“Lean towards your joy and you will be led,” says Spirit Junkie Gabby Bernstein. By offering her twist on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan http://www.yogibhajan.org/main/ during a Masterclass about operating a spiritually based business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED4XkKrNrkU this vibrant lightworker reminds us that whole-hearted success comes from the fun, happy, creative activities that we do without thinking about how much we’re getting paid. If you’re stuck trying to figure out the “what next?” in your career,  consider the things you do that pull you in deeply, that take you off the clock and into the authentic spirit you truly are. Gabby suggested going back to your childhood to figure out where you want to be now, advice oft-heard from other thought leaders, spiritual experts and career counselors. For me this photo immediately came to mind. It was taken when I wasn’t posing. I was just being Cyndi.

From a young age it was always about a dance or recitation or some other type of performance. I loved rehearsing and then letting it all go as I found the beat and marched into the joy of the moment. I liked the applause (approval feels good). But the presiding emotion was more about the elation of being connected to a greater energy as sparkly as a sequined Bicentennial top hat. Synchronizing with the lights and the sights and the sound of the music and the crowd. The knowing that we were all right where we were supposed to be was electric. I still find joy in tap shoes and shiny costumes and batons (I turned mine into a magic wand). I still dance and sing where and when I will.

But I’ve realized that performance is the outgrowth of my true passion. I’m in love with the process that begins with inspiration, followed by the creation, the revision, the polishing and finally the sharing of what I’ve learned. Pounding raw words into a rhythm at the keyboard (my husband says I type too hard), cadences on paper, word formations parading across pages until the larger meaning and form is revealed to me and eventually to readers. There is no performance anxiety. Just contentment. Just fun. Just leaning toward the joy until I fall into it.

So what do we all want to be someday? Happy. We can have that right now. If we don’t have it, we can remember when we did and return to that feeling for cues on how to move forward. And we can stop being so fricking serious about needing to know everything right now. For example, I want to be a yoga therapist. I’m also expanding my herbal knowledge and craft with the “Cyndi’s Abundant Unguents” healing salves that I’ve been making for family and friends. The Desiderata vibe applies. No doubt the world is unfolding as it should. I’m realizing that I don’t need to have everything figured out and that there are many paths to fulfillment. It’s all about figuring out what makes me happy and going with that.  The sages tell us to trust our instincts. We don’t have to know everything at once. And not needing to know everything right now in this moment is the path to serenity. It’s also worth noting that you don’t have to quit your life-sustaining day job in order to find ways to marry your work with your passion.

Begin with the simple, as Gabby reminds us. Where and how did you find your joy when you were a little one? How could that feeling translate into what you do or what you would like to do today?

Bonus inspiration: Vintage Doreen Virtue on finding your life’s purpose and moving beyond the ego to take action.

Doreen’s Angel Card Reading by month for 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhL6G6PC9vs