In this fast-paced age, the often overwhelming realities of daily life may leave you feeling uncertain about how to realize your life’s true purpose — what spiritual teachers call “dharma“. But yoga master Stephen Cope says that in order to have a fulfilling life you must, in fact, discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of your self. In his book The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide For The Journey To Your True Calling, Cope describes the process of unlocking the unique possibility harbored within every human soul. The secret, he asserts, can be found in the pages of a two-thousand-year-old spiritual classic called the Bhagavad Gita — an ancient allegory about the path to dharma, told through a timeless dialogue between the fabled archer, Arjuna, and his divine mentor, Krishna.
Cope takes readers on a step-by-step tour of this revered tale, and in order to make it relevant to contemporary readers, he highlights well-known Western lives that embody its central principles — including such luminaries as Jane Goodall, whose life trajectory shows us the power of honoring The Gift; Walt Whitman, who listened for the call of the times; Susan B. Anthony, whose example demonstrates the power of focused energy; John Keats, who was able to let his desire give birth to aspiration; and Harriet Tubman, whose life was nothing if not a lesson in learning to walk by faith. This essential guide also includes everyday stories about following the path to dharma, which illustrate the astonishingly contemporary relevance and practicality of this classic yogic story.
If you’re feeling lost in your own life’s journey, The Great Work of Your Life may provide you with answers to the questions you most urgently need addressed — and may help you to find and to embrace your true calling. One person who believes wholeheartedly in the importance of dharma is Canadian musician, Alana Yorke. Alana was deep into her intense, multi-year Ph.D. in science when she made the huge decision to stop and honor her true calling within — to be a musician. Her song “Anthem”, from her new album, Dream Magic, was written as a tribute to her own personal pursuit of dharma — and the challenges she sees in everyone around her who are also struggling with the same pursuit.
“I quit my Ph.D. in science to pursue my career in music, my life-long passion, because I learned that life is short,” she tells FYI Music News. “The material I’m writing right now has the most meaning to me at the present moment. That’s always the way, but I’d have to say ‘Anthem’ has the most meaning of the songs that have been released. Seeing the way that people of all ages and walks of life respond to that song has been amazing. It seems to have a special power to it and a life of its own. The meaning behind it was so real and so intense and personal, but now the song is something new unto itself and when we perform it, it just feels like it’s coming through us and people are drawing it out of us and moving to the music and singing along. We’ve been able to see people being moved by it. That’s been a really powerful experience, and it’s really informing my present writing. It feels like the start of something. And the video that we just released for ‘Anthem’ also gives the song a whole other power.”
You can grab your own copy of Alana Yorke’s Dream Magic on iTunes. And for all things Alana visit AlanaYorke.com or check out her spot on her home label at Paper Bag Records. For your own copy of Stephen Cope’s extraordinary book, The Great Work Of Your Life: A Guide For The Journey To Your True Calling, visit Amazon.com.
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