditioned ballroom with uncomfortable chairs (no tables). Disappointed and frustrated, I fully intended to slip out at the first break. But by the end of the opening hour, I was hooked. It turned out to be one of the most revealing experiences of my life.
Mark’s workshop structure was impeccable. Each hour was divided into 3 fifteen minute segments.
Segment 1 – Mark lectured
Segment 2 – we met in small groups (3-5) for an experiential application
of the lecture material
Segment 3 – we journaled in silence
Break. Repeat.
I tried to join a group of women, but they declined, and I ended up with two “leftover” men – a postal worker and plumber. And we blended into a magical trio!
The last segment of the day presented soul purpose as a sacred way of being – and we were tasked with discovering our purpose and translating it into a single word we were to embody: love, joy, grace, compassion, beauty, harmony, light, devotion, truth. wisdom…
In our small group, we were to focus on one person at a time, who remained in a silent receptive mode, while the other two suggested a soul purpose word for them.Totally flummoxed by what my word could be, I asked to go last. When my guys described what they saw in me, I could barely refrain from arguing. When they persisted, I cried. And I have been trying to honor their knowing by growing into their pronouncement ever since. I AM JOY.
I stayed late to thank Mark and give him positive feedback on his approach and technique. My “guys” joined in and told him I should be a teacher, and again I was TOTALLY resistant. After much discussion, Mark gave me his materials to teach the workshop myself, despite my protests I wasn’t capable!
Though I never taught the full day workshop, I did create short presentations with exercises to start others on the journey.
For instance, you can identify your “human / personality” purpose and transform it into a spiritual purpose. Revisiting Frankl’s approach in the Purpose – Personality blog, the prisoners human purposes could become spiritual purposes if reframed:
(1) the completion of tasks: I AM DIVINE RIGHT ACTION or I AM ALIGNMENT or I AM CONGRUENCE
(2) caring for another person: I AM LOVE or I AM COMPASSION or I AM SERVICE
(3) finding meaning by facing suffering with dignity: I AM DIGNITY
APPLY:
Use the results from your Peak Experience exercise to identify your spiritual / soul purpose.
* Recall how you felt during the peak experiences, and align that with a sacred word. Perhaps when you cook for others, you feel a sense of community or serving or oneness. Perhaps when you coach or mentor others, you feel satisfaction and fulfillment
* Align the feelings with a sacred / spiritual word
* Be aware this can be an ongoing process, and you may continue to refine
and transform your word
For instance, when I first did this exercise, my peak experiences were around adventure. I identified my purpose to be “adventure” – newness, freedom, discovery, creativity, innovation. I integrated these into my life – personally and professionally. My prioritized personality purposes are: Freedom, Independence, Creativity and Associations. I call it my FICA score.
Years later, when I was continuing to explore my I AM JOY purpose, I realized the emotions I felt with my adventure experiences were freedom and joy. My spiritual purpose is JOY – EXPERIENCE JOY – SHARE JOY – BE JOY…
When we are living our purpose, certain elements are usually present. I created this checklist for myself and my workshop participants to analyze careers, relationships, travels, projects, situations, locations, homes…
APPLY:
* Identify an element to analyze for living your spiritual / soul purpose
* Ask yourself how many of these statements are true of it:
It expands my awareness / understanding
It expands me / my higher qualities
It brings a sense of curiosity / wonder / awe
It contributes to others / the highest good
It makes me feel close to Spirit
At one of my Sedona spiritual retreats, a high level computer “geek / nerd” came with his partner. It was a birthday gift intended to open him up to a more spiritual perspective. He was a total novice to all things woo-woo and sponged up everything I presented in workshop form and experientially at the power spots. At the close of the retreat, completing a segment on spiritual purpose, I had him run this checklist on his career and relationship. BOTH areas got checked YES for ALL FIVE statements. Clearly, you do not have to be a life-long student of spiritual studies to live your purpose!
Go Forth and Enjoying BEING!
Discovering Your Soul’s Purpose, Mark Thurston, ARE, 1984.
