What makes us who we are? Is it our work? Is it the thoughts in our head? The emotions we feel? Are we our morals and ethics? Are we the inner critic? Or we the inner child? Are we the emotions and thoughts that are strongest and most prevalent – the most obvious? If so what about the weaker, subtler ones? Are we the the things that we act out? The things that we do? Or are we also the things that we do not do? That remain unexpressed?

Isn’t the truth that all these are part of us at one time or another?

Our power comes from understanding how to walk the paths of the parts of us which we truly connect with – the ones that resonate with us.

The ones that give us meaning and purpose.

This is and becomes our life purpose.

Just because we have loud thoughts, or strong emotions – does not mean that they are the only important ones. Just as in the external world it is not only the loud, extroverted people that are important. The power of the loud and obvious is that it is easily noticed. If you have pain – you know about it. If you have strong emotion – you know about it. If your inner critic is having a field day – you know about it.

Real purpose comes from meaning, not simply from presence.

The power of the obvious is in the fact that our attention goes there. It is like a telephone ringing in our ears – we find it hard to concentrate on the subtler sounds. But this does not negate the existence or the importance of the subtle. Having said that though, sometimes what is most important is big and loud and standing right in our face!

Meaning is not about big or small, loud or soft – it is about us. What is important to us. What brings us joy, passion, inspiration, love.

What gives us reason to live.

Finding and listening to that reason, focusing on that reason reveals our life purpose.

The only difference between a big flame and small flame is the fuel there is to burn. Internally, attention is our fuel. Where the attention goes, energy flows.

Sometimes when we are trying to put out big fires we are actually throwing petroleum on the flames. Our attention is so fixated on our issues that we stand in the fire while wondering why we can’t cool ourselves down.

We fight with our inner critic, we fight with our emotions and ego. The real fight, the real struggle only stops when we stop fighting.

We are like a football team that is more concerned with arguing with the fans of the opposing team, listening to their taunts and jeers rather than focusing on the ball and on the game itself.

We need to keep our eyes on the ball.

Connecting to life purpose requires looking deep within and finding that which gives us meaning.

What is important when listening for it is not necessarily how loud or distracting it is.

We are looking for the quality of the feeling.

Many of us who have low-self esteem believe that because our thoughts and feelings of doubt, confusion and self denigration are present and strong, that they are all that matter – that they must be true. We have trained our mind to see and feel mostly those feelings and thoughts that bring us down. As a result the thoughts, feelings and emotions which would build our self esteem and help us connect to life purpose have been repressed.

We all have the vibration of passion and inspiration within us.

We all have the vibration of clarity and purpose within us.

It is there regardless of the presence of fear and doubt.

It is there regardless of the presence of confusion and pain.

The truth is all of these thoughts and feelings can be part of who we are at this moment. We become empowered through recognizing the entirety of who we are, knowing where we want to go, and understanding that the main principle in how to get where we want to go is to continually fuel our destination.

Acknowledge what we are – focus and give attention to what we want to nourish and grow.

If we desire to become flexible we will not do so by constantly focusing on the fact that we are stiff while not stretching. We become flexible by acknowledging that we are stiff – this creates the desire to become flexible- and then we stretch regularly.

The continued application of practice will bring us to our goal.

If we want to feel empowered we will not achieve it by feeding the frequency of disempowerment.

Empowerment is achieved though realization.

Realization is achieved by listening and feeling for it.

Whatever it is that we desire to be, happier, extroverted, introverted, calm, excited, peaceful or angry we can achieve by placing more attention at those parts.

Life purpose does not happen by removing limits. It happens by transcending limits.

If we wait until our “limits” have been removed before we continue our journey then we will be waiting a long time. “Limits” will exist for as long as we are “limited” by them. It is not they that truly stop us – it is our mind that has fooled itself into believing that it cannot move past them. It’s like a painter who has been fooled into thinking they can only use certain colors. How to break the pattern? Start using different colors.

Explore, be adventurous, do something different.

Who we are is not set in stone it is simply a pattern of what is now. This does not determine who we must be tomorrow. It’s about choice. We all have the freedom to choose who we want to be, but that freedom is not realized unless we give ourselves permission to choose.

Permission as it exists in the mind is about focus and awareness. When the door of permission slams shut it is focus and awareness that opens it back up. When all we can see are our patterns and old beliefs it is focus and awareness that allow us to see more. These tools are the bridge between intellectual concepts and actually experiencing real change.

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