The term “self-actualization” was first introduced by the philosopher Kurt Goldstein and referred to the motive a person has to realize all of their potentialities. This means, whatever is possible for you, or can be dreamt of, can actually become a reality if you just move toward self-actualization.  Goldstein believed that this was actually the fundamental motive behind everything that a person did.

The concept of self-actualization was made even more popular Abraham Maslow in his famous theory of the hierarchy of needs.  Self-actualization was considered to be the final level of a person’s psychological development.  It could only be achieved when all the other basic needs of an individual were fulfilled.  Then the ‘actualization’ of their full potential would take place.

So how do we know the difference between what is “possible” for us and what is “impossible”?  Pursuit of self-actualization is the very process which helps us to answer this question and many things about ourselves can also help us to understand this process.  We have already mentioned many other self-referencing terms that are discussed in spiritual work such as self-observation, self-knowledge and self-awareness.  By engaging in these forms of spiritual effort, we come closer to actualizing our potential every day.

Self-observation is a spiritual tool that can be used to help us uncover our unconscious psyche and turn it into part of our conscious self.  Many people are surprised to learn that most of the thoughts and actions which they experience take place unconsciously.  We are rarely aware of what we are thinking about at any given time and we function primarily as “sleep-walkers” or “robots” which have been pre-programmed to carry out certain tasks in an unconscious manner.  By engaging in the effort of self-observation, we watch ourselves each moment and attempt to keep our awareness on our thoughts and our actions in a heightened manner throughout the day.  Surprisingly, we often cannot keep this effort up for more than a few minutes before we are distracted back into our sleepwalking routine and have to be aroused many hours later to remember what we were trying to accomplish!   With some practice, however, self-observation helps us to uncover our deeper potentiality and to eventually put it to work and make it an actuality.

Self-knowledge is yet another tool that helps us on our quest for self-actualization.  Self-knowledge begins through a study of the many theories about the human being and the self, such as in the case of psychology, sociology, physiology and other scientific approaches to the self.  Eventually we come to realize that no “theory” of the self can truly tell us who we are and that we must employ a sense of humility about our self-knowledge and turn toward self-awareness and self-observation more and more.  Spiritual students begin to employ the tools of meditation, contemplation and prayer to understand themselves better, always going deeper and deeper into the essence of their true Self.

Through the use of self-observation, self-knowledge, self-awareness and other spiritual practices, a person can slowly come to realize their more essential self and this is the process of self-actualization as it slowly comes to light. Through this process we learn to face our greatest fears and let go of them.  We also come to realize that all of our happiness and sadness in life comes from within rather than without.  A tragedy is only a tragedy because we decide for ourselves what meaning we place onto it.

A success is also a success only because we determine it to be that way. We learn to let go of our aversions and our attractions and to see that there is a wider picture that was obscured by the “self” of which we were previously unaware.  The “self” eventually merges into the “Self” and the separation that was first perceived between our “self” and the rest of the world comes to be seen as an illusion.  We are part of a much larger Self and our quest becomes an arrival at that which we sought from the beginning.  This is the essence of “Self-actualization” through the process of self-actualization. The small self merges into the larger Self and potential is said to have become actual.

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06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10

“We may turn to God when our foundations are shaking,
only to discover it is God who is shaking them.” 
- Hebrew Proverb

Perception is everything. Everything that happens to you; everything from your past and everything in your future all relies on one simple thing and that is how do you choose to process that which happens to you? The way you choose to process everything that has or will happen to you makes up your entire experience of life. Although this ‘choice’ is mostly unconscious, it’s still a choice and something that you can take control of.

The majority of people are oblivious to this powerful fact, mostly because the majority of our thoughts are shaped automatically by our past conditioning. Most reactions and interpretations are decided in split seconds by our unconscious awareness. Higher awareness on the other hand is a state of mind where you learn to transcend ordinary ‘autopilot’ awareness and where you become more conscious of the illusion of everyday occurrences. Living your life with a higher awareness will allow you to find a deeper sense of meaning in ALL of life and help you to discover your own unique life purpose.

We tend to think that our life purpose only gets defined by our successes and our ‘glory moments’ BUT, even more so does our failures help to define our unique life path.

The one thing that we all have in common is our pursuit of happiness. No one will consciously pursue anything that they believe will make them unhappy, yet there are so many people who are unhappy. Despite their best efforts, very few people get to truly create for themselves the kind of life that they ultimately desire. We tend to curse the ‘bad’ things in life and celebrate the good, but the transforming insight is that any life has many seasons. When you realize that you can start to welcome even the ‘mistakes’ and start to see it as an integral part of life. Regardless of how skilled or resilient you are, you will have ‘bad’ times.

Although we all pursue happiness and the good in life, we need the flipside not only to provide the contrast, but also to help us define what we really want. A rich life; one that is truly fulfilled is not one that is only full of the good, but one that is filled with both. Learning to deal with and even celebrate the flipside of life is just as important as celebrating the joys of life. We tend to think that all the tragedies and setbacks in life can’t possibly be part of our life’s purpose, but in many ways these are the very things that help to define your life purpose and redirect you to your own unique path in life.

In mid winter when everything is snowed under it’s quite hard to imagine a warm sunny day. The same is true when we meet with the ‘misfortunes’ of life – it tends to be really hard to find an empowering meaning while we are going through a tough time. Looking back at your life however, it becomes easier to find and to see a deeper meaning in what you went through. In hindsight we are able to ‘connect the dots’ and see that a divine hand has played it’s part all along. Your purpose in life is not just defined by the big ‘wins’ but also by the setbacks and learning to see this as it happens is a great step in your own personal and spiritual growth.

Your entire life is about spirit unfolding through you and until and unless you listen to this spiritual aspect of yourself trying to reconnects with you, you will continue to feel like something is missing. All of your life is on purpose. But you have to be able to see it in order to use it as a means of sculpting your life and your experience of life.

By embracing it all you can start to hear that silent inner voice that’s constantly trying to reconnect you with your bliss. Maybe the setback is God trying to tell you to move on; to take a new direction to connect to your purpose. When you start seeing your purpose as something that is continuously unfolding in every moment of your life, your entire perspective of life changes.

Think of you higher purpose in life as a big puzzle and every aspect of your life is a piece of this puzzle. If you are only looking for the ‘pretty pieces’ you will never be able to complete the puzzle. Sometimes the seemingly insignificant pieces makes you see the bigger picture. All of it is part of the puzzle. Know that in every aspect of your life there is something greater happening behind the scenes. All you have to do is to be open to this and realize that God’s divine guidance is present in everything. When the foundations of your life are shaking, instead of cursing it, try and look beyond it and realize that there is Someone who is trying to give you an important message: get your life on purpose.

Living your life with a greater sense of spirituality will help you to seeing everything that you are going through as something that you have to go through. You can stop blaming and wallowing in setbacks, and start using everything that comes your way as a tool to help sculpt your soul. Developing a Higher Awareness through spirituality will help you to develop a greater awareness of what’s really going on.

Ask for divine guidance and affirm to yourself that you intend to live your life on purpose. Intend for your life to be on purpose. Then, observe your life. Start to pay greater attention to everything you attract into your life – especially the seemingly insignificant things. Observe all the people that come in and out of your life. Observe everything that happens to you and start to look for that deeper meaning - this will lead and guide you to your life purpose and your own unique path in life.

What is it that’s at the centre of your life? What is it that makes up the main focus of your daily pursuits? For many, this creates a great divide in their lives and as many of our conscious pursuits are only designed to satisfy our subconscious desires. Nowhere is this more evident in the pursuit of happiness. Ironically the majority of people fail to recognize one very important aspect and that is the fact that happiness is a relative concept. Your own happiness and sense of fulfillment is deeply rooted in your spirit and is unique and special to you alone.

The common belief in our culture is that there are happy things to do and that there are unhappy things to do and most of us buy into it – just waiting for the next big happy thing to come along. More than anything this tendency quite literally takes your own well being out of your own hands. (maybe that explains why so many people are ‘victims’ these days)

Living your life on purpose and feeling like you are living the kind of life that you were destined to live is a fundamental part of your own inner happiness. Finding your true calling in life and to express it in all of who you are, is the foundation of living a truly fulfilled life.

In many ways this is the reason why we are all here – to express and experience the highest and most sacred part of ourselves. Discovering your life purpose is ‘deep water’ and only through introspection and maintaining a sense of spirituality about your life can you truly make contact with this aspect of your Self and re-align your Self.

History has left us with many ordinary people who became extraordinary simply because they chose to ‘be’ themselves. These are examples of people who managed to realize their potential by living their lives on purpose and expressing who they really are. These are the people that left behind a legacy and managed to advance humanity by simply being themselves.

So many people feel that in order to be special or significant they have to be like someone else (who might be successful). They key things to remember is that to live your life on purpose does not require you to become something that you are not. It’s simply about looking deep within – looking at your inner most desires, your talents, your passions and then finding ways to express this in service of humanity. Now this does not mean that you don’t have to change. For many it means you have to change every aspect of what your life is demonstrating at the moment.

With this in mind, here are three lessons in living your life on purpose from three great people who managed to somehow do it – people who discovered and lived their life on purpose. Needless to say, they were all people who left behind a legacy and still inspire us long after they have left.
 

Lesson #1
“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With sufficient passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” – VINCENT VAN GOGH

So many people go to work everyday only to make a living. Their lives are driven by a paycheck and even though they hate it, they still do it. It’s true that we all have to make our way in the world, BUT you deserve to make a living doing what you love. If you have a full time job, then you will spend approximately 70 percent of your waking life at work.

Regardless what your passion in life may be, you can make a living doing it. There is never a lack of support for your passion, but there is almost always a lack of resolve to take the risk and to step up to the ultimate challenge in life: to live on purpose and to become the kind of person you were destined to be.
 

Lesson #2
“Where your talents and the needs of the world cross lies your calling.” – ARISTOTLE

Every last one of your talents came as part of the package called You. Everything that you are good at and everything that you are bad at are part of your purpose. We all have at least one thing that we are great at – something that’s just effortless to you? By design, these talents speak to us when we express them and often we feel joy when we express them.

When you take these talents and express them to serve humanity, you open yourself up to the abundance of the universe. Expressing your talents for the sole purpose of sharing yourself and your gifts, you are in harmony with the highest power in the universe and (ironically) you will find that this is when the blessings of life start showering down on you.

Don’t hoard your talents. Don’t deny your talents in favor of what you think you ought to be good at in order to be successful or famous. Express who you are and do it only to help, to serve and to give the gift of You to the world.
 

Lesson #3
“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”  - THOMAS A. EDISON

Working only to make a living is nothing but slavery. Your purpose will free you. As long as you are doing something that you do not love, you will never get to experience the true meaning of life and the sense of joy that comes from doing what you love.

Life was meant to be a joyful expression of who you really are. When you are on purpose there is no such thing as ‘work’ and you are able to move beyond the usual categories of life where you have to place different parts of your life in different categories.
We all have a life purpose. Think of it not as an ‘occupation’ but rather as an underlying idea that guides your entire life. Think of your life purpose as a guiding light that leads and guides every part of your life. We are all here for a reason. This is unique and different for every, yet it is something that remains illusive for many. Discovering your life purpose is a spiritual process and when you look inside you can start to find a deeper and more meaning aspect of yourself and your life. The reward: a deeply fulfilled life!