The idea that we have a unique purpose for our lives is pervasive and this idea has motivated us throughout time to define an answer.  My friend Dayana, who converses with a group of spiritual beings named AMAG, offers another way to look upon this question. 

AMAG says, rather than searching for your purpose, know that you have come here on purpose and as such you decide your purpose.

From this perspective, everything you do, everything you are, IS your purpose! You have come here on purpose to shine your unique Light and you cannot fail to do so. The book, "You Are God, Get Over It!" says you cannot help your unfolding - it is certain and, I will add, on purpose.

Knowing we are on purpose is reassuring but it also helps for us to define our unique Light so we are more consciously aware of this purpose.

My Essence

We have been discussing the four aspects of how you shine your Light: your Being, Doing, Calling, and Soul's Mission.

My personal life essence is one of inspiration. (That's the "Being".) And from that inspirational place, I help people bridge the gap between the spiritual world and the physical world. (That's the "Doing".)

Summarizing, I would say that my essence is expressed as an "inspirational spiritual bridge." I show people how they can access spiritual guidance in their lives easily and comfortably...and without superstition and the confines of dogma.

Like breathing, it is something I do. But it lives in the background of my being, requiring no effort on my part unless I am off track in my life. As I undertake this "doing," characterized by the essence of inspiration, who I "be" in the world uplifts both me and those around me.

So, being a spiritual bridge is how I express my essence, and it's just a natural part of the highest "me." It actually takes effort not to do it. Your essence will feel similarly familiar when you articulate it for yourself.

With or Without the Paycheck

My "Calling" is to be a spiritual teacher and healer working wholistically with mind, body and soul.  However it looks for you, your calling is the outward service you perform in the world that serves others and expresses your "being and doing". It calls upon innate talents and interests unique to you, and you feel a deep sense of fulfillment when you do this work.

For many of us, our calling is also one of the ways we manifest financial abundance in the world but your calling may also be expressed through work for which you receive no paycheck. It is your lifework, none the less, and it is a calling from your soul.

Your Soul's Mission

Now it's time to talk about the last aspect, your Soul's Mission. Out of all the four aspects embedded in the "What is my purpose?" question, the Soul's Mission is what I call the "big ticket item." Fulfillment of this aspect is really the greatest challenge you will ever face.

You see, from lifetime to lifetime, you've explored many different ways to express your being and doing. You've also experienced many different callings--you may have been a painter, a drug addict, a king, a wandering soul. All these still live inside of you, on a cellular memory level, and you continually draw on the wisdom you learned as a result of those experiences without even being conscious of it.

What the Soul desires more than anything else though is to live life open to love.  It may be called by other names but love is the answer to your Soul's Mission. It's the ultimate longing of the Soul.

Love is the Answer

Our soul longs to give and receive unconditional love. Life has a way, though, of bringing us face to face with our unfinished business and our barriers to love. Throughout our lives we all experience hurt and heartache. We may decide that the world is not a friendly place and we can't count on others or we decide that it's not safe to love. Brick by brick we construct a wall around our heart in the effort to protect ourselves.

What we eventually learn, however, is that the walls around our heart create the pain and the separation. We think the conditional love ("I'll love you but only if you promise not to hurt me") will protect us but in fact it locks us into more pain. When we open to unconditional love, we access Divine energy with infinite capacity to digest all pain, disappointment, and fear. It's this unconditional love that offers us the truest protection and freedom. With it, we're immune to the hurt that caused the walls in the first place.

This is your Soul's Mission; to fully live life wide open to love. Challenge yourself to begin to dismantle the wall around your heart and have the courage to love.

Can you keep your heart open to love when you feel betrayed?

Can you keep your heart open to love when relationships fail?

Can you keep your heart open to love when you are criticized?

Can you keep your heart open to love when you are disappointed?

Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience (NDE) in 1982 wrote this; I just cannot say enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in an instant. I said/thought/felt, "Oh, God, I didn't realize." I was astonished to find that there was no evil in any soul. People may do terrible things out of ignorance and lack, but no soul is evil. "What all people seek--what sustains them--is love," the Light told me. "What distorts people is a lack of love."

Spend time with anyone who is close to passing on and you'll know that, on our deathbed, it's only love that we care about. Our biggest regrets are any walls around our heart still left standing. The only thing that will matter is how you loved and allowed yourself to be loved.

This is your Soul's Mission to stay open to Love that melts resistance and eliminates boundaries. Stay open to Love as you work through difficulties and barriers that separate you from those closest to you.

Love will heal and transform and provide the mystical experience of discovering yourself and finding your Light.

Let your Light shine.  You are what you are looking for.

Truly your purpose is fulfilled.