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When Joseph Campbell, today's most famous scholar of mythology
(and author of the excellent "The Power of Myth") created
the expression "follow your blessing," he was reflecting
an idea that seems to be very appropriate right now. In "The
Alchemist," this same idea is called "Personal Legend."
Alan Cohen, a therapist who lives in Hawaii, is also working on
this theme. He says that in his lectures he asks those who are dissatisfied
with their work and seventy-five percent of the audience raise their
hands. Cohen has created a system of twelve steps to help people
to rediscover their "blessing" (he is a follower of Campbell):
1] Tell yourself the truth: draw two columns on a sheet
of paper and in the left column write down what you would love to
do. Then write down on the other side everything you're doing without
any enthusiasm. Write as if nobody were ever going to read what
is there, don't censure or judge your answers.
2] Start slowly, but start: call your travel agent, look
for something that fits your budget; go and see the movie that you've
been putting off; buy the book that you've been wanting to buy.
Be generous to yourself and you'll see that even these small steps
will make you feel more alive.
3] Stop slowly, but stop: some things use up all your energy.
Do you really need to go that committee meeting? Do you need to
help those who do not want to be helped? Does your boss have the
right to demand that in addition to your work you have to go to
all the same parties that he goes to? When you stop doing what you're
not interested in doing, you'll realize that you were making more
demands of yourself than others were really asking.
4] Discover your small talents: what do your friends tell
you that you do well? What do you do with relish, even if it's not
perfectly well done? These small talents are hidden messages of
your large occult talents.
5] Begin to choose: if something gives you pleasure, don't
hesitate. If you're in doubt, close your eyes, imagine that you've
made decision A and see all that it will bring you. Now do the same
with decision B. The decision that makes you feel more connected
to life is the right one - even if it's not the easiest to make.
6] Don't base your decisions on financial gain: the gain
will come if you really do it with enthusiasm. The same vase, made
by a potter who loves what he does and by a man who hates his job,
has a soul. It will be quickly sold (in the first case) or will
stay on the shelves (in the second case).
7] Follow your intuition: the most interesting work is the
one where you allow yourself to be creative. Einstein said: "I
did not reach my understanding of the Universe using just mathematics."
Descartes, the father of logic, developed his method based on a
dream he had.
8] Don't be afraid to change your mind: if you put a decision
aside and this bothers you, think again about what you chose. Don't
struggle against what gives you pleasure.
9] Learn how to rest: one day a week without thinking about
work lets the subconscious help you, and many problems (but not
all) are solved without any help from reason.
10] Let things show you a happier path: if you are struggling
too much for something, without any results appearing, be more flexible
and follow the paths that life offers. This does not mean giving
up the struggle, growing lazy or leaving things in the hands of
others - it means understanding that work with love brings us strength,
never despair.
11] Read the signs: this is an individual language joined
to intuition that appears at the right moments. Even if the signs
point in the opposite direction from what you planned, follow them.
Sometimes you can go wrong, but this is the best way to learn this
new language.
12] Finally, take risks! the men who have changed the world
set out on their paths through an act of faith. Believe in the force
of your dreams. God is fair, He wouldn't put in your heart a desire
that couldn't come true.
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