An adventure in “Earth Game” (aka a “lifetime”) is not undertaken willy-nilly. Much planning is carried out beforehand. In what I like to think of as the “Great Planning Session” that precedes any lifetime, one’s Higher Self (being the “you” before you were born and after you die) makes many selections and many decisions. They do not do that in isolation, but rather in consultation with others of their ilk. Including those who would serve as your parents and your siblings (if any), and perhaps a “Soulmate” (or two). Some of your story is pre-written, and some of it is left for you to write along the way.
Just as you have a Soulmate if you (and another) pre-planned it that way, you have a particular “destiny” if you planned it that way. Just as it does not make you better or worse to have a Soulmate or not have a Soulmate, it does not make you better or worse to have a destiny.
I suppose “destiny” could be used to describe everything that was pre-planned. But that seems to me an overreach. I would not proclaim that I was “destined” to be born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada, as if there was a profundity to that. No, I suggest a narrower meaning of destiny. As I see it, the points of destiny are where your story is pre-written so that it connects in some meaningful way into Earth’s story. Destiny is your intended contribution to that grander story – however large or small that contribution may be.
Destiny is more than, and different from, karmically revisiting old scenes with a view to acting them out differently this time. Karma looks back (to past lifetimes); destiny faces forward. (If anything, a karmic shadow may caution you against heeding the whispers of destiny, if those whispers trigger a sense of been there, tried that, did not end well.)
Having a destiny does not mean you are somehow “above” other players within Earth Game. It certainly does not make you a messiah. (Which seems a good thing; we know what tends to happen to messiahs.) Destiny is not even necessarily a heroic thing. Donald J. Trump, for instance, appears (from my perspective) to have a destiny. As evidenced by (among other things), an astrological birth chart that is said to indicate that he would (i) be always in the public eye, and (ii) have absolutely no “filter”. Whether you see him as hero or anti-hero is up to you (I have my own view on that). But it seems to me obvious enough that his story is somehow interwoven into Earth’s broader story. He is playing a part in that grander play. A part for which his Higher Self signed him up. Ponder on that.
Not having a destiny is not a flaw or a problem. Some lifetimes are purposefully designed with no grand purpose in mind, other than perhaps revisiting and tidying up a little karma here and there. For a subset of such undestined lifetimes, there is little in the manner of difficulty or darkness or drama (or karmic tidying) pre-written into the story. Rather, some lifetimes are mostly intended to be about experiencing, exploring, and enjoying this amazing realm of physicality. Which is a major part of why “Earth Game” was created in the first place, and why we like to come back here again and again. So, no judgment either way, as between destiny or no destiny.
But what if you did come in with a plan, a destiny? Well, then do what you came to do. When you hear destiny’s whispers, heed the call.
Destiny does not announce its presence with pomp and circumstance. Rather, it is whispered to you by your Soul – which holds your connection to your Higher Self, and thus holds the full blueprint from that “Great Planning Session”. For the most part, it will speak to you softly and subtly, through serendipities and coincidences and “chance” meetings and the song that pops into your head. Eventually, you know it’s there – a destiny. And it may not fit your conception of what your life was to be all about. Perhaps your destiny may be a fit for what you had planned for your “livelihood”; but perhaps not.
Not sure whether your Soul carries the current of a destiny assigned to you? Ask it. Ideally, in meditation. Don’t be disappointed if your Soul’s answer is “Nah … go play at life, and enjoy Earth.” Do whatever you came here to do, whether that does or does not involve playing a role in the production known as “Earth’s story”. Again, either way no judgment. But, if you were drawn to read this article, that may of itself indicate that a current of destiny is in play for you.
The call of destiny often will not be what your Ego wants to hear. If you hear trumpets blaring and a call to great influence, power, recognition, and wealth, you are probably hearing the call of Ego, not destiny. The call of destiny will more likely feel as a perturbation in the world your Ego is attempting to create. It may throw you off, at least initially.
You do not have to chase destiny; it will pursue you. You just have to allow it to catch you. When destiny calls, answer the phone. If you try to shut it out, the whispers will turn into shouts. If you try to ignore the shouts, the best case is that you become numb to the whispers of your Soul, and from their perspective no longer of much interest. (The worst case may be a descent into madness or addiction.) May as well wrap up this lifetime early and get a fresh roll of the dice.
Destiny need not be grandiose. For example, you may have signed on only to plug into the story of another, whose story will in time impact Earth’s story. You may become aware of the connectivity only when it is all shown to you as part of your “Life Review” following the end of your lifetime. But along the way you feel from time to time a subtle current, a gentle pull. You won’t know why, but you will know what you need to do, and you will feel called to do it. Even if it is only a small thing, here and there.
Destiny may not even involve taking action in the physical world. Your destiny could be to bring in energies and frequencies such that, because of you, others will now be able to access those energies and frequencies where before they could not. One might be skeptical about that: Really? One can play a part in Earth’s story purely through the energies that one receives and the “Quantum Signal” one emits? Why not? Yes, we tend to think that the way to change the world is by taking action. Well, how many unenlightened or sleeping or foolish people have you persuaded to be enlightened, awake, or wise through your active persuasions or urgings? For me, the count on that is still at zero. No, just shine your light.
Or, consider politicians who encounter much success. Do they tend to be visionaries, spurred on by manifest destiny? Or, how often was their brilliance mostly a function of observing which way the parade was going, and inserting themselves at the front of the parade? You can quietly start a parade of one, and if it looks like you are having fun, who knows who may decide to walk alongside you?
You do not need to save the world, or even change the world. Just be the change yourself. In whatever way your Soul – as keeper of your destiny – whispers to you. Begin there. And see where your destiny leads you.