From DailyOM

October 22, 2008
Finding Answers Within
You Have All the Answers

Many of us seek the answers to life’s questions by looking outside of ourselves and trying to glean advice from the people around us. But as each of us is unique, with our own personal histories, our own sense of right and wrong, and our own way of experiencing the world that defines our realities, looking to others for our answers is only partially helpful. The answers to our personal questions can be most often found by looking within. When you realize that you always have access to the part of you that always knows what you need and is meant to act as your inner compass, you can stop searching outside of yourself. If you can learn to hear, trust, and embrace the wisdom that lives within you, you will be able to confidently navigate your life.

Trusting your inner wisdom may be awkward at first, particularly if you grew up around people who taught you to look to others for answers. We each have exclusive access to our inner knowing. All we have to do is remember how to listen. Remember to be patient as you relearn how to hear, receive, and follow your own guidance. If you are unsure about whether following your inner wisdom will prove reliable, you may want to think of a time when you did trust your own knowing and everything worked out. Recall how the answers came to you, how they felt in your body as you considered them, and what happened when you acted upon this guidance. Now, recall a time when you didn’t trust yourself and the results didn’t work out as you had hoped. Trusting your own guidance can help you avoid going against what you instinctively know is right for you.

When you second guess yourself and go against what you know to be your truth, you can easily go off course because you are no longer following your inner compass. By looking inside yourself for the answers to your life’s questions, you are consulting your best guide. Only you can know the how’s and why’s of your life. The answers that you seek can be found when you start answering your own questions.

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I often get information that must be shared, this is from DailyOM:

October 9, 2008
Answering The Call
Taking Responsibility For Your Destiny

There are those of us who believe that our lives are predestined and that we should resign ourselves to our lots in life. Yet the truth is that it is up to each one of us to decide what that destiny will be. While each of us is born with a life purpose, it is up to us whether or not we will say yes to fulfilling it. And just like when we choose what to eat, who to keep company with, and whether to turn right or left when we leave our home everyday, choosing to say yes to your destiny is a decision that can only be realized when you take action to make that choice a reality.

Whether you believe it is your destiny to be a parent, an adventurer, an artist, a pioneer, or a spiritual guru, saying yes to your destiny is only the first step. While manifesting your destiny starts with knowing what you want and believing you can attain your goals, there are then the actions that must be taken and the decisions to be made before your destiny can truly happen. When you take responsibility for fulfilling your destiny and begin acting with the intention of doing so, you not only take fate into your own hands, but also you become the hands of your own fate. Doorways inevitably open for you to step through, and every choice you make can be a creative act toward realizing your goals and dreams. You begin to follow your instincts and intuition, recognize opportunities when they are presented to you, and seize those golden moments. You also begin to recognize the decisions that may not serve this greater picture and can more easily push them aside.

Remembering that the decision to fulfill your destiny is always a choice can be empowering. Knowing you are fulfilling your destiny because you want to, rather than because you have to, can make a huge difference. When you are freed from obligation, obstacles in your way become challenges to be overcome, and the journey becomes an adventure rather than the obligatory steps you are being forced to take. Your destiny may be waiting for you, but whether or not you meet your destiny is up to you. Your fate is in your hands.

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As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875 – 1961)

Like many, I have struggled with the purpose and meaning of life questions. I am not sure if I am conscious of all the answers but I know they are within me and when I am ready for them, they will come.

One of the truths that was brought to my awareness, my consciousness at the end of writing Reminder To Self is the role of service in our lives. Service is our only purpose for being. It is a big statement; it is a strong statement; and it is truth.

Human beings as instruments of service is not a new concept-nothing is new (another blog someday). Religions have seen us as God’s instruments for millennium. If you are not religious though, it seems like another brainwashing argument by men and women of the cloth. If you are religious, the argument makes sense whether you’ve thought about it or not. Faith takes care of that but let’s leave religion out of this. My knowing comes from a spiritual realization not from a religious one.

Everything has a purpose and human beings are no different. Purpose in its basic sense can be thought of as function-the fundamental reason for the existence of a thing. The purpose or function of a hammer is to bang nails. The nail’s purpose is to hold things together. Hammers have other uses such as breaking a coconut but the fundamental purpose of hammer is to hit  a nail over its head. The fundamental purpose of the human being is to serve each other. Service to each other is as vital as the air we breathe, without either we couldn’t exist.

There has never been or will ever be a life that has not served another or has not been served by another. Herein lies the proof, it is true because it is. My two year old taught me that. I asked her why she drank my smoothie and she replied, “because (I did)!”

When a mother nurses a new born child it is obvious to see that she  is providing service to the infant-she is feeding it. A mother also provides the baby a sense of security through attachment and bonding. What is not so obvious but equally as important is the service of the newborn to the mother. The new born, by relieving the mother of milk, triggers the recovery process. When a mother nurses, hormones are released that help during post partum-the emotional, mental state after delivery (my wife helped me with this part). Breast feeding helps the uterus contract pulling it back to its position of origin. Mothers who nurse also return to pre-pregnancy weight much more quickly than mothers who do not. We are all a part of wonderful and simple circular mutual dependence of each other where in giving service we receive service, and in receiving service, we give service.

The teacher serves the student by teaching her and the student serves the teacher by being available and receiving the lessons. If there were no students there would be no teachers. Conversely, if there were no teachers there would be no students. As we are able to provide service that is connected to our unique constitutions and our individual dispositions, we find meaning in life.

So the fundamental question of purpose of life is answered: we are here to serve each other. Meaning in life is derived from how you execute the purpose of life. That is, how you serve your fellow man or woman. Although we are more similar than dissimilar, we are each as different as the tips on our fingers. We are the result of our mental, physical and spiritual presence. Meaning life is derived from the full creative expression of self, mentally, physically and spiritually in the service of others. We can only serve how we can serve that is, you are how you are.

A few years ago there was a commercial on T.V. by Nike with the jingle, “. . .if I could be like Mike (Jordon.)” The message of that jingle was in direct conflict with our essence, in particular our spiritual essence. We are not here to be like anyone else, that’s impossible! If we find that we have a similar disposition and tendencies as someone else, then we can learn from them-not to do as they have done exactly but to discover what we can do precisely.

The tapestry of life is a mosaic of individual souls yearning to be expressed in a meaningful creative way. The only way to find meaning in life is to be in alignment with your soul’s journey. A way of being where you express yourself through your skills, gifts, and talents in the service of others and God. Life is a journey of remembrance; we explore, through our experiences, ways of being until we find fulfillment through service.