The Meaning of Life and Understanding Your Souls’ Life Purpose
Many people feel confused or mystified in regards to the meaning of life, and what their purpose or life mission is, because we don’t understand our own dual and seemingly paradoxical nature. We often look to others or society to tell us who we are and what it is we’re meant to do, or we get caught up in trying to figure it out by looking outside of us for answers that can only be known from within, because they’re built into our very nature. As we grow, mature, and move along in life, finding or realizing our life’s purpose can seem like a daunting task that’s elusive and fleeting, and often, right when we think we’re seeing it with a sense of clarity, and we step into it with a revived sense of enthusiasm and determination, it quickly begins fading and loses its luster and appeal. We often wonder why we were born now, at this point in time, in this dimension and these conditions and circumstances, and what it is we’re meant to do as a result, but our answers can seem perplexing because they’re always controversial and leave us feeling conflicted.
It’s common to hear people profess that duality is an illusion, and in the ultimate sense this is true, but in the practical sense of our own mind and nature, nothing could be further from the truth. Like all things, and life itself, all truths are only partial truths, and reality is paradoxical in nature. We struggle in understanding our own mind and soul because we fail to recognize that we are created beings, formed with a dual nature, and are both celestial and terrestrial in mind, soul, and self. We’re plagued with a constant sense of internal conflict, where one part of us seems to oppose and contradict another part of us, and most of our internal dialogue comes as a form of constant debate or argument that never seems to subside or be resolved. We tend to see our polarized nature as opponents engaged in a form of rivalry, instead of realizing they play complementary roles in creating, maintaining, and expressing the same thing.
Very few of us have ever been taught about or given practical instruction regarding the dual and complementary nature of our mind, soul, and selves. We’re the only beings on Earth that are hybrids, formed (created) with both a celestial and terrestrial mind and soul. We all have a subconscious and conscious mind, which are correlated with the right and left hemispheres of our brain, one an animal (mammalian) soul, the other a divine or godly soul, and a lower instinctual self, driven by impulse and passions, and a higher rational self, driven by reasoning and calculated decisions that we bring into fruition in a disciplined manner. It’s only the higher capacity of our conscious mind that’s self-aware in terms of having a distinct “sense of ourselves” as an individual of our own making, that’s also creative in the most basic sense of shaping the very reality we use to experience ourselves. We all have a conscience and an internal moral compass that’s an inherent faculty of our higher mind that sets us apart from our lower, instinctual nature, forming the basis for all our decisions.
Our conscious mind is the part of us that thinks in words, forms our own internal pictures as the meaning of words, rationalizes ideas, reasons and assigns meaning to things, judges, discriminates, and makes conscient decisions that we willfully act out in a deliberate and intentional manner. This is the part of us that’s divine, self-creating, sovereign, and serves to form our individuality. Our subconscious animal nature is impressionistic, thinks instinctively in pictures as memory, is compelled through sensation and emotions, and acts in an automated, habitual, and thoughtless manner. It faithfully repeats patterns (memory) that have already been established and set in motion by the conscious mind or that are stored in the Earths collective unconscious (instinctual field). Our subconscious is what’s also called our body consciousness and material mind, whereas our conscious mind is our soul or spiritual consciousness and divine mind. These two aspects of our mind and soul have different, yet complementary purposes and reasons for living.
One part of us is a part of the material world and shaped entirely by other people and our environment. It’s a natural part of the group, tribal, or herd mentality, imbued with a somewhat unique personality while lacking a true sense of individuality. The other part of us is the opposite, and causes us to feel separate from everything around us, where we’re shaped by our ability to think for ourselves, reason, give everything meaning based on morality, and make decisions that express our individuality as a person of our own making. Our subconscious and lower self is a fluent aspect of the material world (Earth’s essence) and is completely shaped and determined by our life conditions, circumstances, family unit, and immediate environment. It always acts in accordance with its environment and is primarily automated in nature. Its only purpose and drive in life is survival, self-preservation, and propagating its own species. Our higher conscious mind is purely mental and spiritual in nature, lacking a material constitution and fixed form, while having the ability to influence and willfully change our life circumstances and situation by making new decisions that we willfully act out, turning them into a reality.
In this same context, one part is mortal and remains in the Earth’s memory (instinctual field) and astral substance (soul essence) when our body dies, while the other part is immortal, being comprised purely of energy as a mental field, and ascends to its native plane when the astral bond is broken or diminishes, and it separates from the body. It’s only our celestial mind and divine nature that’s immortal because it’s the part of us that we are solely responsible for creating in every sense of the idea. This is our internal nature as our character, which we’re always in the process of creating and developing to different degrees through and based on our life circumstances and situation. The material world, which we cocreate through mental interaction (resonance), simply sets the stage as an ideal situation for us to actively decide who we’re going to be and how we’re going to show up and become through or by way of that situation or set of circumstances.
The material world is irrelevant in the most basic sense because it’s temporary and forever changing. This is a basic paradox, because while we’re entombed in a physical form, the spiritual world seems to be in a constant state of movement and fluctuation, and when we’re in a purely spiritual state, the material world is constantly dying and being reborn into new forms. This is what “mortal” means in the most basic sesne. What we tend to call “life” is actually the realm of “death” (the underworld), because it’s only when our mind and soul merge into and bond with our physical body, that we also experience death, because it’s only our physical body that dies. Our mind is eternal and never experiences dying. All planes of existence are polarized, and what we call death in the material realm is birth into the spiritual realm. When one is active the other is passive, and then they switch polarities, and what was active becomes passive, and what was passive becomes active. They’re never active or passive at the same time. It’s only the body and material world the body was a part of that “dies” and returns to the Earth. Death is a physical event, and not a spiritual, mental, or energetic one. The active principle, also called the Life Principle of the Eternal Soul, gives life to the body by generating and sustaining it through a constant process of regeneration throughout a predetermined life cycle, forever changing in form while remaining the same in mind (energetically).
When we view our life purpose and reason for being here as being purely about our physical existence, in terms of our life situation and circumstances (possessions, roles, station, financial status, physical appearance, etc.), we see our life purpose as something we work for to build, accomplish, or achieve. We build an image of ourselves out of our material circumstances (false ego), which dies with our body. We view our life purpose as a series of goals, steps, or stages required to accomplish an ultimate or all-encompassing goal of some kind. When we view our life purpose from a spiritual perspective of growth and development administered by our own hand, we realize that it’s about our values and character, and who we are as a human being. The higher aspect of our mind and soul only uses material circumstances and life events as a means of developing our character by how we create our experiences of them. It’s not about what’s happening, but who we become by way of what’s happening. In every situation or life event, no matter how mild or intense, fortunate or misfortunate, we come face to face with who we really are and make constant decisions about how we’re going to show up and what parts of ourselves we’re going to embody as a means of going through it. Life doesn’t happen “to us”, it happens “through us”. The events and circumstances themselves are insignificant in the ultimate sense, because they’re temporary, but who we become in relation with them is permanent and forever.
Life by Design
Our life purpose and reason for being here isn’t a mystery or something we have to find, as if it’s lost and out there somewhere apart from us, and it’s not something we have to intentionally create in the sense of acting against our primal nature, it’s “built into us” in the sense that it comes in a completely natural and spontaneous way through our life situation and circumstances. In the higher realms of the rational mind, separate from the illusions formed out of unruly emotions and animal instincts, everything operates according to law. What we’re meant to do in life comes naturally to us because it’s built into our very nature, and all we have to do is realize it, and then direct our will in creating a fluent pathway for expressing it. We have a natural propensity towards it in everything we feel, think, and do, the problem is we don’t realize it, and as a result we end up on a life-long quest to try and find something out there that can only be realized within us.
Our life transpires naturally through succeeding cycles of growth and development, where our state of mind and character at the end of one life, forms the basis for our nature and character in our next life. Our higher soul is evolutionary and self-creating in nature. This means that every single aspect of our existence is being created by us from either a conscious, unconscious, or semi-conscious state of mind. Even as a child, where we have no direct or immediate control over our environment and what happens to us, we still respond out of our inherent nature through a form of stimulus-response, or cause and effect relationship. If you take several kids and put them all in the exact same environment, life situation, and family dynamic, they’ll each respond in a different way according to their personality and grow up to be different individuals. This is because we’re all born into the world with a predisposition, temperament, and character we developed in previous lifetimes. It’s not our identity in one lifetime that we carry forward to the next, it’s our character and internal nature, which we alone are responsible for creating. While we may not be able to control or direct what happens to us, we are the sole creator of how we experience what happens, and we shape ourselves by way of our own experiences.
Some people believe there’s such a thing as gifts, talents, and special abilities that we’re given or blessed with, but the universe does not play favorites and give some people unearned advantages over others. Every gift, talent, or special ability we come into this life with is the result of having developed it in a previous life. It’s instilled in us as a natural aspect of our nature and character. We only acquire and permanently attain what we earn through disciplined activities. It’s not enough to dream of something or engage in wishful thinking, you have to actively do it and bring it into fruition as an intentional creation in order for it to become a memory and a permanent part of you. Only action makes an imprint in the astral light that bonds the higher mind to the body, and becomes a permanent record of your soul’s creation, and only what’s recorded in eternity is carried forward as the foundation for the next round. Our life, in every respect, is a product of our own will and morality, there are no magical powers that act on our behalf or bestow special privileges on us. Everything we attain, no matter how great or small, we earn through active use of choice and will.
Our material mind and existence here on Earth are not the ultimate goal, because they’re only temporary stages in a larger process. They simply lay the foundation and provide the basis for you to actively and willfully create yourself by how you choose to go through them. In every moment you’re faced with the question, “who am I in relation with everything else?” Who am I going to be, and how am I going to show up in this situation? What kind of person am I going to become by how I choose to live my life? If I’m faced with hardship and challenges, how do I use them to develop courage, confidence, and perseverance? What part of me do I need to utilize and bring into expression as a means of going through this situation to produce the outcome I want to produce? Am I going to step up to the plate and overcome, or am I going to shrink back and be overcome? Either way, the choice is always mine. When we think that this life is the end-all, be-all, we shape ourselves to be mortal in nature, and whatever character we develop ourselves to be like through our responses, sets the basis as a form of life theme for our next life, where we create more of the same type of experiences. When we understand that it’s “who we are”, and what kind of person we shape ourselves to be through our daily, ordinary experiences, that’s eternal and everlasting, we touch on our true purpose in life, and are propelled with a whole new sense of meaning and determination.
Who you’re meant to be and what you’re meant to do isn’t something you have to wonder about and try to figure out. It’s inherent in your very nature, and comes as what you’re interested in, gravitate towards, dream about, naturally participate in, have a predisposition or notable talent for, and a constant desire to do. Your life situation and circumstances do not define you or determine who you are, they simply provide the basis for you to decide and actively create who you’re going to be in relation with them. This life will eventually run its course and pass away, but who you become by how you choose to live this life, is eternal and will last forever. It’ll form the basis for your next life-cycle where you’ll either repeat the same ideas and unconscious patterns over again in a somewhat different way, or you’ll advance yourself to a new level of existence and begin a whole new idea, within different circumstances, and experience yourself in a new and more empowering way. This idea was laid out for us in antiquity by the gods of mythology, who are our ancestors and progenitors, also called “heroes”. We all have the capacity to be a hero in our own life and the life of those we love and cherish, knowing that this will set the basis for a much more favorable situation in our next life, we simply have to realize it, and begin seeing ourselves as eternal beings rather than mere mortals who are temporary and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Transpersonal Psychologist, Personal Transformation Coach, and Spiritual Teacher
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About The Author
Dr. Linda Gadbois
Linda is a scholar in Esoteric Sciences and holds a doctorate in Spiritual Sciences, and a BS in Clinical Hypnotherapy, along with numerous specialty certifications in various healing modalities. She's a certified Health and Success Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, and Board Certified in Regression Therapy. She's professional writer, artist, educator and Mentor, and offers a wide variety of Mentoring and Consulting Services, along with professional training programs. Her specialties include Personal Transformation, Self-Mastery, Spiritual Sciences, Transpersonal Psychology, and Integrative Mind-Body Medicine. For more info visit our Personal and Professional Services pages in the top menu bar of this site, or email us at: [email protected]
