How can anyone have honest, meaningful relationships of any kind with others if they don’t have a real relationship with themselves? You know, like the answer to those questions: Who am I? What do I really want to do with my life?
The question answers itself: You can’t have a deep, true, abiding relationship with others if you don’t have a relationship with your own Heart. Your relationships will take on the characteristics of your own internal relationship. What happens when people can’t reconcile why they are in this world, what purpose they have? Many things can happen, but the most common response has been described by the often-quoted Thoreau: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.” It’s bad enough when folks resign themselves to mediocrity; however, the moment that is accepted, the course of their relationships are set, too: mediocrity. Fortunately, it’s not as dead set as that because we are humans, but the effects of not connecting with one’s Heart affects everything else in life, in one way or another. When we connect with Heart, we set in motion waves of life energy that Ego does not, cannot generate or appreciate. Ego isolates in a variety of ways, some that appear positive, some negative. We don’t have to engage in extensive reasoning to know, then, if we allow Ego to be our primary operating system, we should not expect great relationships. In fact, we pretty much doom ourselves to strings of faulty, unsatisfying, maybe even antagonistic ones. It’s not my purpose here to expose the depths of the negative, so let’s consider another effect of those wonderful waves of life energy. Hearts, being part of eternal Spirit packaged in these mortal bodies, desires connection, connections not only with the totality of our being — body, mind, soul, even ego — but also Heart desires connection with others. I’m not saying anything new here, just laying out these steps in order to help us see the fulness of what it means to know and live Heart, our core Self. And this is Step 7. Identity results when we choose to speak with and connect to Heart, when we realize Heart is the answer to Who am I. But the master plan wasn’t to stop there. No, no. We came packaged with Heart in order to live purposefully. Hearts aren’t happy to just hang out in our bodies. Nope! They want to do something, and that something involves connecting to others in order to work, to accomplish, to achieve. Our life Purpose, Vision, and Mission are meant to put us in relationships that are mutually beneficial, significant, and filled with daily work that produces greatness. When we as individuals gain identity of core Self, immediately we will want to find out how we are supposed to be passing our time in this world, and it will be work that matters, that connects, that helps — us and the Other. I can’t help but bring up my old pal Walt Whitman again. His powerful little poem, “A Noiseless Patient Spider,” portrays this longing for connection. In the poem, the spider has self-identity. It knows damn well it’s a spider. It surveys the environment, and what is the first thing it does? Slings webs: “It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself / Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.” The spider needed to connect. And this is what Walt wants us to see. We know that because in the second stanza, he likens humans to the spider: And you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will need be form’s, till the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul. The poet knows his soul — “O my soul” — and with that knowledge immediately seeks connections, does things, works in order to forge relationships with others, those relationships being based on purposed work. Hearts seek connection through the work resulting from life Purpose. I hope you know the beauty of this Step 7 in my description of the defining, unifying discovery of core Self, our own Heart. These steps plus a few others describe the Grand Unified Theory of Humanity. The choice of Heart — make it. Onward and Upward!
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We all, whether we admit it or not, crave connections. Literature fills volumes with that theme. Poets weave it into their verse.
We long the most for the connection with our own hearts. In fact, Walt Whitman near the end of his life speaks to his Heart, which he calls, “my Fancy” because that term indicates something dear, precious. He realizes how he has lived with that deep, intimate connection, and at first, he thinks maybe that connection won’t be there in death. This is my metaphysical analysis, and I think WW recognized that part of him was Spirit. He says this: “Long have we lived, slept, filter’d, become really blended into one; / Then if we die we die together, (yes, we’ll remain one,) // May-be it is yourself now really ushering me to the true songs, (who knows) / May-be it is you the mortal knob really undoing, turning…” Walt valued the fellowship of his Heart so much he needed to assure himself in those final times they were one, that Heart was his true essence. And this is what my Step 6 is all about, the realization of not that initial awakening experience, that epiphany, but rather it is about developing the trusting, sharing, constant relationship of a day by day fellowship. This connection runs deep — experiential, best friend through everything, make a call and never goes to voicemail, text and answer instantly, never a second delay deep. I know. I live it every day. Does it mean I have everything I want? Does it mean I don’t have tough days? Does it mean I’m never down? No, but it does mean I have a part of me who is distinct from Ego and answers instantly. It’s ironic, though, that Ego still has its sway at times, like the guy who calls himself a friend but always gets you in trouble. Some might think that’s fun, but in real life matters, not so much. It’s not like Heart doesn’t laugh and have the most fun, but folks who won’t face themselves delude themselves because they won’t respond to their own Heart. Even knowing this, Ego is still part of our total being, and the old ego circuitry occasionally is opened when we toggle to it by neglecting to call on Heart. It’s like the bad friend is going to be always hanging out on the fringes, but the good friend will respond instantly if called, sending old Ego packing. I have experienced this time and again, yet I still find it miraculous. When I came to the point of true awakening, it was joyful. It was like I became energized in every cell of my body. And it was like that because I had a new super-power energy of Heart coursing through my mind and soul. It became my primary operating system, my main way of processing and filtering life. This connection allowed unhindered flow of sincere Fellowship with my Heart. It created an energy field full of purpose, significance, and love — and fun. Every day I want to discover greater depths of connection with my own Heart, which connects me to the Spirit, true unity, oneness of peace and in peace. This is Step 6. And my encouragement, my desire, and my purpose in this is to simply tell you it’s all there, available every day for you, and all you have to do is ask, because Heart will, as Walt said, be “ushering [us] to the true songs…,” songs of the richness of the energies of life. Blessings! Tonight’s entry will be short and sweet, I hope! Even though I’ve had a weird kind of day — my Morning Pages became an Evening Page! — I am making sure I’m doing this.
Why not just skip it if I’m having a less than stellar day? Who cares? Maybe twenty or so people who respond to any given post. Why? Because I need to manifest core Self and because that is why I came with a core Self, I co-created with that Self and Spirit a purpose of making Self known as a discoverer, one involved in a drive to discover, to seek, to know. It fit. It worked for my mind, soul, and Heart. When I had considered that, spoken with my Heart about it, I envisioned my discoveries, the process, the journey, the truths being shared through writing, primarily, and elements embodied in that process and outgrowths of it. They are works I enjoy, too, including speaking, teaching, and working with individuals to help them in their process of discovery. And that leads to my mission, which I shared last night, a statement that pulls all of these steps together, including Self-identity, Purpose, and Vision. My mission contains a statement of who I am, what characterizes my work, and how I want that characterization to be manifested. Step 5 tonight is, as they say, where the rubber meets the road: Goals. This is where we lay out a road map to make it all work. It’s where I list jobs, tasks, and give myself assignments. This is the how of making the mission work. Many schemes exist for laying out goals. If you don’t have one, check some out. For me, I make it simple: short-, medium-, and long-term goals. And each one has actions, things I need to get up and do every single day. And the awesomely, cool, groovy, wonderful aspect of all this is that when I get up in the morning, I want to get going on my work for the day. I analogize this all to Heart being like that golden thread, and when you keep it running through the material of your life, it keeps things tight, real, focused, and blessed. And it’s that daily work that tightens it up. If it’s Heart-centered, life becomes dynamic, significant, and full of wonderful work, relationships, and joy. So, I write sometimes when other things aren’t going well, when I am not geared up for it, or when I have other things I could be doing because I have a desire and drive to do it. And I am not some great writer. I know I see mistakes when I go back and read some of these posts. In the past when I allowed more Ego control, I would have probably done one of these posts a month and it would have been flawless. That’s just not going to help me accomplish my mission. I have my work laid out, and this is part of it. Of course, my hope is my work means something to you, to others. I hope maybe it gives you opportunity to engage in discovery for yourselves. I’ll keep writing. It’s on my list! I love to discover; I love to help others discover. Discovery of core Self, life Purpose, Vision, and Mission marshals intellect, insight, and creativity. This sort of discovery answers those big life questions: Who am I? Why am I here? We gain a sense of significance, unity, and love. And much more. Through my writing, speaking, and workshops, I help others discover along with me.
This is my mission statement, which I tweak occasionally. Why do I share this here? The last two nights I wrote about the three crucial experiences of discovery of core Self, life Purpose, and Vision. Now, it is time to consider the Mission. My mission reveals the character of core Self and the expression of core Self as Discovery. My vision is to express Self through communication, especially as a writer. My mission rolls all of this together — an overall statement of who I am, why I am here, and what I’m going to do to make Self known through writing. As I have said before, no rights or wrongs are implied, nor is any particular order. These steps provide a framework to help us in our thinking about how we want our Heart-energized, Heart-centered, Heart-operated life to take form. Our mission clearly characterizes our vision. How do we want Self to be known? What will you do? How will you relate to others as your vision is realized? What might be hopes for expected results of carrying out the mission? How could someone describe us from our mission statement? Any number of related questions could help us formulate our mission statement. Mission statements can help us clarify exactly what it is we want. They don’t need to be published; they can just be for us. However, if our passion, which I will deal with tomorrow, carries us forward, often we would want a more formal statement because it could be the basis of a career or entrepreneurial business. However or wherever we record it, the clarity of the mission statement engages the magic of the law of attraction. Mission becomes our focus, and clear, concentrated focus attracts the vibrational matches of the energies of life. Spirit responds to that little part of itself in us, that core Self, and miracles multiply. Work, however, needs to be done. And it’s really ineffective to just wing it. We will take a look at that tomorrow. Blessings in crystallizing that marvelous essence of You! Make yourSelf a Mission! And the responses and protests continue to grow as a result of Tuesday’s presidential election. It all certainly has a different feel than anything I have experienced in the past. A multitude of personal responses exist for us to engage in.
I think about the hurt and sense of loss on one side, the pride of winning on the other, and bad behavior by some on both. I know that whether we deeply care about the outcome of that day or whether we have continued on as if nothing is different, ultimately, every one of us will come to the same place. We will wonder about who we are and why we are here. Times like this present opportunity to ask these questions. When major societal disruptions occur, at some level we must think about our relationship to the whole, to others, and to the issues. This is why I shared two steps last night to help consider these questions. The truth is I have ten more steps, more or less. I am working on an ebook that evolved from these posts and my novel. I’m writing it because even though I share my personal truth in fictional expression in a novel, I have lived it. I believe it is helpful; I believe it is encouraging and positive; I believe that in a very real sense it answers the most basic wonderings we entertain. Last night, I described Step 1 as discovering core Self, that essence of eternal Spirit in each of us, Heart, that answers to the question Who am I. Yes, I have tools to help people do that, and I know every one of us can. Some don’t persist or follow-up to continue the process of discovery; others know who they are and choose to reject Heart and operate according to Ego. Heart is who we truly are. Step 2 results as a natural progression. When we know core Self, we need some way to express that Self to the world. Heart desires this, exists for this, needs this. Why? It is simply because Heart is a parcel of Spirit, then it desires relationship and unity with the whole Universe. Then Step 2 becomes the answer to Why am I here. This answer becomes life Purpose; it becomes the defining nature and character of us, personally. It becomes the backdrop, the field, of our personal truth. We co-create it with Spirit, our Heart naturally being our mediator with Spirit since it’s the expression of Spirit personalized in us. Step 3 results from this determination and co-creation, and it is crafting our Vision. Vision involves painting the big picture of what we want our Purpose to look like in this world. For me, my life Purpose is built around discovery, my personal discovery and my desire to help others discover. My Vision is to express my Purpose through writing, communicating. It could be done in hundreds of ways, I suppose, but this is just as personal and unique as the other steps. Again, there are creative, useful, fun ways to travel on this journey of discovery, and I hope at some point to share these with you. Also, this isn’t some lockstep program. It’s spiritual realities that can happen different ways at different times for each of us. Enjoy it — no rights or wrongs here, even if you choose to just keep plodding along without any thoughts of any of this. And they are all fun. They produce the realities of life: identity, purpose, and self-expression. I think, along with other steps I will share, this is a time we need these basic elements of why we came to this scene. While simple, I hope this is encouraging. More to come. Blessings! |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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