How do I Fulfill My Purpose in Life?
Unlock Creative Power by Knowing Who You Are
We are all waves on the ocean. When we leave the surface of our conscious thoughts and dive deep into the depths of our consciousness we can see that we are all connected, we are all part of the ONE ocean. This ocean has been called by many names: the universe, energy, God, I AM, existence, consciousness and many more. In the analogy of the ocean, the wave is only aware of being on the surface and feels like a separate individual. It does not realize that its true identity is connected to and one with the entire ocean. This secret remains hidden to the wave and it also remains hidden deep within the soul of humankind.
In our day-to-day lives, we experience ourselves as a wave, usually feeling separate from the ocean. We have the blessing of feeling our individuality and sharing our unique gifts with the world, but if we truly want to unlock our full potential, we must realize our connection with the source of all creation. The secret is to understand that the foundation of creativity and the source of real power is not the wave, but the ocean itself.
Inspiration Flows “Through” us, not “From” us
The greatest power always comes through us, not from us. This means that if we rely solely on our intellect, on knowledge derived from past experience and our “small” mind (think of the small mind as our day-to-day waking consciousness) then we are limited. However, when we understand that in deeper states of awareness we have access to the unlimited knowledge and power of the entire ocean of existence, then we become truly free to express and to create.
All great artists and thinkers will tell you that inspiration feels as though you are an instrument of creative energy, not the source of it. Beethoven was quoted saying that he was not the composer of the music, but rather that God was the composer and he was simply taking dictation of “God’s thoughts” and putting them down in music. In other words, Beethoven was the wave – God was the ocean.
Our Very Nature is to Create
We are born into this world with dreams and desires. Our minds are designed to distribute the universal energy of consciousness and imagination. Consciousness is both the creator and the substance of creation. Just like in a dream, the consciousness is both the one imagining the dream and the substance of that imagination. The “substance of creation” or universal energy is often explained by analogy and referred to as “the waters of life” in creation stories, myths and sacred texts from around the world – the universe is created out of water. What does this mean?
Water Takes the Shape of its Container and Thoughts Take the Form of Images Held in the Mind
When we look at the analogy of water we understand that the mind is the limiting factor – it is the container and the distributor of our thoughts. Just as water takes the shape of whatever container it is put in to, so the the energy of creation takes the shape of the images that our minds hold. To hold an image, is to limit the infinite – creation is actually a form of limitation. You take the indefinable (the infinite potential that is simultaneously everything and nothing) and you define it – you limit it to a form in space and time… this is the act of creation.
The Law of Conservation of Energy
Science tells us that nothing can ever be created or destroyed, it can only change form – this is the law of conservation of energy. Science has also shown us that matter is energy (E=mc2). We humans are like the waves on the ocean. The ocean is the infinite potential of all consciousness and energy, while the wave is the manifested form of that energy – in all its magnificent and infinite variety. Just look at nature; the Creator was exquisite in Her divine expression of billions upon billions of shapes, colours, sizes and expressions of life. Not only that, but the substance of creation is the Creator Herself.
The universe is made out of the energy of consciousness. And further to that, the Creator placed Her own consciousness into Her creation. That is why we have the ability to think and dream and imagine. Our ability to think and imagine is a reflection of the Great Spirit’s creative power. That is the esoteric meaning of the phrase “Made in the image and likeness of God” – it means that our thoughts create and we are sparks of the same eternal sun that is projecting the universe into existence at every moment.
Imagination is the Secret That is Easily Overlooked
We are often taught that imagination is merely some sort of childish faculty, a fantasy world that should be ignored in favour of more rational pursuits. The truth is, however, that as we cultivate a spiritual practice, we come to realize that all thought creates and that as thinking and imagining beings, we are co-creators with the divine. We take part in the shaping and expression of creation. If you find it difficult to accept that you can create with your imagination, at the very least, you can’t deny that your thoughts shape your choices and actions and those in turn will shape your life and alter your circumstances.
Let’s look at the word “circumstance” – when we break it down, where does it come from? My teacher, Tulshi Sen uses the circle as an analogy to explain how thought and manifestation are related. Thought is represented by the center while our circumstances are represented by the circumference. Our circumstances radiate outwards from our centre.
The center is indefinable and dimensionless, while the circumference is measurable, takes form and is defined as our visible reality. Our thoughts originate in the center within us, while the circumference (our circumstances) becomes our manifested outer world.
(To gain a better understanding of this concept, I recommend you read “Ancient Secrets of Success”, by Tulshi Sen, Chapter 10)
Mathematics, Physics, Spirituality and Music All Tell Us That the Universe is Vibration
Entire teachings of scared geometry both in music and mathematics have come from the principle of the centre and circumference. Pythagoras went to India to learn how to “square the circle” and he discovered pi. The circle represents the infinite and the square symbolizes manifested reality. Pi was first defined as 22/7, a number with deep esoteric significance; for example, within Indian music there are 7 main notes and 22 microtones called “strutis”. The ancient Vedas declare “Nadha Brahma”, or “Sound is the Creator.” In other words, all creation in the universe comes out of sound and vibration. From silence comes sound, from the centre radiates the circumference, and from thought the manifested universe appears. When we imagine from our depths, we are “squaring the circle” or defining the infinite… giving form to the formless. Everything comes from thought. When we imagine, we create.
So Why Does This Matter?
It matters because the mind needs to understand its relationship with the Creator in order to let go of fear and doubt. The mind is meant to be a servant of the spirit, not the master and it must learn to trust the spirit. But for most of us, if we cannot control our thoughts, then the mind is like a untrained dog – it is meant to be our best friend, yet if it is not trained it takes us for a walk! It will pull us in all different directions and yank on the leash of fear, doubt and negative visions. However, when we understand our relationship to the universe and know in our hearts, not just with our intellect, that we are one with the source, only then can the mind can truly relax.
The mind wants to help us, but it bases everything on its limited memory. It tries to keep us safe by attempting to predict the future based on past experience. Most of us have pain and trauma in our past, so the mind usually ends up feeling stressed, afraid and fearful. It wants to protect us, but ends up holding visions created by worry and fear.
Worry is Focussing Mental Energy on Something We Don’t Want
Worry is nothing more than a vision of something that we don’t want to happen. When we understand our relationship to the centre, to our own creative power, then stress and fear begin to melt. We then raise our belief level and gain the ability to hold bigger visions and dreams for ourselves. Most of us can only think small… we haven’t learned how to dream big, but why? Because the mind can’t hold an image that it does not believe to be true. When we begin to understand that our creative power is within us, what we believe to be possible also expands and our ability to think and dream bigger increases! This is because we begin to know that we have the power within ourselves to create. That is why it helps to understand the theory. When we know who we are and that our minds hold the images that shape our circumstances, our creative power increases and so does our ability to hold bigger dreams for ourselves.
How Do We Put This Into Practice?
Imagination is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Even if you don’t believe in the power of thought to affect circumstance, try using your imagination more – you will feel a change in yourself. Your stress will begin to disappear. In fact, it is impossible to feel stress in the same moment that you are being creative. Stress and creativity are polar opposites. We begin to feel stressed when we stop creating and when we lose the understanding that we are creative beings with the power to alter our circumstances and experience our hearts desires.
Creativity is the Antidote to Stress
Creativity is the secret to fulfilment and contentment. Something as simple as drawing, colouring or writing in a journal (anything that activates your imagination) can take us closer to ourselves. When we progress further and develop the ability to enter deep within our own consciousness (into the “inner sensorium”), we will experience visions in three dimensions and with complete sensation. This is the stage where we begin to reach the next level of activating our creative selves. From this state we will obliterate stress and be constantly reminded of who we are – creative beings.
The Mind Can’t Differentiate Between Thought and Reality
You have most likely heard about scientific studies that have shown that when scanning the brain of athletes, the brainwaves were exactly the same when an athlete imagined the movements of their sport as when they actually performed it physically. In other words, the brain can’t truly tell the difference between a reality that is “imagined” or experienced with the physical body and its five senses. Like children who play and live in their imaginations, we as adults can choose to return to this state of innocence and trust. That is what the Master meant when he said that we must become like children to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
What Unique Creative Expression Lies Sleeping in Your Heart?
Knowing that thought creates and that you are a wave on the ocean will help you find your authentic self. Without knowing this, you may never give yourself a chance to reach your full potential as a human being. You may not have received encouragement from your family and friends, you may have been taught to “get a real job”, find security and enjoy life on weekends or during two weeks of holidays per year. But there is more to life than security. “Most people tip toe through life, trying to make it safely to death”. We’re all heading to the same place, but how peaceful our soul will rest when we get there will depend on whether or not we find our true soul’s voice in this life and express it fully and fearlessly.
What Do You Want to Say? Who Do You Want to Be?
What is your unique voice? What feelings that live in the depth of your being are you afraid to express, but feel the urge to share? For many of us it is hard to even conceive of holding a grander vision for our lives, dreaming big or believing that we could do something great. If you were secretly brave and believed you were unstoppable, what would you attempt? What desire lies deep within you that you want to experience? What kind of person do you truly wish you could be, if anything were possible… (because it is). It sounds so cliché, I know, but when we start to use a meditation practice or some other way to free our limiting beliefs, we begin to see that what has truly stopped us from achieving great things has been our own thoughts.
Our thoughts may have been programmed in part by our childhood experiences, our circumstances and sometimes by our traumas, but I’m telling you that you have the power right NOW to un-program them. You can expand your ability to think and dream, activate your imagination and live a more limitless life.
It takes some work and you will likely experience doubt, fear, pain and setbacks along the way, but what do you have to lose? Your heart and your soul are craving to come out and fully experience the world, asking you to live deeply into dreams that never seemed possible before today.
Growth is Painful… and Joyful
Sometimes it hurts to grow, but isn’t it worth it to bear the pain of transformation in order to fully become the person that your heart dreams you can be? It’s something to think about… it takes time to undo our past conditioning, it takes constant practice and vigilance, but it is worth it. It is an ongoing practice, something that you are never quite done, because there is ALWAYS room to expand and grow, but that is one of the main purposes of life: to grow, to evolve and to expand your happiness and the happiness of others.
I wish you success on this journey and in future I look forward to sharing the music and meditation techniques that have helped me to overcome some of my own fears and limitations.
....So much of what I have shared here has been inspired by what I have learned from twenty plus years of study with my meditation teacher and mentor, Tulshi Sen. I encourage to check out his book: Ancient Secrets of Success
Dream big ~ Prosad
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“But we missed the point the whole way along, it was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or dance while the music was being played” – Alan Watts