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The Labyrinth and Your Life’s Purpose
The concept of having a specific purpose in life is one that many people subscribe to. It may stem from your upbringing and education, or it may arise from a sense deep within you that you are here to do something specific that will be of benefit to you and to others. Finding your life’s purpose comes from knowing yourself. As you travel your labyrinth path to self-discovery, you are learning more and more about yourself, letting go of what no longer works for you, and inevitably leading to finding and living your life’s purpose.
Living your life purpose brings a feeling of great satisfaction. You fall asleep in great anticipation, thinking about what you are going to do tomorrow. You want to jump out of bed in the morning to start doing what you love and what makes your heart sing. You get a buzz from feeling so alive, especially when you know that you are making progress and achieving what is important for you. There is a fullness in your life that cannot be bought, as it stems from deep inside you. You have a passion for life that you might not have felt since you were a child, a passion that stems from living your life fully, from making a difference, from making your own mark on the world.
Some people are born with a strong sense of their life purpose. We have all heard of the child who declared at a young age to their parents that they were going to be a doctor, a writer, or some other profession, and then proceeded to achieve what they had declared. For most people, such clarity is not immediately present. They need to engage in a process of self-development and exploration to reach certainty about their life’s purpose.
The labyrinth is a wonderful tool to help bring clarity to your life’s purpose. You can use it both to find your purpose and to explore the next steps when you have found it. If you rely on logic alone, you are unlikely to find your life purpose. Searching based solely on thinking and logic can be too mechanical, and lacks feelings that motivate you. When using the mind alone, you are limiting your possibilities and your search to what you already know. If the answers are elsewhere, you are unlikely to find them.
It is also unusual to find your purpose solely through emotion, as you can be somewhat detached from reality and may lack practicality in your approach. The labyrinth offers a means for bringing your thoughts and emotions into coherence so that you are approaching the issue of your life’s purpose in a clear state of mind and in a state of balance and heightened awareness. The labyrinth also offers a quest outside the areas that you already know, opening you up to a recognition that there is a much greater you to be explored.
When you enter the labyrinth in search of your purpose, you are bringing together your conscious and unconscious mind, as well as drawing on your intuition and connection to your higher self. You are acknowledging that you are willing to step outside your comfort zone and previously self-imposed boundaries to explore parts of yourself that you have not fully met. You are also willing to meet parts of yourself that you cannot even imagine. This search can bring much joy and peace as you discover who you really are and what you are here to do. Within the safe space of the labyrinth, your ongoing self-reflection leads to greater self-knowledge, expands your awareness, and brings greater clarity in many areas of your life.
Looking back on my early interactions with the labyrinth, I now realise that I was unknowingly following my path to self-discovery. This is also true of many people who come to the labyrinth looking for insights into their life. In exploring your life purpose in the labyrinth, insights can come like a flash of inspiration or they can creep up on you gradually.
Several years ago, a woman called Mary attended a few of my labyrinth walks. She was looking for a new direction in her life and her work. She was working in a retail shop and while it paid the bills she was not particularly happy working there. The first time that she walked the labyrinth she was walking the grass labyrinth in her bare feet and she stepped on a pebble that was a little uncomfortable and caused her to stop on her walk. Reflexology popped into her mind, and she reminded herself to check it out later. She was intrigued by the practice of reflexology and ended up signing on for an evening course and trained as a reflexologist.
She didn’t see how she could make a living from her reflexology. So, at a subsequent labyrinth walk, she asked the question “How am I to make a living from my reflexology?” During the labyrinth walk, she got the message, “Just advertise and see what happens.” She put a free ad in a local newspaper and some notices up in local shops advertising her services. The very next day she got a phone call from someone looking for an appointment. As she was able to see clients in the evenings after work, she was able to keep her day job and gradually build up her reflexology work.
She loved working as a reflexologist, especially talking with people and listening when they shared their problems. Yet, she felt that there was more to her life purpose. At another labyrinth evening, she walked the labyrinth to seek guidance on what else she might do. She felt that she didn’t receive any direct insight during the walk, but while talking with one of the other participants after the walk, they mentioned to her that she should consider becoming a counsellor as she was a good listener and was easy to talk to. This prompted her to train as a counsellor/therapist. She now runs a successful counsellor practice and is really happy in her work. She credits the labyrinth with providing the insights to take the steps she needed to find her life purpose.
The pursuit of finding and living your life’s purpose is the pursuit of a fulfilled life. A fulfilled life is one that brings you satisfaction and happiness. Your life purpose is inextricably linked to your understanding of the meaning of life. Your understanding of the reason, if any, that you believe you are here on earth will influence the direction of your search for fulfilment. When you discover yourself fully, you live your life in a state of knowing yourself and being yourself. In this state, you automatically do what is right and true for you, and you feel fulfilled and full of joy.
You are only on this earth for a specific time. At some stage, your life here will end and you will pass from this earth. The desire to achieve something substantial in life is the drive that keeps you pursuing your life purpose. Your sense of achieving may come from accomplishing any goal that is personally satisfying. This can range from climbing Mount Everest to creating a new piece of art, song, book, or anything else that is meaningful to you. It may involve being of service to others, or working for the betterment of society, the environment, the animals of the earth, or some other altruistic objective greater than yourself that you consider worthwhile.
The desire to find and live your purpose ebbs and flows with the cycles of life. Just as the path of the labyrinth sometimes brings you close to the centre and other times away from it, life’s circumstances also impact your attainment of a fulfilled life. When you were a child, you may have had a strong sense of what you wanted to be when you grew up. Or you may not have had any idea or thought at all about it. As a child, I loved mazes. I bought books of maze puzzles and spent hours figuring them out. I believe that this was an early connection with labyrinths that didn’t fully manifest into part of my life purpose until many years later. Like many people, I lost touch with what I loved as a child for many years. The social pressures of adolescence and early working life led me in different directions for a while. The societal expectation of earning a living, getting married, buying a house, and rearing a family overshadowed the sometimes intangible life purpose aim of doing what I loved and got fulfilment from.
As a young adult, you may have specific goals and aims that you want to achieve in life. Perhaps like many people, you become involved in long-term relationships, in which the welfare of the other partner becomes equally as important as your own, and the time available for engaging in personal pursuits is often greatly reduced. If you become a parent, the welfare of your children often takes a priority for several years. As children grow up and eventually leave home, it is often only then that you revisit your own personal goals and aims. If you are reading this later in life, you are not alone in realizing that now is the best time for you to seek the fulfilment that you postponed for other worthwhile reasons. It is also important to acknowledge that part of your life’s purpose may have been the devotion of some of your life’s years to the support of others. On the labyrinth journey of your life, some of your life’s turns seemingly have taken you away from your purpose. Yet, you were always moving forward. Now is again your time.
Happiness can be found, and if you find happiness, you most likely have also found what makes you feel alive and what is your life’s purpose. Take a moment to consider what you love doing. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it inspires you and you feel excited when you think about it and talk about it. It can be anything from stamp collecting to gardening to sport to travelling to places you find interesting. Whatever motivates you is usually a part of your purpose.
Clues to your life purpose may be hiding in full view. Your hobbies and pastimes are often a good indication of what inspires and drives you. Places you visit can also be an indication of some aspect of your life purpose. If you are someone who repeatedly goes to a particular place on holidays, consider what the attraction of that location is for you. There is often something about the place that you like, even though you might not always be able to put it into words. You most likely feel comfortable there. You feel a familiarity with it, a love for the place, the people, the language, the history. If all you can think of is that you just like it, then look deeper and explore the attraction more.
Books that you buy or are given as gifts can indicate where your purpose lies. People drawn to the labyrinth in this lifetime could have worked with them in past lifetimes, or chose to recognize the labyrinth before they incarnated. So, when they come across the labyrinth, they recognize it as a symbol that previously helped them advance on their path.
The path of the labyrinth also contains clues to your life purpose. The association of the circuits of the labyrinth with your chakras can provide insights into what is your purposes. If you feel a sensation in a certain area of the labyrinth on a life purpose walk, this is indicating to you that your life purpose could be related to that energy centre. You enter the labyrinth on the third circuit related to your solar plexus. This is connected with stepping into your power, which you must do to start living your purpose fully. An insight, message, or sensation on the next circuit could be indicating that your purpose is to be found in a creative way. On the longest outer circuit related to your root chakra, feelings, and insights can indicate a job focused around safety and security.
The fourth circuit is associated with your heart and healing. Providing a loving service, helping others, and doing work for the greater good often stem from a strong heart connection. After the heart chakra, the next circuit you enter on the labyrinth is associated with your crown chakra. This is your connection to a higher consciousness and may be guiding you to a life purpose that involves knowing beyond this life and earth, and sharing wisdom about life and death. It is said that the soul enters the body at birth and leaves at death through this chakra. Roles related to this chakra include spiritual guidance and teaching, preacher, monk, meditation teacher, and other similar roles.
An active third eye chakra during the walk can indicate a life purpose related to using your intuition and psychic abilities. Mediumship, psychic readings, and other ways of helping people through these areas may appeal to you. Moving to the throat centre, issues and insights relate to using your communication skill and speaking your truth. Professions such as teachers, counsellors, psychotherapists, and even politicians can stem from a raised vibration around truth. If you are sensitive to throat energies, you may even find yourself clearing your throat as you read this!
At the centre, you are in contact with your higher self. Divine presence is being activated from above and coming down into your body. Insights received here may relate to any of your energy centres, but may also pertain to the wholeness of all your chakras being in balance. When in balance, you are really opening up to seeing the dynamics of life, the energy field of the whole planet, with nature, and beyond. When you are at one with your higher self and in balance, your purpose will become clearer.
If you haven’t found your life purpose yet, then lucky you! Life becomes even more wonderful and interesting; the world is your oyster and you are looking for the pearl. You have the opportunity of living your life with curiosity. You can go out every day with expectation and excitement that perhaps today is the day. You can even make a project plan of the places you are going to go, the things you are going to do, and the people you are going to see with a view to finding out if they give you the aliveness feeling. Treat the search for your life’s purpose as a great adventure, and you will be rewarded with unexpected occurrences and “aha!” moments, some of which will inevitably be guiding you in the direction of your life purpose.
When you have found your purpose, you then have to start living it. You also need to consider if you can begin straight away or if there are some things that you need to do to prepare yourself for stepping fully into your life purpose. There may be practical issues that you need to address first. While I am now full-time teaching, facilitating, speaking, writing, healing, and helping others on their path, it took me many years to step fully into this area of work. I had a mortgage and a family to support, and so for several years my passion was limited to evenings and weekends. I took several years to build up my profile in the labyrinth and holistic area, and to train in various healing therapies. Eventually when I made the decision to move full-time into the area that I am now working, I was ready on both a personal level and on a practical and financial level. I always had a passion for labyrinth work, but had to wait until it could support me before I started working with it full time.
When you come out of the labyrinth after exploring your life purpose, you then have to take steps towards what you want, including removing those things in your life that you don’t want. Taking action helps you to get clear on things. Making changes is not always easy, but when you know what your purpose is, these changes often flow automatically. If you think that you have found your purpose but haven’t started living it yet, then doing nothing can lead to frustration. If taking a big step is too much for you, then you need to take whatever little steps that you can. Talking to others who are already doing what you know is your purpose can be inspiring and motivating. If you need to learn more about your life purpose activities, taking lessons to move you towards being that expert person is an essential intermediate step that you can take. Just like when you are walking the labyrinth, looking too far ahead may only confuse and bewilder you. So, take the next step and you will be moving towards where you want to be. And while the labyrinth will help to bring you clarity, you will only start getting results when you take action.
Shifting into fully living your life purpose can feel like sailing in uncharted waters. You may have a fear of leaving the known behind, particularly if it means leaving secure employment to pursue your passions. You may know deep down that it will work, yet you also know that there is an element of risk involved. It is okay to feel some fear about what you are about to do. When you are on a hero’s journey with no certainty about the outcome, there are times when you have to feel the fear and do it anyway.
You are living your life purpose when you are living from your heart. Your heart is the place of love and truth. When you are fully in your heart and doing what you love, you are also accessing deeper awareness and higher consciousness to feed more into your purpose. When you are doing what you love, you are inherently happy and in tune with yourself and the world around you. Being in such a heart centred space can bring more inspiration and guidance as you are operating beyond the blocks and barriers that previously held you back. When you are doing what you love, your love comes through in everything you say, everything you do, and everything you create. Others recognize the love that you are putting into your work and want to be a part of it and to have some of what you are producing. If you were choosing someone to do work on your house, you are more likely to choose someone who really loves what they are doing rather than someone who doesn’t like their work. Do what you love doing and people will love what you do.
Having more than one purpose is quite common. While most people have one very strong soul purpose, searching for that one thing that is your life purpose may be a false quest. If you feel that something is missing, then there is likely something else that you are also meant to be doing. If you get satisfaction from doing several different things, then each one of these may be part of your purpose. There are lots of things that I really love doing. The list includes inspirational speaking, spiritual healing, designing labyrinths, writing, art, energetic space clearing, visiting sacred sites, and facilitating labyrinth workshops to bring people to a higher state of awareness and consciousness. When I look at this list, I see a strong connection between them all that can be condensed into one main thing that really makes me feel alive. It is working with high spiritual energy and groups, raising the vibration so that everyone present experiences a state of high vibration and awareness. Finding that one job or purpose that is perfect for you may not be your path. You may have several life purposes that you move through over the years of your life, or you may have several roles that you fulfil at the same time, each one making you feel like you are on fire and that you want to get up and race out the door to do in the morning.
Everyone’s path is different, and my way may not be your way. Yet each of us is also on the same path: the path to a fulfilled life. And you are being guided. Remember Ariadne’s thread that led Theseus out of the labyrinth. That golden thread is leading you through the labyrinth of your life to finding your place and purpose in the world. That thread may come in the form of a career or profession that you were born to do. Or it may be a way of being that appeals to you above all else. And just like Theseus, you too can have an unquenchable passion and powerful connection to the work you are here to do, where your love of life and your place within it is a powerful driving force within you.
You will know when you have found your purpose, as you will be so full of life and positivity about what you are doing. When you are passionate about something you want to share it with others. My friend Michael is passionate about Ireland’s ancient sacred sites. He visits them whenever he can and reads every book he can get his hands on to learn more about them. He loves talking about them, and his enthusiasm for them is infectious. When he starts talking about these “special places,” as he calls them, his eyes light up, and people are naturally attracted to him and what he is saying. It is like someone has flicked a big switch and a great light starts shining inside of him.
Your passion is your purpose. Going into the labyrinth aligns you deeper in your soul. It helps you to let go of what is hindering and blocking you. The more you work with the labyrinth, the clearer your purpose will become. Every labyrinth walk is different, and every time you walk the labyrinth seeking insights into your life purpose you can receive new insights. Even when you have found your purpose, from time to time you will have questions about your next step, or the choices that you have to make in life. Continuing to work with the labyrinth will help guide you and keep you on the path of your purpose and fulfilment. The labyrinth brings you to a place where you are living life fully and loving life fully, embodying your real purpose of being completely involved in your life.
Exercise: How to Conduct a Life Purpose
Exploration Walk (Back to the Womb Walk)
This exercise is about walking the labyrinth as symbolic of going back into the womb to remember your purpose in this lifetime. Finding your life purpose can be influenced by everything that has happened in your life to date.
Your mindset is important on this walk. You need to believe that finding your life purpose is possible. Be aware also that your purpose may not become immediately and clearly apparent, and that you need to be conscious of every signal, message, and insight that you receive.
To find your true purpose in life, you need to empty your mind of all the thoughts about it that you took on or learned. As your mind quietens while walking the labyrinth, you become more open to receiving answers to your life purpose questions.
It is important also to acknowledge that you may have some anxiety or hidden fears about finding your life purpose. Finding your life purpose may mean making some changes to your life, some of these can be radical changes. You may have an inkling what your purpose is, but are nervous of having it confirmed because it may mean substantial changes for you and your loved ones. Ultimately, you know deep down that finding your life purpose will leave you with the power to weave your own destiny.
To begin, write down in a few words or short phrases a brief description of the main life events that you have experienced in this lifetime from now back to your birth. Start with where you are now. As you remember significant events and people in your life, consciously let go of any aspects of those relationships and events that do not make you feel happy. Just let them go without any judgement. Thank the people for what they brought you, and let go of the memories that you do not wish to keep. Remember your recent years, your parents, family members, remember your young adult years, your teenage years, your college days, your school days, your childhood years, your days as a young child.
This exercise uses a finger labyrinth that you have drawn (alternatively, you can use the one on page 259), or walking a labyrinth, to travel back in time back through all the memories that you have listed. You begin at the entrance to the labyrinth representing where you are now in your life. All your life events brought you to this point. Some of them you are happy about and others not so much. During the exercise, you will be retracing your life’s steps back to the time before you were born—back to the womb. As you walk, you symbolically move back through the years remembering the key memories that you have written down and some others that come to mind as you walk.
You need to customize the walk to suit your age and experiences. Whatever your circumstances, when you begin the labyrinth walk focus on your most recent experiences in life. As a memory comes to mind, allow all negative thoughts and experiences from this memory to go. Your intention is to focus on and amplify the memories that have given you joy, that made you feel alive, that make you smile even now.
Bring your thoughts back to when you were several years younger. Think about the jobs you worked at, the people you had relationships with, the places you visited. All the while, let go of what did not serve you in those relationships, and focus on what you wish to retain that made you feel good. Think about the people who were in your life, the partners you spent time with, the children you were raising. Think about the happy times, what was happening, and what you were doing.
Move back further to when you were a young single adult. Focus on those years. Remember what you enjoyed doing, especially those things that felt healthy and wholesome. Let go of any unhappy memories of people, places, and work that you did. If you went to college, go back through your college years and remember your relationships and activities there. Again, let go of the unhappy and unpleasant memories, retaining the happy times and any time you felt freedom and fully alive.
As you walk further in the labyrinth, go back to your teenage years. What were your fears and hopes when you were a teenager? Let go of any anxiety and doubt that you had at that time, and focus on the fun times you had with friends, and the things that you loved doing on your own.
Go back further to when you were a younger child, aged eleven or twelve. Remember what you loved doing. Remember what your parents had to drag you away from. What did you love doing and sharing with your friends? Remember when you were younger again and the things you did where you lost track of time. Recall how you spent your spare time when you were an eight- or nine-year-old.
Go back further to when you were only five or six years old. What memories do you have of those times? If you have unhappy memories from any part of your childhood, acknowledge them and let them go. Focus on what made you feel happy from your childhood. Find those moments and days of your childhood happiness.
You will now be getting close to the centre of the labyrinth. Think back as far as you can remember, when you were only a few years old. Hold on to the happy memories and let go of what were not nice memories at the time.
As you near the centre of the labyrinth, you will remember your earliest memories of this lifetime. You are now at a time shortly before you were born. While you may not have clear memories or images of these early years that you can recall, sometimes you have a feeling about these times that has stayed with you. You will now be at the entrance to the centre of the labyrinth. Entering the centre of the labyrinth is symbolic of re-entering your mother’s womb.
When in the centre, pause, and take as much time as you need to visualize yourself in your mother’s womb. This is a time when you had a greater connection with your higher self and the spirit world. Allow whatever thoughts that come to mind to grow. Do not dismiss anything. Be in a state of quiet acceptance just as if you were a warm, safe baby. It is safe to be yourself; it is safe to allow your thoughts to go where they want to go. It is safe to see, hear, and feel whatever you are feeling. See if you can go back even further to before conception took place, to before you took physical form to see what insights you get about your purpose in coming to earth. If nothing is coming to you, ask your guides to give you some insights into your reason for being here.
After a few minutes, and when you feel ready, even if you feel that you have not received any major insights, prepare to re-enact your birth and be born into this lifetime. Slowly make your way out of the womb centre of the labyrinth. As you walk out of the labyrinth, allow any thoughts that relate to what you love doing, what makes you feel alive, or what is your purpose on earth at this time to emerge. Do not judge or dismiss anything that comes to you, even if it appears not to make sense to you at the time. As you emerge from the labyrinth you are now at the point of your life at this present moment.
Reflection
Write down everything that came to you during this walk. Do not leave anything out as everything is important. When you have finished writing, consider where you are now in relation to your purpose. Do this in a nonjudgemental way. You are where you are and can now make choices.
What emotions did you feel when you were writing things down? Look for an emotion that is a little different from the others, as it may give you a clue to what you are here to do.
Consider what steps you now wish to take to progress on your journey in life. What are you going to do that’s different? What are you going to do that is new for you?
You can repeat this exercise any time you feel like exploring further your life’s purpose.