Dr. Shamini Jain

The Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI) is a nonprofit collaborative of scientists, healing and health practitioners, educators, and artists, who work together to place healing in the center of healthcare, and self-care.

"I think I discovered my purpose when I discovered what wasn't my purpose. So when I didn't feel flow, when I didn't feel a deep connection with spirit or with others, when I felt like I was living a life that felt like drudgery, or I felt fatigued, I realized I wasn't living my soul's truth. It's living in the flow of your dharma. And your dharma can be as simple as taking care of your family, your loved ones. It can be as simple as cooking a good meal. It doesn't have to be anything big or grand. You know you're living your purpose when you feel that awe in your heart."

"And when I came back to asking myself what brings me joy, what makes me come alive, what feels like it's of value and service to humanity in a way that's very resonant with my joy, so it's not an ugh, but it's an awe. Is it really to deeply explore the nature of our healing process and the truth of it, no matter whether it feels uncomfortable for people or not, to explore the bounds of consciousness and its effects on healing."

"I had to make some decisions in my academic career, for example, and in other ways, where I had to really follow my heart's longing. Sometimes we come to those choice points where we realize what's my purpose and what isn't my purpose. For me, my purpose was not to be an academic. It was to be a true scientist, a true seeker. I did do the postdoc at UCLA, and I still kept on the path of studying healing, including the biofield and the energetic aspects of it. So I never left it."

"Finding your purpose is much, much easier than you think. All you literally have to do is go within. And the first step is to ask yourself, what brings me joy, and then don't apologize for that. We often think that our purpose is something that we have to do out there. It's my goal, it's my job, I need to make it my job. I think I discovered my purpose when I discovered what wasn't my purpose. And when I came back to asking myself what brings me joy, what makes me come alive, what feels like it's of value and service to humanity in a way that's very resonant with my joy, so it's not an ugh, but it's an awe, the moment that I feel that feeling, I know I'm living in the flow of my purpose."

"So for me, those gifts have included the ability to share, the ability to take everything that I've learned and share it with my whole heart, whether it's practice or science or singing, whatever it is. Your purpose is to be a gift to the world. And so when you embrace your gifts, you're embracing your purpose. Whatever that is that brings you joy, allow your joy to unearth your gifts. Because as you do things with the alignment and flow of joy, your purpose will naturally unfold."

"I remember a time when I was about to go into my postdoctoral studies at UCLA. I had just finished my graduate work at UC San Diego, and I was about to present my work on energy healing to a very well-known society in psychoneuroimmunology. I was actually receiving an award for the research. So as I was presenting it, one of my then up-and-coming mentors at UCLA, who was a very, very well-known researcher, took me aside and he said, what are you doing, you have to stop. People are not ready for what you're saying, and you're going to ruin your career. And that was a real turning point for me because I came into a realization of my purpose at that moment. And I asked myself, well, this is curious, what is my purpose. Is my purpose to have a thriving academic career and be lauded and keep receiving these awards from society, and do the safe thing and study what people are comfortable with, or is it really to deeply explore the nature of our healing process and the truth of it, no matter whether it feels uncomfortable for people or not, to explore the bounds of consciousness and its effects on healing. So at that moment, I really felt like I came into my purpose. I did do the postdoc at UCLA, and I still kept on the path of studying healing, including the biofield and the energetic aspects of it. So I never left it. But sometimes we come to those choice points where we realize what's my purpose and what isn't my purpose. For me, my purpose was not to be an academic. It was to be a true scientist, a true seeker."

"My purpose is to be a living embodiment of everything that I like to teach. That's really how I see it. The time of just lecturing about certain principles is over. And here's the thing, we often think that our purpose is something that we have to do out there. It's my goal, it's my job, I need to make it my job. But the ancient spiritual traditions made it very clear, your purpose is simply to be yourself. Your purpose is to simply live out your gifts. So for me, those gifts have included the ability to share, the ability to take everything that I've learned and share it with my whole heart, whether it's practice or science or singing, whatever it is. But if I'm talking about peace or I'm talking about healing and I'm not living it, it doesn't fulfill my purpose. So for me personally, the purpose is to live my truth."

"I think I discovered my purpose when I discovered what wasn't my purpose. So when I didn't feel flow, when I didn't feel a deep connection with spirit or with others, when I felt like I was living a life that felt like drudgery, or I felt fatigued, I realized I wasn't living my soul's truth. And when I came back to asking myself what brings me joy, what makes me come alive, what feels like it's of value and service to humanity in a way that's very resonant with my joy, so it's not an ugh, but it's an awe, the moment that I feel that feeling, I know I'm living in the flow of my purpose. It's living in the flow of your dharma. And your dharma can be as simple as taking care of your family, your loved ones. It can be as simple as cooking a good meal. It doesn't have to be anything big or grand. You know you're living your purpose when you feel that awe in your heart. Finding your purpose is much, much easier than you think. All you literally have to do is go within. And the first step is to ask yourself, what brings me joy, and then don't apologize for that. Whatever that is that brings you joy, allow your joy to unearth your gifts. Because as you do things with the alignment and flow of joy, your purpose will naturally unfold. Your purpose is to be a gift to the world. And so when you embrace your gifts, you're embracing your purpose."