At some point in our lives, all of us ask the question, “what is my purpose?” You have probably wondered at one point or another if you have a destiny, or what that even means.
You did not come into this physical incarnation to struggle, to suffer, to feel unappreciated or work doggedly hard at things that bore you. You are not advancing yourself or anyone else by feeling choked off from happiness, self-worthiness, excitement or love.
You came to this physical world seeking EXPANSION, AWARENESS and EVOLUTION.
You came to experience JOY. This is your destiny.
Destiny is a combination of forces which support and oppose you, both from within and without. In truth all forces support your highest good, yet sometimes due to our own small-minded, human perspective, sometimes it may feel like something opposes us. But upon reflection, we often find that what at first felt difficult and unwanted over time brought us to a new level or opportunity that we never would have come to otherwise. Often what is difficult is simply catalyzing the growth needed to find a much deeper fulfillment.
Your Emotional Guidance System
When you came into this world you were given one very important gift, and that is your emotional guidance system. Your emotions are far more than we are taught in our current society. Your emotions are indicating to you how closely you are aligning with your Higher Self, or “Source” or “Divine” energy.
When you are feeling good, excited, invigorated and feeling your abundance, you are in alignment with this Divine energy.
When you are feeling depressed, angry, sad or hopeless, these are signs that you have strayed away from your true path.
Therefore, your emotions tell you when you are on the path of your destiny. Destiny is walking the path that is yours, and it can feel more like an uncovering of something that was already there, as opposed to a creation of something from scratch. When we feel happiness, excitement, focus, “turned on”— that is how we know that we are “in synch”, that we are going in the right direction, that we are moving closer to becoming the full expression of our divine selves.
Ancient mystics had a saying: “As Within, so Without”, meaning, however you feel inside is going to be reflected back to you in the circumstances of your outer life. This Universe is mental or vibrational first, and physical second. This means that the more you are able to keep yourself in a state of Joy, the more that things that bring you Joy will show up in your experience.
The more joyful you feel within yourself, the more that Joy will be reflected in your outer circumstances by things working out in ways that delight you.
If you can follow your Joy— that is, notice what brings you true happiness and prioritize these activities your life– you will find that your life is flowing easily, smoothly, and is abundant with pleasant surprises, constant improvement, and non-stop good news.
Destiny and Desire
For these reason, your DESIRES are extraordinarily important to notice, cultivate, refine and honor. Your desires are divine impulses, compelling you toward people, places, positions and objects which will further you in your highest destiny. Think of your desires as guideposts along the highway, telling you which road is yours to follow. Following your desires is the fastest way to manifest the life that you want.
When we speak of desire we do not mean moment-to-moment cravings or greediness for money, fame, power or companionship. We are not speaking of the desires that are quickly quenched and then return again like weeds, nor are we speaking of those that are not so much an affirmative desire for something as they are a flight away from an unwanted situation.
We are speaking of the desires which sustain you, desires which are exciting to feel even before the wish has been fulfilled! We are speaking of desires for the activities, people, objects and situations which make time fly by because you are feeling so enthralled and focused. We are talking about that feeling of “oh, this is right. This is what I have always wanted!”
You will never run out of desires. This is because you will never stop learning, growing and transforming so long as you live on this earth. Own your desires. Figure out what they are to the best of your ability, and then get extremely clear and detailed about how you want this manifestation to look when this desire becomes a physical reality.
Astrology and Destiny
One way of understanding the concept of destiny is to use the astrological birth chart. This chart, which is a snapshot of the planets at the moment that you drew your first breath by yourself, is a map of the forces active in your destiny, including your gifts, challenges, talents, tastes, behavioral tendencies, vulnerabilities and ancestral karma.
In between life times, your Soul chose the particular chart that now belongs to you. Before you entered into this physical incarnation, you were interested in learning particular lessons and exploring certain experiences in this lifetime, and so you chose your strengths, your weaknesses, your parents, your siblings, your country of origin, and so forth.
Very often in astrology we can see how the pre-incarnate Higher Self will choose limitations, disabilities, harsh home and family experiences, abuse and other difficulties in life because it was interested in learning something through overcoming these experiences. The Universe does not have a human scale of perception, and in the eyes of this Divine force even your most turbulent troubles are well worth the rewards of understanding, depth and expansion of universal consciousness.
Our Destiny circumstances do not dictate our outcomes, achievements or happiness. The birth chart is a map of potentials, not a prescription for how your life will or should be. You may see a chart that seems laden with tremendous power, and then boggle at the meek, mild-mannered individual whom it belongs to— this is because a person’s innate talents and strengths must be matched with effort and dedication, or else all the talent goes to waste. The future is not written in stone, and it is up to YOU to make what you want of your life.
At the same time, it is a wonderful thing to be able to look at a chart and have a clear perspective of the challenges you face, and why you chose them.Life is easiest when we follow the path of least resistance, and having a compassionate, honest understanding of our weaknesses and limitations enables us to heal, transcend and transform these personal aspects, so that we are in control of our destiny, not battered around by it.
Being in the Flow State
What is Joy? Joy is the feeling of the “flow” state— where you are so enraptured with what you are doing, so excited and enthralled with what you are focused on, that you become “lost in the moment”. Hours can fly by without you even noticing, because you are so fully engaged with what you are doing. Different people will find this Joy in different places— for some it is in craftswork or art, for others in business. You may experience this flow state playing with your children or your pets, or in giving gifts to others. However you may find it, your life should be FULL of Joy.
Enjoying your life in this way is not selfish— though in our Western culture we are often taught that it is. There is in fact nothing more you could do that serves the good of humankind more than making sure that your own life is immensely pleasurable.
Why?
Because Joy is the feeling we experience when we are doing what we came to this world to do. Joy is alignment with your Higher Self. Joy is tapping into universal power. Joy is a clue that you are on track to fulfilling your highest purpose.
Joy is your destiny!