The still mind is necessary to know the purpose of life.

MOST PEOPLE WHO FEEL FULFILLED in life have a focused or directed mind. People who fulfill their purpose in life are able to concentrate and direct their thoughts to the goal, ideal and purpose desired. In directing their thoughts, their mind becomes quieter. As the mind quiets and stills, the inner purpose of one's Real Self is able to be received in the conscious mind.

One's purpose in life does not come from the physical brain. It doesn't even come from one's conscious mind, which is one's consciousness inhabiting the brain.

One's purpose in life comes from one's subconscious or inner mind which is something called the soul. I find the term subconscious mind to be more scientific and understandable.

The conscious mind and brain must be caused to be receptive. They are not normally so. In an undisciplined state, the conscious mind is full of thoughts as it responds or re-acts to the constant stimuli entering the brain through the five senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and sound.

In order to be receptive one needs to focus the mind enough on what one desires in order to receive. This focusing and directing of the attention causes the mind for a time to become more still. It is in this stillness that one receives the inner guidance necessary to fulfill life's mission.

People that fulfill life's purpose are able to tap into that inner guidance. Then they are able to create and find ways to manifest, create, or achieve that inner message of guidance in the outer, waking, physical world.

It is instruction that comes from deep within our own being.

A still and receptive mind is necessary to be able to trust oneself and others. A still mind will allow you to receive the manifestation of your desires. Too often people miss out on opportunities that present themselves in life because the mind is too busy with other thoughts.

A still mind will allow one to trust in the working of the Universal Laws.

A still mind will allow one to listen to others so one will know what and when to give.
A still mind will allow one to trust the unlimited truth and wisdom that is within the Self.
A still mind will enable one to be in the present moment, thereby, valuing the present experience.
A still mind will enable one to have a greater sense of purpose. One will, in fact, receive and know a greater purpose.
A still mind will enable one to trust the choices one makes that are in alignment with who one wants to be and become.

Eight Ways to Develop a Still Mind

ONE
Observe the breath.

Give your full attention to the in-breath and the out-breath and the time or space between breaths. Think of nothing else. In fact, do not think at all. Just observe the breath.

When I was a child I found it very annoying at times that I could not seem to stop watching or observing my breath, my breathing. I wanted to have my attention on my play and my exploration of nature.

Now I know the great value of this understanding of breath that I inherently possessed as a child.

The breath is the most important factor for keeping the physical body alive. It is the breath that binds the Real or Inner Self to the body. Therefore, it is of prime importance that each individual learn to observe and use the breath for the upliftment of one's consciousness and the fulfillment of life's purpose.

TWO
Give full attention to others.

Caring for others, loving others, and service to others all function as a valuable point of focus and thereby aid in stilling the mind.

When giving to others the mind can be present in the now. It is only in the now, the present moment, that one can fulfill the next step of one's life purpose. By being fully present with one's thoughts, mind and attention one can assimilate the essence of the permanent learning available in the present experience.

THREE
Affirm that the present moment is very important
and therefore worth giving your full attention.

Memory is very valuable. Memory allows us to recall situations, circumstances, and events in the past that have a bearing on the present.

Imagination is also very valuable. When used correctly imagination enables us to visualize or image the direction we wish the mind to move toward. By imagining our future we are more likely to create the future the way we desire, for the mind is meant to be the servant of you, the individual.

However, the mind is not meant to be kept busy all the time remembering the past or visualizing-imaging the future.

There comes a time when it is necessary to rest the mind. This needs to be done every day. Every day there needs to be some time spent thinking and some time spent not thinking.

Why is time spent not thinking important? Because the time given to a still mind is the present time available for the wise, knowledge-filled subconscious mind to give to the less mature, conscious mind.

Only when you are not thinking thoughts are you capable of receiving the thoughts of another. To listen is to receive the thoughts of another. To receive the thoughts of another requires that you do not think thoughts of your own while the other person is speaking.

In a like manner, in order to receive the guidance, wisdom and power of the subconscious mind one must be still, mentally, and listen.

FOUR
Meditate every day.

Meditation is the quality of stilling the mind in order to receive.

• One can meditate in order to receive the high knowledge from one's subconscious mind.
• One can meditate in order to align conscious and subconscious minds and attune them to superconscious mind.
• One can meditate in order to know God.
• One can meditate to gain enlightenment.
• One can meditate to relieve stress.
• One can meditate to find and know peace.
• One can meditate to open the Self to love.
• One can meditate in order to receive one's purpose for life.
• One can meditate in order to make life more fulfilling.
• One can meditate to know Self.

FIVE
Practice a concentration exercise every day.

Practice of concentration precedes a still mind. Until concentration is practiced, many of the thoughts of the Self are not even known. The person remains unconscious or unaware of many of the thoughts.

One day, a few months after I had begun the daily practice of concentrating on a candle flame, I drove up to a stop light. The street light was red so I stopped. While waiting for the light to change to green my attention and mind wandered. One thought led to another and soon I was thinking my fifth associated memory thought. All of a sudden I realized this and I said, "This is not what I want to think about. I want all my attention to be on the street light!" Immediately all my attention was drawn back to the red street light and there it remained until the light turned green.

As the light turned green I drove away with a sense of exhilaration and power I had never before experienced. It was the thrill and power of being aware of what my undisciplined mind was doing and having the awareness to make a choice to direct my attention and still my mind.

Because thought is cause, thought is the beginning and essence of all power. The person who learns to choose their own thoughts and masters their own thoughts has power to gain enlightenment and fulfill the purpose of a lifetime.

The mind is the vehicle the Self uses to know Self and creation.
Thought is the tool the mind uses to create.

In order to really know and fulfill your purpose in life you are going to have to practice a concentration exercise every day. After one or more months of this you will need to add meditation. This is because meditation is that special form of concentration utilized for the purpose of knowing the Self.

In concentration one learns to focus and direct the thoughts, then become aware of the thoughts, then know the thoughts, then choose the thoughts. All of these are necessary in order to know and fulfill one's life purpose.

SIX
Choose a time period each day to think no thoughts.

Throughout the day each person needs to concentrate on having a still mind. A still mind means having no thoughts in one's head. This means you are not thinking. Each person each day needs to spend some time in not thinking.

To some people the idea of not thinking might seem ridiculous or inconceivable. Some people think they are their thoughts. This is untrue. You are not your thoughts. However, you do become as you think.

When you think no thoughts the mind is still. When the mind is still you are peaceful, quiet, and fulfilled. When the mind is stilled you can experience who you really are, the Real Self.

When you constantly think, you come to believe
that you are your thoughts, which is untrue.

When the mind is still you have the ability
to choose a thought with conscious awareness
and thereby realize you are not the thought.

By choosing as your initiation point, a still mind, the power to choose a thought is realized. By realizing the power to choose a thought one realizes the power to create for thought is the cause of all creation. The causal thought is created by an individual.

• The more one masters a still mind the more one knows creation.
• The more one masters a still mind the more one understands one's ability to create.
• The more one masters a still mind the more one knows purpose.

Purpose is achieved by one who knows the thoughts of Self and chooses them. In order to know the purpose of life and your purpose in life you must develop a still mind. A still mind can receive a thought from another person or from your inner Self.

Your purpose in life is determined by your subconscious mind.

Therefore, you need to have a still mind in order to consciously receive and be aware of the purpose your subconscious mind has already given you.

The undisciplined conscious mind does not know or remember the purpose given from subconscious mind. Only the disciplined, still conscious mind can remember and receive this mission or assignment of a lifetime.

Great inventions are not made by thinking hard. Rather they come when the outer conscious mind is stilled and can then receive from the inner subconscious or superconscious mind.

SEVEN
Vow that receiving the essence of the learning in every situation, every experience, in the present is more important than being right or wrong.

Too often people fail to learn and grow because they become entrenched in their ego identification with old thoughts, old ideas, old theories from the past that no longer hold true in the present. Living in old memories will keep you from learning in the present experience.

The correct use of memory
is to aid the individual to perform tasks
more efficiently, productively and easily in the present.

Most people dwell way too much on the past. Attachments to the past are formed. Examples are angers about past hurts, grudges about past hurts, hatreds about perceived past hurts, resentments, condemnation and guilt about the past.

One may also be attached to the good times about the past. A person may think the past is better than the present and pine for the good old days that will never return. As long as a person dwells in the past that person can never get the full benefit from the present. More specifically, the degree to which one dwells in the past is the degree to which one is ineffective in the present.

The present is where the learning exists. The present is where you will find your purpose. Therefore, cause yourself to be open to the learning in each experience. Ask yourself, what is the essence of the learning in each experience. Strive to have most of your attention in the present. Give in the present and receive in the present.

Visualize or imagine your goal or ideal and then place your attention in the present in order to fulfill that goal or ideal.

A goal is what you want to do.
An ideal is what you want to be.
A goal is what you want to achieve.
An ideal is what you want to become.

• The only time to achieve is in the present.
• The only time to receive is in the present.
• The only time to do is in the present.
• The only time to become is in the present.
• Now, the present, is the time, the only time there is.

Purpose gives you personal benefit for what you are doing right now.

When you create a purpose you are creating a desire from within, rather than waiting for an outside physical stimulus. The outer environment stimulates desires all the time. For example, advertising intends to stimulate a desire to buy a product.

As you become more conscious and awake to the real meaning of life your choice and decisions evolve also. The decisions become less based upon temporary ego and sensory gratification and more based upon permanent and lasting fulfillment and the growth of the Whole Self.

Purpose gives one the ability to complete what one begins. When people fail it is usually at the ending or completion stage.

Purpose provides the inner desire and motivation to complete or finish what you begin.

EIGHT
Give gratitude for every experience in life.

Give gratitude for the experiences of the past. Find a reason for giving gratitude and being grateful for any person you hold a grudge against.

Giving gratitude releases the giver from the restrictions and limitations of the past. Until you can find something to be grateful for concerning past hurts, you will not release your attachment to the hurt from the past. Therefore, you are trapped in the past.

Gratitude must be stated out loud. It is not enough just to think it. It must be stated out loud at least once a day for 100 days. It may seem to hurt when you first give gratitude because of the previous resistance, yet the pain will soon fade into freedom and peace.

Why does gratitude work? Gratitude helps the individual practicing it because it updates and upgrades one's whole system, mentally, emotionally, and physically by bringing you into the present while aligning you with Universal Truth and Universal Laws.

Gratitude brings you into the present.

Anger, increasing fear, hatred, condemnation and guilt are all of the past. They are based upon past ways of thinking and unresolved hurts. They are not based in the highest reasoning.

Gratitude gives the one practicing it a way to resolve the past and let it go. Gratitude helps to release old, emotional attachments.

By looking to discover at least one aspect of an experience that benefitted you in any way, you can change your perspective. You can change your perspective from anger to gratitude. The perspective changes from all that was lost to something, no matter how small, that was gained. Perhaps you learned a valuable lesson.

For example, you might say: I am grateful for [insert name of person] until you really mean it and can feel it. One hundred times a day is even better. Once you can really feel the gratitude and experience it as an honest gratitude then the past attachments to hate, anger, fear, guilt, etc. will be released. The thoughts will be replaced and upgraded to higher thoughts of compassion, thus giving you freedom from the past. You will exist more fully in the present as a creative, successful being.

Purpose is very, very powerful. Never underestimate it. It can give you the motivation to accomplish anything.

If you are not motivated to do something, you won't do it unless you have an outside factor to motivate you, or you can create purpose. Therefore, purpose is of utmost importance for anyone who desires to have continual motivation to achieve anything ranging from a pay raise to enlightenment.

The urge for enlightenment, for a fulfilling life, to achieve one's purpose in life, must come from within.

The more you create purpose and live by it, the more you will be tied into the inner urge. Your conscious mind will become aligned with your subconscious mind. Your conscious mind will then receive the wisdom your subconscious mind offers. That is the power of purpose. Purpose is very powerful. Never underestimate it.

Physically-minded people tend to think in terms of physical goals.

Mentally and spiritually evolved people tend to also think in terms of ideals. Yet they still have goals. This is because every time you advance your consciousness, every time you learn and grow you don't lose anything, although one may choose to release past limitations.

To grow from adolescence into adulthood does not require you lose something. Instead you add to the learning, experience, and knowledge that are already yours, while at the same time letting go of what is no longer needed.

When you want to possess something you have a desire.
When you want to be or become something you have an ideal.

As each great learning is completed, be willing and motivated to do whatever is necessary to advance to the next stage of awareness and fulfillment. New choices and opportunities will present themselves.

At these times of change and movement into the next stage of life it is important to remember to continually create purpose for the initiation of the next cycle.

Nothing physical is lasting. All physical things change, wear away or deteriorate. What does last is the truth we learn and the love we give, share and receive.

Desires can come from an environmental stimulus or they can be caused inwardly from purpose. These caused desires, when pursued, evolve into higher desires that then evolve into the real needs of the inner self. The real needs are to know the truth, to gain the high wisdom and enlightenment, and to receive and give the deeper, all-encompassing love.

The desire that proceeds from an environmental stimulus is of the senses and physical brain.

The desire that comes from purpose and is therefore caused by the individual is of the mind. It affords the opportunity for greater self understanding and self awareness.

When one finally tires of sensory gratification and stimulation one goes looking for the higher knowledge.

I once gave a student the following affirmation to say several times each day:

Purpose is personal benefit. Purpose starts with me and includes me. I must do things for myself in order to know myself.

After practicing this affirmation every day for one month my student said, "I feel like a completely different person. It is one of the biggest and most dramatic changes I have ever experienced in my life." It's like the difference between night and day.

In order to know the big purpose of life it is necessary to create and practice purpose in the little things done and accomplished each day. State your purpose, out loud, each day, over and over again until the idea is fixed not only in the conscious mind but also the brain.

When the conscious mind is disciplined and directed then it becomes receptive to the inner urge from the subconscious mind.

Teaching others the truth you have found in life is also productive in drawing your purpose out from your inner self, your subconscious mind. When you teach, truth seems to flow out from within you. Often you will not even be aware you had this truth within yourself. This truth connects with the higher purpose and fulfillment is experienced.

To choose a purpose requires will. Every time you choose a thought, that thought becomes stronger. To choose a purpose is a specific kind of thought. To continually choose or create a purpose is to build a strong thought of purpose.

Practice the little purposes every day
in order to build to knowing the big purpose of life.

Purpose is found in the still mind.

The challenge in life is to continually refine and improve your thoughts. This is because we determine our life with our thoughts. The choices we make are based upon our thoughts.

If one thinks unproductive thoughts one will make unproductive choices and decisions. If one thinks productive thoughts one will make productive thoughts and decisions.

If one spends some of one's time in a receptive state of no thought one will receptively draw to the Self much of what one needs to fulfill the Self. This requires mental discipline.

There are two main factors or principles of creation. They are the aggressive and receptive principles. Receptivity has a drawing power and is best created from a still mind. The aggressive principle has the initiating power within it and is also best initiated from a still mind.

It would seem then that the ability to create a still mind is one's best opportunity to be productive, to create and fulfill one's purpose in life.

It is truth that a disciplined mind is needed to fully understand and fulfill one's purpose in life. It is also truth that a disciplined mind is necessary to produce a still mind.

A disciplined mind can produce a still mind in a thought-free state.

Why is a disciplined mind necessary to fulfill one's purpose in life? A still mind has no conscious mind thought. This thought-free, still conscious mind then provides space for thoughts or instruction about one's purpose. This purpose comes from one's subconscious mind into one's conscious awareness.

A still conscious mind can receive the higher truth, wisdom and awareness from the subconscious mind and even from the superconscious mind.

This is why a disciplined conscious mind is so very important and vital to achieving one's purpose in life.

Thought to remember:
The mind is the vehicle of the Real Self.

What to do:
Discipline your mind.

© Daniel R. Condron, 2009

Stay with us as Daniel walks us through all
"28 Powerful New Keys For Discovering and Fulfilling
Your Purpose In Life."

Next Month:
Ideals, Goals and Purpose

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Throughout this lifetime, Daniel R. Condron has strived to understand the secrets of life and to explain them in a form that is understandable to all. He first accomplished this as a young boy when he gained a connectedness with nature being in the woods and pastures while growing up on the family farm in northwest Missouri. He has devoted his life to understanding what is permanent, lasting, knowing the true reality, and the purpose of life. This he teaches to others through the understanding of the still mind. He resides with his wife Barbara and son Hezekiah on the campus of the College of Metaphysics.