Who doesn’t remember the Great Oz in the Wizard of Oz?  That was one of my favorite movies of all time!

Well, Oz controlled Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion with one thing – FEAR.  He had them searching all over Oz for the witch’s broom.  Finally, little Toto revealed the illusion.  He pushed back the curtain and there stood a small, fearful, and disillusioned old man.  There was no “Great Oz.”   In the end, everything they went searching for was inside of themselves anyway.  Dorothy had the power to get home.  The Lion discovered courage; the tin man found a heart; and the Scarecrow found a brain.

Are you like the characters in the Wizard of Oz?  Searching, searching, searching?  Searching for your purpose, searching for meaning, searching for answers, searching for understanding, searching for yourself.

Whatever it is you are looking for, stop chasing it.  Be still and let it come to you. It eludes you because you chase it.  You chase it because it eludes you.  Stop the madness.  If you’re in this chasing mode, chances are good that you are disconnected from your authentic self.

Eckhart Tolle, author of, “A New Earth:  Awakening to your Life’s Purpose” says that your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose.  “Your inner purpose is to awaken.  Awakening is a shift in consciousness in which thinking and awareness separate.”  Another word for awareness is:  Presence (consciousness without thought).  Being present in the moment.  The present moment is always simple, but concealed in the present moment lies the greatest power. Only when you align yourself with the present moment do you have access to that power.  So whatever you are doing, give it your fullest attention.

Eckhart Tolle says that your outer purpose can change over time and it varies from person to person.  Your outer purpose comes through awareness; as in — “This is what I have to do.”  So to discover your outer purpose, you must first realize your inner purpose.

The key is to notice when the ego is running your life.  The ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking and searching for more, more, more.  Ego creates an obsession and attachment to things.  “The unchecked striving for more, for endless growth, is a dysfunction and a disease.”  Tolle also says that “A large part of many people’s lives is consumed by an obsessive preoccupation with things.”

So when you are always chasing and searching you can be sure you are operating from your ego mind because those are substitutes for “being” and “presence.  “The funny thing is that ego wants more than it wants to have!  When you are constantly “wanting”, you are operating from your ego.

When you are truly aligned with your inner purpose which is awareness, presence and being, then you are content with the present moment and you have a deep knowing that life is bringing you whatever experience will be helpful to your evolution of consciousness.  How do you know that’s true?  Because that is the experience you are having.

So stop trying to fight it; life is bringing you what you need to evolve.  Accept it and be present with the experience you are having.  The ego never wants the present moment; actually it would rather distract itself by chasing things and searching for things endlessly.  No matter what you have or get, the ego won’t be happy.  Often when you get something you think you want, that satisfaction is a fleeting moment and very short-lived until the ego begins chasing something else that promises to make your incomplete sense of self complete; to fill the lack within.

Here are 6 simple steps to help you get centered and still the mind, which is about aligning your inner purpose so that your outer purpose will be revealed:

1. Meditation.  Upon waking up still your mind and meditate for at least 5 minutes a day; work your way up to 20 minutes a day.  Not only will it do wonders for your body, mind and soul, but the answers you long for will become crystal clear.  Meditation allows us to listen to the quiet whispers of the heart.
2. Write.  Immediately following your meditation, write in your journal.  Once you’ve cleared all the debris that floats around in your mind, the answers you’ve been looking for begin to surface to the top.  Writing helps get them out of you and down on the paper.  Do a minimum of 3 pages per day.
3. Prayers of Gratitude.  “In all things give thanks.”  Do a mental and spiritual inventory of all that you have and give thanks daily.  This will help you see that the glass really is half full and not half empty.
4. Downsize.  Eliminate the clutter, the activities and the people in your life that don’t serve or feed your soul.  Surround yourself with beauty.  Live Simply.
5. Dream.  Give yourself permission to dream.  Don’t chase the dreams.  Explore them.  Meditate on them.  See where they lead you in your imagination.  Talk to them.  Let them speak to you.
6. Pleasure.  We are so busy fulfilling our responsibilities and obligations that we’ve forgotten how to have fun and how to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer.  Suggestion:  Sit outside under that beautiful tree in your front yard or on your deck and sip a cup of herbal tea as you listen to the sounds of nature.  Write a love letter to yourself.  Take 5 minutes to walk outside to your garden and really smell the roses.  Allow the fragrance to fill your body, mind and soul.  Try a new recipe for dinner.  Take a slow walk down a new path in your neighborhood.  Start a new hobby – try needle pointing, painting or quilting.  Take risks with your creativity.

Zora Neale Hurston once said, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Let this be your year for answers.  The answers will come to you.  Live your life and the ones worth asking will be revealed to you.

Last, have faith that whatever you need will find you.  You are reading these words because you have a need to.  Gertrude Stein reminds us, “What you need you attract like a lover.  It is inevitable when one has a great need of something, one finds it.”

I have faith that when you stop chasing your dreams and learn to live your life in presence and awareness, that your dreams will come to you.