The children excitedly open the locks and latches.  The lid is heavy, but they are able to lift it ever so slowly as the large chest creeks from its age.  All of the children lean over the opening to see what is inside.  Their eyes wide and smiles that encompass the entire face.  The glow of the contents reflects on their faces as they are speechless with the excitement of their discovery.

Can you see this image of children that discovered a treasure chest that they are opening for the first time?  Imagine the excitement of this type of discovery.   The question is, have you discovered your own “treasure chest” containing the secrets and riches of this lifetime?

Everyone has their own sometimes hidden away “chest” of treasures.  It may contain talents, knowledge or skills.  The discovery of such “treasures” sometimes goes unnoticed for a life time.  Sometimes these treasures are discovered by following one’s “passions” in life.  Think of your passion as the map to your treasure chest.

When you follow your passion with integrity you are letting your inner self guide you into the unknown.   Do you have a deep desire to learn how to sing, or play the flute?  Do you want to become a Yoga teacher?  What is your burning internal desire?

One way to find your internal “light” that may be flickering in the dark cave encompassing your chest of treasures, is to sit quietly in meditation.  When you clear your mind and enter a sort-of “dream state” you are allowing yourself to remove all limits and logic.  When you start to think about becoming a Yoga instructor, you let your mind talk you out of it.  Maybe you say that you have only been taking Yoga for a short period of time and there is no way that you have the skills.

Maybe you continue to talk yourself out of it by saying how you do not want to talk in front of large groups.  The mind can “talk” you out of anything for which you may have little confidence.  However, when you sit quietly and quiet the thoughts rattling around in your head, you can begin to envision and see things without limits.

You might see yourself teaching a Yoga class on the moon!  Who knows?  The opportunities are without limits.  You need to find a way to tap into the passion that you carry around with you buried deep inside of you.  That passion is the reason that you entered this lifetime.

Keep in mind that the passion for which we speak is not necessarily one that is a career choice.  It can be anything, but does not necessarily need to be one where you earn a living.  If you have a burning desire to act, you might consider acting at a local playhouse where you volunteer your time.  You might look to painting so that you can transfer the creations in your mind’s eye to the canvas.  There need not be any desire for the compensation of money for your creations.

In fact, when money enters the picture it often is confused with your passions.  When you start to wonder how you can “make money” doing the things that you love, you often begin to place limits on yourself.  Now, you need to create the paintings that will “sell,” or you begin to put different pressures on yourself because the “public” will see your creations.  “What if they are not any good?”  you might ask yourself.  This brings doubt into your mind, which can help to extinguish the passion that you have recently discovered.

When you have too much of a “plan” you can begin to see artificial “road blocks” that you begin to place around you.  When you just “go with it” and follow your passions, in a way that has integrity and can benefit everyone involved, you are free to move wherever your inner self guides you.  You can begin to open that treasure chest to see the contents that you placed inside, before you entered this lifetime.

Sitting in meditation, you can play out a scene similar to the one with the children who discover a treasure chest at the beginning of this writing.  Go there in your mind and create your own story.  Find a key to unlock the locks.  Unhook the latches, and slowly lift the lid.  Look inside and let your inner self show you what is inside.  For each person it is something different.  Go there and find it and that might help you uncover the burning desires of this lifetime.

InspiraCard

When you find your passion and follow where it takes you.  There is no need to concern yourself with monetary gains.  If that happens, than great, but that is not the motivation behind anyone’s true, genuine passion.

Written Tue Feb 4, 2014 7:37 – 7:55 AM MT