From The Prophet's Way by Thom Hartmann, copyright 1997 by Mythical Intelligence Inc., published in the UK in 2002 by Hodder Mobius.

Why Are We Here?

My teacher, Herr Muller, once told me one of his most vivid memories. Perhaps it was an early dream of his? Whatever, I recognize the power of his memory.

It was a time before he was born on the Earth. He was in a great hall, made of marble and decorated very elegantly, and there were thousands of people lined up in rows. He was in one of the back rows, and smaller and shorter than most of the people there, who were both men and women.

Sent into the world by Michael
Then into the great hall came a magnificent-looking man who Herr Muller recognized as the Archangel Michael. Everybody snapped to attention and assembled themselves into long lines, several rows deep and facing him.

‘There is a battle coming on the Earth,' Michael said. ‘It will be fought first on the most subtle of spiritual levels, and then on the coarser levels. I am looking for people who are willing to go to Earth at this time to take on this battle. Most of your work will be invisible, and you will suffer great difficulties. You may be tortured, or nearly put to death. You may often wish for death. But, if you persevere, you will sit with the Son of G-d at the wedding table. On the other hand, if you do not volunteer for this mission, there will be no penalty or punishment and you will be allowed to stay here in heaven and enjoy the life you have. Now, who will choose to volunteer for this?'

Herr Muller looked around and nobody was stepping forward. ‘How can this be?' Her Mueller wondered: there were so many mighty and powerful beings here.

‘Will nobody step forward?' Michael said, his voice now thundering.

There was no motion.

Michael raised his hand, which held a flashing sword. ‘Then step back if you are unwilling to go with us!'

All around Herr Muller, people stepped back. There was a giant rush to step back, in fact. He looked about in wonderment. ‘How could anybody not want to sit at the table with Jesus Christ?' he wondered, as he stood in place.

After a few moments, everybody had moved back a few yards except Herr Muller, who stood alone at his end of the hall. Down the row, a few hundred yards and so far away he couldn't make out their features, there were other people who hadn't stepped back.

Michael looked at them and his face became filled with love and compassion. ‘I will send you help and I will send you helpers, although they will usually not be obvious. But you will know. And always remember, no matter how terrible it gets, that you are on a mission and your actions, if you are successful, will save humanity.’ Michael paused and looked around, then said, ‘And now I tell you what is your most powerful weapon: to commit tiny acts of compassion.’

As Herr Muller nodded, Michael struck him on the shoulder with his sword. He winced from the blow, and then began to cry and struggle, trying to speak, but unable to: he was now in the body of a newborn baby, Gottfried Johannes Muller, in Germany, in 1913.

What about other people?
I later asked Herr Muller if he thought I, too, had chosen to incarnate on the Earth at this time for a specific purpose. He said that with me and others who were working to help the planet and the people on it the answer was a definite yes, and that probably we were there in that room with him, among those who did not step backwards.

‘What about other people?’ I asked. ‘All the other people on the Earth?’

‘Each person is here for a reason,’ he said. ‘They have surrounded themselves with others who are there for a reason, each for himself and each for his circle. Always it is.’

‘And you and me?’

‘We are brothers and teachers.’

‘What is my purpose? My mission?’

‘To help prepare the world and the people in it for the new age.’

‘But there is a whole New Age movement,’ I said.

‘This is different from that. Those people do not know what they are talking about when they say ‘New Age’ and think it means that they should sing in a park and do yoga. This is the age of the Messiah!’ He hit his fist on the desk, fire in his eyes. ‘This is the time of the rebirth of Earth and humankind, the return of ancient wisdom and knowledge.’

‘And how should I do my part in this?’

‘You will have to wait to know that,’ he said in a tone that meant the conversation was over.

Exercise: finding your true purpose
Since that time, I've often pondered my purpose. The importance of this was so great to me that I developed a mental exercise to help others discover their own purpose and bring it into their lives: it's in my books ADD Success Stories and Focus Your Energy.

Ask how you'd live your life differently if you knew you were going to die soon, then ask yourself who those people you admire are and why you admire them, and then ask yourself what was the most fun time in your life. The answers to these questions, when seen, heard, and felt, provide us with an open doorway into our mission, our destiny, our purpose.

Purpose, I now believe, is the foundation of a meaningful life.