Creating a Life of Purpose

This blog was inspired by the book, The Four Desires by Rod Stryker. According to ancient yogic teachings, a soul has four basic desires:

1.      Desire for purpose; the drive to become who you are meant to be

2.      Desire for the means; (money, security, health) to prosper in this world

3.      Desire for pleasures (intimacy, beauty and love)

4.      Desire for spiritual fulfillment and freedom.

The most profound way to influence the course that your life takes is to mindfully set an intention to honor one of the four desires. In the Sanskrit language (the traditional language of yoga), the name for this is sankalpa. Sankalpa is made up of two words: kalpa, which means “a rule to be observed above any other rule” and san, which refers to a concept or idea formed in the heart. Thus, sankalpa is a declarative statement or intention in which you vow to commit to fulfill a specific goal that comes not from your intellect but from a deeper soul place.

Intelligence is Limited

Your intellect isn’t completely capable of knowing which intention will best serve you. Your soul, however, has a wisdom that is more expansive than that which can be contained by the brain and guides you in a way the head never can. A deep, heart-felt desire is like a north star, lighting the way toward what you need to serve your higher purpose and pointing to the next best step in order to experience lasting satisfaction.

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

We all know what we want, though we don’t always get it, which is a good thing. We don’t always know what we need, though without some silence, stillness and courageous self-inquiry.

Example

One woman, severely injured in a bad car crash was told by medical professionals that she would never walk again without a cane. A formerly active person, she imagined playing golf and dancing again. Her sankalpa centered around her intention for health to prosper in the world. It was “I am healed from my physical injury and pain.”  After about a month of actively working with the sankalpa, she noticed it wasn’t having the desired effects. As she mindfully reflected on her required dependency on others since the accident, she recognized something she had been reluctant to admit to herself. Her boyfriend of 14 years had for a long time been distant and unsupportive. Now that she really needed him for physical and emotional support, he was turning away and offered less nurturing.

Despite being together with him, she felt alone. She realized she needed to re-set her intention from one that seemed logical; the physical healing to a deeper, heart-felt desire to experience the pleasures of intimacy and love. She needed to emotionally “walk away” from a less-than-healthy relationship. Her new intention became “I love myself and am loved as I happily stand, walk and dance.” From the time she refocused her sankalpa and began to intentionally apply it, her physical healing accelerated. Years later, she not only walks unassisted but has moved on from her former boyfriend, loves herself and her friends and has become a yoga teacher.

The “Miracle Angle”

Anytime you are experiencing natural happiness (without intoxicants or addictive behavior) you are actually in touch with your soul’s desire for wholeness and freedom. A bubbling spring of joy is actually within you and you have access to it whenever you turn away from a story you’ve become attached to and consider a new perspective. It is impossible to ever completely comprehend why we have to go through the painful stuff of our lives as we do. However, we can practice the skill of trying out a new perspective (Rod Stryker refers to it as the “Miracle Angle”) as the woman in the example above was willing to do.

I Knew It!

Intuition is the key to allowing joy to bubble up from the depths of your being. Your soul holds a blueprint for your ultimate happiness and self-actualization. The higher aspects of your mind, specifically your intuition are the means by which you can read that blueprint and let it guide you toward your destiny. You already know it; but it may not be comfortable for you to recognize that you know it.

“If you cling to a certain thought with dynamic willpower, it finally assumes a tangible outward form.” said Paramahansa Yogananda. “When you are able to employ your will always for constructive purposes, you become the controller of your destiny.”

Do Try This At Home

Create stillness and silence for yourself and ask, “Which one of the four desires, if it were to be fulfilled in the next 6 months or so, would best serve my highest purpose?” Allow your inner voice of intuition to provide you with an answer that pinpoints the particular desire that will best serve you at this time. Your rational mind may want to take over this process but give it another job to do. Invite the quiet voice of the soul to speak; it will always be concise, clear, direct and personal to you. It will feel “right” in your heart, even it if feels uncomfortable in your head.

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