Aspects of Purpose. Components of Purpose. Essence

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Aubrey Richards
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Aspects of Purpose Purpose itself is at the root of your being, the very foundation of who you are. It existed before time began and is written in the annals of eternity.

1 Aspects of Purpose Purpose itself is at the root of your being, the very foundation of who you are. It existed before time began and is written in the annals of eternity. It is as much about being as it is about doing being in Christ, abiding, and resting and reveling in His presence inside you. This makes it difficult to comprehend and describe, because our conscious minds (or egos ) perceive our life and the world through doing. Many modern languages describe doing with far greater precision than they describe being. Components of Purpose God knows your purpose and who you re meant to be in life. This God- given purpose does not change in the course of your lifetime, although your understanding, perception, and readiness to act on it will likely change as you age and explore. One of the ways the ego makes sense of the world is to divide things into categories and then make judgments and evaluations about them. Since the search for purpose is ultimately a search by the ego, we can assist it in this process by breaking your purpose into different components or aspects. Think of the aspects as facets of a single jewel. Each shows a different face or dimension of your purpose; taken together, they comprise the whole. Asking about each facet separately will make it easier for your trusted source to describe it and much easier for your ego to understand it. Essence As God s love and divine presence move through you and out into the world, they take on a quality or characteristic that is uniquely yours. We refer to this unique quality of the presence of God, as expressed through you, as your essence. Essence is the most fundamental aspect of purpose. It is the aspect of purpose that is pure being, without doing. You are your purpose, even when you are doing nothing. This component of purpose is almost always unconscious; that is, it is not apparent to you. As you embody this quality of purpose, it radiates from you. Everyone you meet is affected by it, whether they are aware of it or not. The energy of your essence emanates from you in every moment as long as you are alive. Its impact is subtle, pervasive, and constant. Think of essence like this: imagine yourself walking around in a vast field, in the dark. Other people are wandering around in the field, too. It is not completely dark; each

2 person is giving off a soft glow, shining his or her light on those nearby. There are subtle differences between the lights: each is a different color, and no two are exactly alike. This subtle light is essence. This metaphor also explains why it is so difficult for you to know and see your own essence, and how easy it is for others to discern it. Imagine a person born with a bright red light bulb on the top of her head, shining all the time. Picture her walking into a room full of people: one of the people comments, wow, it just got red in here! And you say... What s red? Since everything she has ever seen has been under a bright red light, she doesn t even know what red looks like. She has no contrast by which to understand and describe red. But the other people do, because they can see the difference between when she is present and when she is not. Essence operates just this way. When you arrive, so does your essence, and everyone around you is immediately affected by it, whether they are aware of it or not. You, however, are the person least likely to be able to identify it. It has been with you since the moment you were born, and you don t know what it s like not to be surrounded by it. What does essence sound like in practice? People often use images, feeling words, or concepts to describe their essence, since most languages are not very good at describing being states. An image might sound like, You are a calm, deep pool of warm water or You are a lighthouse with a blazing, white light. Your trusted source might use words like love, joy, and compassion when describing your essence. Later in the True Purpose process, you will see what purpose statements based on essence sound like. Knowing your essence allows you to amplify its effect on others. Your behavior, circumstances, and psychological state can either impede or enhance the power and impact of your essence. Knowing it, you can place yourself in situations where the effect you have is most needed. And you can make your life more fulfilling by choosing activities (doing) that are more consistent with your essence (being). Blessing Blessing is the transformation you bestow on others. It is the process you do to people when you are doing your purpose. When you bless people, they are changed by it. It accomplishes something that pleases God, furthering His desires to touch others at their point of need.

3 This process is everywhere in your life: you have done it in some form in every job you ever held and in every significant relationship you have ever had. You have been doing it since you were very young. When you are most successful and most fulfilled, you are doing your blessing. Like your essence, your blessing is usually unconscious. You are doing it all the time without realizing it. The work of finding your purpose is to make this process conscious. What does a blessing sound like? Your trusted source may use poetic, metaphorical language to describe the transformation you bring: You polish souls until they shine. It may also describe it in simple, clear terms: Heal men s broken hearts. Here are some other examples: Heal the ache of those who are meant to change the world. Turn scarcity into abundance. Show people the Way. Transform hate into love. Notice that each of these describes an activity, a process. This process takes people in a certain state and changes them until they are in a different state. Like other processes, it has steps (though they may not be apparent at first) and can be done over and over again. Understanding the transformational process God has designed you to do will open up a new world for you! Your blessing is the key to finding the right job or career. Knowing your purpose does not mean that you are locked into a single career. But knowing your blessing will help you understand which careers are the best choices for you. For example, a woman with a blessing of motivating downtrodden people will likely feel unfulfilled as a corporate audit accountant, but fulfilled as a neighborhood activist, a city councilperson, a social worker, or writing a column in the local paper. Mission A mission is just what it sounds like: a specific task that needs to be performed. Remember the classic TV show, Mission: Impossible (and the more recent Tom Cruise movies). Good morning, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to Just as in the TV show, your mission is an instruction that is given to you. And just like in the TV show, you can accept it or decline it.

4 A mission specifies the change that God desires you to create in the world. As we ll see later, in the course of finding your purpose you may be given many instructions. Your mission is the highest level instruction you ve been given by your trusted source so far. Here is what missions typically sound like: Transform business from an ego- driven to a purpose- driven activity. Heal the ache of the world. Create Heaven on Earth. Bring peace to the Middle East. Often, fulfilling your mission asks you to achieve some sweeping goal, far larger than you can imagine achieving in your lifetime. Mother Theresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Billy Graham are some of the better- known people of our time who have had missions. Their choice to pursue their respective missions affected hundreds of millions of lives. In each case the task was specific and formed the basis of their life s work. Not all missions are so public or so sweeping in scope. Your trusted source may instruct you to transform your neighborhood or your family. Until it gives you an instruction of greater scope, this is your mission! Here s how to tell a mission from a blessing: While your blessing is something that you do over and over again, a mission is something you do once. Once it is done, it is done. This is true whether you can imagine ever achieving it or not. For example, bringing peace to the entire planet, though it may seem impossible, is still a discrete task with a specific endpoint. Once the entire world is at peace, the task is complete! Because your mission usually seems impossible at the outset, trusted sources are often reluctant to reveal it. If your mission is disclosed prematurely, your ego could shut down progress towards your purpose out of fear. Who am I to pursue such a mission? What will people think of me? These concerns are healthy and normal, and a person usually must deal with them before the mission can be revealed. It may take some time before your trusted source discloses your mission, and there may be specific conditions that must be met before details are shared about this.

5 Message Your message is the wisdom you bring to the world wisdom you have been given in order to share it with others. It is something you transmit, something that passes from you to them. It is the deepest truth you can share. For most, the message is the scariest aspect of purpose and usually the last to be revealed. People have mixed feelings about having a message: they both desire the impact that a message provides and fear the responsibility that such a task demands. Unlike the other aspects of purpose, it usually doesn t work to sum up your message in a single sentence. Write and speak about it at length instead! Here are some examples of messages (summarized briefly): Hate, fear, and anger can be transformed into positive emotions like love, compassion, and forgiveness. This is the path to freedom. The institutions of our society are based on fear, greed, scarcity, and lose- lose thinking. We must replace these institutions with ones based on compassion, love, abundance, and win- win thinking. Each of us is created to serve others and glorify Our Father in Heaven. We have a vacuum in our life a hole in our heart that only Jesus can fill. As we understand our need for Him, our connection to Him, and His love for us, we will be filled with joy. Your message is meant for a particular group specific people who need to receive it. The transmission often employs words, as well as emotion and other non- verbal forms of communication. The act of delivering your message transforms you and those who receive it from you. Some are meant to share their message with those they know and love; others are meant to share it more broadly. Some people are instructed to share their message on a wide scale as part of their mission; we call such people messengers. Messengers are usually drawn to writing, public speaking, teaching, and leadership. They are called to the spotlight, usually long before they know what their message is. Everyone has an essence, a blessing, a mission, and a message, though very few know all four of these consciously. Don t be discouraged if your trusted source doesn t disclose all four immediately; this is normal. Work with what you have and more will be revealed!

We Are Consciousness Itself

1 2 We Are Consciousness Itself * * * Adi Da Samraj Published by the Dawn Horse Press text and images 2013 ASA Brush Painting on cover by Adi Da Samraj 2008 3 Science says we are the body. Psychology says