DO YOU KNOW YOUR IDENTITY AND PURPOSE SOUL DEEP?
“Perhaps the most important things for us to see clearly are who God is and who we really are—sons and daughters of heavenly parents, with a “divine nature and eternal destiny.” Ask God to reveal these truths to you, along with how He feels about you. The more you understand your true identity and purpose, soul deep, the more it will influence everything in your life.” -Michelle Craig
I loved the Pixar/Disney movie "Soul".
There were little gems of truth throughout that really spoke to me and fit with my own spiritual beliefs. And many that didn't, haha! But I'd like to just focus on the imagery that fit in my paradigm.
Part of the movie is set in the Great Before, where spirits are raised, learn and grow, and then are supported in finding their "spark" before they are sent down to Earth to get a body and live their lives in a way where they hopefully find and remember that spark, and use it to make the world a better place, while finding great inner joy. You probably gathered just by reading the paragraph that a "spark" is that thing which ignites you and motivates you to do something important and good for yourself and others.
I love how the writer of Soul showed the in between world called the Astral Plane, near the Great Before, as a sea of sand where lost souls go. Souls who are not truly living anymore due to depression, or so much focus on what they may deem meaningless work that they have lost their spark in life. Even though they are still walking around Earth in their bodies, these souls have become SAND MONSTERS in this plane.
They have 1. lost touch with their identity and/or 2. don't have a clear purpose.
After some quick study, I found that the concept of the Astral plane is one that has been around for a long time, so it wasn't created by Pixar/Disney. The movie portrays it as a kind of spirit dimension that is accessible by living individuals through the above negative losses or through meditation or spiritual connection of some sort.
If you look at the examples of deep states of mind like mental illnesses, genius, prodigies or meditation, there seems to be a whole other world in the depths of our subconscious minds. Our thinking creates our reality, as Ghandi (among many others) teaches in his quote,
Because of this, some of those struggling with the things mentioned above truly are living in the depths of their subconscious minds, plagued and weighed down (and covered by sand) by their created
• fears
• self doubt
• disbelief in themselves and what they are capable of- limitations.
• no foreseeable goals or future
Read about some of this negative subconscious self talk and how to battle it in this article: https://www.myjourneytobecome.com/post/goal-setting-the-roadways-of-the-brain
In the movie, all they have to do to relieve themselves of this existence is to somehow remove the outer covering of sand around their soul. The movie shows a hippie, mystic guy named Moonwind who twirls a sign for a living on a Manhattan corner, which he loves so much (or has to escape 😂), that it puts him into "the zone" which allows him to journey mentally and spiritually to this mystical place of the Astral Plane, where he rescues these lost souls from their stressful, uninspiring lives.
With his help, they start to believe in themselves, remember their spark, and see their purpose, and the sand falls right off, and out of the Astral plane and back to the world they go to live in joy.
Moonwind represents anyone who helps the "sand monsters" around us remove those layers of sand. Those people could be: therapists, life coaches, good friends, spiritual/religious leaders, influencers, loving family members, you? me?
Do you know any sand monsters in your life?
How can we be like Moonwind and save the
sand monsters?
Well,if they became sand monsters by 1. losing their identity and/or 2. not having a clear purpose, that's where our focus needs to be.
➡First, we need to not be a sand monster ourselves. So ask yourself these questions first to make sure you can have a positive influence on someone who is struggling with identity or purpose, and then use them to save the sand monsters.
KNOW YOUR IDENTITY
1. Are you clear on who you are?
- Do you believe in God or a higher power?
- If so, have you connected with Him/it through prayer, meditation or the quiet moments of your life?
2. Are you clear on where you came from?
- How do you believe you were created?
- Did you have an existence before this Earth life?
For more information on these questions, consider starting a spiritual journey to find truth.
KNOW YOUR PURPOSE
3. Are you clear on where you're going?
- What are your innate gifts and talents? (Things you've been naturally good at most or all of your life)
-What do you want? Our natural desires are usually an indicator of something we are meant to do.