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How are you possibly supposed to know what you’re here on this Earth for? Where do you begin to search for such insights? Realizing your Soul’s Purpose is no small matter. One could argue that the search for the answer is more important than the realization itself. In fact it’s quite possible one may never truly decipher this meaning. If you’ll indulge me in hearing my story, perhaps you may learn something as to how you may come to find out as I have. My Name is Atmaram – Soul Bliss My name is Atmaram. I was named Bruce when I was born but when you’re fully committed to your own personal growth through your spiritual connection, your teacher (or Guru) anoints you with your spiritual name. This new name fits who you’ve become as was the case with me in India in September of 2023. Leaving behind your old name is also a representation of leaving behind your old self. One also leaves behind the thought patterns which are keeping you stuck in circular ways which no longer serve you. Ātman is a Sanskrit word for the true or eternal Self or the self-existent essence of each individual (the Soul), which persists across multiple bodies and lifetimes. In Hinduism, Lord Rama is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being. My name means “Soul Bliss” and it’s my Soul’s Purpose to embody this meaning and to share it with all who are ready to embrace their own Spiritual Path. Meeting My Guru My Guru’s name is Anan Guruji and we met quite “randomly” my 2nd day in Rishikesh, India and I knew right away that I had met my teacher. Over the next 6 weeks Guruji graciously taught me to embrace love, joy, and bliss through surrender to the Divine Intelligence. Some may refer to this intelligence as God (a term I had difficulty using until I felt what that word actually means.) The tools that he uses to highlight this inner Divine connection are meditation, asana yoga, mantras, pranayama (breath work), & energy healing. In general, he simply emphasizes cultivating a sense of conscious awareness. In essence, this means continuous present-moment awareness without allowing the thinking mind to “run the show.” We are so very accustomed to this type of living in the Western world. Guru means bringer of light or destroyer of darkness. With all my love and gratitude, I thank Guruji for illuminating my true path in the culmination of all my studies for the previous two years. Of course this is not where my journey of inner awakening began. My time with Guruji has simply been the combination and zenith of everything I had learned so far on my path. Stepping Onto My Path Fully stepping onto this journey began in March of 2018 when I received the insight from my Soul as I was falling asleep to “Move to Europe on Your Motorcycle.” When our minds are clear and we’re not busy thinking, the Soul has room to speak with us directly. Actually we have all received these kinds of downloads before. Unfortunately the mind is very quick to talk us out of our realizing our Soul’s Purpose. It tells us all kinds of excuses like “maybe next year” or “that’s too crazy”, “I could never do that”, or a million other excuses to keep us safe in our bubble. I knew in my heart that this was the correct path, that I needed to let go of my blossoming $60,000/year career as an event DJ to discover what I knew was actually true and genuine. This profession had been growing for over 10 years. I also had to relinquish several relationships with some friends and my girlfriend at the time. Without truly knowing why, I could sense I was on the path of discovering my Soul’s Purpose by making these choices. At the time, nothing was actually “wrong”, in fact quite the opposite. I was very comfortable where I was living; I had lots of friends, more and more DJ opportunities as my reputation grew, and I was happy and thoroughly enjoying my lifestyle. Yet I knew deep inside that there was something more, a calling to be greater and to imagine my life in ways I had never even considered before. People Will Call You Crazy Some people told me I was crazy but others who know me best knew that this was coming. So I set off on my motorcycle (aptly named Lady Danger as my DJ name was Bruce Danger) with a suitcase strapped to the back, a tent & sleeping bag, and a sense of immense curiosity and excitement for whatever comes next. On June 4th, 2018 I set off across the US and Canada for a few weeks headed East, following my intuition to turn left here or right there. Each moment I would decide to talk to this person or simply to sit and observe when I found myself amongst others. I was allowing my intuition to emerge and grow by not listening to my head, but by following my heart and feeling into each decision, one at a time. When there’s nothing but time on open roads, surrounded by natural beauty, you spend a lot of time in your head. You find yourself spinning your wheels on things not said or what you “should have/could have” done. The exception is when the beauty is simply too captivating to ignore and you lose yourself in the moment. A fiery sunset, a humble campfire, and the sound of an approaching rainstorm all very quickly set us into this kind of experience. This is where time loses its constant hold on us and we merge with the glorious beauty we find ourselves enthralled by. This is where meditation takes us and this was also my first real series of experiences with present moment awareness.