Living On Purpose; Sandi Harpham; Wolf Consulting

Living On Purpose: Life Beyond Mediocrity

Life On The Upward Spiral

Contents

Introduction
Chapter One Why Live on Purpose?
Chapter Two An Operator's Manual for Being Human

INGREDIENT ONE                 BELIEFS
Chapter Three             What are Beliefs?
Chapter Four                 How Beliefs Work
Chapter Five                 The Power of Powerful Beliefs
Chapter Six                    Examples and Exercises

INGREDIENT TWO             ESSENCE VERSUS FORM
Chapter Seven             Experiencing The Upward Spiral
Chapter Eight                 It's An Inside Job
Chapter Nine                Essence Versus Form
Chapter Ten                    Essence Matches
Chapter Eleven            Our Innate Alarm System
Chapter Twelve              Crisp, Clear, Clean Essences

INGREDIENT THREE              SURRENDER
Chapter Thirteen          What is Surrendering?
Chapter Fourteen          When Do We Surrender?
Chapter Fifteen              How Do We Surrender?
Chapter Sixteen             Life Is Naturally Effortless

INGREDIENT FOUR               LISTENING
Chapter Seventeen         A Word About Trust
Chapter Eighteen            Listening -- A Full Body Experience
Chapter Nineteen            Hearing Aids
Chapter Twenty                Listening In Your Life
Chapter Twenty-One      Bringing It All Together
Chapter Twenty-Two      Farewell

Appendix A Essence Dictionary
Bibliography

Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

You are a star on this world stage,
Your talents and existence are vital.
The secret is for you to be you, while
I be me and all others be them.
And then heaven on earth has arrived.

    Welcome to a recipe for living. We all have recipes. They are made up of the behaviors, knowledge, reactions, and tools acquired as we have lived life. These recipes are completely individualistic -- your's is not the same as any in history or any to come in the future. The act of living on purpose is about being aware and conscious of your present recipe, and making any adjustments you want in order to have a more fulfilling life.
    How would living consciously make your life more fulfilling? Well, have you ever wondered how it is that one person diagnosed with cancer can view his or her situation as hopeless allowing the light of life to extinguish, while another diagnosed with the same cancer is inspired to run across the country? Or, have you wondered if it is just a fluke that some people make it out of the ghetto and others do not? Do you think it is coincidence that one person bounces back and grows from tragedy while another wallows in the devastation? Each decision and reaction is a part of a person's recipe for life. This book is not about designating one as right and the other wrong; these reactions are just recognized as different choices. Making these choices consciously is living on purpose, while making them unconsciously is living by chance.
    This particular recipe in Living on Purpose (LOP) is the one I have been consciously creating since 1982. I found that the recipe I had when I was a young teen was leaving a terrible taste in my mouth, so to speak, and I felt compelled to create a new one. However, in 1978 I wouldn't have described it as a bad taste in my mouth. Back then it was described as clinical depression, moving from doctor to doctor trying medication after medication. It was the never-ending experience of guilt and inadequacy for not being able to perform the simple functions of going to school, having a shower, eating, talking to people, or, somedays, getting out of bed. My inability to cope with basic life functions, I believe, was a very loud alarm going off indicating that the way I was doing life was not working and I needed to create a new recipe. I needed to learn how to live on purpose.
    I believe many of us have alarms going off in our lives. Some are extremely loud alarms (illness, destructive relationships, loss of a will to live), and some are on the quieter side (not enjoying the work I do, feeling frustrated with life, often doing life from a feeling of "I have to" or "I should"). The wonderful thing about the way we are built is that if we don't hear the quiet alarms, they will continue to get louder and louder until we do hear them and maybe, more importantly, until we recognize them as alarms and make the choice to do something about them. Making this choice is Living On Purpose!
    Even though I say it is "my recipe," I do not pretend to be the originator of the ingredients. Just like the creator of a cookie recipe would not claim that he or she was the first to create flour. Most of the ideas, concepts, and tools in my recipe have been talked about by many great recipe creators for 2500 years or more. What I do mean by calling it "my recipe" is that it includes what I have found to be the concepts that work for me and, most importantly, I am doing my best to describe it in my own words.
    The material in this book is the accumulated creation from a workshop I developed and shared since 1993. The workshop has been a wonderful mirroring experience for me because as I have grown, so has LOP. As I have learned and risked and discovered and understood, I have incorporated those experiences into the programs. So, the first group of LOP was much different from the second and the second different from the third and so on. And the latest program is different from what you are about to read. LOP is always a new adventure and I am excited about the one on which we are about to embark.
    My desire in writing this is in the hope that, as you read, you will know and feel that you are not alone in your dreams. For any who seek it, I want there to exist a voice of encouragement and support. We are not always encouraged to listen to what calls us or to search for the answers to our questions. But I want to let you know that I and many others believe it is O.K. to follow your thoughts to those places where things make more sense, to where you feel yourself coming alive with inspiration and insight. You need not be following thoughts of societal norm if thoughts that feel like home are beckoning your attention.
    This book is for those who are wanting to hear someone say that looking at life in a new way is not crazy. This book is meant for those who are searching for answers and a joyous way of living. I am wanting to support you in trusting this journey you are on, this journey with new possibilities and boundaries. And I want you to know that for me the benefits and joy on this journey have greatly surpassed any of the promises I was told would happen if I followed the norm of the "average, western society" beliefs.
    My dream is that you will develop the perfect recipe for you, one that supports and inspires you to your greatness, whatever that may be. My intent is that something in these pages will fit and assist you in moving on in your journey, as so many people have assisted me on mine. This is about passing the favor on, keeping the cycle going . . . next it will be your turn.
    Thanks for joining.