Martha Beck's Finding Your North Star: A Book Review

I loved your book "Finding Your North Star". I picked it up in the spring of 2004 and my life began to steer clear on my own north star. For those who have never heard of the term north star, how would you define it to them?

The north star is the one star in the north sky (northern hemisphere) that never appears to move. All the others stars revolve, but it (Stella Polaris) is the one that always points due north. Navigators have used it for millennia to navigate at night or if they are lost. Everyone has a fixed point inside. It tells us what one needs to do in life. Part of you knows yours already. My process as a life coach is to help people find the metaphorical "north star," or guidance point, within themselves. Then they work to create a life, follow a path that leads true north

Why is having a north star so crucial in life?
First of all, it's crucial because it's the essence of who you are. You can't get away from it because it is part of you. To live a life that is wrong for you is a form of dying. There are people who have lives that look perfect. They try to happy, they believe they should be happy, they are trying to like it, but if it's off course from their north star, they aren't satisfied.

By telling yourself, "I should like my life," you simply deepen your commitment to what's wrong for you. You might as well say, "I should not be poisoned by arsenic." Suffering results when a person leaves their north star to do something else. I know famous people who thought fame was the answer but it was off course. Fame is poisonous for them. Your own north star is yours alone. No one else can define it. You alone know if it feels right.

What about going to psychics? There are now workshops and seminars devoted to spending time with a psychic on discovering your soul purpose. Can psychics tell a person what their north star is?

It comes down to testing anyone's advice against your own instincts. Do you feel that a psychic's advice resonates with your sense of truth? Fine. It's still yourself you need to believe.