I had the good fortune of facilitating a teleseminar with my acupuncture mentor Lonny Jarrett last night with over 200 acupuncturists from around the world on the call.  One of the impressions I was left with during and immediately after this call is how vital community is to our spiritual and emotional well being.  Just being in the presence of people who are committed to a similar purpose of waking up and living with deep conviction is in itself a very powerful opportunity.  It is also equally important that we commit to being in the presence of and learning from those who have attained a higher level of realization than we have.  As with any aspect of personal or professional development, it’s almost impossible to sustain continued advancement and growth without the ongoing guidance of mentors and coaches.

This is why I enjoy coaching so much.  I can help people experience a deeper/higher level of success and realization in their business and life.  When I am part of this process, nothing could be more rewarding.  But I, too, need the support of those who are above me in their achievements and understanding.  There is a natural hierarchy implicit in human evolution.  Every one of us is at a different level on the evolutionary spectrum.  For me, just listening to Lonny speak for 60 minutes creates an almost instant transformation in the way I look at things. 

One of the things that Lonny talks a lot about is the fact that about 95% of humanity is simply not that interested in genuine and radical transformation.  The average modern person is deeply attached to a kind of complacent, cynical, or ambivalent stance with life that keeps them frozen in a kind of pseudo comfort.  When it comes to health and healing, Lonny asserts that it is the part of us that thinks it takes time to heal that is the sickness itself. 

In order to change your life for the better- to deepen your experience of purpose, fulfillment, and freedom- there has to be a genuine interest in this.  Now, it would seem obvious that we would be interested in actualizing these qualities.  But when it comes down to the day to day choices we make and actions we initiate, it is often simply not the case. 

One of the main reasons I wrote my new book The Purpose Principle is because I have had many patients over the years who ask me ‘how do I change?’  My book goes into some depth on this concept of having a sincere interest in transformation.  My intention is that the book is basically used as a key that helps you unlock the door to your deepest nature, that helps you see the immediacy of this moment, and the opportunity you have right now to transform your life into one of purpose, generosity, and freedom. 

Until the book comes out (ebook is coming soon), I encourage you to surround yourself with people who are serious about living from a deeper perspective.  Start to form a community of people who are interested in waking up.  Once the book comes out, I hope to use it as a tool for creating community in this way.  I’ll be doing group coaching with people around North America based on the strategies in the book.  Check in with www.purposeprinciple.com to stay updated on the book and my coaching programs and feel free to email me at Kevin@purposeprinciple.com if you’d like to be a part of my first group after the book launches.

Kevin Doherty

author of The Purpose Principle

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If you take a close look at your daily life, you’ll notice that you are caught in one of two dynamics:

1.  You are just getting by, trying to make it through the day and are inundated by stressful circumstances, boredom, routine, or habits

2.  You are truly enjoying your life, spending most of your time in a state of  appreciation for who you are and what you have, living your life free from limitation

If you were to be brutally honest with yourself and assess which one of these scenarios best describes you, which one would it be?  Of course, the follow up question we all need to ask is, what will it take for you to shift into #2 on a consistent basis?

My experience is that the first step is always becoming acutely aware of the actual reality of our situation as human beings in the modern world.  We actually have to see with total clarity all of the obstacles, forces, and layers of conditioning that are imposed upon us that keep us locked in a state of mere survival.  While this may sound easy enough, it is a truly radical stance to take to become a fully empowered person who can simply observe the dynamics of our modern world without becoming identified with or attached to them. 

A big part of life purpose is the process of overcoming various obstacles, external ones being conventional influences such as the media, religious dogma, and educational ideologies that conflict with the manifestation of our deepest nature, and internal ones being attachment to difficult emotions, negative beliefs, and the tendency to lapse into a habitual or rote stance with our daily life. 

In the Buddhist tradition, it is often said that awareness itself heals.  This means that we actually don’t have to necessarily ‘do’ anything with our problems and issues; simply paying attention to them in a state of compassionate awareness is itself a transformative process.  Lack of awareness feeds our habitual tendency to ‘just get by’, assuming that our identities and the world we live in are set in stone and that we just have to deal with what we have in the best way we can. 

Thriving, on the other hand, is a state of total self-empowerment where we renounce any tendency toward being a victim in life by subscribing to resigned beliefs such as, ‘this is just how life is’.  Thriving takes a daily commitment to shake things up and never, ever take for granted the preciousness and poignancy of our human existence.  It is a revolutionary act of acknowleding and then acting upon the sacred role we have to fulfill in this universe.  In this sense, we stay ‘on our toes’, knowing that we are not here to just protect our own territory or to make ourselves more comfortable.  We are here to help others. 

If you feel that you are stuck in survival mode, you have to see that this is a choice.  Now, when I tell this to a lot of my clients, they often don’t like hearing it.  It may sound offensive.  But to someone who is really ready to change, the realization that we can choose a more empowering life is incredibly liberating.   Most of us, however, just simply aren’t willing to change.  Even though we aren’t deeply fulfilled and free in our current way of being, we are comfortable.  And there is a fear of stepping out of that security and into the unknown.  Until there is a strong motivation to jump into uncertainty, we will stay entrenched in our current patterns.  We have to get sick of mediocrity before we can evolve. 

Kevin Doherty

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If you’ve read a few of the previous posts, you have noticed that I have a central focus of trying to shake people out of stagnation, addictions, and routines.  One of the core attributes of life purpose is the ability to live spontaeneously, which means that we are consciously choosing to be free in this very moment.  What are we free from?  Well, really we are free from the past, from karma, and from the insidious tendency to succumb to habitual behavior. 

When you decide to let go of rote behaviors, you are basically asserting your free will as a human being to think, act, and feel in a radicaly creative and unique manner.  You do things on your terms.  You act according to your own spiritual impulses.  Really, how could you discover your life’s purpose if it were otherwise?  Life purpose can only be found in this moment.  And we have to be fully here to be awake to this moment to find our purpose.  Really, our purpose finds us.  How?  When we become free of bondage, conformity, and expectations.  When we relinquish our need for external validation.  When we stop caring what others think about us. 

Purpose finds us.  Really, it is just there waiting for us.  It is always there.  In fact, it is literally right in front of us all the time.  All we have to do is see it.  Why don’t we?   Because we are bound up in expectation, the need to be accepted or not judged by others, the vicious clinging to security at all costs.  If we let go, then it is there.  But it is not outside of us.  It can’t be found by trying harder or by using will power to feel better.  That will only create more distraction and confusion.  Purpose can only be found through surrender. 

It is a completely natural process.  What happens when you live with purpose is that you find your own voice.  Now, this may sound kind of obvious or pleasant, but really it’s a totally radical way to live.  Finding your own voice comes about when you renounce your reliance on external validation, when you choose to put freedom before security. 

‘How do I do this?’, you may ask.  Well, it will only come about when you are ready for it.  Really, there is no how.  It is all about being ready to renounce any and all distractions to purpose.  That is the only way.  Yes, you can do this right now, in this very moment.  But are you ready?  Or is there more of an interest in staying comfortable, secure, and safe?  Purpose transcends all of these pursuits.  Only when you are literally ready to jump into the abyss of the unknown will you find purpose.  That is where radical independence is found.  Until then, it’s merely a matter of staying comfortable, feeling like you’re right, and postponing your deepest, heartfelt longings. 

When you find your own voice, you become fully alive.  You become an inspiration to others.  Your motivation to live becomes much larger than the narrow parameters of ‘I’. 

If you want to learn more about becoming awake to your life’s purpose, I recommend that you check out my new book The Purpose Principle, due out in e-book form in early September, and in hard copy a few months after that.  The book is all about waking up to who you really are, transcending mediocrity and conformity, and renouncing the small reality of ‘I’ once and for all.  

Kevin Doherty

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I’ll be doing a free teleseminar with my acupuncture teacher Lonny Jarrett on Chinese Medicine and the evolution of consciousness on Monday, 9/22 at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern time.  Lonny is an amazing teacher who has a unique and compelling perspective on the role of medicine in our modern world.  This class is primarily for acupuncturists, but if you are seriously interested in what I’m discussing on this blog, feel free to sign up:  http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/evolutionofconsciousness.html

Kevin Doherty

author of the Purpose Principle

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One of the hallmarks of vibrant health is the ability to live spontaneously.  This means that you are free from addictions, habits, and routinized behavior.  You base your choices on a fresh relationship with the present moment.   So, there is a very direct relationship between awareness and health.  To the extent you are aware in this moment and not run by unconscious or automatic behavior, you are healthy. 

If you really think about this and take action based on this principle, the implications are quite radical.  If you are having your morning cup of coffee, you are doing it because you have a spontaneous relationship with this moment– you are fully present to the process of making that coffee and you actually taste its essence with every sip.  Most of us find that it’s quite easy it is to slip into unconscious behavior where we have our morning coffee because that is what we do in the morning.  It is a routine, a habit.  If you live spontaneously, there is never a sense of, ‘well I do this just because that’s who I am and that’s what I do.’  You are always awake and aware; every choice you make is coming from a source that is connected to present moment reality. 

Can you imagine if all of your lifestyle choices were coming from this place?  No more addictions, habits, or routines?  No more habitual perceptions of who you are and how life is?  In Chinese medicine, that is the essence of health.  In my book The Purpose Principle, that is also one definition I give to life purpose– awareness of present moment reality. 

To be healthy is to be aware.  To be aware is to be fully connected to this moment.  Choose to let go of old addictions and habits and see what happens.  It may be hard at first, but it is like opening a door to a much more energizing and gratifying way of life.

Kevin Doherty

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Let’s talk about a few simple steps you can take right now to enjoy better health. 

1.  Make your health a top priority– If you really think about it, it’s pretty likely that your health isn’t as high on your personal value system as other life themes such as work, money, and family.  Without your health, however, what do you really have?  How much can you enjoy the money you make or your relationships with friends and family if you are don’t have much energy or you’re in chronic pain?  Another way of saying this is to bring a sense of purpose to your health.  Get committed to establishing a baseline of healthy lifestyle choices and behaviors that reflect well being. 

A big part of making your health a priority is education.  Spend some time learning about your body and what it takes to care for it in the right way with nutrition and exercise.  Learn about practices such as acupuncture that have long been proven to not only reduce or relieve chronic health conditions, but also can optimize your system so you will age well and prevent future illness from setting in.  ( Go to http://www.bouldercountyacupuncture.com to learn more about acupuncture and to read the health articles I have posted there).

2.  Start eating organic foods– If you just switch to eating most of your food from the local health food store instead of conventional grocery stores, you are taking a huge step in the right direction.  Organic foods are worth the investment (and that is what you are doing here– investing in your health).  Cut out additives, preservatives, refined sugars, and white flour products from your diet as you make the switch to organic.  The ideal is to feed your body and mind with highly nutritious, low glycemic foods that will sustain your energy and prevent inflammation, which is at the root of many chronic degenerative conditions such as arthritis and possibly even depression.  Eat a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruits.  Constitutionally, most of us will benefit from a diet that is primarily vegetarian, possibly with some lean protein sources such as wild salmon added in.  Organic vegetable and fruit juices are a wonderul adjunct to a healthy lifestyle.

3.  Consistently get a blend of resorative and cardiovascular exercise– The key word here is consistently.  It is easy to get on a temporary exercise program using a dose of will power and excitement, but to then give it up when it becomes repetitive or boring.  With exercise (and with food), our bodies crave diversity.  Try new things.  I recommend doing yoga 3-4 times per week, and then doing more active aerobic activities such as running or biking 2-3 times per week.  In my humble opinion, yoga is the most powerful and beneficial form of exercise on the planet (perhaps along with qi gong and tai chi depending on your preference).  Yoga is considered a restorative form of exercise that can actually build your system up and give you more energy.  Cardio can leave you feeling depleted if you are already struggling with weak adrenal function or a deficiency of internal energy. 

This is a basic way to craft a healthy lifestyle.  Of course, there are many more factors involved in health.  But if you make these changes, you will have a good foundation in place. 

Kevin Doherty

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Many of the ancient wisdom traditions teach that life is an illusion.  Our self-image has no solidity to it.  The process of awakening is very much like lucid dreaming.  You realize that your life is a completely open, spacious and impermanent situation and that you can choose to see it as such in any given moment.  You realize that you have been operating under the assumption that life is solid.  All of the sudden, it becomes apparent that everything in the phenomenal world is subject to change.  It is very much like a dream.

Now, when you realize this, something very interesting begins to happen.  You realize that you can use the power of your own mind to navigate through your life with grace and fluidity.  Honestly, I attribute much of my success in my business ventures to this exact dynamic.  I have always somehow known that I could bend external reality based on what I focused on internally.  This can be done because reality is a completely open situation, ripe with infinite potential.  When I coach business owners (mainly holistic health practitioners) to achieve more success, I often suggest that they start with their mindset rather than their external marketing plan. 

Yes, action is important.  In fact, it is crucial.  You have to be proactive and initiate the change you want to see happen.  But even more fundamental than action is intention, which is a term that summarizes the intutitive sense that your mind has an incredible power to will into reality what it wants.  Your intentions and actions must be aligned.  I know so many people who are go-getters, high achievers, type A, very ambitious– but they are continuously frustrated by the results they get from all the effort they are putting in.  This is because they are excessively focused on action; they are not connected to the invisible world of intention. 

If you believe that the world is a real, solid, permanent thing, then stuggle is the inevitable outcome.  My best advice here is to train yourself to dance with the illusion of your own self and the external world and to harness the power of your mind to create a foundation of strength for creating the life that you most genuinely desire.  In my book The Purpose Principle, I call this ‘being before doing.’  Always start with your inner being.  If your circumstances aren’t as you’d like, put your focus on your faculties of perception before you habitually jump into taking action.  Yes– do take action, but not before you have internal clarity. 

Kevin Doherty

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