There are 42 forms but only one Essence
Form is a reflection of Essence. Form can keep changing but Essence always remains the same.
In other words, something may exist in many forms but will actually come from the same essence.
Forms are like shapes, perspectives or ways of looking at things. You can create one dough but choose to make a pizza, bread or cookies just by altering the final ingredients (say, salt versus sugar). Further on, you can choose various shapes or add various flavors, nuts, seeds, icings or creams. Hence, one dough is a sufficient base for filling a half of the bakery shop 😉
The key understanding is this:
Essence is inner.
Form is outer.
Your being is your Essence. The rest makes up your forms.
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Traits do not equal being.
Behavior does not equal being.
Skills do not equal being.
Achievements do not equal being.
Failures do not equal being.
Family does not equal being.
History does not equal being.
These are your forms: shadows, moods, perspectives, projections, looks, contexts or disguises.
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When you look at your life circumstances, choices to be made and decisions to be taken, they may seem to be very complex. Yet, there is a hidden simplicity behind them.
Your essence.
Think about yourself for a moment.
Are you able to describe yourself with one sentence?
What is your basic call?
Are you here to solve problems?
Are you here to push the frontiers of technology?
Are you here to make discoveries?
Are you here to spread kindness?
Are you here to help others heal?
Are you here to test the limits and borders?
Are you here to transcend pain?
Are you here to exercise patience?
Are you here to care for nature?
Are you here to preach and teach?
Whom are you becoming?
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Think about yourself for a moment.
Are you able to describe yourself with one word?
Are you to be patient?
Are you to be stubborn?
Are you to be searching?
Are you to be kind?
Are you to be honest?
Are you to be demanding?
Are you to be competitive?
Are you to be pushing?
Are you to be experimenting?
What is your core?
Start to know yourself.
If you understand your Essence, your life will become much more enjoyable. Why? Because you will be able to take congruent decisions (in agreement with yourself) and make more out of your experiences.
You can see decisions and choices as creative outlets for your self-expression. Decisions will inherently lead to new experiences or change, hence you may evaluate them by a perception of how you will go with them. You will compare the (some-)thing your decision is about with the ideal you, the you to become.
When you are considering a few options, you may ask yourself:
- Is this job like me?
- Is this house like me?
- Is this country like me?
- Are these friends like me?
- Is this meal like me?
This is something that you can feel or know.
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Alternatively, consider your 3-5 most personal values, such as competitiveness, wisdom, honesty, friendship, individuality, humor, persistence, etc, whatever matters to you the most. Obviously you need some time to determine your values first.
Ask yourself. Is the subject of your decision reflecting the values you appreciate the most?
- Is the company offering you a job having similar values to the ones you have?
- Is your local community supporting the values that are important to you?
- Are your friends sharing similar values as you hold dear?
- Is this laptop / clothes / tools / equipment helping you to develop the values that matter?
Find it out.
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Don’t be misguided by the look, first impressions, behaviors, traits, clothes or speeches.
To know the truth is to see the Essence.
It is the inner quality that shines through no matter what.
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By the way if you were wondering about the number of 42 forms, it is a guess. In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, we learn that 42 is “The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”. So, I hope this accounts for the number of forms too 😉
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Useful resources:
- Is your genius at work?
- What are your strengths? Discover them! Also The Strength Finder-2.0 may be helpful here.
- Consider taking the Myers-Briggs type and personality tests.
- Take an aptitude test. Many years back I took the paid MAPP assessment test, which provided me with great insights. It shed a new perspective on my inetrests and skills. You can also receive a free MAPP sample report if you like.
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The image above shows a beautiful quilt by Inge Duin. See more of her works on www.ingeduin.nl.
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