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Goddess Shift: Women Leading for a ChangeAs a parent of a young adult in a mental health crisis, you may be doing your relative a real favor by absorbing what the book has to say about possible career paths derived from being yourself. A person in a mental health crisis knows a lot about pain. This book advises you to consider your pain as your career fuel. Choose the right time to open up this career path dialogue, when your relative is well along the road to recovery. Forcing the issue too soon can provoke a crisis, as my husband and I learned the hard way last year.
For most people, further education or training in a field of interest is the key to eventually working at a job in a field that they love. For young people who have lost precious years due to a mental health crisis, their sense of self worth needs a boost, which can actually provide a wonderful window of opportunity to get started or get re-positioned in something they love while still young.
Numerology has been used for thousands of years to tell us who we are and what our life path may look like based on the vibrational energy of the numbers 1 to 9, 11 and 22. Vibrational energy is the basis today of the new field of energy medicine, which offers many exciting healing possibilities. Although the book is not at all about healing, nonetheless it has useful healing possibilities.
In addition to counting physical objects, numbers have a spiritual meaning that resonates with us at an unconscious level, according to sixth century Greek mathematician, Pythagoras. Pythagoras also believed that colors have a spiritual meaning and are aligned with musical notes. Ancient peoples were much more intuitive than modern man. They sought meaning through numbers, symbols, and colors, communed regularly with the gods, and looked for signs from the heavens. It doesn't sound too terribly different than people today who are given a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar or even autism. In my son's reporting of his recent experience with sound therapy, he said "As I heard the colors and shapes......" This is not crazy thinking, this is intuitive thinking.
Numerology is these days considered an esoteric pursuit, but not to Pythagoras or maybe not to anyone on the autism spectrum. Some people on (or even off) the autism spectrum see colors in musical notes or numbers. Numerology strikes me as good a way as any to make your career choice. Rather than tediously wading through the popular book What Color is Your Parachute?, why not make your career choice based on what Pythagoras might have chosen for you?
Sue Fredericks makes an excellent case for why numerology does a better job of helping you to discern your true career path than any other career book I have read. This is not just another horoscope book, where the astrological descriptions often seem so generic that they can apply to just about everyone. Most of us would probably not make that link, figuring that our destiny is not necessarily our career. We should think again if we are looking for fulfillment.
Here's an example of how this works based on the destiny number 3 and the astrological sign Capricorn which is my son's combination. According to career intuitive Sue Frederick, a good career choice for this person would be actor or singer, to name just two possibilities arising from the number three. Though this suggestion might have seemed improbable before the crisis, the crisis revealed some surprising talents. Interestingly, I seized upon acting as a way of breaking through my son's communication barrier when his doctor hinted that he was really good in the clinic's acting class. Since then we have also discovered that my son is a good singer.
Number 3s are creative and possible career paths according to Sue Frederick are acting, music, art, fantasy or science fiction writing and teaching. So far, this doesn't sound exceptionally insightful, but Sue Frederick adds her insight to it. Number 3s are better off teaching in none-traditional settings, she advises, as a large school system would probably feel too restrictive. The negative qualities of number 3s will surface if they are not doing what they love to do. Unlike hardworking number 4s, who often perservere in job drudgery, if number 3s are not having fun at what they do, they will quickly lose interest. She also cautions number 3s not to rely on other people for handouts. (Thank you, Sue!) They are perfectly capable of making a career that pays their way. Actually, most actors, writers and musicians are not a number 3. There are probably many number 3 engineers, doctors or lawyers. On the surface, these are not usually considered creative professions. What this shows is that in order to be fulfilled in your work, you have to bring an aspect of your numerology to bear on your work or you will not be content on the job. If you are a number 3 lawyer or an engineer or an accountant you should find the creative side to the work you do or else look for job fulfillment elsewhere.
I had been pushing my son to consider music and fantasy writing as a career focus, so the book confirmed my hunch. Because people like my son are naturally intuitive, and see meaning and relationships where others fail to see them, numerology makes sense to them. They can appreciate being a number 3. It's becoming an easy sell for me. Now when we sit down to discuss options for taking classes at the university, the discussion goes along the lines: "This particular course may be off path for you. Consider this one instead. If you need to take a certain course, fine, but don't get confused about why you are taking it."
Using your pain as your fuel, is great advice for an aspiring writer or artist. In schizophrenia, there is plenty of pain to fuel an eventual career path. Make that pain work for you.