I love helping people find their purpose, which evolves through various stages in our lives. I've always been a really motivational person, and that innate trait continues on in my work. Inspiring people to reach for their highest potential (in health, in career, in mind, in spirit, in all ways) is part of my purpose!! So, let's do this!
What Is Dharma Mapping?
A few years ago I designed a special service called "Dharma Mapping" to specifically hone and share my inspirational "purpose finding" skills. In a Dharma Mapping session I use people's astrology charts to see what their soul intended for their lives (and particularly for this stage of their lives). Then I weave in focused questions, motivational thinking, coaching, creative ideas, and intuition to help them make a plan and begin to move more clearly in the direction of their soul's intended path.
My methods have helped people select grad schools, change careers, choose college majors, plan their retirement projects (or entrepreneurial endeavors), step up their community involvement, repair their relationships, quit drinking, heal auto-immune conditions, plan for a family, and more. Some people's charts and sessions encourage them to stay (but make changes) in their current jobs or home situations. Other people's charts and sessions suggest paths further afield from where they currently are.
The awesome thing about Dharma Mapping (or purpose finding on your own) is that every step is research. The client gets to take small steps in the direction the session suggested. They can then interpret how the Universe supports or blocks those shifts and changes.
How you feel when taking action in the direction of a hope or dream is really important. If energized with a growing sense of curiosity or fulfillment, you are on the right track.
Feelings of stagnation and dissatisfaction (or full blown burnout), on the other hand, are signs that you are off track or need to put in some new energy to meet your soul's goals for this time in your life. It's possible to find and understand your dharma simply by listening to the subtle nudges of your heart. Observe the kinds of ideas, conversations, businesses, programs, people, and topics that genuinely engage you. Consider the skills (of ANY type) that come more naturally to you. Ponder what has been wonderful or fulfilling already in your life. Also consider what seems to be "missing". You can usually feel it! All of these thoughts, feelings, and observations offer important hints about your destiny or dharma.
Pay special attention if you get REALLY EXCITED thinking about something, talking about something, or observing something that someone else is doing.
Your excitement and expanded energy is the biggest YES possible. Notice also if you have a warm or "opening" feeling in your heart when you do, say, or think about certain things. I became a doctor, in part, because early in my life I noticed a "heartmelt" sensation when I helped people. And, I followed it. Heart, mind, and body activation are important indicators of dharma.
The Astrology of Pathfinding
If you are curious about the astrology of "finding your destiny", I wrote a rather ambitious article about it for MindBodyGreen in April 2022-link below. I have the vision to make this process into a book, and the article was my first step in that direction. With a little bit of effort, even someone with zero astrological experience should be able to begin to comprehend how the chart functions to reveal the soul's plans. If you know some basic astro fundamentals, the article can help you gain significant understanding about your purpose.
Of course, if you want a personalized astro + coaching + intuitive exploration of your deepest and grandest potential, you can book a Dharma Mapping session. I love doing 1:1 sessions. I wrote the article, however, because I know that not everyone can become my client My schedule and time are limited, and private sessions are essentially a premium offering. I want to help as many people as possible during my time here on earth, so books, articles, courses (coming soon), videos, and my Instagram are great ways for a large number of people to benefit for free or with a modest investment.
My intention in all I do is to fan the flame of the spark already in YOU!
Here's the link to the MindBodyGreen article. I'm really happy to be working with MBG more and more over the past year. They feature some other amazing astrologers, healers, and physicians, so I am honored to be included in their panel of experts.
Crafting a Mission Statement
I mentioned in the MBG article that my own dharma involves "divine service helping others transform with compassion". I arrived at that statement by thinking of the key words or themes associated with each of my top three placements (sun, moon, rising sign) in astrology and combining them into a sentence. I have a Virgo moon (divine service), a Scorpio sun (transformation), and Cancer rising (compassion). That statement encapsulates a mission I weave into all I do and create, including the above article and this post. I think it's really helpful to have a mission statement. I encourage nearly all of my mentorship and coaching clients to formulate one. It's useful to create one from your heart, and then compare it to the one you come up with using your top three astro placements.
My heart-centered mission statement is - "I'm here to inspire people to shine as brightly as possible" (reach their fullest potential in mind, body, and spirit). When I was younger, one of my nicknames was "'Sunshine". For many years I've endeavored to use my light to uplift others. So, once you have both mission statements, compare them and see if there's overlap. Most likely, the heart-centered mission does connect to the astro mission. Both are important and can orient you to your dharma/purpose moving forward.
With my own mission statement in mind, I want to take this little paragraph to remind you that who you are is special, wonderful, and extremely unique. All that you have been through-the joys, the adventures, the pain, and the challenges, were put there by your soul to help you expand and grow. They are there to prepare you to serve in some unique way.
Often your dharma lives in a space between your gifts and your wounds.
Integrating Our Challenges
Purpose often blooms in the fertile ground of transcendence. This is a space and place that results from slowly facing and integrating (accepting, learning from, growing through and beyond) your specific weaknesses and challenges. Whether your purpose involves creating stability (building things or supporting their creation), feeding people, making music, teaching children, advising others, or whatever it is, you do it for a reason and in response to things you feel, think, value, or have experienced. (You also do it for an astrological reason that is a pre-planned part of your mission.) So, allow yourself to feel inspired to look for clues in the challenges in your life, especially if you have felt confused or untethered. What did your greatest challenges teach you? How have you grown because of those challenges? What can you do (that not everyone is able to do) because of the unique things you experienced?
Maybe you were forced to rely on yourself early in life, preparing (perhaps) for a purpose in leadership or taking on a great responsibility - for people or a business. You may have experienced trauma, loss, or unreliable caregivers, which forced you to develop resiliency, adaptability, and (years later) the ability to transform pain into growth, depth, compassion, and wisdom. These are powerful character traits that can be useful in many lines of service. You may have experienced bullying or more subtle social rejection or disappointment. These "initiations" can teach you the value of kindness and the beauty of vulnerability, as well as the ability to stand up for yourself, the power of your voice, and the healing potential of self-love.
Your vulnerabilities create diamonds.
The Magic Surrounding Us
In your quest for purpose, let every day be an opportunity for observation. Look for signs and synchronicities pointing you in certain directions. Did something unusual happen? What might it mean? Did you meet someone who shares your interest? Why might that be? Always follow synchronicities. Where do things flow easily and align? Where do people respond? Move in that direction.This is not to say your won't need to work hard or persevere in pursuit of your purpose. Some people's astrology charts even say the are souls learning about persistence! BUT, purpose itself usually does flow naturally. The formal training needed to give our gifts more effectively may require structure, effort, discipline, and dedication, but purpose itself is usually nearly effortless. Its energy is positive, rather than negative. It charges, rather than depletes. Look for this feeling in your life. Follow the things that brighten your eyes when you discuss them, excite you heart when you do them, and leave you eagerly anticipating the opportunity for more.
Another tip is to ponder the dreams and desires that just don't go away. If you are stubbornly but unhappily following the path society or your family has laid for you, your true purpose will often be just behind you - sneaking into your nighttime dreams and drifting through your daytime thoughts. Your higher self and soul WANT you do to what you came here to do, so it will send thoughts, dreams, people, signs, synchronicities, and other reminders to get on your path. If you're thinking too much, worrying too much, and feeling pretty low, it's hard to sense the subtle signals your higher self is sending. In this case, work on strengthening your inner flame (and higher self connection) through meditation + yoga, emotional detox (healing negative thinking/anxiety/past traumas/judgements), physical detox (removing harmful substances and improving your vitality), cultivating trust/surrender, and consciously accepting your life. It may seem like a paradox, but if you are rejecting your life, you are closing down your connection to your own guidance. Start by choosing to accept your life, whether you know your purpose or not. Let that be your purpose for now. The next stage will be revealed when you are ready. ALSO, if you have noticed yourself to be a perpetually "seeking" kind of soul, have patience. For some, the journey really is the destination. Your life example and the wisdom gained from the quest may actually be your purpose.
To live your dharma consciously requires that you allow your earthly self regular access to your higher self.
In Conclusion
There is meaning and purpose for everyone here on earth! That meaning may look different from what you're expecting, or it may be exactly what you've wanted to do since you were little. Small things can be important to the mission of some souls. Others have big or obvious destinies. Helping one particular person, connecting with a soulmate friend at a certain time in your life, being a good partner, creating boundaries, repairing relationships, being a parent, not being a parent (finding yourself by exploring creativity or independence), healing from grief, owning your feelings or opinions, learning to forgive...each of these could be part of someone's purpose.
Finding purpose is a process that asks you to be in touch with your softest parts and your strongest. It requires that you observe, trust, experiment, and listen to the clues and feedback you are given. The map to your purpose was buried in your heart and reflected in the stars on the day of your birth. It leaves hints all the time, pulling like a magnet. It probably even led you to this article, which might guide or inspire your next steps. Have faith, and try also to relax. Where you are truly meant to go, you will eventually go...in this life or the next! Every step really is a part of your purpose. 🤍
----------> To dive further into this topic, check out the ebook I wrote on Finding Your Purpose. It's for sale in my shop here: https://www.kaysebudd.com/ebooksivewritten. Happy exploring!! 👣
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