Spiritual awakenings can be difficult. Make the shift from feeling lost, with no sense of self or meaning in life, to living with purpose.
The Pain of a Spiritual Awakening
If you're longing to live a more fulfilling life, you're wondering about all things "deep and meaningful" and you feel like you have a life purpose (even if you aren't quite sure what it is) then you've likely had a spiritual awakening.
Experiencing a spiritual awakening is often pretty uncomfortable. As our consciousness expands we come to a whole new understanding of the world and our place in it. Often our expanded vision no longer aligns with our previous concepts and values, and this conflict can cause us to experience a great deal of emotional suffering.
Every awakening is different. Perhaps your awakening has been sudden, dramatic and confusing. Or perhaps like me, it began as a quiet yet persistent discomfort. A vague sense of unease, discontent, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction that I felt in my gut.
Maybe like me you tried to ignore these uncomfortable feelings. Drowning out their noise by working hard and being busy, throwing yourself into situations you hope will numb the discomfort. And maybe like me, you realised that doesn't stop them.
Trying to ignore these uncomfortable feelings causes our soul to grab our attention in more drastic ways. The discomfort grows in intensity until we can't ignore what we sense deep down, or we are thrown into a divine storm where our whole world feels like it's falling apart.
Divine storms, while typically rather unpleasant, could be considered gifts from our soul to bring awareness to unhealthy patterns and beliefs that are preventing us from living a meaningful life. The discomfort we feel is the misalignment between where we are and the vision our soul holds for our life.
If you're reading this, your soul is calling you to step up and take your life to the next level. To shift from emotional suffering to living with purpose.
Perhaps you've begun to ask the same sacred questions that stirred within me. These questions are the voice of our soul which is why they are so loud and persistent!
Who am I - really?
What am I doing with my life?
Why am I here?
What is my life purpose?
What are my gifts?
How can I make the world a better place?
Answering Sacred Questions
Even when we stop long enough to ask these sacred questions, we still find they aren't easy to answer. Like me, you may have first looked externally to answer them. We typically look for answers in our job, our role in society, our body or emotions, our trauma or stories, the things we own... but this is searching for answers in all the wrong places.
I slowly realised that my creative job wasn't answering my sacred questions, neither was motherhood. Though I loved these parts of my life, I had lost my sense of self by playing these roles and I had no idea who I really was. This realisation painfully tugged at my heart.
It makes sense to begin our search externally, and while these are outlets we can choose to express our authentic self, we must understand they are merely expressions of our self and not the entirety of our self. The answers to our sacred questions go much deeper - and paradoxically our expanded consciousness takes us on a journey deep within.
Shifting from Emotional Suffering to Living with Purpose
Shifting out of emotional suffering and into living with purpose requires us to first acknowledge that our soul is calling us to create a more fulfilling life for ourselves. This stage still involves a level of emotional suffering because It's hard to admit that we aren't living our best life, and it's scary to think about change.
I was suffering emotionally because in my gut I just knew there had to be more to life. But with only a vague sense of having a higher purpose and my soul calling me forward, I was compelled to find the answers to my questions. As you begin taking steps towards answering your sacred questions, you'll find that your soul fills you with a sense of motivation and determination that is impossible to ignore.
This soul powered motivation will be your fuel when the going gets tough. I hope that with a sense of curiosity and excitement at creating something new for yourself, you may surrender to your journey because it's this step that begins to offer relief. Relief comes when we accept the challenge put to us by our soul and commit to answering the call we feel in our heart.
Soul Guidance to Living with Purpose
To find answers we need to start trusting the guidance of our soul. We many find this difficult for many reasons, one reason being we think we can't hear it. The truth is our soul is always speaking to us, it just may not use words to communicate.
Our soul communicates and guides us in many ways: through dreams, signs and synchronicities, random thoughts or ideas, song lyrics, and it also uses our emotions or sensations in our body to "speak" to us.
Instead of waiting passively for a dream, an inspired thought or sign from the universe, we can take positive action towards communication. The best way to hear your soul is by slowing down, getting quiet and being open (in heart and mind). Meditation is my favourite method for this, and I highly recommend finding a meditation style that works for you too.
During meditation we set intentions and ask our sacred questions, then completely let go of any expectations or attachment to outcomes. Like learning anything new this of course takes practice, but starting to get a sense of who you really are, and what you really want makes it all worthwhile.
Once we start to enjoy a few minutes in the expanded space that meditation brings, we start to get inklings and nudges about what our soul wants to express through us. We know we are on the right path when we feel a sense of lightness, expansion and joy arising when we think about expressing these things.
Simultaneously feeling a little fear at the idea of expressing our soul's desires is also normal, but this is just our fearful reaction to change and we must make the courageous decision to not let fear rule our life! The great news is that whatever our soul desires for us will not pass us by. Even if we let fear win this time, our soul will find another opportunity for us to take the leap of faith and step up.
Compassionate Self-Exploration
During my own self-exploration I realised that in my life, creativity and dance had always been where I felt the most authentically me. Colouring with my favourite pencils or dancing around the lounge in my pyjamas was where I always felt free to "just be me", without any pressure to look or behave in a certain way or follow any rules.
I realised that it was the feelings of expansion and freedom that come from authentically expressing myself that I was searching for. It was this feeling that my soul wanted to express through me in all that I do. It was an "a-ha" moment where I felt the truth ringing in my heart, and my soul high-fiving me.
When my path led me to learn the spiritual practices of Reiki and meditation I experienced those familiar feelings of expansion and freedom that accompany authentic self-expression. This feeling of alignment in my heart confirmed that creativity, Reiki and meditation were perfect outlets for me to express my soul and live with purpose.
To begin your shift to living with purpose you could ask yourself "where am I, and what am I doing when I feel the most expansive and free?"
My soul led me to the spiritual practices of meditation and Reiki because I had some healing to do as part of reclaiming my power and remembering who I really was. Healing means "to become whole" so we can't heal or become whole if we don't accept all parts of ourself.
To accept all parts of ourself we first need to know which parts we don't accept. In quiet contemplation you could gently and compassionately ask yourself "are there parts of me that I dislike, hide or deny?"
Greeting these exiled parts with non-judgement can be hard, and takes patience and practice. I found the unconditionally loving energy of Reiki to be helpful in these moments.
The Healing Journey of Living with Purpose
Answering the call to live a more meaningful life sets us on a healing journey. As well as experiencing moments of pure joy, this journey undeniably has moments of emotional suffering. Finding practices that support our spiritual and emotional growth, while establishing a deeper connection to our soul helps us towards living with purpose. I personally found great solace in the spiritual practices of Reiki and meditation.
By practicing meditation I experienced spiritual truths for myself, as well as gaining valuable insight into my subconscious. Through my meditation practice I realised that I wasn't sharing my True Self with the world because subconsciously I felt "rotten at my core" due to suppressed and unhealed childhood trauma. Meditation helped me to peacefully recognise this and bathe it in the love-light of consciousness. I was then able to slowly begin the process of healing.
By practicing Self Reiki for healing I was repeatedly surrounded with blissful, divine love. The unconditionally loving energy of Reiki reminded the traumatised part of me, that it wasn't "rotten at the core". Reiki reminded me that actually at my core I was pure, limitless, unconditional love. Though intellectually I knew that the traumatic experience wasn't my fault, it was Reiki that helped me believe it in my heart and truly move into acceptance, self-love and healing.
The gently transformative practices of Meditation and Reiki helped me to remember who I really am, but it was still scary to share this more authentic version of myself with others. It was with courage and through playful creative expression that I explored, experimented and eventually developed the confidence to express my True Self with the world.
The Adventure of a Lifetime
My soul guided and heart led journey to living with purpose continues to be an adventure that brings me great joy. Most importantly to me, I have awakened to my authentic self.
Reiki and meditation practices have provided me with a comforting, gentle path of self exploration. They have been instrumental in helping me answer sacred questions such as "Who am I?", "Why am I here?" and "How can I help others?".
I've become increasingly self-aware, less judgemental, more compassionate towards others, and can love and accept myself. I've found a sense of patience and connection not only with the world around me, but with myself. I consider this to be true healing.
I learned to look within and found the answers were there for me to sense and feel when I was open enough to listen. I learned to trust myself as I took intuitive leaps of faith - feeling fear, exhilaration and freedom all at once.
While at times it's been frustrating and confusing, I can now appreciate that the meandering path I walked satisfied my curious and creative nature while adding richness to my life.
Every step prepared me for the next, and every step took me deeper into understanding myself, my gifts and my potential. It gave me time to develop and deepen my personal spiritual practice which helped me answer the eternal, sacred questions that used to wake me at 3am.
I've made the shift from emotional suffering to living with purpose and consequently my life is more meaningful. I'm more intuitive, joyful and abundant. I feel deep satisfaction knowing I'm expressing my true nature and soul's purpose, and I enjoy a life of trust, love and gratitude.
I hope that my journey has inspired you to stop trying to ignore that nagging feeling in your gut, and answer the call you feel in your heart.
Embracing my Life Purpose to Help You Embrace Yours
Sharing what I've learned on my path to living with purpose is my higher calling. I'd like to share with you the knowledge, tools and spiritual practices that have helped me to step into my power and life purpose so that you can step into yours.
It is my honour to be your guide as you explore the depths of your soul to answer your sacred questions. The truth is you already have the answers, you may just need better tools to access them. In my experience it has been the spiritual practices of Reiki and meditation that have provided the most profound transformation, while creativity has helped me develop the courage to outwardly express my soul with the world.
Let me share these tools with you. I offer a compassionate, safe, non-judgemental space where you can be accepted, seen and heard. In this space you can develop your capacity to trust, express, know and accept yourself.
Learn to hear your soul more clearly so you can transform from confusion, frustration and boredom to living in clarity, joy and soul-led passion!
I'd love to help you make the shift from emotional suffering to living with purpose because when we live a life we love, our joy naturally radiates out into the world. We effortlessly begin to make the world a better place, just by our loving presence in it. Will you join me in making the world a better place, by becoming the most authentic version of yourself?
With love and gratitude,
Charisse Joy