I was catching up on the latest season of Mad Men this morning. In one episode, they were thinking about their future and kept asking the question, “What else is there?” – meaning what comes next after achieving the goal of the next promotion or gaining the next big client.
No one had an answer.
No one could think beyond the next material world goal of more money or a better work position.
Is this all there is to Life?
The episode hinted at the “unlived life”. Yet to me, purpose isn’t just about leaving your job at an advertising agency to start a cookie company because you’ve always liked baking cookies.
Purpose – what we are here to do and be – is much bigger than that.
I often talk about evolving the purpose conversation. At first, we often do things for our own ego, then we find a dream and try to accomplish that, then sooner or later we transcend those dreams to get a bigger vision of being of service to something much greater. It is something greater than our individual lives. It is a vision for the future.
That’s what I did in my own life by first becoming an agent (ego), then becoming a life coach (my dream), eventually transitioning my purpose to what Spirit wanted of me – energy medicine and the soul dynamic (the vision).
The vision for the future that I have is of an entirely new world.
It is a vision where a new paradigm of a new kind of love rules.
It is a love for ourselves, each other, our work, and for our planet.
The problem is that we use the word new too much. It’s a “new” year. There are countless ads professing all kinds of stuff for a “new” you. It is only a new year because WE say it so as part of our collective belief. It is not a new year to the sun, the trees, or the animals. A new you is still the same soul, the same body – perhaps just a different look or approach to life.
So what REALLY is “new”?
When something is actually new, it is unknown. It has to be unknown if it is truly “new”. It is something that was previously not there. Meaning it didn’t exist before, and therefore we cannot know what the “new” actually is because we have never experienced it before.
I often think of the butterfly metaphor. Do you think it knew when it was a caterpillar that it was going to develop wings and be able to fly? Why would it? It never had wings before. Those wings and the ability to fly is something that is actually NEW for the butterfly. It has to trust its instincts and depend upon its innate wisdom to act in the moment and embrace the change of something completely different and new to its way of life.
So in this spirit, if you were going to have a truly NEW purpose, what would it be? If it did not exist before, yet was something that excited and called your soul forth, what would that be? What is your vision for the future?
For some of us, it may not necessarily need to be a “new” purpose. I have defined mine for years as helping people to fulfill their soul’s journey through their life’s work. Now, as time rolls on, more and more people are starting to understand what I mean when I say the words “soul’s journey”. It is your soul’s purpose – not just of this life, but from ALL OF THEM. All of the lifetimes, in different skins, over and over again, living and learning lessons.
So where are you right now, at this moment in time? You must first see clearly where you are now, in the present moment.
I had a moment this morning while laying in my 2-year old daughter’s bed where I looked up and saw the butterflies on the wall and the kitty pillow, train, and other toys on the floor. It was as if I was taking a snapshot of a moment in time, where at the end of my life I could go back and pluck out a memory. This moment would be a good one. I then looked at the bed in the other room where my wife was sleeping and I could see the view of the ocean. I had a greater sense of where I was on the planet, on the West coast of the United States. Turning to look at myself in the mirror I saw my eyes, my aging skin, in my incarnation right now. I thought, “THIS LIFE IS NOT SO BAD”. Like anyone else, I have good days and bad days. We all have things that we worry about. We all have “problems”. Yet, do we let ourselves be defined by them? Do we let them consume our consciousness?
Because if there is something that we are moving to, something “new” that we are calling in, we need to transcend our problems and worries by having new levels of compassion, love, and unity for ourselves first, then for the people we know, for our work, and then for all of the planet.
I invite you to evolve your personal purpose so that the “new” may arrive for you.
But how does that happen?
We don’t know what we don’t know. So how can we evolve our personal purpose on our own? It’s occurred to me that, most of the time, we can’t do it alone.
We must immerse ourselves in experiences that evolve ourselves or work with those who can help us.
That’s where Eden and I come in. We are here as beacons of consciousness to share not only our journey, but also the process to what has provided our “New” to come in so that it may help to illuminate your own highest path. We share these steps by facilitating plant medicine ceremonies and leading workshops and sacred travel. In these programs, we provide experiences that alter your reality for something “new” to come in so that you can then re-orient your life and have things BE different.
If your soul feels called, come join us.
Below are our programs for our vision of the future for 2016.
We can all talk about doing something new, but unless you actually DO something that alters your consciousness or shifts the paradigm of your reality, it’s just talk. Like George R.R. Martin said, “Words are wind…”.
By the way, we still offer one-on-one sessions, but we will be taking on fewer individual clients this year as we focus on group ceremonies and workshops for individuals and companies.
With love,
~John
Upcoming 2016 Events:
Feb 6th
Peruvian Medicine Ceremony in Laguna Beach, CA. Our ceremonies are a day-long and overnight exploration into the ways of the Heart. It is a beautiful experience that provides a profound stillness, connection to Mother Earth, and insights into our deepest questions about our lives and soul’s journey.
Feb 21st, 28th, 6th
Basic Energy Clearing Skills for Parents (3-week webinar series)
Online course. One hour per week over 3 weekends. Helping parents learn new skills for sensitive and empathic children to help keep them calm and in balance.
March 5th
Peruvian Medicine Ceremony in Laguna Beach, CA
March 20th
Daytime Spring Equinox event (Sunday afternoon) and John’s birthday
April 2nd
Peruvian Medicine Ceremony in Laguna Beach, CA
April 8th, 9th, 10th
Lucidity Festival – Santa Barbara. (We’ll be there. Come join us!)
April 23rd
Peruvian Medicine Ceremony in New York
May 7th
Peruvian Medicine Ceremony in Laguna Beach, CA
May 20th, 21st, 22nd
6th Sense Shamanic Skills for Entrepreneurs: A 3-day workshop teaching advanced energetic skills specifically for conscious entrepreneurs to help them expand their way of being, ability to vision and hold space, and consciousness to make an even bigger impact on the world.
June 9th to 19th
11 Day Amazon and Peru Journey – ONLY 5 SPOTS LEFT. Visit www.johnandeden.com/peru2016 for the full details.
For interest or additional details of any of these events, please email us at info(at)johnandeden.com for the full details.
