Do you believe that you have a purpose? A reason for being here?
The dictionary defines purpose as “the reason for which something exists or is done; an intended or desired result; goal.”
In Ayurveda, we learn about dharma as a soul’s unique purpose. Our dharma is related to what only we can offer to the world in our distinctive way with our individual gifts and talents. No one else can bring into the world what we can because no one else is exactly like us. Ayurveda teaches that prior to birth, we know our dharma and at the time of birth, our minds forget our dharma so that throughout our lives, we are working to remember our purpose.
As we grow and develop as a person, we begin to experiment and determine what we love, what we are passionate about, as well as what talents and gifts we have. As our unique gifts and passions reveal themselves to us, these are ways that our dharma is speaking to us and guiding us toward a life of fulfillment and joy.
When we honor the calling of that purpose in our lives, taking time to lean into our dharma, we can create a life of meaning and experience the deep contentment that comes from living in alignment with our dharma. When we ignore our soul’s purpose and live a life based on what others want us to do or when we turn away from the things that make us feel alive, we create an internal environment of stress, inflammation, sadness, and loss.
If we envision our life like a book, our dharma is the overarching theme of the book and as we move through our life, we move through different chapters of our dharma. We may not even realize the theme until the end of the book as we are able to look back and see how everything connects. Or we may discover our dharma along the way and set ourselves up to live a life of purpose. Our dharma unfolds just like the story of our life unfolds and we live into this chapter of our purpose and then into the next and the next. We learn, grow, evolve and the next chapter opens itself up to us. It is very much like a ‘choose your own adventure’ book. Our dharma does not change throughout our lifetime, but how we live into it may and often does.
Here in the west, pepple often confuse dharma with career. They may, in fact, align, but dharma is not necessarily concerned with things like money, but with our soul’s fulfillment. Dharma may show up as the things that bring purpose and meaning to our life that are unrelated to our job; the things that light us up and fuel our being the best version of ourselves. From that best version of ourself, we are able to show up in our lives and offer our unique gifts that come from our dharma.
What we do on a daily basis- our small, daily habits- shape our minds and bodies. If we are stuck in a pattern of habits that are creating inflammation, indigestion, a build up of emotions, or other health issues, we will not be able to pay attention to our dharma as we are having to attend to the more emergent issues in our minds and bodies that are in the way. Our energy will be spent attempting to find better health, more clarity, and the energy to simply make it through our day. Once we can come into alignment in our health, we can experience more ease and flow in living our dharma. So, our daily habits actually set us up to live into our dharma. Who knew that what time we go to bed and our digestive health was connected to our purpose?
So, do you know what your soul’s calling is? Do you know how to honor that calling and to make time for your dharma? Do you know how to move into thrive in your mind and body so that you have the energy and the focus to find and follow your dharma? It’s ok if you aren’t sure or don’t know where to start. Start with a simple first step like taking an honest look at your daily schedule and choosing one thing to stop doing because it is not helping you to experience more health and thrive.
I will be right there with you. And feel free to reach out for support.
Chat again soon,
k