(Revised 06/19/2010 and 06/21/2010)
DATE: JUNE 5TH 2010 (READ) JUNE 13TH 2010 (EXPLORATION)
Lesson Number: 1
Purpose Driven Life:
Lesson: It all starts with God. It’s not about you.
Verse To Remember: “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible,…everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. “ Colossians 1:16
Quote: “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”
Bertarand Russell, Atheist
Point To Ponder: It’s not about me.
Question To Consider: “In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind
myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?”
Further Information:
Here are the parts I considered important from Lesson 1.
Immediately starting the lesson, Mr. Warren clarifies that when he says, “It’s not about you.” What he is actually trying to tell you is that, “The purpose of your life is far greater that your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, of even your happiness. …If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”
Pg. 17
“It’s not about you.”
“If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”
“The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.”
Pg. 18
“You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God—and until you understand that, life will never make sense.”
Pg. 19
“It is not about finding the right career, achieving your dreams, or planning your life. It is not about how to cram more activities into an overloaded schedule. Actually, it will teach you how to do less in life—by focusing on what matters most. It is about becoming what God created you to be.
How, then do you discover the purpose you were created for? You have only two options. Your first option is speculation. This is what most people choose. They conjecture, they guess, they theorize. “
Continued on page 20.
“…there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life. It’s revelation. We can turn to what God has revealed about life in his Word. … He has clearly revealed his five purposes four our lives through the Bible. It is our Owner’s Manual, explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future. … The Bible says, “God’s wisdom…goes deep into the interior of his purposes…It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us.”
The biggest part of the lesson consists of Mr. Warren’s breakdown of a quote. I shall redisplay the quote and his explanation here:
“You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories. The Bible says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11
(Continued via Mr. Warren of his explanation, pg. 20 of the hardbound edition)
“This verse gives us three insights into your purpose.
1. You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don’t have such a relationship, I will later explain how to begin one.
2. God was thinking of you longer before you ever thought about him. His purpose for your life predates your conception. He planned it before you existed, without your input! You may choose your career, your spouse, your hobbies, and many other parts of your life, but you don’t get to choose your purpose.
3. The purpose of your life fits into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity. That’s what this book is about.”
The end of the first lesson concludes with a testimonial from Andrei Bitov, a Russian Novelist.
(As Quoted by Mr. Warren)
“In my twenty –seventh year, while riding the metro in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) I was overcome with a despair so great that life seemed to stop at once, preempting the future entirely, let alone any meaning. Suddenly, all by itself, a phrase appeared: Without God life makes no sense. Repeating it in astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God’s light.”
These are in essence the important parts of Lesson 1. Pick up a copy of the books if you choose to in order to get the full experience.
Way of the Wizard:
Lesson:
“A wizard exists in all of us. This wizard sees and knows everything.
The Wizard is beyond opposites of light and dark, good and evil, pleasure and pain.
Everything the wizard sees has its roots in the unseen world.
Nature reflects the moods of the wizard.
The body and the mind may sleep, but the wizard is always awake.”
Quote: “You are the unconditioned Spirit trapped in conditions like the Sun in eclipse.” Rumi (pg 6)
Further Information:
Here are the highlights from Lesson 1.
(P. 19 Hardcover Edition) –
“I once walked around like you, and when I looked at a person, all I saw was a form of flesh and bones. But after a while I noticed that a person lives in a house that extends that body—unhappy people with messy emotions live in messy houses; happy, contented people live in orderly houses. It was a simple observation, but after a while I thought, When I see a house, I am actually seeing more of that person.
Then my vision got wider. When I saw a person, I also couldn’t help seeing her family and friends. These were also extensions of the person that told me much about who she really was. And still my vision expanded. I began to see beneath the mask of physical appearance. I saw emotions, desires, fears, wishes, and dreams. Certainly these are part of a person too, if you have eyes to see them. … Then I realized that every living thing is the entire universe, only wearing a different disguise. “ (Merlin P.18)
“The first lesson is about finding the wizard and appreciating his point of view, which is very different from the point of view adopted by either the mind or the emotions. Emotions feel and react. “
Pg 20
“The first lesson, then, comes down to this: look beyond your limited self to see your unlimited self. Pierce the mask of mortality and find the wizard. He is inside you and only there. Once you find him, you will also be a seer. But what you can see dawns in its own time, step by step. Before the seeing comes the feeling that there is more to live than what you are living. It’s like a faint voice that whispers, “Find me.” The voice that calls is unemotional, peaceful, content within itself—and elusive. It is the wizard’s voice, but it is also your own. “
“This first lesson is about finding the wizard and appreciating his point of view, which is very different from the point of view adopted by either the mind or the emotions. Emotions feel and react. They are immediate. …The mind on the other hand, works much less immediately. It keeps a vast index file of memories and constantly shuffles through them. It compares the new with the old and renders a decision: this is good, that is bad, this is worth repeating, that is not. Thus the emotions give an immediate, unthinking response to any situation, like a baby that smiles or cries spontaneously. The mind consults its memory bank and gives a delayed reaction.
The wizard does not have either of these reactions, immediately or delayed—Merlin simply is. He sees the world and allows it to be whatever it is. … The basis of everything in the wizard’s world rests upon the insight, “All this is myself.” Therefore, in accepting the world as it is, the wizard views everything in the light of self acceptance, which is the light of love. “
Pg. 22
“All debates are generated by thinking, and the wizard doesn’t think. He sees. And that is the key to the miraculous, for whatever you can see in your inner world you will bring into existence in the outer world. Live with this first lesson, let the water of wisdom begin to seep into the secret passages inside your being, and observe. The wizard is inside you, and he wants only one thing: to be born.”
Point To Ponder: Look outside yourself, and yet, all this is yourself.
Please Feel Free to comment!
(As a side note, I mean to provide credit where credit is due, and in no way request credit for what I post here. I simply choose to walk on this journey and request your presence with me. What better way than a blog to provide that opportunity?)
