In our first article, we announced that researchers are one step away from a historic breakthrough: the cause of most diseases, which we now call stress, is about to be replaced by the word fear.
Then many things will fall into place, because it is much easier to see whether we are acting out of complete trust or fear. Trust means accepting the situation unconditionally in a way that nothing can throw us off track, including the thought of the future course of events or the final outcome.
When we do not accept circumstances as they are – and therefore experience unpleasant feelings, perhaps at the very thought of them – we are acting from a state of fear.
We have also found that the more we dictate the course of events, the luckier we are. Therefore, the path to success and ultimate liberation is always through taking the initiative in key areas or through expressing our own creativity.
We channel our energy towards a joyful goal that inspires us. Because we are not at the mercy of others – or rather, our well-being is not dependent on their behaviour – we are transformed from a follower into a strong personality who trusts and follows our own story. We are also seen by others as having authority and integrity, because we are a far cry from the life of the average person (which, incidentally, the famous American writer and philosopher David Thoreau described as “a state of quiet desperation”): we have decided to do something… we are completely taken by the idea of this change, so we are full of enthusiasm and energy… we believe that we will achieve our goal… so we keep going, regardless of the complications and the obstacles we may encounter here and there.
Sound easy? Unfortunately, the number of people who would act in this direction is reportedly only around 5%. The rest, more often than not, are waiting for others to make them happy: for their “good heart” to be perceived by those around them and, in return for being so good, kind and helpful, for their wishes to be fulfilled and taken care of.
Life doesn’t work like that. It is necessary to “get out of the warm bed (of habits) and go into the unknown”, as Paolo Coelho beautifully wrote in his excellent book “The Alchemist”.
The transition to the second stage of development takes place (also) through a rebalancing of the wallet
One of the steps, and one of the easiest ways, to move from feeling like a victim to taking responsibility and achieving goals is to get our personal finances in order. We live in a material world and, whether we like it or not, our livelihood depends on money.
Avoiding thinking about money – or even money in general – will not make us “spiritual” or grow as a person any sooner.
Quite the opposite. Avoiding money challenges is literally a rejection of personal power and growth in all areas. (Incidentally, spiritual growth also takes place through the capture of personal power, which involves harmony with money or material goods. If we cannot acquire such a conviction, our personal growth will stop at that stage.)
Fortunately, we don’t have to earn millions to live in harmony with materiality. However we need to experience material goods, money, rich people, etc. without a hint of unpleasant energies or fully accepting them. In other words, we should feel love, not fear, at the thought of money and wealth.
The easiest way is, of course, to earn more or to have a positive relationship between income and expenditure. Ideally, after the bills are paid, we have enough money left over to finance our own creativity. (This is, in Thomas Keller’s words, the definition of abundance. Richard Gordon, the author of the Quantum Touch healing method, has a very interesting definition: Abundance means access to resources. We don’t have to own the goods, we just have to be able to use them when we want to.)
Myths and beliefs about money
Let’s take a look at some of the myths and beliefs about money that we may not even think about, but are deeply ingrained in most of us. Even when we are not consciously aware of them, they influence our perception of the world and dictate many of our choices.
Why are these beliefs so important? As long as they are held or perpetuated, we will not be able to earn or have more. If we want to change our financial situation, we first need to release the “handbrake” that says “Money flow”. Only then can a change to your bank account take place.
Supposedly, around 70% of all people who hit the big lottery jackpot drop back to their pre-event financial level after a few years. This is not (only) due to unwise spending, suspicious advice from financial quasi-experts or greedy relatives, but mainly to an inability to accept and cope with the new situation.
Because the person does not find himself in the new situation, or cannot accept it as his new reality, he unconsciously sabotages it. And sooner or later, she finds herself in a situation where she feels at home – where she was before …
Let’s take a look at some of the most common myths and beliefs.
Belief 1: Money will be mine when I work hard enough for it
The most important thinking about money has to do with giving ourselves permission to earn it in the first place. Many of us construct a ceiling for our income based on the reciprocity of effort and reward.
We have been conditioned to believe that money only belongs to us if we work hard enough for it; or if we “earn it honestly”.
In other words, we operate on the principle of a direct exchange of life energy for euros.
We therefore relate the amount of pay to the amount of time invested and the level of effort (physical, mental or spiritual): the more we work, the more money we are entitled to, or the more we feel comfortable with a higher income.
Of course, this is not the case. Many do not suffer – in fact, they enjoy their work immensely – and are well paid for their contribution. Although we may think first of artists, athletes, entertainers…, in almost every profession there is someone who earns well and enjoys it so much that they would not change their profession for a much better financial offer.
So working hard is far from a prerequisite for getting money.
But how can we check whether we are also unconsciously guided by this belief?
Let’s ask ourselves whether we feel better when we receive money we have honestly bargained for. Because we believe that this is the “right” or fair way to be paid, we feel good about the amount we receive.
Similarly, we may feel (good) about a higher amount if we put in more hours or if the work was more unpleasant than usual. (The reverse is also true: if we were paid this much without the extra work or effort, we wouldn’t feel so good.)
Or: When we do something really good and useful at work, we give ourselves permission to relax a bit more or be less driven for a while – maybe a day or two. And maybe even a little more confident: we feel like we’ve made a contribution, so we can relax a little.
A big change happens when we stop associating the minutes and hours invested with payment, and realise that we can only be paid for what we are, or what we express. (Hint: Donald Trump was already paid a million dollars or more for his speeches between 2005 and 2007. The organiser who hired him for seventeen speeches paid him a million and a half* for each one.)
In short, many people receive money because of their reputation, personality or popularity, but not in accordance with the time or effort they put in.
Another example. A celebrity who leaves no visible mark on society other than his or her appearance – e.g. a starlet or a reality show star – sells photographs of his or her baby to the yellow press, for which the latter pays a fabulous sum. How much effort and work did that person put in to take the photograph? But since the masses of people are willing to pay to see the photo (by buying the magazine in which it appears), the magazine simply makes the transaction worthwhile.
Does this mean that someone will just pay us, without any basis? Absolutely not. (Forget the “Law of Attraction” and similar theories.) All those who are paid better than the time and effort they put in add value to the environment. Even if it’s just by their appearance, their provocative behaviour, their controversial statements …
That’s why in the previous article we strongly emphasised the need to set a goal, take responsibility and start acting or expressing your own creativity. Only action, combined with the removal of limiting beliefs, will enable us to earn higher incomes.
Belief 2: I am most comfortable in my home (financial) environment, but I reject new things
Another important belief when it comes to the ability to increase income is being familiar with money. We have already mentioned that most people who receive money as a result of a lottery hit soon return to their old ways or end up in similar financial circumstances to those they were in before the big win.
At Paul Solomon’s workshop on well-being, Thomas Keller presented an interesting hypothesis. Scientists have supposedly discovered that a sow can only count up to eight. If it has nine offspring and one is secretly taken away, the sow does not notice this and continues to behave as before. If another sow, the eighth, is taken away, she panics.
This means that everything above the number eight is almost non-existent for the sow. Or, to be more precise, it has no special or individual relationship to all things beyond the number eight. Whether it is nine, ten, fifteen… For her, everything is the same: irrelevant.
People think very similarly about money, as we all live in our own world of “financial domesticity”. To a certain extent, the amount of money is close to us and we can identify or energetically connect with it. But beyond that, it is imaginary.
Have you ever wondered what your “financial value above eight” is, where things get foggy in your head and you are no longer able to energetically connect with them? Let’s check.
First, notice how you feel when you think of your salary being increased from, say, €1,500 to €1,800. You would probably be very happy about the extra three hundred euros and perhaps even quickly calculate what you could afford or how much easier it would be to get through the month.
Now imagine or compare the following two situations. Your salary is increased to thirteen thousand euros … or to thirteen thousand five hundred.
What difference do you feel between these two amounts?
Although this is a significant difference, representing a third of our current salary, for many, this amount becomes imaginary with such a large figure.
This “foggy feeling” is even more evident with larger numbers. Suppose you unexpectedly received a huge amount of money – tens of millions or more – and decided to buy a villa. How much would it matter to you if the price was three hundred thousand euros … or thirty thousand more?
The amount that makes up the difference is the same (€30,000) when viewed from the level of existing revenues. But in the context of the offer for the property, and especially in the context of the millions in the bank account, the figure becomes somewhat blurred or the difference fades.
In fact, we tend to perceive anything above, say, ten or twenty thousand euros as being on the other side of the veil. It does not seem quite real or tangible to us, so we do not connect energetically with these amounts. At the same time, we may also feel that this money does not belong to us (because we have not put enough effort into it), so we feel uncomfortable at the thought of it; as if we had a bad conscience.
Incidentally, the term “financial thermostat” is often used to refer to this phenomenon.
Belief 3: The more good and honest I am, the more money will follow
Let’s look at another, slightly different myth.
Many of us have the idea that money has a moral filter. In the sense that the more good, spiritual, compassionate and so on you are, the more money you are entitled to. Or maybe it’s like this: if we follow all the “rules” of society, being good, fair and helpful to everyone, money will somehow find us on its own – because it will be the energy return for all our goodness.
(It’s similar to the aforementioned attitude towards people: if we are good, helpful, compassionate and always available, they will notice our big heart and take good care of us.)
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many people who give up their whole lives for others are living on the edge of survival and struggling to make ends meet.
On the other hand, every day we read or hear stories of corrupt politicians, crooked businessmen and others who have made large amounts of money in shady and even illegal ways. Many of them are living in extreme affluence … and the Universe (or the Creator, God, Nature, Intelligence, Source, etc.) seems to be quite in agreement.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to be “broken”, heartless or spineless to be provided for: Don’t form your thoughts on the basis of logical contradictions. If it says something is true, it does not mean that the opposite is not true.)
It means that money does not choose people on the basis of moral values. In fact, this is very good news: If even criminals can attract money into their lives, or, apparently, feel worthy enough to deserve it – although I believe that many of them have a bad conscience when they look in the mirror – then presumably we will also find enough positive qualities in ourselves to feel worthy enough to be paid more.
Let’s go one step further. How did you feel when you read the link between morally depraved people and money? The matter may have deeper roots than we think … For if we judge people or link their entitlement to welfare to “goodness”, moral integrity and other “undefiled” qualities, the rabbit of our financial constraints may already be lurking in this bush.
Very few people have a positive opinion of themselves. Somewhere deep in our subconscious we have buried memories of our failures, our downfalls, even morally reprehensible moves (at least through our eyes; for example, when we let someone down) …
Because we don’t see ourselves as a model and good enough member of society to earn a lot of money in exchange for our “Jesus character”, we automatically reject money; we think that – because of all the falls and slip-ups in the past – we don’t deserve it.
These were some of the theoretical starting points for self-limiting revenues. In the following article, you will find three very effective but simple exercises that will not only help you to change these beliefs, but also to increase the fatness of your wallet in practice.
The content of the text in this article is taken from the books written by Boris Vene and Nikola Grubiša.
* Source: Forbes Magazine