326: 5 Stages of Dharma Discovery with Sahara Rose

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. I am so excited to announce the book that I have been working on for the past almost two years now is available for pre order. And that book is Discover your Dharma, a Vedic guide to finding your purpose. And this book is my most personal book that I've ever written. It is my most important book that I have ever written. It is so different than any book that I've ever written because it's straight from my soul, straight from my heart. It is my own downloads and revelations that I have had in my own Dharma discovery journey. And the word dharma means purpose. Your soul's purpose in Sanskrit. And this book, just the journey of creating it, was such a healing process, such an excavation process, and really brought me back to those times when I really doubted any of this was possible. I completely doubted if I even had a purpose, if I would even ever quote, unquote, make it. If my dream of being an author was just akin to being like a starving artist, which is what I was told by my parents. And if it was selfish for me to pursue my own visions because I thought that I had to sacrifice for my family again because that was what I had seen and had been taught. So this book really, for the first time, shares my story of Dharma, Dharma discovery and Dharma embodiment, and all of the formulas and revelations and systems and step by step guide to really not just find your Dharma, but find your truth. Because the reflection of which you can embody your Dharma is how much you know who you are. So it's not just about, like, okay, I'm gonna, like, find a job. It's not. It's not headhunting. It's not about a career. Your Dharma is so much more than a career. It is your fullest expression, the truth of who you are. And when you know that, that will translate most likely into what you do on a daily basis. But it's not the point of that. This is not just something you do for money and that's it, to pay the bills. This is you living full time, your fullest expression, not you're someone else these hours. And then you can go back to being yourself. It's you being you all the time and creating your life. So everything can be in alignment and in support of that. And that doesn't come easily. And it is possible for everyone at the same time. So I'm just beyond excited and beyond honored to Begin sharing this book with you guys. And it comes out January 5th. But I figured the best way to really give you guys a glimpse and a taste and an ounce of the medicine that is this book is to begin reading it to you guys on the podcast so you can start to implement these practices, these tools, these revelations into your own life. So by the time the book comes out, you are ready for it. You are ready to live yo Dhamma like a mofo. And it all just begins with you asking yourself the questions that maybe you were too busy for, maybe you were too afraid to ask, maybe no one had ever asked them to you before. And that's what I'm here to do with you today. So in today's episode, I want to talk about the five stages of Dharma discovery. So when I was writing discover your Dharma, you know, I had written most of it, and then I realized that it's not just this, like 1, 2, 3, like you're not doing your dharma, you are doing your Dharma. That's not really how it goes. There's many steps and stages that go in between. And just looking out on different people, people who I work with, people I'm friends with, people in rose gold, goddesses, I could begin to really see these stages. And then looking back on my own journey of how one thing led to the next, I broke them down into five stages of Dharma discovery. And all of us are somewhere on these five stages. And I will read to you this, this excerpt of the book, which is on page 10, so you can first begin to understand where you are in your own journey of discovering your Dharma. So here it goes, the Dharma discovery journey. So stage one is self awareness. You realize there has to be more to this life than what you've been living. You know that you have a purpose, but you no idea what it is. And frankly, you don't even know where to start. It feels like you've been placed in this life with no choice and simply can't go on living this way. You know you need a radical change. And through pain or maybe numbness, you are called to take action and transform your life. So this is where the seed of Dharma is planted. So do you feel like you are at stage one? Do you recognize someone who's at stage one? Stage two is self improvement. You make it your mission to improve yourself. You may begin practicing yoga, asana, following inspirational people on Instagram, reading self help books, listening to motivational speakers, using a meditation app or something else. In the self improvement space, you've begun changing Habits that are no longer serving you. And this stage is very focused on the physical and mental level more than on the soul level. So things like personal development at large is very much in the self improvement stage because it's still seeing you as like a mind and a body that can be improved. So I would think, you know, most of that self help world is in this space. It's not really quite on that spiritual soul level quite yet. So this is where the seed of Dharma is watered. Is this you? Do you know someone who's there? Stage three is the awakening. So your interests shift from improving yourself to knowing yourself. So it's not about improving me, it's about knowing me. And you begin to realize that you are not your body and you are not your mind, but rather a soul living in a body with a mind. So you are hungry to learn more about every spiritual topic such as yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, ecstatic dance, shamanism, astrology, crystals, past lives, Kundalini, Tantra, energy healing. Basically anything we talk about on this podcast you are probably interested in, probably even maybe brought you to this podcast. So you may have done some solo travel to spiritual destinations like Bali, India, Peru, or have the desire to your entire worldview shifts as you become aware of the limiting beliefs passed down intergenerationally and begin to do the healing work. So the ancestral work, just that deeper stuff that has been there from more than just your one lifetime, but has been passed down from your parents as well. Your family and friends at this stage may not recognize you anymore and label you as crazy. This may be a difficult phase where you face loneliness, but you know that you are making these important shifts to come into alignment with your truth. You begin to realize that there is a whole world of possibilities you haven't been aware of before. And this is when the seed of Dharma sprouts. So I'm going to guess a lot of you guys are right here on stage three. The episode that we did of you're not crazy, you're finding your calling. That's exactly what this stage is like. Complete overhaul of everything. You feel like you're going mad, but you know that you're awakening. Stage four, higher consciousness. You are out of the spiritual closet and no longer feel the need to hide your beliefs to be taken seriously. You have found the practices that resonate with you and begin sharing them, perhaps on social media or with friends, families and colleagues. You know that you have a Dharma, but you aren't exactly sure what it is and are still in the dabbling phases. Maybe you're trying a couple different things. You're just. You're definitely taking strides, but you're not quite there yet. So in this stage, it becomes increasingly obvious to you that your current job may not be in full alignment with who you are. You may feel like you're living a double life. You continue your spiritual growth through shadow work, ancestral healing, plant medicine, and or past life regression. So again, going deeper into. Deeper into this. So it's not just about the love and the light here now. You're going into more of the deeper aspects of yourself. You no longer operate from victim consciousness and have realized life is happening for you rather than to you. You have emerged as an entirely new you. And people begin asking you, how did you do this? Where did you get this from? And this is when the seed of Dharma begins to grow. Now, stage five. So a lot of us might be on stage four right now. And stage four is such a beautiful place to be in. It's because you're like about to. You're about to jump into the pool, but you're not quite there yet. It's like you know what needs to change. You know your stuff. You can feel the energy. You don't have to be convinced of anything anymore. You don't feel like you're going crazy. You have a lot more grounding and anchoring into your spirituality. You're out of that closet like I mentioned, but are you fully living your expression all the time? Is your full life in support of that? Are you only surrounded by people who are helping you on this journey? That infrastructure might not quite be there yet in stage four, but it's about to happen in stage five. So stage five, stepping into your Dharma, through embodying who you are, you realize the deeper purpose of why you are here. You remember your sacred mission on this planet. Suddenly your worldview transitions from me to we. Your spiritual practice becomes something so much greater than just you. It becomes the foundation from which you heal humanity. You are fueled by the cosmos and tapped into universal life force streaming through you. You transform any part of your life that is not in upmost alignment because you see how it is holding you back from your mission. You realize that you are here to be of service. And through following your highest joy, you serve the world. You see that you are only a channel for this cosmic wisdom that is coming through your vessel. And this is the space in which you truly embody your Dharma and the truth of who you are. Dharma fully blossoms at this stage. So where are you on your journey? I Am going to guess that most people reading or listening to discover your dharma listening to this podcast right now are on stage four or three. So you're well on your spiritual journey, but maybe you just don't know quite what your dharma is. Or you might just be beginning your awakening. You might be on stage two and, like, somehow just ended up on this podcast. You're like, whoa, this is is like speaking to my soul. And you were just, like, brought up to stage three, or maybe you were even in stage one. And again, I want to really emphasize that it's not that these stages are hierarchical. And also not all of us go through all of these stages exactly, but they serve as a baseline of how many people's dharmic journeys evolve. So I do want to mention that even though you were born with a Dharma, that doesn't mean it's inevitable. So while your dharma is your sole gift on this planet, you also have free will. You can take that gift and stuff it in the closet and never have it see the light of day again. To be honest, most people choose that option because it feels easier to pretend that you don't have a purpose than to confront it head on. Or you can run with it, share with it, and watch it multiply and unfold. And that's really what I recommend. And that's what I think you're listening to this for. So your dharma really is the gift that just keeps giving as soon as you start paying attention to it. So all of that is in my book discover your dharma and so much more. But I would love for you to just take a moment to contemplate these five stages. Really think about where you are, where you're going, what shifts need to happen for you to get to that next stage. You know, maybe if you're at stage two, how can I tap more into the soul level? Maybe if you're at stage three, how can I further ground and embody and not feel like I'm like, you know, this crazy person or feel any shame or guilt around it, you know, make friends that are in alignment with my spiritual growth journey. So I don't feel so isolated and alone. Maybe if you're in stage four, it's making some really big decisions in your life to, you know, fully honored your dharma. Maybe it's going full time with your Etsy shop or quitting a job or moving or ending a relationship or something else. And maybe if you're on stage five, how can you further expand this dharma to serve more people and to further raise the Vibration of the planet. And how can you move it more into your space of being joy? I think so many of us think that our dharma has to be sacrificial. I know that I carried this myth in myself that I'm gonna help people no matter how much it hurts me, because that's what a good person does. You know, I need to sacrifice myself for. For the greater good of humanity. And that's actually not how your dharma works. It's your dharma is your greatest joy. Because when you're in alignment with joy, you were oozing love, you were oozing creativity, you are oozing energy and radiance. And all of these aspects, you need to be oozing because your DH is going to face you with some obstacles and challenges. And if you're not so pumped and radiant and expressive and magnetizing what it is that you want, well, you're not gonna be able to overcome it. So think about these five stages and I explain them and everything else from the Dharma archetypes to the common questions people have to how your doshas are related to your Dharma, how you can use your chakras to channel your dharma into into this present moment, and so much more. In my book, discover your dharma so you can head over to I SaharaRose.com Dharma or DiscoveryOurDharmaBook.com both of those links are in the show notes and you'll be able to pre order the book. And I have tons of bonuses I'm giving as you pre order the book, including from one copy. You'll get my live virtual book launch tickets, so you'll be able to tap in deeper with me. I'll be answering your questions on this virtual book launch and offering you end of chapter practices. With four copies, you can start your own Dharma book club. I offer you a full guide on how to lead questions and reflective prompts with your Dharma Book Club. If you order 10 copies, I give you questions and guides to teach it to your class. Maybe you have a yoga class or maybe you work in hr. All of this is listed out for you, so you can just head over to iamsaharrose.com dharma the link is in the show notes, pre order the book, receive the bonuses, learn more about your Dharma discovery journey, and also share it with the world. So I can't wait for you to get your hands on this book. I'll continue to share excerpts on it on my solo cast, and I'm so excited and so grateful for your support. If you loved this episode, I would love to send you a free gift which is the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind Body Type. This is a different book than Eat Feel Fresh, my first book ever which is not released anywhere and I am gifting it exclusively to those who leave a review of my podcast in the itunes store. So all you gotta do is head over to itunes where you may be listening to this podcast and leave a review. Take a screenshot that you've left it and email it over to me@saharaatfeelfresh.com again that's Sahara S A H A R A@eatfeelfresh.com and I will send you back the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind Body Type which goes all into Ayurveda, doshas, plant based nutrition, body types, all of the things in a really fun and engaging way. So this is my gift to you for free for supporting the podcast. Every single review I personally read. It really helps the podcast be listened to by more people so we can raise the vibration of the planet together and I am so grateful to have you on this journey. Thank you so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode. Namaste. It.