Using the 4 Primary Aims of Life as a my guide
I can’t help but think in circles, or “think different” as APPLE says… And because of this I’ve always had trouble with the typical ways that Americans have of dividing their worlds into “work personal health” etc. It just doesn’t cut that cleanly for me. My “work” is my passion. Which means my personal life is solidly enmeshed with my solo-Creative-preneur business. So how can I set goals or intentions that are in clean cut LISTS in nice little boxes?? I cant! That’s just the way it is!
Then in 2010 while at a Lisa Sonora Beam’ Gorgeous Genius creativity retreat in Mexico I was blissfully digging through a giant pile of magazines while sipping on the fresh squeezed juice of the day and I ran across an article in a Yoga Journal that would shift my paradigm! (Thank you Francois and Natalie of Open Sky Yoga for all the Yoga Journal magazines! )
The article was called AIM HIGH and introduced me to a concept that felt right. Don’t you love when that happens!
Here it is… Hillari Dowdle talks about the Yoga tradition of looking at “purusharthas” or the 4 aims of life. They are “dharma (duty, ethics), artha (prosperity, wealth), kama (pleasure, sensual gratification), and moksha (the pursuit of liberation).” She calls them “the blueprint for human fulfillment.” This concept stuck with me long after leaving Mexico and I’ve now incorporated the 4 aims into my weekly practice as she has suggested.
It’s a little like alchemy, that is, combining unrelated elements & activities, then watching amazing, magical & sometimes life altering events begin to happen. When I look at my life through the lens of the 4 Aims of Life • PURPOSE * PROSPERITY * PLEASURE * FREEDOM * I see clearly how and why I am pursuing my calling, why I live where I do, the way I do. Why I make the choices I make.
Create Your “Ideal Life Map”
So, if you’d like a little exercise, write about your “Ideal Life” with the 4 Aims in mind. Putting these thoughts in your mind will help to draw them to you… magnetically… call it “sympathetic vibrational magnetism” call it “law of attraction” – call it goal setting… but visualize, imagine the life you will be leading 3-5 years from now.
Consider the 4 PRIMARY AIMS OF LIFE:
1) DUTY: That is, your purpose. Your responsibilities, serving yourself, your family, community and society;
2) PROSPERITY: Stuff… The capital, the computer, the home, the car – the material things you need to get #1 done;
3) PLEASURE: Desire for pleasure drives all human behavior – including love, art, beauty, fellowship, intimacy, kindness; and finally
4) FREEDOM: or Liberation. Freedom from. Freedom to. And freedom to express yourself and your own creativity as fully as possible. It’s about getting off the wheel!
So now, keeping the 4 aims of life in mind and kicking current reality to the curb – BUT eliminating any belief that you have to wear panty hose to get where you want to be or that you don’t have “enough” of something, what will your ideal life look like?
Give yourself the space to choose what you want for yourself.
- Write down your ideas, and then create a paragraph or two about the life that you are intentional about living. (Be sure to give yourself a deadline i.e by June 30, 2525.)
- Be specific and positive in the language that you use. (that is, state “I will have $100,000 in the bank” instead of “I won’t have any debt”).
Concentrate on the feelings you want to achieve.
- START WITH YOUR PURPOSE:
- How much do I charge for my product or service? How is my business structured? (draw an org chart!!)
- Where am I working? What’s it like?
- What are my working hours?
- Days?
- Do I take a month off in the summer?? Winter?
CREATIVE DREAM:
- If I was brave enough, I would (fill in)…
Now do the same for the PROSPERITY, PLEASURE and FREEDOM …
___
IDEAL LIFE MAP
Now write about your IDEAL LIFE. Be concise. Sum it up into 2-3 paragraphs. Emphasize the feelings you want to have in your future.
Copy your IDEAL LIFE MAP onto 3 cards. Carry one with you, put one in your car visor, and on your bathroom mirror. Read it often.
- First you pay attention! to what matters, to your intentions, your dreams, your goals.
- Next, allow yourself to think bigger! Reach for that feeling you want when you are living your new reality!
- Then put it out there! (try making a vision board of your endgame… get your right brain involved! (we’ll talk about that in another post!)
- Now let it go. You’re off to live your life, taking the action to make your dreams come true!
You’re on your way!
(if you’re on a roll, illustrate your Ideal Life Map with some great visuals… this will solidify your journey even stronger into your mind!)