At some point in our life an important question everyone asks is "why am I here? What is my purpose in life?" Dharma is our purpose in life.

Dharma means many things, but its underlying sense is "that which supports," from the root dhri, to support, hold up, or bear. Generally dharma implies support from within: the essence of a thing, its virtue, that which makes it what it is. It is the key that unlocks all you are, all your understandings. As you focus on fulfilling your dharma, your spiritual learning accelerates and you move toward using your whole mind.

When you know why you are here, you can focus on the task at hand.

Through extensive research into the Akashic Records, the School of Metaphysics has discovered a way to identify an individual’s purpose in life, revealed in a Dharma Portrait. This unique intuitive report was developed for the Dharma: Your Soul's Purpose Spiritual Focus Session which teaches people how to fulfill their soul’s purpose. Recently it has become part of the SOM curriculum for advanced students.

On May 15, 2000 my class received our dharma reports. This was a time of great anticipation. The weeks prior to our intuitive reports, we talked about what we thought each might receive. We watched our learning, our daily thoughts and experiences to discern what our dharma might be.

I was the last to receive my dharma portrait and I watched each classmate come out of the room where they received their report. I recognized a similar energy in each one. A truth had been spoken that touched a very deep part of their soul, an awareness, a light, that changes a person. I saw a recognition that they would never be the same. When I listened to what my dharma is, I experienced this energy. The clarity and depth surpassed any report I had ever received. I had a definite direction in my soul’s progression. I received something great, that I could sink my teeth into and use for the rest of my life.

I have watched with joy, each of my classmates use their dharma to mature, to take on new responsibilities, and to change their lives.

Greg’s reflection was "when I received my dharma report, it put me in a state of mind that was still. Every intuitive report I had was in my dharma report. For me it really hit home. The strong parts of myself it spoke of, I see daily and the areas that need improvement, I see daily. Both I have seen all of my life and I now have a clear image of what has to be done, the many things I have to give and to make a part of myself which will bring complete freedom into my life."

Greg has taken on new responsibilities. His dharma is trust. Trusting in himself has always been a strong part of his nature. Trusting in others is a challenge. Presently, he is undertaking a great challenge in his life to gain custody of his children and lead a responsible life, giving to those who need his love. This will involve trusting himself and others. He has often stated that he could not have created a more perfect situation to fulfill his dharma. Being a father, being with, and teaching his children is a perfect way for him to be both trusting and trustworthy.

Adam marvelled at how clearly he could see his dharma in his thoughts and actions during the week prior to receiving his report. He also expanded his thinking and recognized that he chose his family, especially his father, as part of his dharma. Adam has matured by being conscientious with his learning. Conscientiousness is his dharma. Brian, Greg, and Adam are in their early twenties and all have gained a great deal of maturity. Adam is taking care of an injured baby duck, caring for an orchard with over 100 fruit trees, and caring for many animals. I see his care grow as he cares for the animals and plants. His love for what he does causes them to flourish. He practices his dharma of being conscientious daily. His love for himself and other people reflect his use of his dharma report.

Brian was so touched by his dharma that he was speechless. At one moment in time during his report he was so happy he had tears in his eyes. At that time he knew that his walls that he held onto so tightly, were not up as high and were not needed any more. "Knowing my dharma has changed my life, the way I think, and who I want to become. I just did a 180-degree turnaround in the way I look at life."

Brian has changed his life in many ways. He writes, "My dharma is vision. I have the capacity to seek lines of probability and be clairvoyant in this lifetime. I have everything available to me to bring my dharma out, but the biggest difficulty I have that holds me back is my attachment to the past. As long as the attention is in the past and upon what was, there is difficulty in being presently conscious. It is only when this one is presently conscious that this one can clearly see the past or future.

"Things that would bother me before don’t bother me that much as long as I keep my attention in the present moment. Now my Dharma Portrait has given me a clear image that I want to reach for and accomplish. It said I need to stop fearing being challenged and cause myself to rise up out of the past and embrace each moment as an infant with openness rather than judgement."

My report said that there is a lot that I can do in this lifetime. ‘It will be a constant activity for this one to remain within the present and to therefore direct the thinking capacities into present experience. It is this activity that will bring with it the sensitivity and then the vision which this one is capable of. It is the aligning of the mind and it is something that this one has knowledge of and needs to implement with a sense of vision itself. There is much that can be accomplished by this one in the present time period and this one needs to cultivate a vision for what it is and what it can be.’

One example of how I was able to use my report: One day my teacher told me to start watering the garden and nobody else was available just yet. The other college students would help me when they got back from watering the garden at Moon Valley Ranch. I went outside and started watering, then I saw that they came back. So I went to look for Greg to see if he would help me water. As I was looking for Greg, my teacher saw me and said "aren’t you supposed to be out there watering the garden?" I said, "yeah, but I’m looking for Greg to see if he could help." My teacher told me not to worry about Greg and to go water the garden.

I was upset, I was saying to myself, "I don’t care about my teacher, forget watering the garden." I was rebellious. At that point in time I was just throwing a temper tantrum.

Then I caught myself thinking compulsively. Once I realized that this was a compulsive way of thinking, I knew that I was not in alignment with my dharma. Hearing those negative thoughts, I knew that I was not in the present moment. The truth is, I love my teacher, I love the garden. So I picked up a couple of watering pitchers and went out in the garden and started watering it. As I was watering I started thanking the earth mother. I thanked the water angel, and most important I thanked God for the plants in the garden. I did that for about ten minutes and realized two things. The first thing was, I realized that I was in the present moment, and the second thing was that I had changed my attitude. Before, it would have taken me hours to change my thoughts and attitude. Now it took me about fifteen or twenty minutes. I was able to see how I am changing and how I am gaining mastery of my thoughts.

Now I’m more focused on being in the moment. Every time I catch myself thinking of the past or being in the future, I become aware of it and bring my attention back to the present moment. This has helped me to be more open to learning and to gain more from my experiences. I have a very strong desire to fulfill my dharma and I believe you can see why.

My own dharma is faithfulness. As I sat receiving my Dharma Portrait, all kinds of memories flashed through my mind. I stretched to receive the truth that pervaded everything that was related. My whole being tingled with a new excitement, the kind of excitement that comes when you know why you are here, what you are to do that will bring enlightenment.

In my past lives faithfulness has been built mostly "in combination with avenues of judgment and justice." Many times I was in a position of decision making or advisement that affected the life and death of many people. I can see how justice would be important to understand in making decisions that affect humanity. It also said that justice is served with a still mind. What I need to learn is how these two qualities of faithfulness and justice are connected. By giving completely to faithfulness "there will be the capacity to know. And it is from the knowing that justice arises."

As I have used my dharma report, I have recognized in my life that I am asking my Self, "what am I faithful to" in each situation. It is the basis of my decisionmaking in each circumstance. It is clear that when I am faithful to my highest ideal, the greatest good is served. When I am faithful to God, then I understand the Universal Laws, which are the essence of justice. As Albert Einstein said, "I want to know what God thinks. Everything else is a distraction."

Each dharma report is very specific, very clear, very profound and has made a major contribution to our spiritual growth and learning. We are all focused in our spiritual learning as a direct result of these reports and the degree to which we have applied them in our lives.•

Tad Messenger has recently completed a year as a student at the College of Metaphysics. He wants to remain at the college as an assistant teacher and eventually open the Earth Science Department at the College of Metaphysics.

©2000 THRESHOLDS MAGAZINE Vol. 18 No. 3