Passion Test Meets My Soul's Agenda

Between my birthday and the New Year, like many, I have been on a reset journey. For me, it looks like reevaluating what I want from life.

A few months back, I came across Janet Attwood's Passion Test. You're supposed to write down a whole bunch of things you want to experience from life and then evaluate them on what you are more passionate about. You end up with a top 5 that you spend more of your attention on.

When I did this the first time, I got "Knitting my own clothes with nice yarns." It was a fun answer and I have been getting some nicer yarns and having a blast making my clothes. Most of the others just kind of fell by the wayside.

This time, I was reminded of a couple of things. One is my motivator and the other is my Soul's Agenda word. I thought I would talk a little about both and then explain what happened when I applied them to the passion test.

Motivators

There are 4 main ways in which people are motivated. 

1. Some people are motivated by passion. Just feeling passionate about something keeps them going, it lights them up and they act on the things they are passionate about. These people need to feel that passion for all of their goals. 

2. Some people are motivated by vision. They get a vision of what they want and that's enough. As long as they hold the vision, they are taking action and moving forward.

3. Some people are motivated by their why. As long as they have a good why, they will keep going.

4. Some people are motivated by peace. Will the goal bring peace to the heart? Then they more likely to act.

You may notice that 3 of these are frequently addressed in the goal setting world. In fact, it's really easy to tell people to find what they are passionate about, create a vision/goal, and make sure they have their why. Most people will find success from this because it will hit their motivator. The 4th one has a harder time finding motivation in general.

Soul's Agenda

The Soul Agenda word is a concept presented by Ani Anderson in her book 'Finding Your Soul's Agenda". You go through a process to find your one word to live life by. You'll also create your own definitions as well as look at what it feels like to live in the opposite. Everyone has a word that they use to describe an expansive, joyful feeling we get when we do something that is right for us.

A friend got Thrilling as her word. I know of someone getting Passion as their word and another getting Adventure. Alive or some version is a known word as well. My word is Light, mostly it is in the form of not heavy but also not dark works.

Back to the passion test.

I think I am motivated by peace. When I try to follow the idea of passion, it's hard to find anything that motivates me for long. It is easier to do it if it will be fun but even then, it's just not enough to keep me going. If I was motivated by the vision, I would be so successful. I am constantly trying to get the goals and visions in my mind, just to have them be forgotten. I know if the why would inspire, I would do a lot more.

My friend couldn't understand why I wasn't motivated to clean up a room when it would mean that my kids and I would all have a room. Things were a bit chaotic after my mom died. One would think giving my boys a space to sleep would be motivation but it wasn't. Even the idea of helping people in some way just doesn't motivate me. In a moment it feels like a nice plan but it does not sustain.

The problem is, peace isn't really a word that motivates me either. Peace is an elusive word. That's where the Soul Agenda word comes in. If I think about what makes me feel light, that is something I want to do. 

I did the passion test. I asked the passion questions. I got this list:

1. Using Natural Yarns to knit me stunning clothes.
2. Created a Home for Christ to dwell in.
3. Hold space for Christ in my heart.
4. Spend quality time with my family.
5. Create and hold space for Love (Christ) in people’s homes.

It's an okay list. They are all things I desire. I decided to try a different approach. This time, I traded out "passion" for my Soul Agenda word. Which one makes me feel Light? My list is a bit different.

1. Creating a home for Christ to dwell in.
2. Holding space for Christ in my heart.
3. Creating and holding space for Love in people’s homes.
4. Spending quality time with my family.
5. Married to my sweetheart.
6. Using natural yarns to knit me stunning clothes tied with making alpaca socks for my kids.

More importantly, I do feel peaceful about this. The order changed a bit and my knitting moved way down the list. I enjoy my knitting but if it's all I do during a day, I feel heavy at the end of the day. I want to go to bed feeling light about my day.

Will this motivate me? I'm still not sure but I know I feel better about my list then I ever did passion lists.

I hope something in this inspired you, helped you to feel a bit lighter and ready for the New Year. I hope 2025 is a great year for you!

Hugs,

Michele

Soul Shine Specialist
Let your soul shine big, bright, live, and beautiful!

Feng Shui in the Kitchen

One of the things I love about our homes is the insight they give us into our inner world. I guarantee in some way you are completely aligned with your living situation. I know, sometimes that really sucks to hear and it doesn't always make sense.

The great news is, there are things we can do about it! For today, let's look at Feng Shui. It is just one tool I use to discover what is going on in my home, and therefore my life. Today, we're going to look at our kitchens. 

There are two ways a Feng Shui Bagua (also known as a map) can be used. We're going to look at both of them to get the most information we can. One uses the compass directions and the other uses the entrance wall of your home or room. The Bagua is commonly divided into 9 sections. You take a birdseye view of your home or room and divide it into equal sections. There are fixes you can make if your home or room isn't a square or rectangle. If you need help, reach out (soulmagicalmichele@gmail.com) and I'll see if I can help, or your can find a certified Feng Shui consultant. 

Let's take the map and place it over the entire home. We'll use the compass method first. You'll get a compass and find north. This is where the entrance side of the Bagua map needs to be placed. So the Career section will be on the north-facing side of your home. Most of us will find this pretty simple as most homes face a compass direction. Take note of what zone or zones your kitchen lands in. 

If your home does not face North, you can also place the map where your front entrance is. Line up the door wall with the entrance or career side of the map. I would suggest if you always use a door other than the front as your main entrance, use that door instead because that is the direction the energy most often enters your home. Again, take note of what zone or zones your kitchen lands in.

With this information in hand, take a minute to notice what your kitchen is like compared to the sections on the map. For instance, my kitchen is mostly located in the knowledge, with some career and a little ancestors when the compass is placed on it. When I place the map over my home entrance, I get the majority of the room in the wealth section with a bit in reputation and ancestors. What connection can I see?

My kitchen is a place where all the family cooks, eats, and doesn't do their chores without major effort on my side. It still has a lot that reminds me of my mom's way. I also have some major deep cleaning to do. My personal development often seems to be about how others view me and honestly, it takes me great effort to take time to read. Something interesting is the career section covers a cupboard that I just started deep cleaning and since doing that work, I have felt a need to get moving on my career again. Like my kitchen that I can't seem to keep clean, my money seems to constantly be a mess. What connections can you see in your kitchen?

Now let's move to the room itself. We can take that same map and put it over the room. We align the entrance side of the map with the wall our door is on. Now, notice what is going on in your kitchen. 

That cupboard I mentioned, it's in the wealth corner. That's exciting. I found as I approached cleaning that cupboard, I was avoiding doing it for many reasons and the deep hidden reason was I didn't want to feel the anger and resentment I associated with it. I have a lot of anger and resentment where money is concerned as well. My relationship corner is another disaster area that needs a deep cleaning. Is it a wonder that I have struggled with relationships and money? Or did my struggle create the mess in my home? Probably a bit of both.

The amazing thing is, you can change things in your home and create inner changes thereby changing your alignment. You can also change your inner world, which causes you to make outer changes. I have one area where I did some inner changes and now I can't stand it getting cluttered so I keep it clean. My alignment changed. When you intentionally create change in both the inner world and change things in your home everything is easier. You're clearing your home and more importantly, you're changing all the things that prevent you from being you.

I want to see you shine and have a home that reflects the essence of you!

Michele

Soul Shine Specialist

Wake up and live!