Looking For Your Life Theme?

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Discover Your Life Theme

Life themes reflect what you value most and are a major part of your life calling -- what you are called to learn about, experience and master. Once you know what your theme of life is, you are halfway to understanding what inspires you, drives you crazy and gives your life meaning.

If it sounds like learning what your is would be fun, you want to learn more. Before you get started, here is a quick overview.

What Are Life Themes?

Life themes are made up of keywords that represent your highest values. Each value gives you a starting point for defining the major themes of your life that wind themselves like a thread through the events and synchronicities of your life. Each represents your personal perspective or viewpoint, and thus how you experience the World.

Some of us look through the eyes of justice, and measure and weigh every experience, consciously or unconsciously, by whether the outcome was just or not. Others value truth, and are always looking for it and confounded by the lies people tell and the illusions of the world.

How To Identify Your Life Theme

It starts by getting you thinking about the one, two or three things that you most value, unconsciously seek out, and love to experience.

Your life theme is best expressed in your own words -- but it is often difficult to figure out how to start. So the 28 universal values below give you a place to begin ... and a way to keep yourself on track.

Take some time to look over the list and find the words that resonate with you the most and follow the steps outlined below. Clues to your life theme are all around, if you know where to look and how to see the hidden themes of your life. Your favorite things -- movies, books, TV shows, etc. are a great place to start.

Follow the clues and use them to develop a statement of your life theme, putting the keywords into a short sentence or statement that expresses in your own words why you are here --- what you value most and are meant to learn, experience or understand by living your life.

Once you have found the right words for your life theme, you will start to see a connection between the way you look at and move through the world and the issues that form the pivotal, peak and extraordinary events of your daily life. These insights can change the way you look at life, as well as the challenges, obstacles and opportunities you face.

To make it easier to find your life theme, here are a few steps I have outlined ...

Step One: Create A Work Space

Clear off the kitchen table or any f.alt* working space with room to spread out ... 3 feet by 5 feet (or 1 meters by 2 meters) should do it nicely. You may want to leave your favorite things sitting on it for a few days, so pick someplace either out to the way -- or conversely -- where you can glance at it over several days.

Step Two: Gather Your Favorite Things 2.get.her

Now go gather up from around your room or house all of your favorite things ... anything you collect or love to surround yourself with. Take a look through your bookcases ... your stack of DVD movies ... your music CDs or play list ...the art on your walls ... your list of favorite quotes ... the TV shows you regularly watch. Pick out the ones you truly love -- not just like or enjoy. Bring them all to your work space and lay them out.

Step Three: Group Them By Themes

Think about the items you have gathered and see if you can arrange your favorite things in piles based on a theme. You can create your own themes or keywords for each pile, or use the Life Themes keywords as a starting point.

Life
Peace
Wisdom
Creation
Sacred Enigmas
Love
Word & Image
Energy
Potential
Mastery

Justice
Perspective
Growth & Change
Balance
Renewal
Truth
Nature
Form
Higher Consciousness
Evolving

Beauty & Harmony
Work & Play
Understanding
Order & Chaos
Unity
Freedom
Happiness
Soul

If you are not sure how to arrange them, think about ....

What it is that you like about them? What drew you to them? Why they are your favorites?

You want to get in touch with why you love them. Then look at the other things on your work space to see if anything else falls into that theme. Make piles of items based on a keyword that uniquely fits your collection.

A couple of examples might help here.

First Example

Say you have a bunch of "cops and robbers" films and a few detective novels. Think about what it is about them that drew you to them. Was it the sense a good winning out over evil? Seeing that wrongs are righted and the bad guys get their just (ice) desserts? If so, group them under the life theme keyword of Justice.

Second Example

What if you like lots of romance novels and movies ... and Romancing The Stone (a green emerald if I recall) is one of your top favorites? Is it the love story that draws you to it? The sense of adventure? So group them by by the theme of love, or try adventure and see if that starts to make sense and other things you love fit into that theme.

Step Four: Go Hunting For Your Life Themes

Do you see a pattern emerging? Now take another look around your possessions and see if your themes are reflected in more things that you own. Look at what you have posted on your bulletin board, the slogan on your coffee mug, your favorite wall calendar.

Now think about the intangible things you love to spend time watching or talking about ... the TV shows you regularly watch ... the best conversations you have ever had ... the web sites you love to browse ... the passionate arguments you have had. Are there ideas that you love to think about, research, champion or argue about?

Sometimes, our life calling or theme is reflected in the things that bother us ... the thorn in our sides ... the thing that makes you angry or upset because there is a lack of it in the world. So, strange as it may seem, it is worth digging deep into the things that upset you to see what you are sensitive to you ... like a canary in a mine. Triggers that make you angry ... the underlying idea at the bottom of your dividing issues ... could be related to an unfulfilled purpose.

Step Five: Create A Life Theme Statement

Once you have a good idea of the main keywords of your life theme, try to put them into a short sentence. Feel free to use the words that best fit you -- changing the keywords to create a personal statement that exactly expresses what why you are -- what you sense you are meant to understand, learn about, master or experience.

Some examples might help ...

My Life Theme Is ...

.... to discover how laughter and humor can heal the body, mind and spirit.

(My favorite movie is Patch Adams ... see my life purpose statement)

My Life Theme Is ...

.... to learn how to find a balance between freedom and love.

My Personal Theme Is ...

.... to experience how to bring a greater sense of peace and justice into the world.

(My favorite movie is Patch Adams ...)

I Was Meant To ...

.... explore and learn about how important truth is to love and intimacy.

(My favorite movie is Patch Adams ...)

Ready For More About Life Themes?

If so, you will want to read the ...

list of 28 life themes

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