by Dionne Mahaffey

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: July 25, 2009

What do you wish for when you see a falling star? More specifically, what would you wish your life to be like if you absolutely, positively could not fail?

Life coach Martha Beck provides the inspiration for your answer in her new book, Steering by Starlight.

Her premise is that we're all meant to follow our North Star our own, unique path in life - but our struggles and setbacks often take us off course.

We've become distanced from our authentic selves. We're distracted by others expectations, our past wounds and the other baggage we drag around with us.

To tap into our destiny, Beck encourages us to become the stargazers of our own lives and reconnect with our deepest inner purpose. This will require a mental metamorphosis, a three-part process.

You are a natural mystic, she asserts, all humans are. But given our culture, it's likely that every time your being starts to assume the gentle curve of the mystic's soul, something else your peers, your parents, your own rational mind slices into you forcing you back to the rational shape you're 'supposed' to be.

Beck's first step is Dissolving, meaning clearing the metaphorical clouds and letting go of the thoughts and feelings that make you miserable no matter what our thoughts, if they obscure our sense of joy and purpose, they're always inaccurate.

As your Dissolving period ends, your Dreaming begins. This is the most magical part of the process, says Beck, and should be a time of active reflection and openness to flashes of insight. Your nighttime dreams will contribute to this not necessarily as literal interpretations of what your future holds. Instead, they'll begin to add information that will transform what appears to be chaos around and within you, into synchronicity. This will help you chart your path for the future and success.

Being Daring is the final stage, and can be likened to the butterfly emerging from the cocoon. It's now an entirely new creature, but one that still carries the core of what it once was and is. And this is you. You must seize the chance to make personal growth a part of your everyday life.

Beck has coached thousands of clients, and swears that her strategy works with persistence and confidence and that revealing your destiny is a done deal.

It's worked for us. Facing a daunting change in our life, we had the privilege to gaze at a dazzling canopy of stars from a rooftop worlds away from home. It was incredibly moving and reminded us of Beck's advice (her first book was Finding Your Own North Star). The fears fell away and our resolve to take the leap out of our comfort zone felt exhilarating.

We've never looked back - though we often look up.

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