Higher Purpose

The title for my review comes from a story related in Robert’s book about his daughter wanting, at the age of 11, to sing Hallelujah in front of 150 workshop participants in the Universal Hall at Findhorn. Her workshop leader parents were nervous, but she insisted on singing the whole song, and enjoyed a standing ovation. I believe that we are here to sing our unique song and make our special contribution in service to the world. Finding one’s purpose is an important element, and the idea for the book itself arose from Robert hosting a talk radio show for 10 years called Shift Happens!. By far the most common question related to how to find one’s purpose (my own educational programme for young people is called Inspiring Purpose). At the end of his introduction, he writes that if, by the end of the book, you are still not clear then he can make it very simple: ‘Your purpose is to love the world. You are here to be a presence of love. Your work is to be the most loving person you can be.’ Wise advice indeed!

The book is structured into four parts, reflecting the hero’s journey: the call, the path, the ordeal, and the victory. Dotted throughout the text are many inspiring quotations, such as this one from Rumi: ‘Journey from self to the Self, and find the mine of gold.’ Or Joseph Campbell: ‘We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.’ Campbell, Carl Jung, Rilke, Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou and Viktor Frankl are among Robert’s guides along his path. He argues that there are three golden threads to purpose: individual purpose, shared purpose, and universal purpose. Individually, our task is to become who we really are, to grow what Jean Houston calls our Godseed; shared purpose is about overcoming our sense of separateness, ‘to be an instrument for a greater good, and to be of service to others.’ Universally, we are called to be a presence of love and a blessing to others. Robert shares his own journey, highs and lows, successes and setbacks, all in a very accessible style while bringing in the wisdom of his children along the way.

Robert’s first initiative was a Stress Busters Clinic, from where he moved on to run the Happiness Project, then Success Intelligence, and courses on ‘loveability’ – he now works as a consultant to leaders and organisations on the theme of purpose and leadership, and his clients include some major brands. He also runs Living Your Purpose retreats in Assisi and another programme on Purpose and the Enneagram. Readers come to understand how his life has unfolded, sometimes being involuntarily stopped in his tracks and traversing some dark times. However, the next step always appears if you are patient and watchful. Self-enquiry is a good place to start, and Robert proposes a number of pertinent questions, suggesting that we need to recognise when we feel most ‘on purpose’ – in other words aligned with our deeper self and blueprint. I started learning this in courses on existentialism at university, where the importance of authentic living was highlighted.

Somewhere along the way, we receive the call to adventure, maybe through what Joseph Campbell terms an ‘inciting incident’ that ‘kicks us out of the ordinary.’ There is a very good chapter on joy as a compass, which Bernard Shaw related to being used for a larger purpose. He also tells us about his experiences of joy swimming with whales and dolphins. His chart showing the four intelligences – physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual – is very helpful, as are his explanations. He tells CEOs that leaders are not paid to be busy, but paid to think. We need to draw on all our faculties in the process of individuation, integration and metanoia representing the transformation of the mind and heart.

Making space for retreats can give us a sense of sacred time in stillness as kairos, especially when we are so regularly caught up in the busyness of chronos. In his own case, a retreat on Mt Athos led him to create his courses on loveability, which he defines as our ability to love and be loved. We are now experiencing the limits of systems and motivations based on fear and violence, which are necessarily self-defeating in the long run. Besides, these arise from alienation and a sense of separation, as well as from the self-perpetuating wounds of trauma. The lives and examples of St Francis and St Clair are very important inspirations in asking the question, who am I serving? Robert’s Easter retreat embodies the process of death and rebirth, and he quotes Erich Fromm that our task is to give birth to ourselves.

After the darkness and ordeals comes the victory, a section that Robert begins with a commencement speech given in Santa Monica, where he frames the central themes of honouring the journey, acknowledging the calling, recognising our courage and giving thanks for learning and support received as we come to a new beginning. One important warning is to beware of what he calls ‘dysfunctional independence’ – something I recognise in my own experience. His encounters with Maya Angelou are among the most inspiring in the book, especially with respect to love and courage – we should not be in the business of building ourselves cages, and we may need to go through a process of deep forgiveness in order to move on. Robert highlights its importance in changing our relationship with the past. He finishes by reiterating that ‘Love is our one true purpose’ – we just need to work out what this means for each of us individually, and this inspiring and heartfelt book is a wonderful guide in this respect.