WHY ARE YOU REALLY HERE?
Nearly eight billion people live on this Earth, and yet, in my estimation, among them and all their ancestors there have only ever been about 2,000 to 4,000 people who have truly reached mastery—some of whom we call geniuses. How can it be that so few souls actually unfold their full mental, emotional, and spiritual potential, while all the others seemingly remain asleep? How can it be that a single human being, with one unique idea, could elevate all of humanity to a new level and forever change the lives of millions? Whether it was Nikola Tesla’s electricity, the adventurous tales of Mark Twain, or the music of Mozart—these contributions have transformed our world profoundly and permanently.
Perhaps the most important question you can ask yourself in this life is: “Why am I really here on Earth?”
The course of the next years of your life will be shaped by how you answer this question. You can only be as happy or successful as the depth of your consciousness allows. Some people answer this question like this: “My parents wanted to keep each other warm on a cold winter night and, well, I just happened to happen. Life is pretty exhausting sometimes. Hopefully, the stress will soon end, and I’ll be able to enjoy retirement in peace.”
I invite you to ask yourself another essential question: “Am I a human being having experiences? Or am I a divine soul having a human experience?”
Your answer to this question determines your joy or sorrow, your contentment or inner conflict, your life in harmony or in constant struggle.
What Is Holding You Back?
So many people carry a pain in their hearts for years. They feel like they’re not truly moving forward in life. They chase one thrill after the next to experience a fleeting moment of joy—but never lasting fulfilment. So many live in scarcity and a constant victim mindset. Why? Because no one ever explained to them the rules of this game called life. And since they don’t know the rules, they do what they see others doing: they imitate and consume. Some consume things, others—especially in times of online dating—consume people. The result is the same: an unfulfilled life on the surface. There are five traps for your creative self that you must absolutely avoid:
Trap 1: Entertainment
Even in ancient Rome, people went to the Colosseum to watch gladiators in their final moments. Dramatic images act like drugs on our brain: we feel briefly alive. A person who feels no emotions—positive or negative—has no joy in life. What began with bread and circuses translates into our modern era. Today’s Colosseum is called the internet and television. Just think for a moment about all the entertainment options available to you and how you use them every day—on TV, online, on game consoles, or through the media. Did you know that a negative headline sells many times better than a positive one? Turn on the news at 8 p.m. tonight. You’ll be greeted with the friendly words “Good evening,” only to be convinced of the opposite in the next 15 minutes. Many tough-minded people say: “That’s just how it is. It doesn’t affect me any more!” Are you sure? In an anonymous Facebook study in 2013,2 the news feeds of over 689,000 users were manipulated. One group was shown only positive posts from their friends. As a result they began posting more positive content themselves. Another group saw only negative content and, unsurprisingly, they followed suit and posted more negatively. A third group saw only neutral posts, and they also adjusted, refraining from emotional posts altogether.
Conclusion: over time, we become what we see, hear, think, and do every day.
Trap 2: Food
When people consume mainstream content, they also need food that complements it—fast and tasty. So many turn to fast food, frozen pizza, ready-made meals, or canned goods. Countless flavour enhancers and colourings are included in the price! Not only is your life energy massively reduced by such meals, they also clog your body with lifeless substances. On top of that, there may be a few glasses of alcohol and some cigarettes. But whether you eat healthy or unhealthy food makes a significant difference: one nourishes your life energy, the other destroys it.
You decide each day—often unconsciously, on autopilot—what you consume. But do you really decide, or do you simply buy what you saw in the latest ad? In a fascinating study,3 typical French music was played in a supermarket. What happened? Customers reached for French wine four times more often than usual. Later, they were asked at the checkout if they had noticed the music. None of the buyers had consciously registered it.
Trap 3: Illness
Our world operates on the principle of “sowing and reaping.” Want to know who you’ll be tomorrow? Look at what you think, say, do, and consume today. Anyone who constantly consumes processed food, like sugar or white flour, will eventually see their body react. Many people have no idea what they’re feeding and doing to their miraculous body over the years. Yet, our organs continue to function faithfully—often for decades. But every neglected system will eventually give way. If you fill a car with sand instead of gasoline, it won’t run for long.
We often treat our possessions better than our bodies. Millions of people regularly take medication to combat physical pain at the surface level, rather than resolving the root cause.
Trap 4: Debt
It’s the dream of many: a beautiful home for themselves and their loved ones. A proud father walks out of the bank after two hours of negotiations and announces with pride: “I just bought a house!” The sad truth is often: he has bought himself an emotional prison. Because the house usually belongs to the bank for the next 20 to 50 years. And the buyer receives, at no extra charge, the lingering feeling of unease and loss of freedom that comes from signing away decades of liberty. In the years to come, every medium-sized purchase will be accompanied by a nervous twitch, as he wonders: “Can we really afford this?” But a home is just the tip of the debt iceberg. Today, people buy almost everything on credit. The newest phone? No problem. A new gadget to consume more entertainment (Trap 1)? Go for it! In times of 0 percent financing, that’s the smartest move, isn’t it? Or is it?
How can I own something that doesn’t truly belong to me? What vibration am I sending out into the universe when I use things I can’t yet afford? Those who are not walking their soul’s true professional path (see Chapter 5) will always try to fill the inner void through consumption. We spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t even like.
Trap 5: Relationships
It’s in our nature to build or protect our self-worth. But many people lack self-worth, which leaves them craving recognition—often without realizing it. There are many reasons why people come together. But there is only one reason why they stay together: love, which manifests as mutual trust and daily respect. Love has nothing to do with external validation.
As long as you are not at peace with yourself, you will constantly seek from others what you’re currently missing. In the unfulfilled hope that someone else will finally complete you, you fight for attention and approval. Almost daily, the distorted truth is sold to us in the media: “I need your love.” But love—or true friendship—has nothing to do with dependency on others. Ask yourself regularly: “How much time can I spend alone without feeling lonely?”, “How emotionally free am I really in my decisions?”
Looking Inward
How are you feeling right now? What do you feel? What is currently preventing you most from fully living your soul’s fundamental right—your freedom? In my observation, many older people long to escape the hamster wheel they’ve fallen into through these traps, while many younger ones try not to get caught in the first place. But over time, you become what constantly surrounds you. Are you currently living a life of consumption, your inner life impacted by the outside? Or are you already walking the path of realization, bringing your radiant inner light to the outside—just as all the great geniuses did? They all questioned the status quo and left the path of consumption to walk their own soul’s journey. To transform their own pure truth into the outer world. Because if you do what the masses do, you will only get what the masses get: average results. Which leads to an average life. Step out. You can do better. Your life is waiting!
