This is often the most challenging part of the entire process…getting clarity about what it is that you want. It’s an ever-changing thing. But at the core, we all want what we want because we think it will make us feel better — to BE HAPPY! So that feeling is a great place to start your thinking. And if you’re not feeling happy and healthy at this moment, perhaps you’re experiencing “divine discontent.” Here’s some food for thought from Carl Jung, famous modern psychiatrist:
“I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life – that is to say, over 35 – there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a spiritual outlook on life. It is safe to say that every one of them fell ill because he had lost that which the living religions of every age have given their followers, and none of them has really been healed who did not regain his spiritual outlook.”
–Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul
Who are you?
It may be helpful to take some time to consider your spiritual outlook, as Jung suggests, before moving ahead with this exercise. The ever-present question in the human psyche seems to be: “Who am I and why am I here?”
Carl Jung himself came to find self-knowledge and wisdom in the ancient Chinese I Ching (Book of Changes). He wrote a foreword to an edition of the Richard Wilhelm/Cary Baynes translation of The I Ching in which he says:
“Like a part of nature, it waits until it is discovered. It offers neither facts nor power, but for lovers of self-knowledge, of wisdom–if there be such–it seems to be the right book.”
In The I Ching, Source can be described as the deep, inexhaustible, divinely-centered source of nourishment and meaning for humanity. Penetrating to the Source can be seen as a major theme in Chinese philosophy, according to R. L. Wing in The I Ching Workbook.
“Although people may journey from spiritual discipline to political discipline, explore various philosophies and scholarly pursuits…they must return to the Source of their true nature for fulfillment.”
–R. L. Wing, The I Ching Workbook
More recently, Abraham-Hicks provided this commentary on the power of connecting to one’s Source Energy:
Many have found it useful to go back to the beginning of humanity, to the creation story. There are similar creation stories from diverse cultures and times around the earth. You may be familiar with one particular version of the story from your upbringing, or your own search for life’s purpose and meaning.
One of my favorite descriptions of our soul’s creation, purpose, and life path comes from the Edgar Cayce readings. The Cayce readings and other parallel sources I’ve explored, have inspired me to think of myself and all of us as “bigger” and more glorious than I had ever imagined before. It helped me set aside any feelings of guilt about self-aggrandizement, and humbly accept and appreciate my true divine nature. There is a beautiful and concise explanation of the story in the Philosophy chapter, toward the end of the wonderful book about Edgar Cayce’s life by Thomas Sugrue, The Story of Edgar Cayce – There is a River. Sugrue was a close friend of the Cayce family, and met with Edgar Cayce about the writing of this book until nearly the last day of Cayce’s life. Here is an enticing excerpt that I hope will inspire you to read the rest of the story:
“The system of metaphysical thought which emerges from the readings of Edgar Cayce is a Christianized version of the mystery religions of ancient Egypt, Chaldea, Persia, India, and Greece. It fits the figure of Christ [as the Christ Consciousness throughout the ages and many incarnations] into the tradition of one God for all people, and places Him in His proper place, at the apex of the philosophical structure; he is the capstone of the pyramid. …The mysteries were concerned with man’s problem of freeing his soul from the world. …Man demands a beginning and a boundary, so in the beginning there was a sea of spirit, and it filled all space. It was static, content, aware of itself, a giant resting on the bosom of its thought, contemplating that which it was. Then it moved. It withdrew into itself, until all space was empty, and that which had filled it was shining from its center, a restless, seething mind. This was the individuality of the spirit, this was what it discovered itself to be when it awakened. This was God. God desired to express Himself, and He desired companionship. Therefore, He projected from Himself the cosmos and souls.”
–Thomas Sugrue, The Story of Edgar Cayce — There is a River
I realize not everyone is an avid reader, as I am. So, John van Auken, an outstanding expert and teacher from the A.R.E. (Edgar Cayce’s organization in Virginia Beach) does a wonderful job telling this awesome story in this video:
Another perspective on our star-born creation and soul’s divine nature comes from the Kryon material, channeled by Lee Carroll, which includes information about our special human DNA and the spiritual nature of quantum physics, for the science-minded (like myself):
What is your ideal of success?
Now that you’ve given some thought to who you really are, you are in a better position to consider your ideal. What is your definition of ‘success’? One of my favorites is:
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
A short and concise statement of another definition of success:
“Make the world a better place because you have lived in it.”
—Edgar Cayce, American Mystic, 1877 – 1945
Transform your dreams into reality
“Dreams come true when desire transforms them into concrete action. Ask life for great gifts and you encourage life to deliver them to you.”
Set aside 20 minutes or so of quiet, private time. Get a brand-spankin’ new spiral notebook for this course so you can record all your thoughts and musings. Buy some colored pens or markers so you can decorate it and highlight important points. Label the first page:
What do you want and why do you want it?
For each area of your life, ponder what you want. You might make columns for each area, such as “Work & Finances”, “Relationships”, “Home”, “Body & Health”, and “Spiritual Development”. Then start recording the answers to these questions for each area of your life–
Ask yourself: “What do I want?”
Your answer might be something like this:
- I want to make a lot of money.
- I want a knock-my-socks off relationship.
- I want a gorgeous house on the water.
- I want a brand-new sports car.
- I want to be an uplifting person.
- I want to enjoy my work and my co-workers.
You may have many things that you want. In fact, I sure hope you do!
For each one, keep asking yourself, “Why do I want that?” until you can’t dig any further for more answers.
For example, “I want a knock-my-socks off relationship.” Why? “I want someone to have fun with, share intimacy, travel with, have sparkling conversation, challenge my thinking, appreciate and understand me, accept me just the way I am, share family events, enjoy mutual friends.”
Next, for each item in your list, briefly describe what it will look and feel like when you achieve that goal or ideal.
For example, “I feel happy, warm, loved and accepted for who I am. I want to be with this person as much as possible, and the feeling is mutual. There is a sense of ease and comfortable intimacy where I feel safe to share whatever I’m thinking and feeling, and to be myself.” Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine the feeling. Revel in it for awhile.
Change Your Life for Good - CYL4G 