Before we move onto the next stage of the inquiry into presence—the ways in which Patriarchal Spiritualities, ‘The New Cage movement’, and the Spiritual Bypass may have obstructed our capacity to be fully present for this lifetime—I want to plant a seed that relates to the question of purpose. We will go further into it soon, but I invite you to reflect on the following term and its related definition in the coming weeks. In my first book, Soulshaping: A Journey of Self-Creation, I defined “truth ache” as follows:
Truth Ache: A persistent nudge from within, a symptom of our alienation from true-path, a sign that we are not honoring the sacred purpose encoded in the bones of our being. It can arise in many forms, in its earnest efforts to call us into alignment: physical illness, emotional issues, self-distractive behaviors, a nagging sense of falsity, ceaseless dissatisfaction, a sense of hopelessness, a voice that wakes us up at night fraught with worry. When we don’t adhere, the more persistent the voice will become, and in its extreme forms, may urgently demand change. Although uncomfortable, it is a blessing in disguise, an echo of essence, a call to a deeper and more bona fide path. Better we face it while we still can.
In other words, we come into this lifetime with an encoded or an intrinsic path, something that author James Hillman called “the innate image.” It needn’t be a specific path—it may well be a more general directionality, one that reflects your archetypal growing edge in this lifetime. For example, you may have come in with a healer archetype longing to take root in you, after lifetimes as a warrior. Or, if you aren’t inclined to believe that your soul travels lifetimes, then think of it as a particular calling, gift, or offering, that you carry with you from your ancestral lineage. Either way, when you find yourself unable to excavate and humanifest it, truth aches arise to remind you that you are not walking the paths you are here to walk.
This is particularly common in the tangible world that we live in. Rather than being encouraged to celebrate a life of meaning—a life that is rooted in the actualization of our sacred purpose—we are encouraged to celebrate our relationship to the tangible: tangible purchases, tangible notions of security, tangible and pragmatic interpretations of that which can only be understood in subtle, intangible terms. In other words, we are encouraged to wander around shopping malls looking for meaning, rather than finding it in the deep within, and in an ever-deepening exploration of the mystery. And while we are busily focused on the tangible, the deliciously intangible calls to us in the form of truth-aches that are a direct (and ever more uncomfortable) reflection of our alienation from the paths we are here to walk. Because we really are here for a variety of reasons, and ignoring them doesn’t serve us. To put it simply, “Truth or Consequences” is not just a popular game show from the 70’s. It is also a reality show that lives at the heart of our commitment to—or rejection of—our personal path.