Excerpts from the book Awakening by Ping Li

Have you ever wondered, "Who am I? Why I am here on Earth? Why was I born into this family? How I can make my life easier and my experiences more joyful and loving? How I can fulfill my dreams and my desires more freely and easily?" Many of us consciously ask these profound questions but have not discovered the answers. We consciously or unconsciously seek the true happiness that is missing in our lives. We are overwhelmed by the world out there. We try our best to survive and make a living, but sometimes we become so blinded by material things that we can't see the infinite power within us right here, right now. We exhaust ourselves trying to achieve happiness and fulfillment from the outside world, only to discover that disappointment and sorrow are the only consequences. Deep within our being, we know there's a way to be free, happy, and fulfilled. So let's get started!

I searched for meaning in my life, my purpose, and my identity for the first forty years of my life. Ever since I can remember, I've always needed a goal to achieve or something to accomplish. I worked really hard as a little girl, a student, a career woman, a wife, and a mother. I tried to establish my social status by gaining titles, degrees, positions, material goods, money, and so on. As I accumulated more and more material things, I found myself working harder and harder but becoming more and more dissatisfied. Material things did not make me happy. I felt trapped and misunderstood.

A Wakeup Call

I woke up one day, realizing that I hadn't paid any attention to the voice of my soul and my higher self. My wakeup call — a deep pain in my heart — was so loud and clear that I couldn't possibly miss it. I knew it was divine intervention telling me that I had strayed too far from where I was supposed to be and it was time to make some changes in my life. My passionate desire to work for "things" vanished. I went into a void and lost my direction in life. I searched and wondered. I was deeply sad and lonely. I cried and was confused. I was unable to focus on my business. My energy was totally consumed by questions like: "Who am I? What am I here for? What's my purpose in being born? How can I be happy and fulfilled?" For some reason, I knew that I had been born for a reason that was uniquely mine, but I had no idea what that reason was or how to discover it.