Purpose through Direct Experience

There are bazillions of ways to get there from here — I prefer the direct and…

This is an inspirational prompt from Rebecca Romanelli, who has had an uncanny effect on me. (A muse? Perhaps?) She has distilled some of my experiences into words that have set me on fire with excitement and assisted me in fueling my journey forward through quantum leaps. Thanks, Rebecca.

I recently wrote a story:

This new story is how direct experience can make the bigger Purpose a deep and richer adventure while continuing growth, learning, understanding, and wisdom.

Why Direct Experience is the Most Fun

At the beginning of the search, there are books that may point the way, or that we feel a resonance. In spiritual “method” books, the authors may purport to have the answers or may provide the answer using astrology, your name, and/or your birthdate. But don’t we already know what we want and are looking for because we want acknowledgment that this is the way to look. It’s easy, and it can be easy, right? Sure, maybe? Is there more? Yes!

At age 24 I’d given up my search for truth and meaning, joking to my flatmate I was setting for the American dream of the house with the picket fence, a loving wife, 2.5 children, and a 30-year mortgage. My flatmate, Ellen, nagged me into going to her spiritual group, so at least I had the nagging part of the “nagging wife” bit. I’m joking, of course. I went to reject the group and if it weren’t for the sacred dances, I might have lost a great opportunity. In one dance I felt like l had grabbed lightning from Spirit and put it in my chest. Afterward, when Ellen asked me what I thought, I said:

“Most of it was too woo-woo for me, but those dances they were something.”

“See, I told you,” she said, bumping my shoulder. I laughed and bumped back. “Well, you were right.”

Being the hero in your own story means letting go of the need for purpose so something new can enter. As humans, there is an impulse or an urge in us all that seeks greater meaning beyond what we are told, at least with you, because you are reading this story. It’s my contention that all of us humans are artists of a sort, looking within and without creating meaning. There are little meanings and big meanings. Little meanings are beginnings, middles, and ends of jobs, careers, schooling, projects, and relationships. Bigger meanings are often repeating patterns of how we treat ourselves and maybe making the same mistakes more than once because we may be stuck in a little meaning inside a pattern. You get the picture.

This is where experience comes into play. When I learn something through direct experience whether it’s testing out some method I found in a book, a “teaching”, or sensing via intuition and experience — the practice of it — is the BIG WOW! Whatever it reveals, such as truths that relate to my quest or my experience of a wider present moment. Then excitement and inspiration run wild. Inspiration is the boot I need and desire to dive deeper into the search and go forth.

When Inspiration Fades, Patience and Sacred Space Follow

In the 1990s, I realized that inspiration was only part of the picture, especially when the excitement of inspiration fades. Then what? I know I don’t like to wait. I know I need something to do while I wait. This is where practicing patience comes in handy.

Patience isn’t just about staving off the boredom and irritation of having to wait, the deeper element is revealed as peace. Patience is allowing peace to spread out with being into an expanded present, momentarily dissolving “linear space-time”. I feel the eternity of the present moment fully in body, heart, and mind.

As a recovering perfectionist, I find I am less irritated by the small stuff. But it’s still there. When I catch myself amid an irritation, I might employ some soothing self-talk. Or I might ask what the irritation is trying to teach me. My world is abundant with opportunities to learn. I use discernment to access the experiences that are right in front of me first. Sometimes the work gradually leads to awe and wonder in smaller worlds. This may lead back to inspiration. If I expect inspiration to appear, then the expectation may crush the magic of it and poof — gone.

In the quiet of patience when peace arises there is an opportunity to practice creating and holding sacred space. In the matter of Purpose (with a capital P), this action allows me to co-create with spirit. An intention placed within sacred space elicits clues for deeper Purpose.

The Balance between Active & Receptive Purpose

Learning and craving to know about our Purpose in life can be intense. Learning comes through books, teachers, methods, inner practices and meditation, to name a few. These are examples of avenues of active learning. Active learning is in the trenches of cause and effect. It’s what we do every day in ordinary work and life. The difference regarding the quest for greater Purpose is a drive that accentuates the actions in active mode. We know the active well.

The receptive side of finding greater Purpose may be viewed as passive. If this so, as it once was with me, then I missed an opportunity to use my presence and magnetism to attract Purpose into my life. I thought I did not have the luxury of searching for purpose exclusively because I did not see it as being woven into my life already.

Become the Balancer

My balancer is bonded with Higher Love, the unconditional kind, compassion, and the neutral towards myself first, and then all others. Like anything worthwhile, finding and developing the neutral witness takes work. The work can lead to a kind of balancing between active and receptive modes. This works in a way to unify actions for evolving consciousness.

Other Resources as Guides:

I draw on what you have written and read to help fuel my inspiration. I hope that you find my stories helpful and maybe inspirational too. After all, we’re all in it together:

Jessica Wolf | Camille Grady | Diana C. | Melanie J. | Matthew Nashira | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Pene Hodge | Mulan | Filiz Özer | Joseph Lieungh | Alison Hollingsead | Orla Kenny | Ravyne Hawke | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Kris Bedenian | Marcus | I. Trudie Palmer | Mark Tulin | Shirley Willett | Mukundarajan V N | augmented man | Michelle Roussin | Michael Walker | madmess’s thoughts | DL Nemeril | Simão Cunha | David Price | Ravyne Hawke | Zebra Black