November 2008-Prosperity Thoughts

Affirmation: With God: everything is possible!

Today was a splendid fall day, with bright sun and splashes of autumn color everywhere. I walked along the river for an hour or so this afternoon. The many flavors of green and the multitude of shapes of the leaves bring to mind the infinite creativity of Mother Nature. The leaves along the trail remind me that we in the time of change of seasons and that winter is close upon us.

In the meantime, on Wall Street stock prices have dropped some 20% over the past few weeks, (which is not good news for most of us), the price of crude oil has dropped by 50% in the past few months and the price of gas at the pump has already dropped over 25% (which is good news for most of us) and the value of the dollar has risen sharply (more good news for most of us). This is a time of high volatility.

This is a perfect time to practice spiritual principles.

In changing times like these, there are at least two things to keep in mind.

First, we humans are supremely adaptable. We have, as a species, solved every single problem that has ever faced us for tens of thousands of years. Even so, our creative genius has barely even been tapped. We have inhabited every region of his world and thrived in each. We have found resources over and over again to up level the quality of our life. The combination of our intelligence, adaptability and perseverance means we will continue to thrive because it is our nature to thrive.

I know that some unscrupulous authors preach that we are nearly doomed and this is the most perilous time ever. That is utterly false; there has never been a better time to thrive in the whole history of humankind. We live longer, (in better health), enjoy life more and have more time to invest in the things we love than any generation before us. We have more freedom, more choice and a greater ability to connect and make a difference than every before. Moreover, we are not alone; more of our brethren have these same opportunities as well.

We are one with the infinite correlating intelligence in the Universe and we can use this creativity to solve any problem and overcome any temporary condition that may face us, either as individuals or collectively.

The second thing to remember in times of great upheaval is that God is our only source. If we are relying on retirement accounts or our job to provide our substance we are misled. If we are looking for our home or apartment for shelter, we are diminishing our Selves. If we are relying on our car for transportation, then we are lost. God, and only God, can provide the resources to carry us through the time of great turmoil. Divine Mother is the great Nurturer and no job, condo, or other material good can support our well-being like Divine Mother.

We all know that our Ego thinks that it is what keeps us safe and provides for our well-being. We all know this is false evidence appearing real. If we are willing to be still and know, then we can access the great peace, the peace that passes understanding as it is called in the Bible. Use your affirmations and your meditation and your breathing to open yourself to your inner guide. This inner knowing will never steer you wrong. This calm and stable presence is only a heartbeat away no matter where you are and no matter what is going on in the financial markets or in nature.

The insight for you today is to remember that with God everything is possible.

Oct 2008- Prosperity Thoughts part III

Prosperity Thoughts October 2008- part 3

Affirmation: Thank you Spirit, I am grateful for all that I have, all that I circulate and all that I am.

One of the beauties of New Thought is that there is little institutional dogma to contend with. In the area of prosperity, for example, each of us is free to make our own definition of “prosperity”. One person’s vision of prosperity might be to live in the country while another’s would be to live in a bustling college town. In healthy New Thought circles neither person would be judged for their choice or their preference.

However, one of the difficulties some people have in creating a prosperous life is finding a definition of prosperity that is sufficiently inclusive to fulfill all their needs. If they are defining prosperity in terms of money, then they often find themselves short of time or in poor health due to the long hours or hard work needed by most people to make lots of money. Some more artistic types define prosperity as the ability and freedom to create their own lives, but then find they are living at the subsistence level when it comes to material goods.

The point here then is not to try and intellectually develop the perfect definition of prosperity. Instead, I suggest that we use our present circumstances along with the innate definition we each have of prosperity as part of a spiritual feedback loop to help us evolve to ever more prosperous thinking and thus more prosperous living- as each of us alone understand our prosperity.

This process of fine tuning our understanding of prosperity requires rigorous self honesty because the world is reflecting back to us whatever it is that we are holding as prosperity. Your thinking alone will dictate your experience, just like my thinking alone will dictate my experience.

One very effective spiritual tool is to develop a practice of intentional and conscious gratitude for those small things that bring us joy and fulfillment each day. It is more powerful if we write these down in a gratitude log and extraordinarily powerful if we speak them aloud to those that help bring us our prosperity. Thus, when we write a check, we write, or think or say aloud “thank you” to the person or institution that gave us the goods or services we sought. When we receive our paycheck, we actually thank our boss for giving us a job. When we pay our taxes, we thank the government for all the services that are provided “freely”. When someone does us a small kindness we treat it as a blessing rather than take it for granted and think or write or say “Thank You”.

In doing this over time, we create a flow of gratitude for the good in our lives. Those things for which we are unwilling to be grateful then stand out more starkly. This helps us it at least two ways. It helps us into alignment so we become more consciously grateful or it motivates us to make shifts to change our circumstances so that we can feel more gratitude. Our innate definition of prosperity will become a more transparent gatekeeper as we endeavor to put this spiritual practice to good use.

Affirm with me now: Thank you Spirit, I am grateful for all that I have, all that I circulate and all that I am.