What are we really doing here?

I mentioned last week what I think I'm doing with my life and now I come to think about it, it's a question I hear a lot when I'm doing readings:

What's my purpose in life? How do I find it? And how will I know when I've got it right?

I refer to this as finding our 'purpose string', just because the phrase has a nice ring to it. I was talking to a friend the other day who says that when you're doing 'the right thing', it feels right, whether it's your job, volunteer work, or a hobby. You lose yourself in it and time seems to disappear. So how come we don't all feel that way?

I've struggled with it too. Sometimes I try to march myself up a path that isn't the right one. I can report that when I do that, it's always a hard slog. But I have to admit that doing what feels 'right' isn't always easy either. It's just that when it's 'right', I feel it's worth the hard work. It seems to be a 'gut feel' sort of thing.

How do I describe a 'gut feel'? Sometimes it's easier to describe what DOESN'T feel right. Then we can compare it to how it has felt in the past when we were doing something that felt good. And if our heads don't recognize the difference, our bodies usually object pretty loudly to the 'wrong' thing. One person I know said that he had ulcers. Another said it was migraines. Still another described insomnia.

My body doesn't usually get as confused as my head - my gut, in particular, has never steered me wrong. It reports loud and clear on what it thinks of the situations into which I place myself. I've learned that I ignore these votes at my peril. I've noticed that some of my physical reactions can be instantaneous, such as: yawns; temperature changes; ringing in my ears; sudden, stabbing headaches; nausea; tears; fumbling or clumsiness; muscle cramps; and even sneezes.

If I ignore these sudden changes, then my body symptoms can intensify and stick around for longer. I've had my back go out, skin reactions, allergies and chronic problems that affect digestion or circulation.

Actually, what I've learned most of all is that my body is a democracy and I have to listen to myself as I would to a constituent in my community. If I don't listen, the requests become more persistent and affect more of me - just like in a community. Pain or illness can be both a protest and a teacher. If I don't understand the initial message, it comes in more ways and/or gets louder, until I pay attention. Body and spirit need our attention and if we ignore either of them, we'll hear about it, eventually.

So, my answer to the question posed to me so often is this: pay attention. I have thought that our bodies might be like a scientific experiment. We try a little of this job search and see what happens to our body symptoms. Then we try a little of something else and see what happens then. Sometimes trial and error is a good way to learn in life. It might be the closest thing we have to a User's Manual.

A psychic with a tool box

Just before I left my last full-time job in the business world in 1990, I remember talking to my Reiki Master in Toronto. I had just completed the second degree of Reiki and was burnt out after completing almost a year in the third dysfunctional corporation I had worked in since my graduation with a management degree nine years previous. I observed to her that I wasn't sure why I had ended up in business school, much less working in the business world for almost ten years. It certainly wasn't what I had hoped to do when I grew up. Then I answered my own question by saying that it was because I was going to need to understand first-hand what the people from that world were experiencing.

Eighteen years have passed since then. During that time I have: retrained and practiced as a psychotherapist; learned enough about setting up a small business and creating a computerized business model, at the knee of a seasoned entrepreneur and teacher, to be able to write a practical set of 13 how-to workbooks on the subject; co-taught conflict resolution and relationship skills in a workshop setting with a knowledgeable partner in Europe; and pioneered as a life coach when there wasn't even a term for it yet.

During my hiatus from writing here, I have been considering how I identify myself. I have asked myself what is at the core of my belief system. I conclude that ultimately I believe we are souls experiencing a physical life in three dimensions, with all the joys, sorrows, frustrations and possibilities that that can offer. I think it's challenging to operate here on this little blue planet, in our limited but mind-blowingly complex physical bodies.

I believe that we humans are at a crossroads where we have the opportunity to redefine how we live together. Do we do it with joy, compassion, responsibility and sharing, or with fear, greed and mistrust? It's pretty simple really. We can go one way or the other, and having chosen, our choice will determine the minutia of how we live each day. The overwhelmingly large questions such as global warming and war, will come down to our seemingly little choices each day. As within, so without.

I'm here to help individuals and groups to find their 'purpose string'. Many of us lose track of who we are and what we're doing in our lives. We may be doing all the things that we think we ought to but I always come back to asking: What gives your life meaning? I believe my job/vocation/talent is in helping people to hear the voice within themselves and exploring ways to honour what it tells them. And I do it using my psychic ability. I'm a messenger.

Don't get me wrong; it isn't that I know how you should be living your life. A good psychic, like a good therapist or coach, won't tell you how to live your life or make your choices for you. My job is to help you see yourself, and appreciate yourself, and honour yourself, so that you can live the most authentic life possible.

I see myself as a 'psychic with a toolbox'. No, not a wrench or a hammer! My kit includes healing skills, psychotherapeutic skills, business skills and life skills. I pull them out if they're requested or required. But first and foremost, I have almost 50 years of experience in using my sixth sense to understand and pass along messages to those who come into my sphere looking for help. I am my own tool. Have intuition, will travel!

You're not 'cheating' if you need some help to clear the noisy debris of negative self-chatter or the needs of others, so that you can hear yourself singing out what you really need. For many people, their consultations with a psychic are a closely guarded secret. They're afraid that they wouldn't be taken seriously if anyone were to know that they consult one. But take it from me, many more people do it than you would ever think! I hope the time has come when it's considered to be a smart move to consult anyone who will help you to marshal your own resources, on the occasions when you need some additional perspective on your own life.

You can look forward to future posts about how you can do just this. I'll discuss how I do what I do and what it can do for you. If you have questions you'd like me to answer in this regard, please post them here by leaving a comment and I will address them.