Live a Purposeful Life

Why%20is%20Purpose%20Important_0_0.jpg How can you live purposefully day to day? In his essay “A Year of Living Purposefully,” Richard Leider suggests two core practices: contemplation and activation.

Contemplation

Contemplation is seeking answers to questions about who you are, how you should live, and where you belong.

Reflective practices such as journaling, meditation, and guided imagery enable you to relax the mind and focus on the present moment, letting go of preconceived notions of who you think you are and instead becoming open and curious about what will arise.

Below are some contemplative practices that you can try.

Reflection

Review the day's events each evening for five or ten minutes and ask yourself--which experiences were life-giving and which were life-draining? Were there any times when you felt particularly alive or experienced “flow”?

Review the day's events each evening for 5 to 10 minutes and ask yourself what experiences gave you life and what drained life. This will help you discover where you find purpose and meaning.

Close your eyes and take a moment to slow down. Begin with a slow deep breath. Breath in, filling your lungs and taking the breath right down to the belly. Breathe out slowly. Repeat.

Keeping your eyes closed, think for a moment about your day so far.

What made you feel most alive?

Allow the image or answer to surface. Make a mental note of it and give thanks.

Now ask, where did I feel life drain from me?

Reflective Exercise

Allow that answer or image to surface and ask for guidance, if this is your tradition.

It helps to write down your responses, and see if patterns emerge. If you discover that:

A particular part of your work is life-giving, you might want to expand that part.
Some situations are less satisfying, you can explore the feelings surrounding those events.

Changing your response in situations can be a powerful way of averting negative feelings and outcomes that are life draining.

You might want to share your insights with a friend or mentor.

Meditation

Try to make a regular practice of sitting for 10-20 minutes a day with no agenda, just noticing what arises and letting it go. A study by researchers at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain found that a meditation practice increases one’s sense of life purpose.

Journaling

Keep a journal where you can express yourself honestly. You might reflect on these basic questions: What experiences give me life? What experiences drain life? Allow yourself to write freely, without stopping to edit or worry about spelling and grammar.

Writing your life story

Reflect upon where you have been, the events that have shaped who you are today, and the future you imagine for yourself. What obstacles do you see ahead? How will you overcome them? The process of finding the answers to these questions will illuminate your values and where you find meaning and purpose in your life.

Paying attention to dreams

Set the intention to remember your dreams and keep a notepad by your bed to record them when you wake up. Dreams are a way for the unconscious mind to work on issues that people may or may not yet consciously acknowledge. While very few dreams are prophetic, they can provide precise insights into personal needs, desires, and concerns.

Dream Journal

Dreams are a way for the unconscious to work on issues that may not yet be in the conscious mind. While very few dreams are prophetic, they can provide precise insights into our personal needs, desires, and concerns. They are also compensatory and healing.

Dreams are highly symbolic, so they are frequently dismissed as silly or useless until the dreamer starts to take them seriously by writing them down and reflecting on them symbolically.

Keep a dream journal by your bed and allow yourself a few minutes each morning to write down what you remember. You will probably find that you remember more and more of your dreams as you do and begin to develop an understanding of your own unique symbolic language. Be sure that you don't rush to interpret your dreams—let them speak to you, perhaps over time. Dreams are often multilayered and their truth may not become evident until years later.

Can you remember any dreams or dream fragments from last night?; If not, can you remember a vivid dream from the past?Take a moment to write down the dream without editing it, no matter how irrational it seems.

Where were you?
What did it look like?
What were you doing?
Who else was there?
How did you feel?
What happened?

Note the words used. Look up meanings in the dictionary

Don't try to interpret the dream, just reflect on it and allow the meaning to emerge.

Activation

Activation is living your truth. By acting upon what you realize about yourself, you are consciously creating an authentic life for yourself. Think of this process as gently syncing your outer life to match your inner life. When you learn to align your everyday life with moments that fulfill you and utilize your gifts, you are better able to create an authentic, purposeful life —and the more benefits you will see.

"This is the true joy of life: being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

--George Bernard Shaw

Jacobs, T.L., Epel, E.S., Lin, J., Blackburn, E.H., et al. (2011). Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Psychoneuroendocrinology; 36(5):664-81.

Leider, R. (2010). A year of living purposefully. Living on Purpose. Retrieved from http://richardleiderblog.info/.