Life On Purpose

It’s been two weeks since our 30 Gratitude Experiment ended.

You remember – our 30-day experiment launched in Alli’s Two Cents dated January 26, 2012 (Sticky Situation)? We agreed to write at least five things we are grateful for each day for the next 30 days and report back our findings. (Yes, I said, “We!” J)

In that post, I boldly proclaimed, “I predict I will report back in 30 days a changed woman – more joyful, more at peace, and more loving.”

I definitely feel all of those things and must admit that this experiment was an eye opener for me that I intend to continue.

I developed a shift in awareness that enabled me to find something be grateful even on the toughest of days as well as a more focused lens in observing miracles and blessings that truly occur all around us and can be a way of life.

It’s all in how we look at it.

So how did you do?

I hope you could feel the shared uplifting energy gratitude brought to me as a result of consciously tuning in to the Divine.

And how’s this for serendipity - little did I know that our Gratitude Experiment would overlap with the commencement of Lent.

Totally unplanned, I assure you, but just so typical of the Universe.

I’m not Catholic so I didn’t grow up practicing the discipline of “giving up” a food or habit in preparation for Easter. But I have developed an appreciation for the ritual of going within to align our perspective with the concept of going through times of growth and development and coming out transformed.  For me, it’s an added bonus that comes with the sense of renewal Easter and springtime brings.

So for this Lenten Season, I’ve decided to up the ante with yet another experiment.

For the past two weeks, I’ve added a morning meditation that includes a reading from Keep a True Lent by Charles Fillmore. And this divinely-inspired proclamation has been the result:

I intend to leave this Lenten Season with a crystal-clear knowing of my purpose. As Oprah puts it, knowing what my life’s work is and exactly how to go about the business of doing it.

I tell ya, you do have to watch what you ask for ‘cause, as God would have it, Rev. Edwene Gaines, a guest speaker at Unity of Washington, DC this past Sunday, laid it out this way:

If I put my intention out there, commit to it 100%, and move in impeccability and integrity, the Universe will conspire on my behalf.

And what I have observed in just this short time is that the more I am willing to commit to my intention, the more support I get.

For instance, I ran across this Facebook post yesterday by writer Chandresh Bhardwaj who responded in this way when asked what our purpose in life is:

“Our purpose is to be joyful in what we do. Our purpose is to live life in pure awareness. We shouldn't be at [the] mercy of other people triggering our emotions every now and then. Remember that none of us are here by accident. We have a very specific purpose to fulfill which only we can do! Instead of going to mentors, coaches, self proclaimed gurus....seek that purpose within yourself.  Meditate more and more...and you shall know it so miraculously why you are here!” (Edited for format)

Like many, I have resisted the practice of meditation as it chafed against my traditional Christian indoctrination as a bit “woo-woo.” But, true to form, the Universe sent yet another message to let me know I’m on the right path:

“Many people, unfortunately, stay away from meditation because they are told that there needs to be a certain qualification to begin the meditation journey. Not surprisingly, [the] rest of their life is spent in a thought of guilt that they are just not eligible to begin the meditation. Is there any eligibility to smile? Is there any pre-requisite to be happy? Definitely not! These conditions are man-made and are created for reasons that have nothing to do with enlightenment. [The] good news is that there is no eligibility to begin the meditation. You can begin at any age, anywhere with any habits you have. Just include meditation with all your activities and you will see everything falling into the right place!” (From Facebook page Break the Norms, edited for format)

I am so grateful (!) for my own spiritual evolution that has helped me develop a sense of openness to who and how God really is and how He / She speaks. Embracing a sense of individual empowerment that can only come from being connected to the Power Source that lies within is particularly poignant for me who specialized in going to mentors, coaches, and other assorted self-proclaimed gurus.

So I’m gonna go to an inner frontier where I‘m learning that other men and women have boldly gone before but I have not – a journey to develop an unwavering sense of assurance and connectedness to God within so that whatever way life unfolds, I will, “know that I know that I know” that God is with me and I cannot fail. I am boldly proclaiming by faith that I will wake up Easter morning (or maybe even before) with a greater sense of peace and clarity, joyfully anticipating what lies ahead with confidence and a plan of action. If I don’t know, I will know how to find out. And if the answer isn’t crystal-clear just yet, I will trust that it is unfolding all according to God’s perfectly-planned timing.

And just in case I get weary on the journey, here’s a bit more inspiration from my friend Nicole Crawford-Tichawonna via her friend Sheila Jackson Hardy:

‎"Never for an instant forget the effort to renew your life, to build yourself anew. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway of life itself. This is not an easy task. Indeed, it may be the most severely challenging struggle there is. For opening the door to your own life is in the end more difficult than opening the door to all the mysteries of the universe." -D. Ikeda

Stay tuned!