Recently I got the urge to purge, as they say. I started going through files, some of which dated back almost 30 years. I came across a file I started for a book I wanted to write called, “Still Standing.” Basically, it was going to be a book about all of the jobs I held since high school and how I managed to survive the verbal abuse, injustices, and discrimination experienced at each job. 

Reviewing the memos and letters I wrote while employed at each job brought up a lot of painful memories. Without question, I was miserable in each and every job I held. Certainly, there was a pattern here, but what was it? Why did I keep making the same unhappy career move? It seemed to me each job started with high expectations and excitement on my part, but in a matter of months, it deteriorated to the point of either making me physically or emotionally ill. Each position brought with it some level of toxicity. Reading all those files brought up just how painful those jobs ended up being. Was it the job, or was it me?

At some point, rather late in my career, I decided to stop seeking outside employment. Rather than having a boss, I opted to rely on my own skills, talents and abilities. It was then I got the answer to my question about why I was so unhappy in those jobs. I wasn’t doing the work I was uniquely qualified to do—work that I had started in prior lifetimes that was waiting to be continued in this life. Yes, I had been a writer and teacher in multiple lifetimes, but writing for someone else was not the answer. All those jobs in ad agencies or in ad departments for large corporations, was not fulfilling my soul’s purpose. No matter how much I justified taking a job, thinking THIS was the one, it never worked. It wasn’t until I defined my soul’s purpose, using Edgar Cayce’s teachings about stating one’s Ideal, that I got the template for future employment happiness.

An Ideal is the guidepost about why you’re here. It’s the highest level of attainment you can reach in any given lifetime. So stating it succinctly is important. I ask clients to state their soul’s purpose, or Ideal, when we do the pre-life planning session. Why are you here? What are the karmic attributes you’ve brought in to help you attain that purpose? When I defined my own Ideal, it came quickly: “To inspire and empower through the written word.” Once that became my north star, everything else paled in comparison. If I wasn’t writing or teaching or working with clients to inspire and empower, I wasn’t fulfilling my Ideal! The Universe, in its wisdom, created circumstances that compelled me to leave those jobs until I finally figured out I had to work for myself! 

Looking back on my past lives, there is a pattern of my being a scribe of some sort. This dates back to Atlantis and ancient Egypt. I also recall being a monk in medieval times happily copying texts. And I know I kept journals in multiple other lifetimes. So that begs the question—was I happy in those lives? I don’t know, but I do know there was a pattern that developed. I know I accumulated a lot of experience doing research, reporting, and spreading the word over many centuries. So that is what I am happily doing again in this life, thank you very much! 

If you’re unhappy in your line of work but are unsure how your talents, skills and abilities can be transferred to gainful employment, look to the past. Identify what you’ve brought in with you. What do you have in the karmic attributes column that you can pull on in this life? It may surprise you and point you in a completely different direction than you’re going today. A past-life regression will do that for you, and if you’re ready to explore that, just let me know!