The book, A Purpose Driven Life, was given to me at a low time in my life by a classmate. It had helped her during challenges. It is written by Rick Warren, pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in California.
The book asks for you to make a covenant with the Lord, to spend forty days going over each portion of each chapter that is assigned to you. It resonated very deeply with me, and helped me to get through my personal challenges.
It made me feel loved and that I was being counted upon by God to fulfill the Divine Purpose of my Life. Looking back, it was baby steps. But just as it is important for a baby learning to walk, to get past the falls and tumbles and to get their way on their own feet, it is important for us in our Spiritual Life to get a start on our own Purpose.
At the time ten years ago, I felt that I had stumbled upon a profound spiritual truth. Let us revisit the steps, with Spirit in Mind, and have 'something to add' to make it more appropriate for the Reiki in us today. I have taken steps to make it inclusive to our brothers and sisters who might have been hurt in some way by organized religion and possibly the christian faith. We are children of God, truly.
Pastor Rick starts the book with an Intent: "As I wrote this book, I often prayed that you would experience the incredible sense of hope, energy, and joy that comes from discovering what God put you on this planet to do." This is pure Source, and work of Spirit, setting an intention, just as a Reiki practitioner would begin a healing by summoning angels, guides and deceased loved ones to help with the Reiki flow. Intent is everything.
I am taking the highlighted box for each day that resonates, and Reiki-expanding it in the underlined text.
Day 1. You were made by God and for God--and until you understand that, life will never make sense.
you are a creature of Spirit. you are made for this. to enjoy and reap what you gather from this life to bring with you to the next.
Day 2. Long before you were conceived by your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God.
you are an eternal creature and came to this on assignment by choice. Live it.
Day 3. Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them.
you came to live your life for development, to bring forward from this life to the next.
Day 4. This life is preparation for the next.
see number three. all souls are continually moving onward in their process of self-development.
Day 5. Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.
our life is built up of lessons broken up by periods of time for assimilation and rest for the spirit that is within us.
Day 6. Your identity is eternity and your homeland is Heaven.
you are what you 'make of it'. no matter what you do, your origin and assignment have been set/blessed.
Day 7. When anything in Creation fulfills its purpose, it brings Glory to God.
Source is the infinite collection of All, it is holy, pure and of Light.
Day 8. Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship.
God wouldn't assign you a nine-to-five option on experience of purpose and fulfillment. It is a 24/7 experience on this earth. Life is not 'what you make of it'. It is an eternity of getting to know yourself in order to make this world a BETTER PLACE.
Day 9. God enjoys watching every detail of your life.
You are always on 'recorder' on the Akashic records. You review this on yourself every night. Your higher self is guiding you in this test. Source is all infinity and Light, and you are a Spark of it. : )
Day 10. Surrender is not the best way to live, it is the only way to live. Nothing else works.
You can fight your spiritual nature in this realm, but you cannot escape the Karmic Debt and Universal Laws.
Day 11. Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure.
We are your family of spirit. We know and love you in spite of everything else, whether you account for this in your experience of life as we know it, or do not choose to acknowledge us in it.
Day 12. The more you become God's friend, the more you will care about the things he cares about.
Your higher purpose will make itself familiar to you if you experience it closely in your consciousness.
Day 13. The best style of worship is he one that most authentically represents your love for God.
There is no style of worship superior than the one that is inside of you. If you like church, that is an option. There are many options that are available to you in life experience. namaste.
Day 14. When you feel abandoned by God yet continue to trust in him, you worship him in the deepest way.
Trust is the ability to have faith in higher consciousness of you and the universal law. God is taking care of you in all experiences of life, even the dangerous and painful ones. Your trust is what will get you through intact.
Day 15. Being included in God's family is the highest honor and the greatest privilege you will ever receive.
Your family of light is there for you, no matter what. Call on us sometime and let us share our Light with your heart and your plans and your hopes for this life. And also for the next.
Day 16. The greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
We are on earth for a limited time. It is like the choices of rides to take at Disneyland--the day it passes by no matter how long we take at everything. Share your light with others on the test. It is 'open book examination' on earth.
Day 17. We discover our role in life through our relationship with others.
Everyone projects a different aspect of you to yourself for purposes of learning more about your heart.
Day 18. Every time you understand and affirm someone's feelings, you build fellowship.
There is nothing to add on this, it is face value.
Day 19. When conflict is handled correctly, we grow closer to each other.
Absolutely, yes! That is an affirmative! try Ho'oponopono technique if you are stuck within a conflict that you can't get past.
Day 20. God expects you to make the first move.
There is no time like the moment to undertake a cause for peace between two hearts and put an end to suffering.
Day 21. We must passionately love the church in spite of its imperfections.
This is our humanity, our 'church'. Be respectful of the flaws and shortcomings of others and they shall be respectful of the ones in you. And yes, we have them! We all do! Even Pastor Rick.
Day 22. God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort but character development.
I like to turn this one around--your comfort will be greater in Eternity for having developed your character as much as possible while living your life as you know it on Earth.
Day 23. The way you think influences the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.
You are an energetic creature full of Light, a creative spirit. Like it or not, what you think has the ability to become a reality. 'Worry is prayer for what you DON'T WANT'.
Day 24. Many people who claim to have read the bible 'from cover to cover' have never read it from cover to cover.
Other people's opinions do not matter. They are not you. Only YOU can live your life for you. Let it go. You are not going to succeed in changing anybody without changing first your heart and spirit.
Day 25. Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be your darkest days.
Love stinks! Yeah, yeah! Love stinks! But it sure sells some pretty good music, doesn't it? My friends, challenge truly brings out the best in you. It allows you to relive your troublesome experiences to the benefit of others going through similar ones, and your ability to help makes it less traumatic on them. Namaste.
Day 26. God develops the fruit of the spirit by allowing you to experience circumstances which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality!
Control of one's emotions is the sign of a spiritual master.
Day 27. The battle for sin is won or lost in your mind. What gets your attention will get you.
Control of one's inner thought processes is also the sign of a spiritual master. The impartial observance of one's thinking, like in Buddhism, can be useful in this.
Day 28. There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss, and no loss without pain.
Attachments must be severed to progress. You may enjoy them, but know that they are attachments and can be taken away from you at any time.
Day 29. Service is the pathway to real significance.
This is the basis of the highest dimensions and life experience. What you can take with you is a life that is spent serving others not expecting payment or anything in return. The sacrifice of the heart. Namaste.
Day 30. God never wastes anything.
Everything you do, everything you think, everything you feel in your heart, has Higher Purpose and It is Good.
Day 31. It feels good to do what God made you to do. (your Life Purpose)
Things that feel good raise the vibration, and progress is made by the soul that holds to this fact.
Day 32. You will never know what you are good at until you try.
God does not make you eat your vegetables. This is not mommy telling you it is for your own good. God says quite emphatically: Do Not Limit Yourself by Limited Thinking! The sky is the limit and GO FOR IT!
Day 33. Great opportunities often disguise themselves as small tasks.
God has angels unawares pop up in your life, kind of like on the computer. Try to be sure to click on them and see what it is they have in XP for you in this world. Namaste.
Day 34. Real servants don't try to use God for their purposes. They let God use them for his purposes.
It is the Ego that wants to use God for its purpose. Period. That is enough said.
Day 35. Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.
It will also make you a better person for having lived though suffering and all the lower emotions. It will have opened your heart.
Day 36. The Great Commission was given to every follower...
You are not an accident. "If a mother forsake her child, I shall not abandon you." That is God, in the Essence.
Day 37. Shared stories build a relational bridge...from your heart to others.
People do not trust and do not relate to one who is not like themselves. Our ministers 'of Life' go out in the field, roll up their sleeves, and work alongside of you. Remember the part about the 'angels unawares'? That's us out there! To follow you and bring you back to God when you are ripe for it.
Day 38. It has never been easier in history to fulfill your commission to go to the whole world.
This is correct. There are many provisions for blessing and for grace. Not by the computer, but in everything. Only the desire to be a better person, and the effort spent in that direction, will one encounter the greatest return on their investment in Spirit and in Light. Rates are good these days! Seriously. You will make a killing on the 'market', the God and Love and Spirit one, if you attempt the smallest of efforts very intently.
Day 39. You owe it to future generations to preserve the testimony of how God helped you fulfill his purposes on earth.
You matter. God is counting on you to do your Task. That task, be is a simple garden or a home well-kept, shall make the world a better place for your having lived here on earth and done what you like best (your calling to the Light). And God will have an emphasis on preparing you for it. Take your time. There is no hurry. Namaste.
Day 40. When God's at the center of your life, you worship. When he's not, you worry.
You can start living your purpose today.
God is every breath. Why not go along with it? It is lovely when all is said and done. Keep smiling. Keep shining, Know within your bosom, in your heart of hearts, you are the best at doing what you do best. Naturally!
It is my hope that this exercise will expand and build upon the beauty and truth that was brought to us through the life work of Reverend Rick Warren, a man of faith and peace and service to many on his task. His love might reach further with this blog, and find a suitable place in you.
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
