Go, And Begin To Live Out A Life Of Purpose

By Jonathan Dunnemann

According to L.W. Rodgers, author of “Self Development and the Way to Power,” nature has a basic law of economy;

She never gives life where it is useless, where it cannot, or will not, be utilized. On the other hand exercise increases power.  To increase the size and strength of muscles we must use them. This is just as true of mental and moral faculties as it is the physical body. The only way to make the brain keen and powerful is to exercise it by original thinking. One way to gain soul powers is to give free play to the loftiest aspirations of which we are capable, and to do it systematically instead of random. We grow to be like the things we think about. Now, the reverse of this must also be equally true. To give no thought to higher things, to become completely absorbed in material affairs, is to stifle the soul, to invite spiritual atrophy.[1] 

Therefore, in an effort to "Go, And Begin To Live Out A Life Of Purpose" you must become intentional about adhering to and practicing the following four key spiritual practices in a continual quest for ethical and spiritual well-being, and your personal and professional development:

1. know one’s self;
2. respect and honor the beliefs of others;
3. be as trusting as you can be; and
4. maintain a daily spiritual practice (i.e., spending time in nature, prayer, mediation, reading inspirational literature, yoga, mindfulness practices or writing in a journal) (Kurth, 2003).

These practices are vitally important in our collective effort to acquire and effectively sustain satisfactory coping and life skills, habits of mind, emotional and spiritual intelligence, and self-reflection capabilities that will last over the long-term.

Furthermore, they will help “to make good judgments, about their capabilities, anticipate the probable effects of different events and courses of action, size up sociostructural opportunities and constraints, and regulate their behavior accordingly” (Bandura, 2001).  

  

After several years of extensive independent research, personally meeting with multiple Master level teachers, completion of numerous assigned readings, and volunteer work experience and individual spiritual practice, I have gained a strong measure of comfort in what Carl Rodgers once described as "A Way of Being". He went on to promote three basic attitudes that he associates with this state called "core conditions" for a healing, therapeutic relationship: to regard a person in an unconditional positive manner; to empathize with their experiencing, and to do all of this in a state of genuineness. It is all of these things that I have learned to do and to do with humility and sincerity. And, so can you.

 

May your coming days be filled with awe, gratitude, blessings, and an ever increasing sense of wonder and zest for a life that is filled with your purpose.

Many blessings.

[1] Rogers, L.W., Self Development And The Way to Power. Success Manual Strategist Edition 2011.Princeton Cambridge Publishing Group. Princeton, New Jersey.