The last New Moon set us on a path to authenticity. This Full Moon celebrates that expression.
After all, Virgo is an action sign. It wants to DO something important. It wants to serve, to be an extension of grace. It craves a reason for being.
Since the beginning of human consciousness, we have wrestled with a desire for meaning.
What’s my purpose?
Why am I here?
(It also happens to be the question I get most often from my astrology and coaching clients.)
I get it. There is something quite inspiring about feeling connected to life in an engaged and essential way. And in this world of social media, it may appear that everyone has it figured out BUT you. We are surrounded by people who have seemingly “made it”, have perfect lives, great relationships, no nagging addictions, that are abundant, stunningly beautiful, and happy.
We wonder what is wrong with us.
How is it “they” have it figured out but I don’t?
First off-
Stop comparing. Comparing is one of the most fundamental blocks to realizing an authentic purpose. Maybe “they” figured it out, maybe they didn’t. When we look at what “worked for others”, when we take another master class, or follow that ideal formula, we spend a whole lot of energy trying to use another person’s path to find our own. That’s why there are so many diet, self-help, and business savvy books. Everyone is sharing their formula for what worked for them. Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t seek answers or find inspiration in another’s path, but it is not to follow in their footsteps, it is to remind us how to find our own.
You’re likely looking in the wrong place. Purpose is not “out there”. It is all around you. It is showing up in all the daily lessons, all the upsets, all the gifts, all the frustrations, all the joys. All of the soul work you are confronted with, all the choice points- that is your purpose.
(Today my apparent purpose was to clean up a mandala of cat barf at 5:00 am. Not very classy, but extremely relevant to a practice of surrender.)
We have romanticized purpose to define it as a place in front of us, without problems, a place of perfect happiness, a place outside of where we are right now. In truth, purpose is both the destination AND the road to get there. It is not something “out there” to achieve, it is who we become while achieving it. Our real purpose is to show up authentically and with curiosity to whatever is showing up for us.
This doesn’t imply complacency or resented acceptance to what is.
If you are feeling tension, frustration, and an itchy feeling to find more, that is vitally relevant. Be assured though, these hard places lay the bedrock to the path you are seeking. We find our way out by going within, not bypassing what is. You don’t need to go looking anywhere else for your purpose. It is happening right now.
Which brings us to uncertainty. We humans typically do not like uncertainty. For us, it equates with change, and that equates with danger, so we tend to habitually lean away from it. We tend to manage, control, or edit it away, so we feel more in charge of things. So much modern mystical theory surrounding purpose in relation to “manifesting” and “co-creative” practices, is grounded in managing and editing some powerful feelings of uncertainty.
I do not like this feeling of lack, so I will manifest more money.
I do not like this feeling of powerlessness, so I will manifest “success”.
I do not like this feeling of loneliness, so I will manifest a relationship.
It is similar with affirmations. We tend to lean away from situations and feelings that stir the mud.
I do not like this feeling of (insert “unpleasant” emotion), so I will replace it with a “better” one.
Often we bypass negative feelings with spiritual platitudes like “Everything is an illusion”, “I’ll just manifest my way out of this”, “I’m an Aries, so I can’t help it”, “It’s God’s will”. This is not to say there aren’t truths to these statements, but we cannot grow (aka embrace our purpose) if we bypass uncomfortable emotions or situations. (Check out a powerful article by Robert Augusts Masters “Spiritual Bypassing: Avoidance in Holy Drag. )
This is not to disavow positive thinking or the power of manifestation in our lives of course. Both are powerful tools in realizing our purpose. The thing is though, we do not manifest from what we want (conscious mind), we manifest from what we truly believe (unconscious mind). In other words, the part of you doing the creating is not the one you actually want running the show. Often the real change makers and animators of our psyche are things like shame, guilt, lack, judgment, and fear. When we manifest and affirm via stuff we don’t want anymore in our lives, we strengthen their existence. (For more on how that works, Listen to the Truth About Affirmations).
If all that makes you a bit uncomfortable, you have stepped knee-deep into some uncertainty.
This is usually when I get a tense, often exasperated, mostly annoyed, “So are you saying I have no control?”
No, I am most definitely not saying that, but just for kicks let’s ponder why losing some control is bad news? In an abundant, ever expanding and quite miraculous universe, why do you want more control anyway?
Isn’t it good news that you can take a moment to breathe and simply allow for a minute?
Honestly, on a path of purpose we just need to get out of our own way. Perhaps, letting go of the need to “figure it all out” and direct the universe to set up reality the way we want (aka manage uncertainty) makes things easier, not harder.
Something to ponder. (Check out Soul and Ego Goals. )
In truth, purpose is found smack in the middle of the uncertainty along with all kinds of other amazing things. Synchronicities, signs, open doors, closed doors, people, and experiences show up as guideposts showing us the way.
Get in your heart, not your head -Growing up we are indoctrinated with definitions of success and directives which follow cultural memes and norms. Thus, we begin to “think and reason” our way to purpose. However, passion, inspiration, and purpose are not logical or linear. By definition, they are intuitive, heart-driven, soul calling, creative right-brain experiences.
Instead of asking what “makes sense”, what’s “expected”, or what you “should” ask yourself :
What lights you up? What drives you? What brings you joy? What can you do and lose time? What would you do regardless of any monetary exchange? What continually shows up no matter what job you have? What archtypes are you working with? What would you do if you were not afraid of another’s opinion? What makes you angry? (Just FYI passion and anger are intrinsically linked.)
Play, get creative, dance, draw- these things open your heart in ways thinking, mulling over, making a pro and con list cannot. Then do more of those things. A lot more of those things. I promise paths will be revealed.
Focus more on how you can help than on what’s in it for you. The sacred discipline of Virgo recognizes you are needed, here, now. Your special kind of awesome is meant to channel a needed grace. Waking every day with the intention of being an instrument of grace IS the purest form of purpose.
“You can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego. It’s your call.”
~Wayne Dyer
And finally, Get help-All spiritual teachings reveal this process of purpose is less about doing and more about undoing. It is about removing the blocks to allow this force to flow through you. Support can be helpful here, as can learning more about the archetypes you do carry and are meant to embody. There are many ways to do that. Look at what themes repeat in your life, pull some cards, do some journeying, get an astrology reading. Some direction can be helpful.
Purpose is not something to find, it is something to embody. It is not a destination but a path. It is an organic, ever-changing process of discovery that allows us to become the extension of grace we are meant to be.
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