Many people go through life and work essentially blind and deaf to the myriad of possibilities that exist around them. They are on paths that at surface levels of awareness appear to be satisfactory, but that at deeper levels of consciousness are neither meaningful nor fulfilling. Some individuals fortunately awaken to their situation through various experiences that serve to enlighten them, while others regrettably don't.

For those whose eyes and ears are opened, the world becomes a place filled with countless mysteries that can often overwhelm their abilities to understand how the universe operates, let alone why it exists. Although easier to simply accept "what is" and not question any further, many individuals persist nonetheless with their quest for understanding even when the answers seem few and far between. These are people who can be described as spiritually-active, i.e. proactively involved in their spiritual growth. They invariably stretch themselves beyond the "here and now" in a glorious attempt to touch upon the "there and then," while simultaneously striving to seize all the points in between. Their quest is for something beyond the tangible, beyond the obvious, and beyond the ordinary. Whether they conceptualize it as such or not, these people are not only spiritually-active, but they are on a metaphysical journey of well-being.

What is metaphysics? How can it help people achieve well-being? Why even consider it as a field of study for spiritually-active people?

Simply stated, metaphysics is the study of truth, meaning and purpose. It helps us understand the world and our lives in it in ways that go beyond the physical. It leads us to the non-physical realms of consciousness that govern our beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions, and that in many ways influence how we think about ourselves, what we know about ourselves, and how we experience ourselves.

There are two branches of metaphysics that are most pertinent to our life and work. The first is Vocational Metaphysics, which, as defined for our purposes in personal growth and professional development, is the study of truth, meaning and purpose as related to our life calling and our lifework. It is in spirit all about what we can learn regarding our life calling and lifework so that in practice we can redefine who we want to be and what we want to do. Vocational Metaphysics is much more than simply about a job or a career. A job is what we do to earn money. A career is a natural progression of jobs within a field of endeavor. But a lifework is a unique answer to our individual life calling.

Our well-being derives from an understanding that our life calls us to a particular path of work, not just to any job that will occupy our time. For many people it is not enough any longer to perform a job in the traditional sense, punching in at 9:00am and punching out at 5:00pm. The experience has actually become the converse, checking out in consciousness at 9:00am so that they can do their job, then checking back in at 5:00pm so that they can resume their life. They earn a living on the job, but they live outside the job.

Spiritually-active people desire a more holistic balance between life and work, integrating both with each other so that their overall experience becomes much more fulfilling and satisfying. Vocational Metaphysics focuses on our well-being from a vocational perspective, blending the "doing" aspects of our work with the "being" aspects of our life. Followed spiritually and faithfully, it will give rise to a new level of unitive consciousness that enters the realms of sacredness.

This new level of unitive consciousness leads to the second branch of metaphysics: Sacred Metaphysics. As defined for our purposes in personal growth and professional development, Sacred Metaphysics is the study of truth, meaning and purpose as related to our consciousness. It is in spirit all about what we can learn regarding our life story so that in practice we can reinvent who we are and what we do. Stated in different terms, sacred metaphysics is about "re-storying" our lives and work and elevating our awareness to the level of intuitive guidance of divinity, thereby leading us to a more comprehensive and thorough understanding of what is most appropriate for us at our stage of metaphysical evolution. The "re-storying" of our lives allows us to gather our recollections of the past and our aspirations for the future in a manner that infuses our consciousness with sacredness.

This process of re-storying can be termed the "Gathering of Sacred Consciousness." In many ways, such a gathering of sacred consciousness becomes a personal religion, if by personal religion we mean "the intimate relationship between who we are and what we do, and the universe that inhabits us." More than simply seeking our way in the external world, a personal religion based on sacred metaphysics honors the ways of the divine within us.

There is evidently much more that can be discussed with respect to Vocational Metaphysics and Sacred Metaphysics, and this article offers only the first step in the study of truth, meaning and purpose as they relate to you. There are many books, articles and publications that deal with personal growth and professional development, and you are encouraged to remember at all times that your life and work are all about you, intended for you, and governed by you. It is your well-being through your vocation and your sacredness that matters most, not what the gurus or pundits think.

Consider metaphysics as the study of truth, meaning and purpose as related to you. You are the only person who truthfully, meaningfully and purposefully knows "you." You are therefore the vehicle for the journey, and the substance of the voyage. You are the author, the authority, and the authenticity. It is your well-being at issue, thus it is incumbent on you to be who you are really meant to be, in order to be well? and to do what you are really meant to do, in order to do well. Your life and work will then transition from a "quest" for truth, meaning and purpose, into an "experience" of truth, meaning and purpose.