There’s something which occurs when you’re alive that most people think only happens after you pass away…

While at the same time is thought to not happen during the time you are alive.

In one case it’s wishful thinking.

In the other case it’s what life is all about. It’s what makes up the true essence of living a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Yet…

Most people try to avoid this like the plague, and then what they don’t want to happen ends up happening anyway.

And the interesting part about this…

It’s something that in many cases is taught and almost never questioned.

What I’m talking about is this idea of heaven and hell.

When you hear these two words what goes through your mind? Are you thinking about something religious…or something completely different? What kind of questions immediately come up, and not just now but over time?

Now there is one question that rarely if ever comes up. It’s a question that can and does throw a monkey wrench into your life and how it plays out…while you’re alive and even after you pass on.

And it’s your answer(s) to this question that gets it all going for you.

First the question…

Where is your heaven and hell?

1. Where the hell is heaven- I’m sure you’ve heard and thought about what happens after you pass away. You’ll hear people say (and quite often when you’re alive as well) that you’ll go to heaven (if you’ve been “good”) or hell (if you’ve been bad).

Now of course I’m not turning this into a religious discussion.

However…

First, I am posing the question of, “Where exactly is heaven?”

Is heaven somewhere up in the sky? If it is, do you go 5 miles up and 30 miles over? Is it over a designated place above New York City, Tokyo, Los Angeles, or somewhere else? Are there people greeting you wearing white and have halos over their heads? Where exactly is it?

Second, “Where exactly is the so called hell?”

Is it 10 miles underground and 300 miles to the east. Is it in a central location? Is there a guy with horns and a pitchfork waiting there?

I bring this up in a lighthearted way because what you’ll find is that typically no two people will have the same description of where heaven and hell is…after you pass away.

Most people have been given an image of what someone said it is…but have they been there themselves? Of course not.

Yet…

There is a “heaven” and “hell” that you, I, and everyone have been to already. It’s those that occur during our lives. In fact, it may even be ones you’re experiencing right now in your life.

Notice I said “ones” because they are numerous…and they do occur in specific places along with specific people who are present.

What’s fascinating about these…

They’re life transforming and vital to you living a meaningful and fulfilling life.

So the question here is…

Where is your heaven and hell?

…the ones that occur when you are alive.

And especially, how do they contribute to your life?

2. Fire and ice- Earlier I mentioned about something that occurs when you’re alive that most people think only happens after you pass away. This of course is the heaven and hell I spoke about a minute ago.

Let’s now come back to the wishful thinking part I mentioned earlier.

This is the notion that as you go through life that you’ll have more moments of “heaven” than “hell”…more moments of happiness than sadness, more moments of peace than turmoil, more moments of praise than criticism.

These are called one sided fantasies because that’s not how the universe is designed to work.

Yes, they’ll be moments that seem this way…moments that will leave you feeling like you’re in heaven. And with it many times will come the elation, ecstasy, and what some call eternal bliss.

However…

These are temporary in and of themselves…or at least they seem that way on the surface.

The fact is…

In every one of these moments of feeling like you’re in heaven, there’s a hidden “hell”…and ironically they serve an important purpose in your life.

First and foremost they are there to keep you centered and true to yourself.

An example of this is one I’ve spoken about many times…winning the lottery.

Most people who win the big multi million dollar jackpot feel like they’re in heaven. And what usually happens…they become highly emotional in a positive way.

This results in losing their focus…which leads to doing foolish things that leads to them “blowing” all of their money…having people “come at them” in “negative ways”…you get the idea.

Therefore…

This initial heaven created their hell.

The good news is that when you know this and how to manage your heavens and hells throughout life…you’ll gracefully “dance” (instead of limping) your way through life.

It’s just a matter of knowing that in every heaven there’s that hidden potential hell…just as much as there’s a hidden heaven in what you may perceive is a hell going on in your life.

This is what makes up the true essence I spoke about earlier of what living a meaningful and fulfilling life is all about…

Because without also having those moments of so called “hell” you’ll never be able to live and appreciate the moments of “heaven” throughout your life.

You can also see this as experiencing fire and ice in your life…they’ll be moments when you’re on fire and everything seems to be going your way (heaven)…

And they’ll be moments when it’ll seem like it’s cold as ice and nothing is going your way…even to the point of it feeling like you’re living in hell.

The way you effectively deal with these moments…

Look for an equal amount of positives and negatives (heavens and hells) in the different moments you experience throughout your life.

You see, it’s the “addiction” to the one sided fantasy of always trying to live in “heaven” that ends up attracting the so called “hells” you’re looking to avoid.

But when you see the divine beauty—the loving balance—in these different moments, not only will you appreciate life more, but you’ll experience a life transforming event.

What that event is will be based on your specific situation and occur on different levels…again, depending on your situation.

This leads to the most important part of all for you…

3. Finding the direction of your life- There’s a beauty to the heavens and hells you experience throughout your life because they’re testing you.

How?

They’re testing you to see what you’re willing to go through in pursuit of what you say your dreams are.

Far too many people say that they want to have _______ but then give up. And as a result attribute it to some reason other than what it really is. People give up on what they say they want because they weren’t willing to go through the heavens and hells…they in essence wanted things to be quick, easy, and positive most of the time.

Tied in with all of this is what the true blessing is of all the heavens and hells you go through in your life…

They’re getting you to be true to yourself…

To get clear on who you are…

What your purpose in life is…

And in the process getting you to stand up for yourself.

This is what I said earlier about there being a “hidden hell” in every moment that you feel like you’re in heaven.

These “hidden hells” are guiding you to find direction in your life…

The direction that leads you down the path to realizing what makes you unique…

What makes you special in a way that brings value to the lives of others…

And to do so in a way that is heartfelt while helping you discover the truth of who you are.

This is why you were put on this earth…

To bring the magnificence, brilliance, and authenticity of who you are to others…so they can do the same and pass the torch on to others.