At one time or another, almost all of us ask ourselves the question "Why am I here?" It is a perplexing question to be sure, and many of the answers that we come up with can seem empty or unsatisfying—at least until we connect to the deeper truth of our soul and begin to realize that our purpose is inextricably tied to who we really are. Unlike artificial and default purposes that many people tend to live by, a purpose that emanates from your soul always seeks to create situations that allow you to express and experience your true essence. In this episode, you will learn how to tap into your Soul’s Purpose for your life, and begin a practice of not just living on purpose, but BEING on purpose.

Forgiveness may well be the most powerful force in the universe. It has the power to heal and to open channels of love. It has the power to lift the blinders off our eyes so that we can see things as they really are. It has many benefits to health, happiness and fulfillment. Best of all, it is a totally free commodity that we all have access to all the time.If we can learn to forgive, then we can free ourselves from our own dysfunctional (and destructive) thoughts and beliefs, thereby allowing ourselves to grow and evolve into our most magnificent selves.

Compassion is a powerful tool for amplifying happiness and fulfillment in every area of your life. Not only can it reduce your own suffering, but it can also empower you to reduce the suffering of others as well. This has a lot of unexpected benefits other than the obvious, such as reducing stress and increasing the production of both oxytocin and DHEA in your body. So, as you deepen your practice of compassion, not only are you bringing more love and healing into the world, but you are also filling yourself with happiness in the process—while actually making yourself look and feel younger. And who doesn’t want those things?

In every single moment, no matter what’s going on in your life, you always have a choice about how you’re going to respond to whatever is showing up around you. It’s true: every moment represents a new choice point in your life—that is, an opportunity to make a new choice and create a new direction for your life. The question is, will you choose consciously or unconsciously? And, perhaps more importantly, will you take responsibility for the impacts—intended or not—that your choices create?

Because of conditioning and programming in our families, organizations, and society at large, most of us live with a belief system that tells us we are small or insignificant or limited. Our ego minds amplify this belief through its insistence that we are all separate from one another. If we can quiet our ego minds and descend into the essence of who we really are, we quickly learn that we are much bigger, grander and more powerful than we ever imagined. And the idea of separateness simply vaporizes and we begin to see the wonderful and magical connections we have with all energy forms everywhere.

The ego mind is known as a "pattern-matching device" and "meaning-making machine", and frankly, it does those jobs extremely well. Unfortunately, because of the ego mind's hardwired tendency to find patterns in virtually all data and meanings in virtually all situations, it is constantly comparing its current state with states it has experienced in the past--and offering warnings about potential dangers which may not even exist! This non-stop behavior leads us all to experience the world through perceptual biases and filters, which makes it hard for us to accept things as they really are. And of course, this means that what we think we experience is actually an illusion--and may indeed be nothing at all like what we are really experiencing. The solution to this problem is to find a way to remove the filters so that we can accept things as they really are rather than as we think they are.

Every journey begins with a single step. In the journey to Life Mastery, that first--and most important--step is Awareness. But we're not talking about simply being aware of the information that is coming to you through your five senses. We're also talking about being aware of all your thoughts and emotions, as well as all your stories and interpretations and judgments. In addition, we're talking about how you show up in relation to all these things. Awareness is a very big deal, and we'll talk about it in some detail in this episode.

The "Life Mastery Paradigm" is a mechanism--a map or model, if you like--for living your best possible life. It consists of 10 primary keys arranged, like a flower's petals, around the central "Base Camp". As you learn and practice these skills, all coupled with a powerful sense of awareness an presence, you become ever more skilled at living, and grow toward Life Mastery.

In this episode, we look at two important questions:

What is Life Mastery?

Why is it important?

Not only do we delve into these questions and come up with some compelling answers, but we also consider the impact that a practice of Life Mastery can have on your life. If you have ever wished your life had an owner's manual, you'll find this podcast to be very useful and informative!