On Day 19 of Finding Your Flow meditation, we turn our focus to expressing our life’s purpose and honoring the Divine within us.
Deepak points out that this expression can be deeply affected by the messages we received as children. If we were raised with messages from our community (family, teachers, etc.) that we are children of God, made for a beautiful and unique purpose, we will have an easier time expressing our true self.
Whereas children who were raised with messages that we were not good enough, or stupid, or less than, we can find it difficult to believe that we have a higher purpose to fulfill. And we may need to hear this idea over and over before we can start to believe it.
This has certainly been my experience and I have also seen it in all the coaching and consulting I have done. It often takes a lot of personal healing work before someone can really believe in their Divine greatness and have the confidence to express it.
I am reminded of Dr. Brené Brown’s work on shame. She says the shame messages come in two forms—”you’re not good enough” and “who do you think you are?” She calls them the shame gremlins.
Both of these messages play a big part in why people don’t step into their brilliance and follow the path that is their higher purpose in life.
That is why, for us souls@work, we have to engage in mindfulness practices like meditation—just to give us a fighting chance to overcome all the pressures to stay small.
I honestly believe that this is why we have not yet seen the changes in the world we all so crave. That while more and more of us are conscious, we are still living small at our workplaces and as a result, the corporations, government agencies, schools, and non-profits where we work cannot transform.
So the first step is to start living your brilliance 24/7. Not just at home or in your yoga class, but every day. And especially at work.
Oprah reminds us of a powerful quote by Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love:
“We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Nelson Mandela found great inspiration in these words as do I. Join me in printing out a copy and hanging it in your workspace.
Namaste.