You've probably been around long enough to have heard people say that illness or dis-ease can be a "teacher." Maybe this has even made you angry, especially if you are in pain. Yet pain is our body's only way of communicating that there is something needing our attention. Our Western mind-set is to medicate pain. We resist and fight against it and this separates us from the wisdom of the pain. Remember that pain is coming through our feelings and feelings are the substance of soul. Learning our body's language can be a daunting task. However learning this language can help us connect with what the pain is trying to teach us and thus, into discovering our soul's purpose.

We can also view physical and emotional changes as messengers. If we've engaged most of our lives in exploring the outer world, it seems reasonable to assume that at some place along life’s path, we reach a pivot point - directing our focus inward to attend to the soul's calling. This is difficult to conceptualize in a culture where we are encouraged to be good workers and consumers rather than to honor our creativity and our mental and physical health. Though many of us are slowly altering our perceptions, those of us who "live to work" still seem more numerous than those who "work to live," finding balance, depth and meaning in our service to the world. On a treadmill of consumerism, we are more apt to lose touch with our bodies and spirits and fall under a spell that convinces us we will not be supported while being creative, healthy and happy. Yet we are all, sooner or later, directed to our inner purpose. It is this soul's calling which speaks to us, even if it takes and emergency to awaken us to this potential.