Let Gifts Guide You to Your Higher Purpose

My gift of photography captures my daughter's gift of dance,
and we both live our higher purpose.

I've come to discover that when a concept comes to me in many ways...I hear, see or read it in a number of different places... it's a message from the Universe to pay attention; to look more closely at the idea being offered. So lately, the Universe has brought "gifts" to my attention.

Our culture offers many opportunities throughout the year for gift giving. Birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and graduation are just a few of the times each year we go online or to the store looking for the perfect gift for someone. For me, gift selection isn't my favorite part of the process. During a recent workshop regarding the Five Languages of Love, I discovered and came to terms with gift selection as a chore I would rather delegate to someone else who I deem more worthy because he or she has better taste or more creative ideas.

When I got home from the workshop, I told my husband about my discovery. And then, knowing me so well, he said, "You give lots of gifts." He went on to acknowledge the photographs I make and share on my personal blog and the joy and love those photographs bring my family and close friends. Aw man...he was right! My photography is a gift I give lovingly, joyfully and freely without worry about whether it will fit or if it will be appreciated. It is MY gift to give.

The concept of gifts continued to pop up in my experience and then the light bulb went on in my head when I was reading The Last Shaman by William Whitecloud. This fictional tale offers a highly imaginative and illuminating look at how we can open up to being guided along the path of our highest destiny. On page 95 the Last Shaman tells the main character the following:

"First, the being within: That means you are not just a carcass with some gray matter computing the most logical way to survive. There's a spirit inside, a pure creative spirit connected to everything through all time and space. This essence has a destiny, a purpose to fulfill, and many gifts and talents that support the expression of that nature. This is our greatness. The ability to own what we truly exist to serve, and the actualization of that, defines our personal sovereignty."

And then it dawned on me the message behind gifts. The gifts we give freely, joyfully and lovingly are the bread crumbs leading us to our higher purpose...our reason for being. It's not some great mystery but rather an invitation to do what we love, give it freely and live our highest calling on purpose.

What gifts of talent and treasure do you give joyfully and freely? Do that and live your highest destiny!

To download The Last Shaman visit Amazon with this link:

Life's A Play

LIFE'S A PLAY

No one living knows in what sort of life our souls hover prior to birth.  We only belatedly discover that, when the bright lights go on, it’s show time.

We come into this world with no idea how to deal with it, or what our part in it is to be.  Because the experience is absolutely new, and because we inhabit these animal bodies that constantly grow and change, there is much to learn; and perhaps the most daunting assignment is the comprehension of time itself.

As we take the first steps into existence, we are directed by those souls who care for us, and those around us.  The scripts we are given are incomprehensible.  Many of the people in whose charge we have been placed have some experience, but little wisdom.  And most challenging of all is that we are allotted a finite amount of time in which to accomplish the mastery of our role in life.

In the perceptions of our youth, this rehearsal seems interminable, the lights too bright, the stage too hot.  Many of the other actors among whom we find ourselves are less than cooperative; we learn the strange sensations of pain and fear, and the delight of pleasure and joy.  We are frustrated by the fact that this rehearsal is part of the play of life itself, and that even our attempts to prepare ourselves for it are on display; we are forced to learn its complexities while performing, and realize that the rehearsal, and even the intermission are important parts of the play as well.

In Act II we discover human love.  It is so utterly mesmerizing that we often forget our lines.  We are introduced to the most exalted feeling ever experienced, while at the same time playing the fool.  We open ourselves to other actors without inhibition, only to find ourselves in the bleakest state imaginable.  This is where we fall back upon the ultimate values we have learned from the beginning, and use them to propel ourselves forward, for the show must go on.

But the ultimate love scene we all must play is not with another actor, but with the Director, God Itself.  God has cast us each in our unique roles, and has given us everything needed to live a full and good life; it is up to the individual actor to play that part to the utmost.  This requires that we stay acutely aware of the Beloved in every moment of our lives, acknowledging that Presence in every situation and every person, and expressing our heartfelt gratitude for the gift of life.

Life’s a play, but without a script.  The Director wants us only to give our best, push our boundaries, enjoy the performance and be decent with each other.  The next play, in the next world awaits us all.  When the final curtain falls, and you take your last bows, what will the reviews say?

--by Rick Dale
Rick is an accomplished singer/songwriter who is currently appearing in the musical play, "Route 66" at the Cabrillo Playhouse in San Clemente, CA.  He is also a very involved and highly regarded member of the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley.