I’ve noticed a lot of talk about soul searching lately. Maybe it’s just the circles I keep, because as I think back to my days in law firms, and it never came up. There, they were all in the accumulation phase of their Ego, the morning of our lives as Dr. Wayne Dyer calls it. It was all about the corner office, or making partner, or the top dog status–equity partner. Those not on that track were looked at with curious eyes and tilted heads as if to say, “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Still, 1 out of 50 would tell me they were unhappy with the life they had constructed for themselves.

Whether or not people articulate it, I deeply believe every single person has glimpses that their soul has an agenda and they long to know what that agenda is. The agenda may not match up with what their parents–or later, the world– said their life should look like, but the fear about changing that is so great it leaves them paralyzed in a trajectory that doesn’t sync up with their soul’s agenda.

Helping people find their soul’s true purpose and fulfill this longing is a billion dollar industry. Why is that? Your soul doesn’t charge an hourly fee or suggest you can make four payments in order to get to know it and what its highest purpose for you is. It just hangs out and waits for you communicate with it.

Last night I was listening to Neale Donald Walsh, author of Conversations with God and just all-around gentle soul, talk on this subject. He’s developed a program to help you fast track this process based on his experience of going from homeless to encountering Divinity and getting clarification of his own journey. That’s great, and I’m sure it’s terrific because he is, but you can also make this a DIY project with just a little focus.

Here’s what I’m finding helps–and it’s totally free.

• Find at least one person who appreciates this journey, understands it, and can share insights along the way. We are all connected, despite the allusion of individuality, and seeing that up close is soul affirming. Getting to know your soul is not for sissies. Having a sounding board makes it easier when those afraid of this journey roll their eyes at you. (Pick me, pick me!)
• Don’t minimize the importance of this. When you are acting on your soul’s agenda and not your mind’s agenda, everything else flows. You’ll see it in synchronicities all over the place, Jungian style. You’ll feel  more and more peace and joy about things that used to make you neurotic.
• Get quiet. Sit in your car in a parking lot if you have to. Find stillness. Then, step from present moment into a conversation with your soul. Get to know it, what it’s passionate about. Your body and mind are tools to help it meet its mission, and your passion is your road sign to what the mission is.
• Find a rhythm. Getting to know your soul isn’t like speed dating. It’s a lifetime process. Just as relationships require time and attention to grow, so does knowing your soul. Find a time and place regularly and be as dedicated to that as to daily exercise, eating healthy, sleeping—whatever you do to keep your body and mind healthy. Put it daily into your Google calendar if you find you aren’t making time.

Here’s the thing. We can keep ourselves busy, running here and there with so much to do, but it can easily become all that we are. We will pay the price for this, trying to fill ourselves with fancy cars, and houses, money, alcohol, and sugar…whatever can numb the real question from arising.

The real question as I see it is this: “Why am I here for this very short time and what is my unique journey according to my soul?”  Really, what’s more important to know than that.