Lesson 44 – Being In The World But Not Of It
“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.”
GAUTAMA BUDDHA
FINDING YOUR SOUL’S PURPOSE AMID CHAOTIC CHANGE
Finding your purpose in the midst of chaotic and ever-increasing change is becoming increasingly important. When values, beliefs, and events are in a constant state of flux, a need surfaces within us to find a place where we can anchor ourselves to something solid—a dependable point of reference that gives us a foundation, a safe harbor wherein we can weather the winds of change.
Today, we are finding that nothing seems to be specific. We can no longer depend on working for just one employer or in just one career – the odds are now against it since anyone could be laid off at any time or, if self-employed, could lose their market share or position almost overnight. We can’t even depend on marrying one spouse and staying with them over one lifetime – the statistics here also show that the odds make it a tricky proposition.
Change! Unceasing, ever-increasing, it descends upon us faster than our awareness to realize its presence. And then, before we know it, some significant part of our life gets swallowed up and is never the same again (the exterior play of an ancient predator that swallows us alive).
There has never been a time so diverse and filled with rapid change. An anchor, a secure place to tie our life, is something that we are all looking for, even if we can’t consciously admit it. A place where our lives take on meaning even if meaning appears to be lost all around us.
As we explore the realm of possibilities, trying to find this permanent point of reference that we so desperately need, we eventually realize that there is nothing more assuring than knowing what we are here to do—our individual purpose in being alive.
With all of the uncertainty in our outer world, we are forced to look within for the possibility of finding a unique reason for our being here. We begin to search for the true purpose of our soul’s existence, and in the process, we hope that one does exist.
RESOLVING AN ANCIENT DILEMMA
As we decide to take a first step toward discovering our soul’s purpose, we find that several new questions appear that have to be answered before we can continue onward:
1. What is the cosmic scheme that created humankind on earth?
2. What makes my life different from that of everyone else?
3. How do I connect to my “internal voice of wisdom” and fulfill my Soul’s Purpose, the Path that I came here to follow?
As you consider the answers to these questions, you might find a contradiction hidden deep within yourself.
On the one hand, each of us needs to feel that we are part of a greater purpose that we share with all others. We desire that our own soul’s purpose relates to the common purpose of all humanity.
Yet, on the other hand, we don’t want to get lost in the crowd. None of us wants to feel that he or she has a role lesser than anyone else or that our own lives are insignificant in any way.
Due to this contradictory part of our human nature, we suddenly find ourselves facing a painful problem. We want to be part of the whole and at the same time want to be separate. While separate, however, we find ourselves moving away from the whole.
Why do we universally find ourselves in this position? If there is a purpose that we are to fulfill from the level of our soul, how do we resolve this conflict and bring harmony and balance back into our lives rather than more and more tension?
THE OUTER WORLD
In the outer world, most individuals have already separated from the whole, resulting in global imbalance and discord.
With society’s current direction, individual expression of the separatist approach to life is now becoming a standard approach for the majority of our population. One person’s thoughts can now almost immediately have a global impact on the minds of others through the electronic and communication tools of our current information age. Yet, personal accountability has not been required in how these tools are used.
Because of this lack of accountability and the relaxing of our central value systems, our morals have loosened, while communication networks consistently allow a greater degree of amoral thought to penetrate the confines of our personal spaces. Our children are viewing situations, listening to language, and witnessing violence that just a few years ago would have been totally unacceptable by our society.
We are all becoming desensitized to the value of human life at the level of our subconscious minds. We don’t realize it yet, but our subconscious mind cannot distinguish between reality and make-believe—it accepts everything presented as truth. Thus, subconsciously, our morals become increasingly weakened while we continually reinforce further deterioration—not even knowingly or by choice; it just silently moves in this direction.
Competition has become fierce as we struggle against each other, armed with the latest, most efficient methods of transferring information. During the unfolding of this process, we have created a new breed of modern human: the global nomad. This loner has become computer literate and armed with the latest portable computer technology, cellular phone, and fax capability eagerly seeks profits anywhere within the global economy.
This new predator can move quickly and silently within the economic and informational worlds and penetrate markets that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. We have fostered a new level of ‘grabbing’, reinforcing the separation of the individual personality from the group.
No longer burdened by a society with traditional systems and values that everyone must adopt, this new individualist is no longer bound by his or her country, religion, culture, or family. As a result, these individuals are moving away from the fail-safe mechanism of their conscience. No one and no group can instill the maintenance of traditional values since the major value systems that have traditionally provided this function have already fallen apart.
As you examine your life, do you wonder what your future will be like over the next ten years? Do you worry about how you will keep up with this rapid change and heightened competition and how you will meet your various obligations? Are you concerned whether there will be a place for you that you will find acceptable in the future? Are you starting to feel the stress exerted on you by the requirements of this fast-paced mode of daily living? Are you getting tired of the increased aggression and hostility exhibited by others?
Are you, like many others who are beginning to wake up to what is going on, starting to feel that the outer world around you is headed in a dangerous direction and that you want to find a better path – one that is guided by solid principles and values?
WE CAN NOT CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE ALONE
When considering how to bring harmony and balance into our lives, we realize we don’t live in a vacuum. Our world is still imbalanced even if we force ourselves into a balanced position. It exerts a powerful influence upon our lives, no matter what we do to isolate ourselves. And if we need to interact with the outer world, we will find that true joy and fulfillment are not being realized wherever we go within it.
The emotions and negative feelings carried by the inhabitants of the outer world will only attempt to pull us back into their chaotic mess. And, from a practical standpoint, very few of us could afford to isolate ourselves from the world around us anyhow.
To bring harmony and balance into our own lives, we soon find that we must also attempt to bring harmony and balance into the lives of others.
But this is only possible if we discover our soul’s purpose and express it powerfully in the outer world. Only when we pursue our soul’s purpose will we gain the strength and possess the accompanying joy that will allow us to withstand the pressure exerted upon us when interacting with the outer world. We will do this despite the pressures exerted upon us, and only when we express our unique soul’s purpose will we find true satisfaction and joy through participating in the more extensive cosmic process of which we are all apart.
The Key
Suddenly, we find the key to unlocking the mystery, the clue to resolving our initial contradiction—we need to develop a method that allows us to do both!
To be in the world (as part of the group) but not of the world (still keeping our separate identity while maintaining harmony and balance while pursuing our unique soul purpose).
All of a sudden, we realize that we have touched upon an ancient concept brought into the world around 2,000 years ago. When this message first appeared, its concept was important to people everywhere, but humanity’s survival at that point in time did not depend upon its immediate implementation. It was really a message that would take on greater meaning only when our true survival depended upon its implementation. That future time has finally arrived.
Fulfilling this message is no longer a task limited to a few seekers; it is now the key to turning around the entire human race and helping assure its survival. We are now at a ‘turning point,’ and navigating it is a call being made to everyone throughout the globe.
What does this concept, to be in the world but not of it, really mean? It is saying that there is another identity or a series of levels of our self that we must discover, which allows us to change our viewpoint to work with others while maintaining the position of our unique center. We must find where and what this center is and then claim it as our own.
The Purpose Of This Course
The remainder of this course is designed to awaken the desire to connect with the essence of your soul and understand what it’s like to make a solid four-level (spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical) connection. You might be asking yourself, Why?
It is the most simple and efficient manner to begin this necessary opening process, and unlike many of the ancient techniques utilized by various masters, it’s appropriate for these times. Knowledge is power, and correct knowledge empowers the seeker of change.
The Divine utilizes the period of change (The Turn) to awaken souls who have been asleep for many years and maybe even many lifetimes.
It used to take 10 to 20 years or more under the guidance of a qualified master teacher to make the initial connection that the knowledge base that I’m sharing accomplishes. Today, when we uncover actual knowledge, we can achieve this formerly challenging task in a comparatively short period. The time to do this is now, and there’s little time to waste.