You are here to feel inspired, create joy, and fulfill your soul’s calling. When you experience the things that take your breath away or make your heart sing, you live with passion and purpose. You feel in complete alignment with your soul’s path. Moreover, your full soul-expression is greater than the job you do, the role you play, or how successful you are in the world.
Women, especially, have trouble discerning their soul’s purpose. Because of our relationship-oriented nature, we are often called upon to be healers, nurturers, and caregivers at the cost of ourselves. However, defining ourselves exclusively by our roles as a wife, mother, and/or caregiver, can be limiting and challenge us to question who we really are and what we truly want. In adopting such identities to please or assist others, our soul’s purpose can be hidden, suppressed, even lost.
When you strip away the societal tags and labels, what is left? Who would you be? How would you live? You would exist in an unlimited, omnipresent state of pure being or soul potential. You would shed everything that doesn’t matter and amplify everything that does matter. Above all, you would see the truth of who you are, trust the wisdom of your heart, and express your soul.
Being fully soul-expressed is being purposeful in every moment no matter what you are doing, where you are, or who you are with. In his commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs, the creative visionary and founder of Apple, Inc., succinctly described being purposeful in the moment when he challenged students to ask themselves: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” When your answer to this question is a resounding yes, you know you are listening to the wisdom of your soul and making choices that align with it. If your answer is no, examine your choices and ask yourself why they are not aligned with your soul’s journey.
In Japan, having such purpose is called ikigai, meaning, “the reason you get up in the morning.” Although you may have many ideas about what you “should or have to” do, having a purpose for getting up in the morning can make or break your day. It can be the difference between living a soul-crushing or soul-hearted life. Finding these reasons comes from taking time in solitude to connect with your soul’s wisdom through your heart.
For the past four months, one of the reasons that has motivated me to get up at 4am every morning has been writing my new book, Soul-Hearted Living: A Year of Sacred Reflections and Affirmations for Women (January 2019). Whether it is writing in the wee hours of the morning, walking my dog, coaching my clients, or sharing time with my loved ones, I heed my soul’s calling. Being able to spiritually serve women and light the way for them to have a more fulfilling and authentic life is one of the reasons I feel inspired to get out of bed every morning. It is in alignment with my soul’s calling.
You don’t have to write a book to heed your soul’s calling; yet, you do have to know your soul’s blueprint. Like the architectural plans for building a new house, it gives you the divine plan for why you are here and tells the world who you are. This divine plan guides you to spiritually evolve.
You may feel afraid that if you follow your soul’s calling you will make a mistake, displease someone, or lose what you already have. Out of fear, you may avoid listening to your heart and drift aimlessly through life without a soul compass. You may stay too long in a soul-sucking job or relationship, afraid to venture out of your comfort zone and do makes you feel fully alive.
Your habitual comfort zones, when they suppress your soul expression, might more accurately be called “deadening zones.” They are like the yellow tape outlining a body at a crime scene, keeping all the fear in―and keeping everything else out. In order to express who you truly are, you must step outside the confines of these dead zones and move toward, rather than away from, what you fear. You must follow your heart and soul whatever that looks like for you.
Your soul’s purpose isn’t defined or limited by finding the one reason you are here. On the contrary, it encompasses a multitude of passions that inspire soul-hearted living. Following your heart and living purposefully takes “ab-soul-lute” trust in yourself. Here are four sacred practices to assist you:
- Visualize when you were a little girl and had twenty minutes for recess. The bell would ring, and for twenty precious minutes, time stood still and the universe of possibility opened up to you. What were those expansive dreams? What lit you up? What experiences did you choose? Now become aware of the daily experiences that inspire you, create joy, or make your heart sing. Notice the common elements that run through these experiences and let them guide the choices you make.
- Journal or write down your core values, what you hold dear, the aspects of your life that matter most, and the non-negotiables in your life. These are your soul elements. Ask yourself: Am I channeling most of my time and energies here? If not, what is getting in the way? How can I allocate more time, energy, and attention to these core soul elements? This will require that you set healthy boundaries so that you create more time and energy for these soul-fulfilling experiences.
- You can learn to differentiate the voice of your head (ego) from the voice of your heart (soul) by simply noticing the words or scripts you use to describe your everyday experiences. Notice how you speak to yourself and if your voice is coming from your head or heart. The voice of your heart is loving, all-encompassing, and guides you without judgment. It provides you with an expanded view on your life, is present-oriented, and experiential. It is a gentle whisper that says, “I know” instead of “I think,” “I trust” instead of “I believe,” and “I create” instead of “I wait.” The voice of your head, on the other hand, is often fearful, critical, and judgmental. It provides you with a limited perspective on your life from only the past or future. You are in your head when you hear yourself say: “I should, I have to, I’m afraid to, or I can’t.” You are in your heart when you say: “I trust, I feel, and I sense.”
- Listen to your heart and use the information to make the inspired choices that align with your soul’s journey. Inspired choices are those that call you to soulfully evolve. Ask yourself: “Does this choice align with my soul’s purpose and path? Does this choice support my passion for life? Do I feel valued when I make this choice? Does this choice enhance my life and bring me inner peace? If today were the last day of my life, would I still make the same choice?” Remember, you don’t have make grand gestures, make one small step every day toward fulfilling your soul’s calling.
Dare to be seen, heard, and acknowledged as the soul essence you are. Choose to shine brightly, sparkle brilliantly, and shimmer radiantly so that you feel the light shining in your own heart, and beam it out for all to see. May you find the strength and courage to lead with your heart and let your soul shine through the choices you make in your life.
