Purpose. Dharma. Mission.
What is it that called us to be here at this particular time? Was it nothing more than simply a random sequence of events? Or is there a deeper meaning behind our life? Here is my take on the subject. I'd love to hear yours!
If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? - Dogen Zenji
Part of the way in which the brain works is through a series of classifications. The organs of perception isolate something we are able to perceive through sight, smell, sound, touch, taste or intuition, and then send signals to our brain. Our brain compares these signals to patterns previously recorded, alerting us to the presence or absence of danger. If a signal matches something we know and trust, our bodies remain relaxed. If the signal is something similar in nature to a memory of pain or fear, the amygdala kicks in, our heartbeat and breathing increase, our muscles tense, and we prepare for fight, flight, or freeze mode.
Signals that are not recognized still have familiar patterns in our minds, as the unknown is a recognizable factor. How we handled moment of being in the unknown in the past determines how we approach moments that feel similar in nature in the present. It is not that unknown situations are frightening of themselves. It is our perceptions that determine them to be so. Those who are more comfortable being in unfamiliar situations will tend to lean into the feeling, versus leaning away.
It is natural, then, for our minds to want there to be something perceivable when we think about the reason or purpose for our lives. We want there to be a recognizable pattern that we can associate with the meaning of life. Once we determine what pattern to associate, then it becomes much easier to move through each day. We no longer have the autonomous functions of the mind at work. The amygdala can rest, and we remain calm.
The goal isn't to engage in a process of self-determination, as we would consciously or unconsciously choose a path with the least amount of discomfort. No one willingly chooses pain, even pain applied to oneself (as in self-harm) is not a willing choice. If we allowed our level of comfort to determine our purpose, most of us would stay home. Being in the world brings with it a whole range of emotions that would drain even the most courageous over time. It's not that the world is an unsafe place, it's that the world is filled with nothing but sensory objects waiting to be perceived. Eleven-million sensory bits of input every second. The more our brain works at classifying all of these sensations, the more mentally drained we become. It's just the way the body behaves.
Nonattachment allows full participation in life without trying to control outcomes - Dr. David R. Hawkins
The ultimate goal is to enter a state of nonattachment, untethering ourselves from the machinations of our own minds. Nonattachment, as Ali ibn Abi Talib once said, is not that we should own nothing, but that nothing should own us. This includes our own mental state. Reaching a state of nonattachment frees us from needing each sensory imprint to have meaning. We are able to move through each moment with more fluidity and grace, accepting each moment as it presents itself, rather than seeking to predict what might be coming based on past knowledge and experience.
But what does this all have to do with determining and living out our purpose? Simple. We don't have one. At least, not in the sense that has been popularized. We want to believe that there is a purpose, and we are willing to make up entire systems of belief in order to feel secure in finding this elusive purpose. Yet, as Soren Kierkegaard stated, "What labels me, negates me." In other words, once we determine our purpose, that is how we perceive ourselves, and it is then through that perception that we approach the world.
It is ultimately our choice which label we ascribe to, and how we communicate this choice to the world. It is never that an individual discovers their purpose, as there is none to be discovered. It is always and in all situations a choice between an infinite variety of options. One doesn't discover their purpose, but instead simply accepts the most comfortable choice; the one that 'resonates' the deepest.
Science tells us that our reality is infinite, that not only is our recognizable universe limitless, but that there are an infinite number of alternate realities as well. In such a reality, everything must then exist simply for the fact that all things must exist. If reality is infinite, then everything is possible in some form or another. And, if reality is infinite, then by its very nature it must also already be complete.
Believing we have a purpose means there is something we are here to accomplish or complete, something that can be done by no other means. Yet that belief does not recognize the fact that to believe in such a way negates the ability of our reality to be infinite, and therefore already complete.
This does not mean our lives our meaningless. Rather, it means that we are the ones who get to choose what meaning we want to associate. It is more accurate to say that we reach a point of conclusion about the meaning of our lives rather than to say we discover the purpose for which we were born. We were born for one reason only; the universe is infinite. In an infinite universe all things must exist, and if all things must exist then we must exist as well. It is inevitable that we would have been created.
And if it was inevitable that we would have been created, then there is no single purpose for which that creation took place. In fact, in an infinite reality there must be an infinite number of 'purposes' for which we were created. Finding ours is simply a matter of choosing which one we desire the most. It is our choice what path we follow, how we follow it, and for what reason we follow it. It is our choice what experiences we have, how we have them, and how we respond. It's all choice.
The beautiful thing is life supports this. The moment we make a choice our reality aligns to support that choice. Not at some point down the road, or after we spend time manifesting, or after we earn it, or only after we pray hard enough and long enough, or only if it is meant to be. No, none of these beliefs are true, they're just the popular ways of thinking. The truth is that it is our choice that gets the ball rolling. Choose one thing, and the universe aligns. Choose another and it aligns with that. Choose life to be challenging, and it will be. Choose it to be filled with magic, wonder and adventure, and that is what will be.
Now, in this moment, and in all moments, the Divine creative energies await. What purpose will you choose?