Destiny

Chris and Janet Attwood wrote 'The Passion Test', which was a bestseller at the time. When I read it, I thought the authors had stumbled on a necessary condition for fulfilled work, but not a sufficient one. If you examine every six months or so whether you are still excited doing what you are doing, you perhaps forget that you shouldn't only be searching for the work that gives you always the highest satisfaction, but instead for the life project that you were born to do. If you don't know what it might be right now, relax, your destiny will find you; the question is only whether you are ready to embrace it when it comes your way.

"May God grant you your heart's deepest desires" is an old curse of the gypsies. Most of your life you are running after gold, only to find that it is copper and that the treasure you were looking for is laying by the wayside, but since you were too busy running after the sparkle, you missed it. Your passion is the lure of the false gold; it is your destiny to find your treasure after taking a few wrong turns. There is nothing wrong with following your passions, after all, what else can you do? Just understand that all the blood pumping through your veins is nothing but a precursor for a much calmer, much more peaceful and happier period. It is state of serenity that only comes when you feel that you have finally living your destiny.

What's Your Passion?

Some of you might have read the Passion Test, a book that makes the case for following your passions and living your dream day by day. I live by that philosophy, but I wonder how we can figure out which passions lead us to our destiny and which may lead us astray from our Spiritual Path. Just because a holy book or a guru tells you something shouldn't be done, doesn't mean it is wrong for you. Conversely, just because something feels good does not mean it is your destiny. As always, the choice is up to you and it is actually not quite as daunting as it seems. You can reevaluate your choice every day as you live your passion while following your spiritual intuition.


Take Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example. Had he believed that "you are not your body", most of us wouldn't have realized how much we can create the body we aspire. Similarly, Madonna might not live up to her name when it comes to spiritual self-development, yet her "express yourself" theme gave energy to millions of people. How can their chosen path not have been their well-deserved destiny.

The Spiritual Path in the end is about overcoming your ego, and all desires are more or less tainted by it. My approach is that if you can't beat your ego, let him work for you. Over the last year I have embraced my work with new vigor, despite the fact that my ego-drive for professional success is probably unabated. Essentially, I view my current job in the financial industry as a stepping stone for my next career as a spiritual writer and life consultant. I work on my writing skills, try to master my ways to connect and communicate. I even practice a few metaphysical tricks just to convince myself, and later others, that you can thrive professionally while putting your ego at bay. I don't think I had ever as much fun doing what I am doing than today.

Test Your Passions

I recently read The Passion Test and liked it. The book encourages you to periodically review your goals in life, and along the theme of the Secret, as you write them down and prioritize them, you start creating your destiny. One point was missing though, what force inside you drives these passions? If you aspire to become a multi-millionaire, a tycoon or the golf's best golfer you can fulfill your life destiny or you can be on a massive ego trip. Only you know which applies, nobody else.

It is not easy to find out what the underlying driving force is. Desires are created because we are wanting in some areas for reasons we mostly don't know. These wants are often in the areas of power, money, success and sex. You have to follow your passions since you need to know what makes you tick. The upside is that this path might lead you to your destiny, that you can work off your existing karma and gain many spiritual insights as you you wander along this path. There is no real downside as long as you keep your eyes open. If your ego is indeed the only driving force, you will learn a lot about this fellow and you will better understand where you are coming from.

What signpost can you look? When things are falling into place miraculous, chances are you are on your chosen path. If things are falling apart instead, chances are the fellow is lurking in the background. Watch the reactions of your friends, co-workers family members. If you gel, you are on your path, if you upset them you are probably on an ego trip. If you passion starts getting addictive you know the ego is your driving force. Has anybody heard of an ego test along these lines, I would love to read more on this area.