For the past several lessons, we've been talking about becoming more aligned with who we truly are. But alignment naturally leads to another question: "Why am I here?" Many people spend years searching for their purpose as if it's hidden somewhere waiting to be found. I don't think purpose works quite like that. I think purpose is something we gradually uncover by paying attention to who we are, what energizes us, and how we choose to serve the world. There is a profound idea that stems from Japan that's called Ikigai, which can be translated as "a reason for being." It asks us to reflect on four simple but profound questions: ❤️ What do I love? What activities make you lose track of time? What subjects do you naturally enjoy learning about? If money wasn't a concern, what would you spend your time doing? 🌱 What am I naturally good at? Everyone has strengths. Some people are artists. Some are natural teachers. Some build things. Some solve problems. Some care deeply for others. Some organize chaos. What abilities seem to come naturally to you? 🌎 What does the world need? Purpose isn't only about ourselves. How can your gifts improve someone else's life? What problems would you genuinely enjoy helping solve? 💰 What could I be paid for? This is where dreams begin becoming practical. Every business, career, or side hustle exists because it provides value to someone else. Your purpose doesn't have to remain a hobby forever. Sometimes it grows into a career. Sometimes it stays a passion alongside another job. Both are meaningful. When these four areas begin overlapping, something beautiful happens. Your work begins feeling meaningful. Your talents become useful. Your life becomes more aligned. Your income begins supporting the life you actually want to live. This doesn't mean everyone discovers their purpose overnight. Most people don't. Purpose is less like finding buried treasure... and more like following a trail through the woods. Each step gives you a clearer view of the next one.

These pair well with Lesson 17 to give people a deeper meaning of the term Ikigai. If this philosophy interests any one of you, please consider reading more about it to get a more in depth understanding 🙏🏼 If anyone would like me to post a more in depth lesson on Ikigai, please let me know, and I'd be happy to compile it into a deeper lesson 🪷💛 I love this philosophy because not only does it resonate with what most people search for in life: their purpose and what they are here to do, but also, people who claim to find their Ikigai or "reason for being" are actually known to increase their health, happiness, and even their own lifespan!! This goes beyond the metaphysical and proves that it is an essential and often missing piece to human life 🧐 Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments. If anyone has an idea of what their own personal Ikigai is, please drop it below!!

In our last lesson, we talked about authenticity and remembering who we truly are beneath the expectations and conditioning of the world. Today, I want to take that idea one step further and introduce a concept that has appeared throughout many spiritual traditions: The Higher Self. But what exactly is the Higher Self? Many people imagine it as some perfect version of themselves that they must someday become. I see it a little differently. Your Higher Self is not someone else. It is the highest expression of who you already are . It is the part of you that is rooted in love rather than fear. It is the voice of wisdom beneath the noise. It is the version of yourself that acts from peace rather than anxiety. From compassion rather than anger. From faith rather than doubt. 🌿 THE LOWER SELF VS THE HIGHER SELF We all experience both. The lower self is not evil. It is simply the part of us driven by fear, ego, and insecurity. It asks: "What will people think?" "What if I'm not enough?" Meanwhile, the Higher Self asks: "What if everything works out?" "How can I serve the world around me?" "What would love do?" "What feels true?" Neither part should be hated. But one keeps us small, while the other helps us grow. ✨ HOW DO WE TAP INTO OUR HIGHER SELF? Contrary to popular belief, the Higher Self does not shout. It whispers. Which means we must create space to hear it. Some ways to strengthen this connection include: 🪷 Meditation 🙏 Prayer 🌿 Spending time in nature 📖 Journaling 🧘 Mindfulness ❤️ Practicing gratitude ✨ Visualization 😌 Moments of silence 💚 Acts of kindness 🎨 Creative expression The more we quiet the noise around us, the easier it becomes to hear the wisdom already within. 🌱 A SIMPLE QUESTION Whenever you are faced with a difficult decision, ask yourself: "What would the highest version of myself do?" Not the perfect version. Not the version trying to impress everyone. But the version of you rooted in love, truth, compassion, and authenticity.

Earning money is something that becomes so centrally important to our lives because of how our society is structured. I would love to go back to the olden days of the bartering system or where money was backed by gold because it was simpler times. I'm sure many people agree with me, but we have to take life as it comes, and that's just not the way things are anymore. In order to survive, (and not be homeless and/or starving), we have to make an income! Luckily, like we talked about in the last lesson, there are actually an infinite number of ways to do so. In fact, the more original and creative your idea is, the higher chance it will be considered valuable to someone. This is true in the form of inventions for example. If you can create or think something that no one else has thought of to solve a problem many people deal with, you can strike it rich! It pays to go against the grain. If you go the same way as so many others because it's comfortable, that actually makes you less valuable and more easily replaceable. That does not mean that you cannot follow in others footsteps; it just means that if you connect to your own being and decide what you really want to do with your life, you will figure out a way to monetize your passions and share them with the world. There was an exercise that I was taught back when I worked for a spiritual healer, and it was centered around money blocks. Basically, (and I will cover this in more depth later), your body has energy systems that are connected but different in the way they operate based on where they are located. If you already know what I mean, that's great. You are in the right place, but for those that have never heard of this before, what I am explaining is called the Chakra System, and it moves up and down your entire body. You might be thinking, "what does any of that have to with money?" Well, your very first Chakra, called your root chakra is located at the base of the spine, and this essentially is in charge of your fight or flight response. It makes sense because the base of your spine is what literally connects your nervous system to your legs. You cannot run away from danger or stand your ground and fight without your legs.