People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass themselves by without wondering. —St. Augustine
From the Foreword
What would you do if there was nothing you had to do?
Would you take the express, or the local?
Would you order coffee to go, or grind the beans yourself and enjoy the fragrance of fresh coffee wafting through the house and onto the terrace?
Would you set off on an adventure into the unknown or would you wander slowly to the hammock to rest?
What would you do if there was nothing you had to do?
In order to be able to answer that question, you have to know your heart’s desire. That knowing may be a harder task than it first seems. Often it’s easier to go about daily tasks and meet scheduled obligations than it is to know what you really want.
If you are ready to go on a path of self-discovery, to learn what your authentic self is truly asking of you in this life, then here’s your opportunity. This book shows you how.
You don’t have to give up anything in order to find out what you really want out of life. This is an inward journey, and it may have little to do with quitting your job, leaving your spouse, or spending less time with your children. You are going to travel a road that, as the Sufis say, is in the world but not of the world. This journey will take you through a deeply personal process so that you emerge into your ‘real’ world in a spirit of mindful self-creation and joy.
The mystic and psychologist Carl G. Jung called this process “individuation.” Others refer to it as self-actualization, self-integration, or “finding yourself.”
Know thyself and know the world, was the ancient Greek adage. You cannot truly know what your soul needs you to be doing in the world unless you “know yourself.”
If you expect this to be an easy journey, think again. It’s work. This path from where you are now through surrender through nothingness to joy is one of the hardest anyone undertakes. Usually we’re forced into it, through life’s experiences, challenges, tragedy, or change.
I’m offering a short cut.
I’m offering a way that transforms the work into play.
What would it be like to wake up with nothing to do? Imagine the birds are singing outside your window, and the garden is filled with dawn. Your house is pristine. Your mate—if you have or want one—is content. Your coffers are full, so you don’t have to earn money today. Your children or other relatives are happy. Your parents don’t need you. Your friends are fine. You are care-free. You have no responsibilities, obligations, duties, shoulds, have-tos, musts … Nothing you have to do.
There’s only you, just beautiful you, in the universe.
What would you choose to do with you—just you?
Do you prefer to lie in bed and daydream, or do you jump up, eager for an activity, greeting the day with energy and action?
How do you know what kind of person you really are, what your soul thirsts for, if you don’t give it a chance to find out?
Most of our lives are measured out in coffee spoons—meaning we wake up, brush our teeth, have our coffee, go to work, recover from the day, then it’s time for dinner, time to go to bed … there’s family-and-friend time in there, and, if you’re lucky, perhaps a vacation—which means vacation from work. And, typically, vacations are not excellent opportunities to find yourself. When you wake up in a strange hotel room or sip a margarita by the pool, you’re recovering from work, not finding your inner peace. You’re saying to yourself, I’m so glad I’m here—what a relief—it’s snowing up north … nice getaway.
So I’m wondering this: why would you want to get away from your daily life?
When I first began telling people that I was writing this book, the response was typically startled surprise. The immediate interest, curiosity, and the intense longing for a map to this kind of self-discovery were palpable. One young woman asked urgently, “Do you know?”
I responded by saying, “I know how to help you to know. That’s what my book is about.”
Only you have your own answers. I’m giving you a map, a compass, and solid walking shoes. The map is your powerful mind; your compass is your authentic feeling-nature. The shoes are your physical body and the time and space in which you live.
Most importantly, I’m giving you twenty-two keys that will open twenty-two doors, each one going deeper into discovering your heart’s desire.
If you do the practices I outline in this book, and accept the process taking as long as it needs to take, I believe you will find out not only what you would do if there was nothing you had to do, but who you really are and your soul’s purpose.