This Work is Personal. That’s the Point.
Matthew Milligan, MA
As founder of Anima Causa, I empower emerging adults and purpose-driven leaders to discover, pursue, and fulfill their life's purpose. Throughout my journey, I've developed expertise in visionary leadership, coaching individuals through significant transitions, and guiding deep spiritual development.
Holding a Master of Arts in Visionary Leadership and an Associate Coaching Certification from Integral Coaching Canada, I offer a unique blend of strategic leadership, intuitive guidance, and purpose-driven guidance. My practice integrates proven methodologies designed to create meaningful and lasting transformation.
My life has been defined by transition—I've moved 22 times across 6 cities, worked for 11 companies across 6 industries, and earned 3 university degrees from 2 institutions. These experiences have taught me firsthand the power of resilience, adaptability, and the necessity of reinventing oneself in new environments.
Throughout these challenges, spiritual development has been foundational to my mental health and both personal and professional growth. For me, spiritual development is the ongoing practice of deepening self-awareness, connection, meaning, and insight into myself, others, and the greater universe. It involves exploring values and beliefs beyond material existence, ultimately fostering personal growth, emotional resilience, and alignment with my authentic self.
In my personal quest for purpose and effective mental health strategies, I frequently encountered generic advice and symptomatic relief rather than genuine, transformative solutions. Common advice such as "follow your passion" lacked practical guidance on how to identify and realize that passion in daily life. Similarly, advice on managing anxiety and depression rarely offered pathways toward genuinely overcoming these challenges.
I knew there had to be a better way.
I'm dedicated to revolutionizing the way you discover and enact your life's purpose. By addressing this critical aspect of your life, you will not only improve your mental health but also deeply transform your engagement with life itself. My mission is to empower you to see yourself as a powerful human being, capable of creating and living a profoundly meaningful life
Why Anima Causa Exists
Anima Causa, “Soul’s Cause,” is the deeper reason why you’re here - not just what you do, but who you’re becoming as you do it. It’s not about having a 5-year plan or a perfect mission statement. It’s about building a relationship with your life that’s honest, vibrant and meaningful. This project is my way of sharing what I’ve learned - and what I’m still learning - about how we move through uncertainty, make sense of change, and live with deep purpose.
I started Anima Causa because I’ve lived through the questions I now help others explore and answer:
What am I doing with my life?
Why do I feel disconnected, even when things look “fine”?
How do I lead others when I’m still figuring myself out?
For years, I chased the things I thought I was supposed to want and were supposed to make me happy - achievements, recognition, money, status, possessions, clarity…but they never quite arrived. When they did, they often felt empty and fleeting.
Underneath it all, there was a deeper pull: to understand myself, to feel aligned with my choices, and to live in a way that felt more real. This work - helping people reconnect with and lead from their purpose - is what I’ve always been moving toward.
I have discovered that purpose isn’t something we necessarily invent. It’s something ingrained in who we are, a part of our DNA that we need to reconnect to - something we remember in ourselves. And then we create a life that aligns with that purpose.
The way to access this forgotten purpose is through spiritual development - the development of the spirit, the inner force/energy gives you life and connects you to the external world. When we are spiritually developed, we have a heightened experience of who we are and how we create our lives. Consider that for most of our lives, we focus our energy on physical development (i.e., exercise, diet, sleep, etc.) and mental development (i.e., school, learning, games, etc.) and we are exposed to very little spiritual development (i.e., identity, purpose, presence, connection to something greater than ourselves).
As a result of discovering purpose, and developing yourself spiritually, what arises is a way of being that closely resembles leadership. A way of being that has you live with agency and be a creator in the world. You grow from someone lost to someone on the frontier of life.
I believe that Anima Causa is the platform and space we need to be educated and developed in this arc of life. From lost to found, from following to leading. My work here blends:
Spiritual development
Integral Coaching Approach
Real conversation
This work arises from 1:1 guidance, writings, tools and practices. The work is always grounded in the same thing: helping you live and lead with purpose from who you really are.
Interested in working together?
If you’re ready to explore your own next chapter of life - whether you’re feeling stuck, uncertain, or just ready for something more - I’d love to work with you.
