There are three kinds of people in this world: those that say, I do not have a problem; those that say, I have a problem but I am not going to deal with it; and those that say I have a problem and I am going to fix it. Spiritual seekers are the third kind. They want answers to the question, Why? Often, they explore a variety of New Age modalities to find their personal answers.

Many of these people have come to their spiritual center after having a life-changing event, such as the loss of a job, child, divorce, rape, murder of a family member, a major illness, or a variety of other situations. For some, the journey takes them no further than returning to or deepening their childhood religious faith. Some reject their former faith and incorporate broader spiritual concepts into their belief systems. Others can marry spiritual concepts with their traditional religious beliefs.

There are several ways you can explore your lifes purpose. One is by using Dan Millmans The Life You Were Born to Live A Guide to Finding Your Lifes Purpose to identify the subconscious knowledge of messages you receive through dreams, intuition, and inner longing that is your destiny, Numerology can give you answers about your general life issues using your name and birth date numbers. Astrology can explain your lifes strengths and weaknesses in relation to the planets on the day of your birth. These and many more are all wonderful tools for giving you personal insights as to what your individual challenges are.

For many, the underlying question remains, Why are we alive? Are we merely a puppet of creation with no more than an individual purpose? Are we just on a path to deal with life as it comes, without an overriding reason? While we do have individual purposes for our lives, more importantly, we all have the same overriding challenge--handling our emotions.

Some people are so distraught from an experience, they choose to close down and never become emotionally involved or hurt again. Others stay stuck in anger, rage, fear, guilt, resentment, and/or self-criticism. Unfortunately, their emotional pain colors all of their life experiences. For some, the pain must be moved through to find a semblance of peace of mind about the particular experience and life in general.

The answer for our lifes overriding purpose is simple: to learn to unconditionally love others and ourselves. Simple to say, yes; easy to do, no. The highs and lows of our lives keep us in an ever-churning, emotional ocean with intermittent reprieves to strengthen and revive us.

Once you understand unconditional loves importance, you can then look at your emotional challenges as stepping-stones toward finding peace of mind. You can ask, what exactly am I upset about? What is the issue behind my reaction or feelings? When did it start? Who told me how to view this issue from my childhood? Is it true in light of facts? If it is not, do I need to re-evaluate my viewpoint? If so, how can I change my perspective on it to give myself peace of mind?

Equally if not more important is learning to love yourself. By strengthening your self-love, you are better able to fend off the comments or barbs that might be aimed your way. By understanding that the senders of these statements are dealing with their own issues of insecurity, fear, arrogance, pride, etc., you no longer take others comments personally.

Often, just your change of attitude will alter or influence your relationships in a positive manner. When people realize they are no longer able to get you, they will adjust their behavior. A few will continue their comments, to see if your behavior change was a fluke. With time, these people will come to the conclusion that the change is permanent. Others will respect you more because of your change and treat you differently.

Deciding to lead an unconditionally loving life does not mean your life will be free of emotional issues. It just means that you will be better able to shorten the length of your upset by exploring the root cause of your emotional response. The process will bring you quickly back to your unconditionally loving center, so your lifes challenges are easier to handle and your relationships improved. The more people decide to move their lives toward unconditional love, the more peaceful and centered our world will become.