"PROSPEROUS
LIVING"
First appeared in Healing Exchange Magazine July
1989
The
word "prosperity". What meaning does it have for us? Many people
think it means simple money. But money by itself is not wealth.
It possesses no worth other than the power & worth people give it.
Money is often given the power to make us feel a variety of ways:
insecure, happy, miserable, healthy, ill, sexy, beautiful, handsome,
popular, successful, powerful or weak. We give this power to money,
not so much because if for any reason it deserves this position
in our lives, but rather so that we may avoid having to assume these
powers for ourselves on a more real & meaningful level.
The
subject of money has a powerful emotional charge. The discussion
of our personal finances seems to be an almost taboo subject. We
engage in open discussion about our health, our relationships, our
sexuality, but we are still reluctant to talk about our money. Money
is the last thing to come out of the closet, & when we do talk about
it we take a stance that is removed & distant. We address the subject
like we would talk about the weather, in general & impersonal terms.
But
why can we not have a more "holistic" approach to money & material
prosperity? Why not let our relationships to money permit us to
flourish & be successful in a holistic way: spiritually, mentally,
bodily, in relationships & in all worthwhile ventures? Why not let
ourselves form a relationship with material prosperity that allows
us to be truly fulfilled? Finding this fulfilment involves having
no limiting restrictions around our personal states of well being
including material well being. Prosperity is not the condition of
our bank accounts, it is a state of consciousness, a state of conscious
awareness. Be open to the idea that we are meant to experience happiness,
health, loving relationships & true prosperity.
We
may sometimes think to ourselves: "If only things were different,
then I would be different". However, in order to allow true holistic
prosperity to touch us we must understand that it is only when we
become different, when we become different in consciousness, that
conditions will be different for us.
We
attract what is congruent with our states of mind. If lack of abundance
is consistent with the way we view our world, then it is lack of
abundance that we will create for ourselves. Lack of prosperity
often reflects our limiting beliefs about what is really possible.
Something that definitely limits our state of prosperity is how
worthy we feel, how much we feel we really deserve.
What
is our real worth? Who we are & what we know & believe about ourselves
is our real value. Do we embrace the idea that we are expressions
of infinite energy? A major problem facing millions, including many
who profess to be on the spiritual path is that of coming to terms
with the world as-it-is.
The
world as-it-is, is a full manifestation of spiritual energy. Some
refuse to enter into a conscious realization of this fact, & thereby
fail to enter into a conscious relationship with this energy. Some
people withdraw & reply to such a suggestion with harsh judgmental
disagreement. They can, through their own attitudes, make their
lives into a major challenge. Some view the world as mean, cruel
& unfair, but this is not the real universe that they are reacting
to; it is just the universe that they have created for themselves
with their own negative attitudes. The real universe is really very
fair; it operates according to an orderly set of laws & principles.
Cooperating with this orderly universe & being in harmony & in tune
with these principles is what is required in order to allow us to
live in a prosperous way.
Let
us examine a few principles through which we can realize in ourselves
this condition of true holistic prosperity:
- Be
centered,
remember who we really are, remember that we are "individual-izations"
of the universal life force. This life force (scientifically called
energy, theologically called God) is the actual source of all
prosperity. The true source of prosperity is not our jobs, partners,
husbands, wives or parents - it is this universal life energy.
- As
expressions of universal energy we also are subject to as well
as supported by, the laws of physics. Ideas attract to them
whatever it is that they need to manifest. This is because ideas,
like magnets, have energy fields that can attract that which relates
to these fields. Therefore positive thinking & speaking, whether
it be about health, relationships or prosperity, propagates itself
by attracting more of the same energy that it is composed of.
To accomplish this involves putting "attention on our intention",
focusing ourselves on what we desire. If instead we were to focus
upon what we do not want, then we would do no more than to attract
to ourselves that which we do not want.
- Seeking
prosperity is seeking to increase the quality of our lives.
Therefore, in order to find prosperity we need to increase the
quality of our thoughts & be willing to give up those beliefs
that do no more than limit our potential to attract the prosperity
we desire.
- Clearly
establishing in our consciousness that it is not only okay for
us to prosper, but also that prosperity is our right & our
duty. If we allow ourselves to prosper in all ways, we thereby
assume a better position from which to share with others, & we
gain the freedom to be, in do & to have, without restrictions.
-
Remember the Law of Elimination. The process of "releasing"
is the process of clearing useless material from the consciousness.
It is a kind of spiritual housecleaning, what we might think of
as "scrubbing out our space". It is getting rid of what we do
not want in order to make room for the things we do want. We might
ask: "do we have to give up anything in order to attain prosperity?"
The answer is yes. We must give up everything that is unlike that
which we know we desire. Two things can not occupy the same space
at the same time - we might have learned about such things by
having watched two automobiles collide. Abundance & scarcity can
not occupy the same space at the same time. Excellence & mediocrity
are as incompatible with one another as two automobiles travelling
in opposite directions in the same lane.
- We
must realize that wealth rightly used does not detract from the
wealth of others. There is enough to go around. Bucky Fuller
said that there is enough money on planet earth for everyone to
be millionaires.
- Some
people were taught that money & spirituality don't mix. They follow
the old adage about money being "the root of all evil". Others
think & feel that nice things & rich abundance are too good for
them. But these people are simply afraid to handle the substance
of their world. This is the kind of conversation that may
be going on in their heads: "If I do too well, I will have too
much responsibility, more problems"; "I will have to defend it";
"I will loose my friends"; "People will not like me for me, my
wealth will be the reason they want to be close to me"; It will
make my mother/father wrong, they said I couldn't make it in the
world". In considering such thoughts we are not considering money
in terms of proper empowering usage, expression & experience.
We are simply equating money with the misuse of money.
- We
must avoid being caught in the trap of viewing money in terms
of the clichés people throw around about it: "I can not afford
it"; "Save for a rainy day"; "Money is tight". If we ever feel
inclined to say: "I'm on a fixed income", we should be sure &
remind ourselves who fixed it. We must avoid being caught up in
statements describing "the filthy rich", making negative generalizations
about them such as: "the rich are all crooks", or else "the rich
are not really happy".
- We
must endeavour to charge appropriately for our services,
neither overcharging nor undercharging. Some people continually
do service which might have been their livelihood, but they do
it instead for nothing. Stuart Wilde feels that people who do
not charge for their services are really saying: "please love
me".
- As
responsible people it is our duty to provide for ourselves now
& in the future. To have a savings/investment plan is an act
of personal responsibility. A newspaper article stated that
if at age 30, the cost of one pack of cigarettes per day were
invested at an 11% return, by retirement age it would have grown
to $655,000!
-
Many
of us are not aware of the costs of hanging on to regrets, resentments
& unforgiveness. There are always costs & the cost are our
own aliveness, we make ourselves less alive by allowing our
energy to be consumed by misgivings. Forgiveness is pivotal
upon our being debt-free. Our "for-giving" will then allow us
to give as we did before. Give up forever all claim for revenge.
Give up saying: "I will forgive you if ... Forgiving ourselves,
others, organizations, events, & circumstances - forgiving across
economic, cultural, & political lines is necessary for us to
be truly alive. It is interesting that every powerful workshop
I have attended has always included some aspect of this powerful
tool - forgiveness.
-
Give acknowledgment & gratitude for what is provided
to us. What we praise & give thanks for expands in our lives
& leads us to a true state of prosperity.
-
Make our own contributions. All our relationships revolve around
our willingness to give & receive. Giving of our time,
talent, energy, consciousness, & money opens us to being able
to receive the same. Give out of love not fear or guilt. To
receive abundance give abundance. Want to give of yourself &
then give because you want to. When we give to others we are,
as well, giving to ourselves. There is a little joke that describes
money as being like manure - if you pile it up it stinks, but
if you spread it around it makes things grow.
Why
are we here at this time & place on planet earth? Could it be to
learn how to awaken our inborn capacities? Could it be that we are
here to explore all the possibilities that open themselves to us.
Could it be to discover that we, together with the Infinite, are
co-creators of our world? Could it be that we are here to assist
the evolutionary process in the direction of fulfilment for all
that is? A route to discover the knowledge that will open us to
these options is to live consciously & prosperously here & now!
If
we were experiencing total prosperity in all areas what would we
have to give up? Would we have to give up withdrawing from life;
would it be necessary for us to give up our habit of playing only
in small arenas, looking only to win small victories. Perhaps we
would find it necessary to give up our little soap operas that we
participate in with ourselves when playing the role of victim. Maybe
too we might have to give up our non-accountability, or our non-responsibility,
or would we have to abandon the role we have assumed of always being
taken care of? But to accept prosperity would we find it necessary
to give up anything that we would really miss?
Namaste,
Gail E. Schultz
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