Many believe that the whole purpose of life is to transform our “baggage”–our issues and old stuff–into wisdom. But how?

It may help you to make more deep sense of your personal path to think of birth as boarding a train headed to our particular destination–our calling in this life. Here is a fascinating look at the life-journey from an astrologer and a psychotherapist, with sound advice on transforming our baggage into the pure gold of wisdom.

The interplay between personality and destiny is key. Let’s examine the metaphor of our life from birth to death as a journey on a train track. Astrologically speaking, the South Node describes the station, platform, where we begin this lifetime. Many believe that this place signifies where we have ended up from another lifetime, another train ride. On your birth-day, you board a new train, carrying the baggage you have accumulated from your experiences in past lifetimes. Once you are born, your new train heads in a new direction. You carry with you as your baggage–you old stuff–all the knowledge that you have previously absorbed. As your train moves down the track, you continue to accumulate new baggage–new learning–with every life experience.

In order to use this learning, we must develop a certain level of consciousness. Consciousness is the key that allows us to open up the baggage and access our previous learning. In psychological terms, we must develop a certain awareness of who we are and where we are in life. In everyday language, we refer to this process as waking up.

The more awake you become, the more aware you are of the unconscious forces influencing you. It boils down to developing an understanding of what motivates you to behave, to think, and to react in certain ways. This conscious awareness is the proven method that enables you to become ho you really are and to do what you are really meant to do in this lifetime. In today’s world, there are numerous methods and techniques to help us wake up. They include meditation, therapy, self-development seminars, and a variety of spiritual exercises and readings.