Ikigai (pronounced ee-kee-guy) is a Japanese concept that dates back to the Heian period (794-1185).
Ikigai means life’s purpose or dharma (Sanskrit). Ikigai exists when what you love doing, what you’re good at doing, what the world needs from you, and adequate payment align. Said another way, leading a meaningful life is existing at the intersection of:
PASSION (what you love doing)
SERVICE (what the world needs)
REWARD (pays well)
TALENT (what you're good at)
Ikigai is a roadmap leading towards life’s purpose. It can be an all-encompassing job or career, or even an action verb that you embody within every sphere of your life: serve, create, delight, nourish, provide, teach, heal, connect, and build are all examples. A meaningful life is not a destination, but is a journey that one can enjoy at any time, and always embody by living in alignment with your ikigai.
One can try to think their way to ikigai using the mind by using the diagram to compare where you are with where you want to be. Identify where on the ikigai diagram you sit, and ponder how to cultivate the missing pieces to get closer to your ikigai. While this a great gauge of where you currently are, this is no more than an observational tool:
What do I do with this information?
How do I actually move closer to my ikigai?
The diagram is useful, but instead of thinking our way to ikigai, what if we trusted our bodies to take us there? You can use your inner body wisdom to allow your ikigai to unfold naturally by following your strategy and authority.
EVERYONE has an ikigai that is innate to them. The starting point is noting your desires and urges, which come from your body. What are you being physically pulled towards? What are you getting urges to do? What lights you up? What is that little voice inside telling you to do? What rabbit holes do you find yourself going down? All of these are clues from your body pointing you in the direction of your purpose.
Next is uncovering TALENTS. Talents are also innate within the body. Everyone has inherent gifts, but not all talents are necessarily recognized by the individual or by society, so may be suppressed.
An example is a dramatic or amplifying voice. This may be a quality somebody has that they don’t see as a talent, and they may suppress this quality. But actually, a dramatic or amplifying voice is a gift that can help relay messages in a way that really lands in people; people who have this gift can communicate ideas in an idiosyncratic way that people pay attention to.
Discovering your talents involves peeling back the layers of conditioning, and leaning into your natural gifts. One of my less obvious gifts, for example, is a love of speaking about experiences (mine and others’). In using this gift, I can help people learn from what I and others have been through.
Conditioning may prevent us from seeing our gifts as important, so it is essential to uncover them. In Human Design language, following our strategy and authority (our innate body wisdom and inner decision making system) naturally results in deconditioning from the way *society* told us to be, and lets our gifts shine through. To support you in this journey, another option is to get a Human Design reading with someone you trust. They can help you uncover some of those less obvious gifts, and can help you see them as the gifts that they are.
Acknowledging that you are on this planet, in this time, in your exceedingly wise body, with your one-of-a-kind way of seeing the world, for a specific purpose that is unique to you, is a surefire way to let your ikigai unfold!
Are you interested in booking a Human Design reading with me? If you are, send me a message and I’d love to work with you!
#humandesign #whatishumandesign #ikigai #humandesignreading #tryikigai #deconditioning #lifepurpose #dharma
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