How to Explore Your Spiritual Dharma

Tris Thorp | 29 July 2016

It’s pretty amazing that we live in a time when being spiritual has become more popularized; where meditation studios are now trending, yoga studios can be found on nearly every block, and mindfulness themes are ubiquitous. Thanks to the efficacy of Google and social media, you needn’t look far and wide these days to find the Guru or the path.

It’s been a long-standing belief among many that, in order to ‘find yourself’, a Guru or teacher is a requisite. To some extent this can be extremely helpful. One of the biggest mistakes we make on the spiritual path, however, is in thinking that the Guru has all the answers. Finding your spiritual dharma—or purpose—is more about introspection and self-discovery than about following the same path of others.

In a society that encourages competition, perpetuates fear, and promotes commercialism, we’ve long-since forgotten that we are all here to unfold our highest potential, to return to love, and to compassionately help others do the same. We’ve learned to ignore our own internal wisdom and have instead convinced ourselves that we are somehow exempt from figuring out the secret meaning of life. We adopt the lifestyles, practices, and beliefs of others in search of our own purpose. Sometimes it works and we find our path and other times we feel more disconnected and lost than ever before.

Spoiler alert: In your attempts to find the meaning of life and your reason for being here, it’s easy to get lost in practices and promises that don’t seem to get you any closer to knowing your truth. In doing so, you may inadvertently fuel your ego’s belief that you as an individual are insufficient—that you need someone else to tell you what to do and why you are here. Deepak Chopra, in the 2008 American comedy The Love Guru, teaches comedian Mike Meyers that the guru is actually found within. “Gee, you are you (G-u-r-u)!” The good news is that you already have all the answers you need inside yourself. You just need to learn to listen to your internal guidance to find your way.

Chances are pretty good that at some point you’ve contemplated the meaning of life or asked yourself the age-old question, “Why am I here?” The fact is that each of us comes into this life with at least one unique talent or special gift and sometimes we come in with a bucket load of them. These may be things that are natural skill sets, know-hows, or abilities; More often than not, you don’t see them as being all that special which is why they go unnoticed.

How to Find Your True Purpose

Human nature, for whatever reason, is to want what others have and to ignore the gifts you have been blessed with. By identifying your individual genius, passion, or flair, you’re able to move closer to finding your true purpose. If it’s true that you do have a dharma or purpose for being here, how do you go about finding it?

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