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GUIDANCE FROM THE GODDESS Reprinted from the New Age Journal

Do you dream of expressing your strongest values, energies, and talents through your work in the world? All too often we bury such dreams in busyness and obligations, pretending that we have no alternatives to our current jobs or careers. But we do have alternatives -- if we are willing to throw off the conditioned role of being a victim of circumstance. Below are four steps we can take to create an "anti-career" -- that is, to do what we love and get paid for it. These steps are named after four ancient Greek goddesses, pointing to the need to realign our work with the sacred.

VESTA: The Burning Flame

Vesta, the ancient deity of the holy fire, represents the fire we need to ignite within ourselves, the fire that will inspire us to be what we can be, to find what we passionately love and believe in instead of settling for today's sanctioned complacency. Vesta's temple, the temple of the vestal virgins, was dedicated to such a one-pointed focus, and a similar dedication to purpose can enable us to overcome lethargy and self-pity. So the first step in creating a working situation that reflects our integrity and authenticity is to find that inner fire and to palpably bring its energy into our life. You can begin by asking yourself, What do I feel passionate about?

ATHENA: The Wisdom of Application

Once we have connected with our inner fire, we need to channel its energy, to develop it into a working form. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, represents the energy of discipline and mentorship -- seeking and finding a teacher or a teaching that will enable us to develop our initial enthusiasm.

Whenever we start out on a new path, be it meditation, jogging, or painting, we are filled with expectation and energy. We go at it every day and seem to make incredible progress. But as time goes on, progress becomes less noticeable, and the initial emotional energy begins to wear down. We may get bored and ask, Why am I trying so hard? Disappointed, we begin to turn our attention elsewhere.

That is why it is so important to have a discipline, a concrete form that we can build on and remain committed to, and a mentor who can help us through periods of discouragement or "slow" periods. Sometimes a mentor seems to find you: You meet someone or hear of someone, and you immediately know that you need to spend time with and learn from that person. In other instances, you have to take the initiative to find someone, and you may have to spend trial time with a possible mentor to determine if he or she is the teacher for you.

The mentor initiates us into the discipline, and gradually the discipline itself begins to teach us. Our inner fire matures, and we actually have a service or a product that we can offer to others. We may be inspired and have the best of intentions, but if we do not develop a tangible service or product out of our inspiration we cannot function in the marketplace. Through the pragmatic wisdom of Athena, we learn to give form to inspiration, to shape our ideals and ideas so that we can share them with others.

JUNO: Service as Sharing

Once we develop a sense of mastery in an area, we can begin to think about sharing it. Juno (the Latin name for the Greek goddess Hera) represents the inclination to share from the heart. Instead of seeking to carve a niche out of the marketplace, we ask simply, How can I serve?

Service here does not imply the old hierarchical paradigm that views those who serve as menial or low. Juno signifies our understanding of the interdependence of everything and everyone. Just as productivity was once necessary for the well-being of humanity, today service is necessary. This is the greater meaning of the emerging "service economy". By asking, How and where can I serve? we put our inspiration and discipline at the disposal of the community, and when we do this with an open heart, opportunities we did not know existed begin to emerge.

CERES: Visionary Management

Ceres or Demeter, the Earth Mother, represents the ability to creatively organize our life around our vision. What we have, how much we need, where we work, and with whom are all "Ceres questions". In order to manifest our "anti-career", we need to create the time and space to do what we love. Ceres represents the ability to distribute our energies between home, family, work, and play so that these aspects of our lives work together instead of tear us apart.

Time management is the yoga of the '90's

Time has become such a precious commodity that it is no exaggeration to say that time management has become the yoga of the '90's. We must learn to "expand time", which is different from trying to do more. It means learning to attune to our own cycles as well as to the natural cycles around us so that our work, instead of controlling our time, begins to fit in with the flow of our life.

So we start with the fire, we cultivate it, we share it, and we distribute it in a way that nourishes ourselves as well as our community. These four steps can enable anyone to build a career that not only nourishes his or her soul, but also fosters the transformation of the world.