I’m very excited about a new app coming out that is completely ahead of its time. It’s called GoogleFuture and it’s amazing. Applying the process of quantum computing, the app enables you to Google search anything, from any time period—including the future. And not just the future of your current timeline, but any possible future. Imagine being able to do a search on yourself to see what becomes of you based on certain choices and decisions—which job brought more success, which partner brought a more lasting relationship, which path brought the most fulfillment. With GoogleFuture there will be no more uncertainty, and really, no need for this article. Truth be told however, there actually are no plans for GoogleFuture, or anything similar, anytime soon as far as I know. But being able to figure out your destiny is really just as easy. Maybe, even easier.
Destiny is the path that leads you to the most terrifying thing in your life that most excites you. It’s a journey that requires you to grow to do what you are most passionate about—to do the thing you were born to do. If you think of your life as a video game character, the destiny is the golden path that the video game programmer created to give you the most fulfilling game-playing experience. And to be fulfilling, it must challenge you to become the biggest version of yourself so you can get to the highest level. That means you must face and conquer your demons and follow your instincts even if they are diametrically opposed to everything the people in your life think that you should be doing. It requires being able to quiet down the screaming voice of society so that you can hear the whispers of your soul.
If you already know what you should be doing with your life, that’s all the advice you really need. But what if you don’t? What if you have no clue what you should be doing, aren’t completely sure, or are second-guessing what you thought was your destiny? Then this article is for you. I will show you the five simple steps to uncover the path that will bring you the most fulfillment.
You’ll know you’ve found it because it will immediately resonate. You will feel light, blissful, and suddenly empowered, which may quickly be followed by doubt, fear, and a sinking feeling in your stomach. This is just your mind trying to hold you back. It doesn’t want you to change. It wants you to be safe. But safe is boring. I can guarantee that if you’ve been playing it safe up until now, you’re probably pretty unfulfilled at best, and really miserable at worst.
On some level, we all already know what our own destiny is. It’s just that sometimes we let fear and the opinions of others cause us to stray so far from our path, we no longer recognize it. I promise you that no matter how far you may have strayed, there is always a way back. In fact, sometimes one tiny, simple decision, event, or encounter can get you right back there. Your life can change on a dime. Know this to be true. Once you believe, you are ready to re-member your path.
Step 1: Your Name
What’s in a name? Everything. Your name is like your brand, especially these days with the omnipresence of social media. If you don’t know the significance of your name, then you don’t know what you stand for. If you hate your name, change it, choose a nickname, or see if there’s a deeper meaning to it that resonates. Do a search on the various meanings of your name—including your middle and last name and any other names you are known by (religious name, family name, Native American name, etc). Focus on the parts that work for you and forget the rest.
Seeing how I broke down the meaning of my name should help you uncover the deeper meaning of your own. My full name is Marc Andrew Oromaner. Marc comes from Mars and means “warlike” or “warrior.” Interestingly, my middle name, Andrew, also means “warrior,” as well as “man.” When pronounced correctly (a rare occurrence), my last name sounds like aura-manner. The manner of an aura is like one’s soul. “Orah” also means “light” in Hebrew and “meyer” means “brightness” or “shines,” so “orah-mayer” is a brightly shining light. In Spanish, “oro” is gold and “manera” means “way.”
So it seems that my full name means either “warrior of the bright light” or “warrior of the golden way.” I interpret this as a choice—an inner battle—to make my life about following material riches or spiritual enrichment. This dual choice also relates to my zodiac sign, which segues nicely into the next step.
Step 2: Your Birthday
Don’t believe in astrology? No matter, it believes in you. I do believe there is a science to astrology, but that’s a topic for another time. For now, let’s just say that the giant planetary masses of energy that encircle our world act kind of like filters that enable certain electromagnetic energies to get through. Those energies that are in alignment at the time we’re born have more influence on us while those that aren’t have less. In this way, everyone is born with different combinations of personalities and challenges depending on where the planets, sun, and moon are when they entered the world. It’s all very calculated and precise, enabling a full range of personalities and qualities to be experienced among different beings, all based on a cyclical, automatic process. Once again, use my personal example as a template for interpreting your birth date.
Born June 16, I’m a Gemini. We’re air signs so we tend to live in the mind and lean towards spiritual interests, yet, we’re also superficial and flighty—hence the contradiction that ties into my twin paths, which focus on the material or the spiritual.
June 16 is also about five days short of the summer solstice—the day when the light (spiritual) completely dominates over darkness (material). Five days short? Almost seems as though I’m meant to initiate some kind of spiritual movement but won’t be able to take it to completion during my lifetime. Perhaps my twin daughters Aliyah and Brienna (both names meaning “rise” or “ascend” in different languages) will carry on my work as they were born March 21—the first day of spring when the light first begins to overtake the darkness. And yes, also interesting to note that as a Gemini I fathered twins.
For the Maya, the birthday was the only step needed to uncover one’s destiny. One of the Mayan calendars known as the Calendar Round combines their circular 260-day Tzolkin calendar with their circular 365-day Haab calendar together as two interlocking gears. Each day (one of the gears) represented a different energy to the Maya. Since the two calendars each had a different number of gears, they would interlock at varying points over time.
The combination of the two gears that connected on the day you were born represented your destiny. So for me, those two gears might have been “spirituality” and “stories” (or “media” in modern terms) since I have a passion for interpreting the hidden spiritual wisdom found in movies and TV shows. For you it might be “teaching” and “music” or “animals” and “medicine” or “eating” and “napping” or whatever it is you have a passion for.
Step 3: Your Parents
Whoever was most influential in raising you whether it be your birth parents, adoptive parents, grandparents, or close family friend (i.e., Robert Kiyosaki’s experience as explained in Rich Dad, Poor Dad) is of utmost importance when it comes to figuring out your destiny. There are no accidents. If you’re meant to be a famous trapeze artist, chances are you won’t be born to an accountant and a stockbroker—unless those careers would turn you off so much that you run off and join the circus.
On the other hand, if your mother is an art teacher and your father a doctor, maybe you’re meant to be an art therapist. Your father is very religious and your mother is a scientist? Perhaps you’re meant to bridge the two philosophies. Your birth parents are hippies and your adoptive parents are bankers and your adoptive dad got divorced and remarried to an attorney and your adoptive mom now has a lesbian relationship with a waitress and your stepbrother is a children’s party clown? I’ll let you figure that one out, but you get the point.
My dad grew up with a lot of money while my mom did not. And yet, based on the stories I heard from my parents growing up, it seemed like my mom had a happier childhood despite incredible challenges. From that lesson I’d decided that money and material possessions did not bring happiness. Since then I’ve come to believe that money has no intrinsic value. It’s a tool that when used correctly can be used to help one reach one’s dreams, and vice-versa. I’ve found that the trick is to not value yourself based on what you have, but rather, what you are. Then your self-worth will not be contingent upon money.
Sometimes, those that raised us are meant to give us positive examples of how to behave, while other times they are meant to teach us what not to do and to learn to forgive. But either way, their influence is obvious. And whether overwhelmingly positive or negative, upon reaching adulthood, we must detach ourselves from the sphere of their influence in order to find our own way. This is a major part of the hero’s journey and shows up in some form in most mythological stories, including Abraham’s story in the Bible.
For me, I feel I was meant to break away from the material aspects of my dad’s financial consulting job while embracing his path as a business owner. I believe I was also meant to have my mother’s social butterfly, real estate agent skills rub off on me while letting go of her desires for me to have a “normal” life (i.e., steady job with benefits and a typical family experience similar to how I’d grown up). Looking at your own parents’ dreams and fears, their occupations, values, friends, and personalities can provide an important clue as to how they were meant to guide you on your journey.
Step 4: Your Surroundings
As I wrote in “Turns Out Life IS Fair,” if you aren’t sure what’s important to you in your life, look around you. Everything you’re surrounded by is what’s important to you. And by important I mean what you give energy to…
To read the rest of this article and find out more about Step 4 and learn about the final, and most important step, click here: http://thelaymansanswerstoeverything.com/?p=2452
Marc Oromaner is a spiritual author and speaker who teaches how we can discover our destiny using clues found in the media and in our lives. His book, "The Myth of Lost" (www.themythoflost.com) deciphers the hidden wisdom of the hit TV show and explains how we can use this wisdom to overcome our own challenges.
Marc's twenty years of experience working in advertising and promotion has given him a unique insight into what makes products--and people--tick. He graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Television & Radio and went on to complete a two-year advertising copywriter program at The Creative Circus in Atlanta. Working in on-air promotions at Lifetime Television and CBS News, and then in advertising with clients such as NASA, The New York Botanical Garden, and Affinia Hotels, Marc developed a talent for uncovering the soul of a brand. This skill was sharpened after he began studying at The Kabbalah Centre in New York and exploring many other spiritual philosophies including The Law of Attraction.
Today, Marc lives in New York City where he combines his background in advertising and spirituality to help people and brands find their path in an increasingly convoluted world. His blog, "The Layman's Answers To Everything" (http://thelaymansanswerstoeverything.com/) points out the patterns that run through all great stories including our own. These patterns are clues which are meant to guide us towards a life full of love, light, and fulfillment.