The Soul's Calling

The call from the soul can feel like missing a place you don't know exists – a place you long for but don't know if it exists. Something you know must be possible here on earth, but which you cannot quite define or explain. The soul guides us towards living a life that is filled with a deeper meaning and a deeper purpose, which perhaps only you or a few people understand.

Examples of the Soul's Impulse

The soul's impulse may mean that you are considering changing to a career that is more in line with what feels like your real task. It can be an urge to engage in activities that nourish your inner self in a more rewarding way, or to prioritize relationships that support you in closer connection, deeper love, and more authenticity. In other cases, it may be to go out into the world and create a concrete change, big or small.

It can be working for a cause close to your heart, or feeling drawn to living in deeper connection with the "spiritual." For some, the meaning may be to live in seclusion, while others live out their souls in society on a larger scale and want changes on the "big stage."

Others live out their soul in close relationships with their loved ones. For others, it may mean immersing themselves in something technical and making it sublime. For some, it means feeling drawn to art and music or creative pursuits. For some, the soul can mean a deeper connection to the earth through gardening.

When you follow the soul's impulse, you can be a warrior who goes into battle with a burning heart, or you can stay at home and feel called to meet your children with the deepest presence. It may be that you feel called to go deep with an intimate partner and explore the mysteries of love (see our guide). There are no right answers, and only you know what attracts you.

The Soul's Perspective

When you act authentically from the soul's perspective, you are not self-righteous. You have access to self-irony and can see the humor in your choices if others ask. You are driven by something inner that you cannot or need not convey, something that creates focus and purpose in your life. You have no need to either explain yourself or defend yourself to those who do not understand.

You have no desire to recruit anyone to a campaign for your cause, to get them on "your side". It is up to them whether they want to join and create something with you, and you only create with those you deeply resonate with, and leave others alone. There is no one to be converted, no one to be enlightened, and no one to be saved. Because you know deep down that you are on the right track, and that others have their life path and their choices. You respect that and at the same time set your clear boundaries for what you want to participate in and what you don't want to participate in.

You know deep down that you are on the right track, even though the world sometimes seems to be on fire. You know you can't "save" the world. Suffering is a part of life, and it is not your job to take on all the suffering in the world. You have realized that taking on the suffering of others only prolongs their pain when it prevents them from taking responsibility for their own lives. You have let go of the struggle and made peace with the fact that they must go their own way in life, which does not necessarily involve you.

Listen to podcast E40 for more information.