PURPOSE-OF-LIFE

In this episode, we discuss the meaning of purpose of life and introduce a simple guide to help you to find your purpose in life. Within the conversation, we discuss whether creating our purpose in life comes from our internal being or if our external experiences have some impact on our creation of our purpose in life. There is a brief discussion to explain how life can keep us from experiencing and living our purpose in life. Using examples in the life of Jesus and the Buddha, we explore how we can evolve to becoming more present in our lives. 

We read a story from one of our listeners that endured a bitter divorce and how they dealt with this storm in their life. Your life experiences are someone's playbook for dealing with the storms in their life. Please send your stories and questions to our email at cirquedusoul444@gmail.com. With your permission, we may use your story and use your questions as part of our podcast discussion. 

We close with a mantra that our spiritual journey is a personal journey, but never lived alone. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe so that you don't miss any future episodes.  

In addition, we would greatly appreciate a donation to our "Help Us To Help Others" initiative. Your life stories and every dollar donated has the potential to impact someone's life!

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Transcript

0:03

Yeah, that's mind, body, soul. We connected with the globe. Yeah, that's mind, body, soul took some discipline, repetition and some self-control. We connected with the globe. Said that's mind, body, soul. Whoa. Yeah. That's mind, body, soul. Hey. Yeah. That's Mind, body, soul took some discipline, repetition and some self control. Hey everyone, welcome to Cirque to Soul. The only uncut, unedited podcast that is dedicated to helping you to find spiritual peace in your life. My name is Gary Terry, and I'm joined by my brother Kim. Say hello, Kim. Hello everybody. Before we start, I'm gonna, I always ask these little questions I want you to think about as we go through this podcast. Most spiritual masters agree what is between. Earth and heaven. Think about that as we go along this podcast, and I'll give you the answer at the end. What is between Earth and Heaven? Okay, today we're asking the question, how do you find your life's purpose and meaning? Let me start by reading the purpose of life from a few sources, okay? Okay. From Ephesians two 10, for we are God's handiwork created in Jesus Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The Buddha. The Buddha believes that the purpose of life is to create less suffering for ourselves and other sentiment beings by working through the causes of that suffering. The Koran says that the purpose of living should be to better yourself and better things around you, and ultimately preparing yourself for everlasting joy. Korean 51 56 states, I have not created men except that they should serve me. Okay. Each of these verses, the one common thread is that our purpose is to worship God in the supreme being, or seek to attain nirvana and seek to help others. Gary, what are your thoughts about those? That's a lot of information. Yeah. Sometimes I struggle with the blanket statements about, the purpose of life. So for me, I look for more direct instructions or ideas. Now, I do believe that most of our major religions do believe that we're here to worship God and help others. But I think it's difficult for people to, apply these beliefs to their own lives. I'm gonna read you something, I'm gonna read you something from a guy by the name of Viktor Franco. It's a quote. Victor was a psychiatrist and he was a Holocaust survivor, and he wrote about his Holocaust experiences in his book, and the name of the book was Man's Search for Meaning. Okay. Now, Franco argued that even in the most extreme circumstances like imprisonment or suffering, he believed that people can still find meaning, meaning in their lives. We believe that it's the ability to choose our attitude even in the face of hardship that makes life meaningful. So I have to ask, does learning your life's purpose come from external circumstances or from some inner voice? What do you think? Huh? It seems that Frank's work highlights that meaning doesn't necessarily come from external achievements or circumstances that it, it just comes from within. It's about finding purpose through our choices, our values, and our commitment to something greater than ourselves. Last week, we talked about our own stories of how, we came to be on our path. In your case, your awakening was as a result of trauma in my case, an intellectual curiosity to wanna know more, so in my opinion, our experiences seem to be the opposite of what Frank is saying. Again, Frank says that the purpose does not come from external achievements or circumstances, but it comes from within. I What do you think about that? What are your thoughts? You know what I have, I'll take issue. The statement that it comes from within. I firmly believe that our life circumstances do affect our inner being. In my case, I'm talking about the car accident. Yeah, I'm not sure what my thought process would've been, at that time, if I hadn't been in an accident, my take on life probably would've been so much different and, my purpose would've been so much different. While our life's purpose does come from within, I do believe that the external circumstances and experiences, they do help shape our inner thoughts. And it's those thoughts that shape our views. I really can't see how you can separate external circumstances from the internal thoughts from the inner thoughts. That's pretty good. I think I agree with you on a certain level. I think the enlightened beings, the Jesuses and the Buddhists, the Christians ies, I think that it does come from within because they're at such a high level that the external doesn't affect them. Now us as we're trying to evolve. I agree with you, the external does have a part to play in what we perceive as our purpose in life. But also think about the stories in the Bible. Where was Peter or Paul? One was in prison, but they still had their peace because of, with. I guess within, they just had that peace within. So prison didn't bother'em. And you also hear, things about man, your prison's in your mind, yep. The prison's in the mind. So unless you like really highly evolved spiritual, whatever, yes. I do believe that the external. Plays a major part in what our, what we feel our purpose in life is. But until we get to that point, we get to that level, that high spiritual level. And I'd love to be there one day, maybe not just we'll think, talk about that another time, but I'd like to get there where it's just all enter. That's just me. You know what? Hold I, I understand that. Yeah. I guess I have a hard time trying to understand that everything is just internal. And maybe it's because of my past experiences, but I think that things that happen on the inside do shape what we think on the, I'm sorry. Things that happen on the outside do shape what we think on the inside. And yeah, I know what Frankl says, but in my mind. Your experiences have shaped you to who you to, to the person that you are today. And I said this to someone I asked, I said, do you like who you are today? And they said, yes. I said, now, all the bad things that had happened to you, the things, bad decisions that you made, you wouldn't be the person that you are today if you hadn't gone through those experiences, right? So you can't hate those experiences. You have to embrace them and come to peace with them. I, like I said, I do, I agree with you. I agree with you. Let me ask you this question. Okay. Do you believe Jesus, do you think outside outside things influenced his decisions or what he was, his purpose was on this Earth? Wow. You gonna put me on the spot like that? Okay. Yeah. Wow. Wow. If you read the Bible the Bible would say that Jesus already came here with a purpose. If he already had a purpose before, assuming human form, right? I don't know how much the external or outside would have taken him away from that purpose. Let me take it a step farther him. Okay. We know the story of the Buddha where, he was normal, not normal's not the right word. He was like everybody else, I think. Until he meditated and met, took six years meditated until he finally reached the ultimate level. His thing was. Be in the middle, never get too happy, never get too sad. The middle way is the way right. So once he reached that ultimate level, if he, and he was able to do it, he stated that middle way. I don't think the outside influenced or outside things or people really influenced him because he reached that highest spiritual level. What do you think? I would ask the question. It took him a while to get to that point. He had some Yes. Outside experiences. Yes. I guess the question is, did those outside experiences lead him to the point where he's, he made a decision that said, I've got to find, my purpose or whatever. Yes. And then that started his six years. You understand what I'm saying? Yeah. Did things happen to him before he started the six years and that's what led him to that path? I think, yeah. See, I don't know. I think when you talk about Jesus, he already knew what his purpose was, but for the everyday person, you and I, i, yeah, I understand. I let me say this, and I know we, we spent a lot of time on this, but That's okay. When Jesus was growing up as a child, there's only one story in the Bible. When he was 12 and he was talking to the scholars and everything, and he said, I must be about my father's business. But I don't know if he really knew his purpose was because at that time, obviously he was close to God, but. I think when he got baptized and the Bible says the heavens were opened up unto him, just him, nobody else. And I think that's when he reached that enlightenment period. And then that's when he went out into the desert and stayed, was it 40 days and 40 nights? And I. I think he just meditated, right? And he knew what his purpose was at that time. I could be wrong about that, but that's, to me, just reading the Bible, that's what it seemed like to me. So as he was growing up, I don't really think he knew his purpose at the time, either. I could, it's just my thought. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's just from what I, from reading the Bible and reading the story, that's just what I thought. And you know what I would. I want to agree, because we don't know anything about Jesus from what age 12 to, yeah. He actually, burst on the scene, so to say. You know what, though? We don't know anything about Jesus from the Bible. Yeah. There are other books in di like in the I think it's the Buddhist religion or one of those other ones that had a story about. Jesus. Yep. And how he visited, India and the great sages there and grew up there and that's how he learned yoga and all that. It's other stories in other, in other religions, but based on the Bible, we don't know Jesus' childhood. Yeah. Okay. I agree. Okay I have a question because I know that you're a thinker, Gary, and I'm sure you've thought about this. Okay. What does it take for someone to start on the path to understanding their life's meaning? Okay. You said something, you said life's meaning. Yeah. Last week, we talked about the difference between the meaning of life and your life's purpose. And I think I made the statement that it's possible for us to know the, it's not possible for us to know the meaning of life because, we don't know how we got here and we don't know why we're here. And if you don't know those then how can you determine, the meaning? So I do believe, and again, this is just my opinion, I do believe that we can define our purpose, based on three things. I'm one of those KISS people, I like to keep it simple, stupid. Yeah. And I, operate on, I'd like to put some steps in place. So I believe there's really three things that can help define what our purpose in life is. The first one is, what are your God-given talents? If you're a musician, it comes easy to you. Or if you're a talker, it comes easy to you. Everybody has some type of a talent, right? If you can identify that talent, I believe that's phase one, a step one. Second part is, what are you passionate about? What is it that you like to do? Some people like to play music and if they're, if their God-given talent matches up with their passion, then I think that's good, or anything. If you can, if you have a talent that you can match up with the passion, then I think you're halfway there to finding out what your purpose in life is. But it's the third thing. The third thing is, what's your value system? When I say value system is what you're gonna do, are you using their talents and what you're passionate about? If that is used to help people and to further mankind. So is Okay. Just my formula, just my thoughts. Okay. Do you have any thoughts on how someone can understand or find their purpose in life? You know what, those three things that you said are really good and I totally agree about the talents and being passionate about something. I think a lot of times what hold people back is fear, because in this world you do have to make money to live. You do. And. A lot of times people have that fear of using their talents or, just because they don't think they're gonna make enough money. They may not make money. You hear stories sometimes where somebody's I wanna be a actor or a musician or something. The parents tell'em, you're never gonna make any money doing it, blah, blah, blah. Yep. And they end up not doing it. And so a lot of people, even though they know what they love. Actually doing it is totally, is a whole new different type of thing. So you have to not let fear hold you back. Because deep down inside, I think everybody knows what they enjoy doing deep down inside. It's just a matter of getting rid of the fear and just doing it. Yeah. Yeah. I like your three steps. Okay. Here's something else. Okay. Now I know, I think you've hit on it. A lot of people feel lost. They feel, uncertain about their life's purpose. Many are already on some type of path to discovery. But like you said, life can take us away from that. Now, I know that you've taught some classes and you've helped people to find their true calling. Do you have any tips to help people to get started and help them to stay on track? Hello? Yes. Okay, there. No problem. I'm back. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, technical difficulties, but we're good. Did you hear my question? No, I did not. Okay. So I said, I was saying that a lot of people feel lost. They're uncertain about their life's purpose Uhhuh and I know that you've taught some classes and you've helped people to find, the true calling or, what we think there's true calling. Do you have some tips to help people get started or help them stay on track? Wow. Oh my God. I think the bottom line is that number one. Some people just may get tired of doing what they're doing and wanna do something different, and that's a lot of times that's when people usually go to a life coach or something like that, right? But they have to want to do it, number one. But I'll just tell people to just get quiet and then just listen to your inner voice and you know what you really want to do. You think about it in your mind, and if you feel at peace with it, then you just have to go for it and do it because you have to just believe that the higher power has got your back, and that's the direction you need to go. Now, if you're laying down and you're quiet and you said, this is what I want to do, and you have a uneasy feeling within you, then maybe that's not the time to do it. I just always believe that whatever it is that you, that your purpose is. You'll feel happiness, you'll feel at peace with it. And I think you'll succeed because that's what you are on this earth to do. So I just say get quiet and then listen to the inner voice and listen to your feel your emotions about it. And I think you go from there. Okay. I had a few steps. I, this is some things I've worked with other people, because sometimes, people need a little bit more direction. And one of the things I told people you have to start off with is some type of self-reflection, try to take a little time to understand your values, understand your passions and your strengths. And, journaling and meditation, can help you gain clarity, like you just said. Just, get quiet and listen. Another part was to, I guess explore and, experiment, try some new activities. Take on some new hobbies experience to try to find out, what resonates with you and what makes you happy. Another thing and the others is to seek guidance. Talk to some mentors, talk some friends, talk to family members, people who can provide you some insights about yourself that you may not know and other people that are on the path that might be able to, help you. On your path. Okay. And of course, there's always the big one, you gotta set some goals, right? Some short-term goals, some long-term goals. Those goals that, kinda line up with your values and your passions. And I guess the last thing is you have to be patient. You have to be patient. I can remember when I started, meditating years ago and it frustrated the heck outta me because I wasn't able to, to stay present. Yeah, so staying patient is just one of those things that you have to do. Yes. Yeah, definitely. Patience is a virtue, right? Yeah. And when you're trying to get quiet and your mind's just running here and there, right? It's just like you said, stay with it. Eventually your mind will quiet down and just be patient. And, you'll hear that inner voice. I wholeheartedly believe so look, yes. Now I think the things you talked about, that's great advice. And I just learned something new. Because you talked about, staying quiet, being quiet. That's, I think that's really important. And then keeping an open mind. I hope what you said, and the list that I just talked about. I hope that's helpful to, some of the people that, are going through some storms in their lives. It's not easy. It's not easy. But with practice and perseverance, we can find our purpose. Yes. And we can work towards having a purposeful life. I firmly believe that. Yes, I agree. Okay. I agree. Look. We are 20 minutes into this and as we promised, we try to keep this, around 20 to 25 minutes coming into my favorite part of the podcast where we select and read a story from one of our listeners, okay. So you have a story. It's one, our stories of people that have gone through trauma and they've. They've survived it you wanna go ahead and read that story? Sure, yeah. I'll read it. Okay. This, okay. This story comes from Ashley in West Virginia. Okay. Coming back from a heart wrenching divorce was tough. I found myself confused and in pain. The life I had carefully built, crumbled before my eyes leaving a void that seemed impossible to feel yet. It was During this time. I discovered an unexpected source of strength, my spiritual faith through the storm of heartbreak, my faith acted as a anchor guide me when I felt lost in the moments of darkest despair, when my spirit was heavy and hope seemed like a distant dream. Prayer became our refuge. It was through prayer that I found a connection to something greater than myself. A source of unwavering love and support that transcended the pain of my circumstances. As I look as I took a deeper dive into my spiritual journey, I began to see my divorce not as an end, but as a new beginning. My faith provided me with the clarity to understand that this painful chapter was a part of a larger plan for my life. It taught me the power of forgiveness, not just towards my former partner. Towards myself, forgiving myself for perceived failures and shortcomings was an important step in my healing process. My spiritual community played a crucial role during this time, surrounded by individuals who shared my beliefs. I felt a sense of belonging and support, their encouragement and empathy lifting me when I was too weak to stand on my own. Together we shared similar stories, creating a support structure of hope that strengthened my resolve. In the end, my spiritual faith transformed my perception of my divorce. What once seemed like an insurmountable obstacle became a powerful testament to my resilience and growth. My faith taught me the trust in the journey to enhance the lessons hidden within the pain, and to believe in the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Through this experience, I emerged stronger, more compassionate, and deeply connected to the divine presence that guided me through the storm. Thank you, Ashley, for sending your story. We hope that you have found some peace in your life. Your story will definitely help someone to find the strength to deal with the storms in their lives. Now this is gonna close out our podcast for today. Let me give you the answer to the question I gave you at the beginning of the podcast. Most spiritual masters all agree, what is between earth and heaven Now, everybody laugh at this. It's the word and earth and heaven. Anyway, thank you for joining us today on Cirque De Soul. I hope it sparks some new thoughts about the meaning of life. If you would like to send us some questions for discussion or if you would like to send your story, please email those to Cirque de soul444@gmail.com, at crc de Soul C-R-Q-U-E-D-U-S-O-U l444@gmail.com. If you found value in today's episode. Please share it with someone who might benefit from it. Don't forget to like and describe so you don't miss any future episodes. And remember, your spiritual journey is uniquely yours. It is yours, but you are never alone. Take care and be kind yourself. Be kind to the world around you. And until the next time, have a great day in paradise. You sit so, so as I wait on your love for your I'll station myself and drop my, and I'm going my way until you make way. I am gonna drop my.