Divining our Life Path & Purpose
This entry and topic is born from challenge. This is something that had muddled around in my mind and through the process of thinking, over thinking, and thinking some more, I've finally come to a place in my practice where I know how to confidently tackle this pressing issue and commonly asked question: "what is my life path and purpose?"
Let me first take you back in time, a couple of years ago. It was close to my birthday and I wanted to order a reading for myself. This was before I was providing readings for others (besides friends and family) and prior to me being visible on social media. I looked around online and found someone who I vibed with and ordered a "life path and purpose" reading. The reader worked with the Life Purpose Oracle deck combined with meditation and angel work. It didn't take long to get my report back, and the results? Energy Healer. He also provided some suggestions, divinely inspired, to check out some course offerings and to select something that spoke to my soul. He said I shouldn't spend a lot of money and it wouldn't take much education, but it would be a good way to get my feet wet on a certain bracket of metaphysics that I was drawn to. Well, I didn't pursue energy healing per say, but I did immediately follow his other suggestion and let my gut and heart guide me. It was through this process that I found a spirit guide coach certification course and signed my ass up. I can say with certainty, this was a pivotal and changing moment for me.
But, is spirit guide work my one true life path and purpose? No. I would never say that. And we'll get to why in a moment. Before we do, I also want to share that following that reading, I went and purchased the exact deck the reader had worked with. It happened to be the Life Purpose Oracle by Doreen Virtue. I am not a huge fan of Doreen's work and certainly her oracle decks, while I have a few, I have a difficult time connecting with especially aesthetically. But that's just a side. The point is, I purchased the deck because I was intrigued by the concept and in being able to offer my friends and family similar readings.
But then something dawned on me. If we're talking life path and purpose, doesn't that mean that I could only ever do one reading for someone, like, ever!? I mean, once you know your life path and purpose, that's it...you're done, right? Wrong.
I put the deck away for awhile because I wasn't ready for it yet. I didn't understand its purpose and so therefore I found it very limiting and contrived. But over the months and, well, years now, my understanding of life path and purpose evolved and I realized, with everything, nothing is carved in stone and the world and our lives are in a constant state of evolution.
So, what is life path and purpose? It is whatever you aspire to be or are challenged to overcome or drawn to pursue in any given moment. Life path and purpose is a constantly changing expression of who we are and who we want to become. I have learned, and I have witnessed, myself and others getting hung up on what we think we should be doing. "But, this was my passion 2 years ago, I'd be giving up if I dropped it now!" Ask yourself though, does it still bring you joy? Are you still jumping out of bed every day to pursue it? Is it what you want to be doing? I've also learned that path and purpose are always connected to our joy and our spark and so it doesn't even matter what you do, as long as you're following that joy and that spark.
When I do life path and purpose readings, I always frame it to the present. As in, this is something that may be in alignment for you at this time. But that thing is not meant to hold you back or box you in. When it's time to part ways you must do this. Think of it as being similar to relationships or the concept of soul mates. We don't just have one soul mate - we have many people who could potentially be wonderful partners for us. And if we're in a relationship that no longer feels right, does it mean we stay because we've already put so much time into it? Hell no. We pack our bags and be move on - or we should. And it doesn't mean that relationship wasn't exactly what we needed when it started, but, things change. And part of our challenge on this plane is to recognize when they do and get in the flow of our new direction.
Now having this broader understanding of life path and purpose, I no longer approach my Life Purpose Oracle deck so statically. If you've also struggled with this deck, I'm going to share a few suggestions and ideas for working with it more frequently, beyond a "life-long path and purpose" reading.
Use it to address path and purpose in this present moment. For example, "what is a path or suggestion that would be in alignment with where I am now?"
Use it to address matters of creativity or hobbies. For example, "What may be a good focus for my creativity at this time?"
Use it to show you options. For example, "What would be a few options for me in alignment with my path at this time?" You can even pull some additional tarot cards to explore each option further.
And always look beyond the standard sentiment. Just because the card says "Energy Healer" doesn't mean the answer lies in the traditional sense. It could be talking about anything in the sphere of energy or healing touch. Perhaps massage, acupuncture, chakra balancing etc. Let your intuition guide you!
I hope this post has given you some ideas on working with the topic of life path and purpose and even what it could mean for you in your own life. I think if we consider our lives like a constantly evolving web, rather than a straight and static line, some of these concepts begin to make more sense. The other thought here is that just because a deck seems very one dimensional, doesn't mean you can't flex it and make it work for you, even if it defies the instructions that it came with!
I'll leave you with a little spread that I constructed awhile back that deals specifically with path and purpose called Consult Your Higher Self. You could use this with tarot, oracle, or if you have the Life Purpose Oracle deck, I could see how you could use that for your first two pulls! Positional meanings following the diagram.
Card 1 - What should I be focusing on at this time?
Card 2 - What should I remove from my focus at this time?
Card 3 - Where is my path ideally headed at this time? This isn’t meant to highlight where you’re already headed, necessarily, but where you have the potential to head as it relates to the highest good at this time.
Card 4 - Am I currently on that path? Since the cards don’t explicitly state “yes” or “no” you will need to intuit, based on the energy of the card, what this is saying to you.
Card 5 - If not, how can I course correct? If so, what can I do to maintain my trajectory?: Depending on the answer in question 4, this question will be approached in one of two ways.
Card 6 - What else do I need to know at this time as it relates to my current path and purpose?
And there you have it! If you have a crack at the spread I'd love to know how you make out. As well, if you work with the Life Purpose Oracle and have some suggestions on how to use it, I'd love to hear them!
Until next time...
Julia