Do any of the following statements resonate with you?
- You feel an intense desire to be of assistance and contribute something good to this world
- You feel that planet Earth is not what it was meant to be
- You sometimes feel alien and out of place here because of your values
If you said yes to more than one of the above, you’re probably a lightworker – a soul who has a mandate for spiritual service.
If you’re a lightworker, your purpose will inevitably be some variant on this theme: to serve others; to contribute something good to this world; to raise consciousness. So, the ‘why’ of your purpose is simple.
Where more lightworkers get stuck is in finding the ‘how’ of their purpose. How are you going to contribute and be of service? Where do you go from realizing your purpose to actually putting that purpose into practice?
To identify the ‘How’ of purpose, you first have to understand the nature of purpose.
Purpose is not what you do – it’s what you are
My guides constantly point out to me that we are fulfilling our soul’s purpose just by being here and being who we are. In readings, when I ask about purpose, my guides rarely talk about tasks to complete. Instead, they often give a set of qualities or attributes that you’re here to be. This is not usually a task – it’s something that is entirely natural to you because it’s who you are.
Who we are counts
We underestimate what we can achieve and heal just by being ourselves. Like the proverbial ripples on a lake, every action we take and every word we say has consequences.
A friend recently told me a story. On the anniversary of her daughter’s death, she was visiting her daughter’s grave in the cemetery to put flowers on it. She had parked her car in a spot that was easy to get out of, on a tiny country road, but when she returned to her car, she had been trapped into that space by two other cars, one behind her and one in front of her. Getting out of that space looked impossible. By the time she had eventually got out of the parking spot, she realized that there was no way she could turn round and she had effectively trapped herself in the road. The only way she could turn round was in someone’s drive, which had a locked gate. She was trapped in. She began to panic. The emotions of sadness and grief began to overwhelm her. She was wondering what to do.
Then she saw the occupant of the gated house coming down her drive and opening the gate. My friend got out of her car to thank her and as she did, the stranger gave her a hug and held her for a moment. She began to cry and was overcome with gratitude at the kindness this stranger had shown her.
The woman probably never realized how appreciated her kindness was. But like that woman, without putting a lot of effort into it, we all bring our positive energies to the world every day, whether they are healing, courageous, nurturing, innovative or patient. You impact on people in small ways every day. Purpose is not about ‘what should I do’ but rather ‘who am I and how can I act in a manner that is true to myself?’
We don’t have to think ‘how am I going to do good today?’. As the spiritual teacher Byron Katie says ‘when you see suffering, love moves into action through you’. You do good because it’s in your nature.
Who are you and what are your values?
Ask yourself: what is special about you? What energies do you bring into this world, just by virtue of being you?
Unless you’re lucky and just fall into it, to find your calling, you have to know yourself. Having a calling is about taking what you love to BE in your life and finding the most natural continuation of that which financially remunerates you.
So ask yourself: What do you long to bring to the lives of others? – healing? Nurturing? Supporting? Honesty? Courage? Compassion? Leadership? – This can be a difficult question to answer because it means you have to go inside of yourself and connect with your heart – something many of us aren’t used to doing. Pay attention to how the answer comes when you ask this question as it will surely be your Higher Self (your soul) that communicates with you.
What are you already being in your personal life that you love?
The interesting thing about this is that you are often already expressing, or at least LONGING to express these defining energies, in your personal life. Take a good look at your personal life and listen to your friends and family. What do they really appreciate about you? What do they feel is fundamental to you?
Before I became a healer, I brought the energies of healing into many of my personal relationships. I dated men whom I could help and heal and attracted friends who needed my help. I so wanted to express these energies in my life and that was the only way I had found to do that. In the end, my desire to express these energies was so strong that I attracted a career that was a good fit for channeling my healing energies. But before I could be in the place where I could attract the right career for me, I first had to identify my passion and my talents and see where they were already at work in my life.
Finding your calling does not have to be a fruitless, frustrating task. Even if there isn’t a career that seems like a good fit for you at the moment, don’t despair. Sometimes we have to do a little inner work before we can get there.
To live your purpose even further and get into a place where you can find your perfect career, ask yourself:
1. Who am I really?
2. How can I be more of what I am, in my personal life? Around friends and family? With strangers? How can I most naturally bring what is special about me to the lives of others?
Further clues to your passion
Another way to identify who you love to be is by looking at your previous jobs and the job you’re doing now. Why did you like your jobs in the past? What did they allow you to be and do that made you feel alive?
For example, before I trained in healing, I was a teacher. I loved teaching because it allowed me to impart information and raise consciousness. I loved to help others grow and develop themselves. In fact, that was the only reason I was in teaching!
What if you’ve never had a job that you liked, ever? If you don’t know what your passion is, then you might need to explore a little. Try out some new things – some new hobbies, some new jobs. Notice when you’re enjoying yourself. Think about why. Ask yourself – what is this allowing me to be and do that I love being and doing?
Blocks to finding your calling
Block # 1: When you can’t be yourself and don’t value yourself
If your calling is a mission of being yourself and expressing that which is fundamental about you, it follows that self-acceptance is essential. If on any level you are repressing who you are and not saying yes to yourself, you’re not in a place where you’re seeing that you have value to contribute. You probably won’t see what that value is. It’s impossible to attract your perfect career from that place. Only when you have self-acceptance and self-esteem can you find your calling. Naturally, you aren’t going to attract an outlet that allows you to express more of who you are if you aren’t already being yourself.
But once you align with your authentic self, you begin to attract activities and people who are more aligned with your real self, in personal life, in leisure time, in friendships. This puts you in a very powerful position to attract your dream career.
Block # 2: When you don’t know who you are anymore
Occasionally a person can be so alienated from himself and his values that he has gradually lost that inner compass which tells him what aligns with who he really is and what doesn’t. And so he ends up ignoring his spirit and doing something just because others say he should.
To get back in touch with your purpose, sometimes you have to shed everything we’ve been taught about what you’re here to do and be and get back in touch with yourself and what you really want. Actively cultivate a connection with your Higher self, who knows who you are.
Block # 3: When you’ve been taught that it’s actually impossible to be yourself and get paid for it
Like most people you may have a collection of limiting beliefs that follow the refrain ‘you can’t be your true self, stay true to your values and do what you like doing – it won’t pay the bills’.
Once you understand who you are and what you’re here to be and do, seek a calling that aligns with your passion and gifts and don’t compromise.
So, to summarize, you can begin to attract the right calling when you know who you are, accept and value who you are, and are committed to being that. Attracting your calling is relatively easy to do from a place of self-acceptance and self-esteem. You draw the activities and people towards you which allow you to creatively express yourself. If you’re not in that place of self-acceptance and self-knowledge, aim for that instead right now.
Go on a journey of self-discovery
Ask yourself:
- Who or what is preventing me from being my true self?
- What do I wish I could be?
- What do I and others feel is unique about me?
- What jobs and activities have I enjoyed in the past and why?
- What do I love to do/be in my free time and in my personal life?
- How can I express myself further in small ways, personally and professionally?
- How can I hold true to my values more?
The most important thing to know is this: You are the way you are for a reason. You were born to be you and creatively share yourself with the world.
