Reaching your own North Star requires both flights of fancy and good old-fashioned work. If you don’t feel quite ready to do some hard-headed, realistic planning, go back to the exercises I’ve already mentioned. When you’re sure that you’ve got your own North Star in your crosshairs, you’ll eventually have to move on to the steps below.

I believe that a knowledge of that perfect life sits inside you just as the North Star sits in its unalterable spot. You may think you’re utterly lost, that you’re going to die a bewildered death in the Dark Wood of Error. But brush away the leaves, wait for the clouds to clear, and you’ll see your destiny shining as brightly as ever: the fixed

You may not even know that you don’t like something until you drop it and suddenly see your health getting better.

I know from experience that people who set out to find their own North Stars tend to awaken whatever paranormal skill they may have. In general, the more closely my clients follow their physical and emotional “compasses,” the more they begin to sense intuitive guidance. As they draw closer and closer to living in harmony with their essential

Consider just letting yourself relax into the “not-thinking” and “not-doing” Taoist masters worked so hard to achieve. It really is in the still and curious world of the threshold that the true self emerges, that we find ourselves and the purposes of our lives. Some people call this enlightenment. If you’re just calling it awful, look deeper. Sit

As they set out on paths chosen by their social selves, these clients’ essential selves set up barriers, closed down operations, blew up bridges, and generally made it as difficult as possible to proceed down those errant roads.

It really is okay not to know what’s happening. The real danger lies in pretending to know when you don

The natural response to being abused is anger, but they’ve learned that acting on anger will get them punished, so all they feel is fear—false fear. Real fear is easy to distinguish from the phony variety, because it has a clear source and motivates clear action. Fake fear is a blanket anxiety or worry that doesn’t mobilize; on the contrary, it

But after a while, you’ll find that flooding yourself with good things has a peculiar effect on your psychology, as inevitable and involuntary as the toast-hoarding reaction. Once you’ve been living in the midst of plenty for a while, your psychological grip will loosen. You’ll stop worrying about running out. You’ll begin to let go.