Today, for our May prosperity thoughts, we will look into the metaphysical meaning in the simple ditty “April Showers Bring May Flowers”.
On the surface, this rhyme describes a simple truism, that there is a cause and effect under Natural Law. This is perhaps most telling in the Mohave Desert, a very dry and often barren place that gets a few sprinkles of rain most years. These sparse drops of rain are sufficient to create an abundant display of wildflowers that is world famous. The wildflowers seem to sprout from nowhere in the desert sand and rocks. They bloom and die within a very short season at the lower elevations. They bloom and fade a little slower at the higher elevations, but by mid May the blooms are mostly gone.
Every half dozen years or so, the desert gets a splash of real rain. In those years the entire desert floor and hillsides are somehow covered with beautiful wildflowers. It is truly amazing that such abundance lies dormant year after year until a real rain comes.
This is exactly how it is in our life as well. We are always blooming but sometimes outside circumstances do not look glorious. Metaphorically, “blooming” infers growing and blossoming. When we look at this metaphysically then it would indicate the expansion of our consciousness. This process goes on to the degree we are open and receptive no matter what the weather report says. Rainy season, we are expanding our consciousness to thrive in the rain. Dry Season, we are growing consciousness too, to evolve more highly in apparent dryness.. Cold nights, hot nights, still days, windy days, bright and sunny days, cloudy and overcast days, we are growing in consciousness.
Here is then a key point; outside conditions do not hinder our spiritual evolution unless we allow those external conditions to impede our growth.
What is really going on for us is like the wildflowers in the Mohave Desert. We are blooming in springtime- and in human consciousness it is always springtime—yep, all the time. Yet, because of our egocentric expectations (which are often fueled by unconscious self hatred), we often feel like we are in a deep drought. In truth, we are in fact thriving in the natural flow of life. Unfortunately for our serenity, we cannot often see these dry spells as part of a larger cycle because we are focused on the temporary rather than the eternal.
A deeper awareness of our own spiritual process would lead us to realize that it is in these times of apparent drought that we actually grow the most. It is, for example, easy to be grateful when things seem to be going our way. It is often much more difficult for us to be grateful when things do not seem to be coming our way. So, in order to really learn to appreciate the little drops of joy that come into our awareness we need some dry spells.
Rather than understanding that spiritual growth in an inside job we tend to look at outward conditions and judge our growth by external benchmarks. Thus when we get some May showers, we get a burst of prosperity and selfishly conclude that is how it should be all the time. It follows then that we act like our life is in a drought the rest of the time. When we are not getting the results we crave, compared to those rare desert blooms that occur after the May showers, we often become dispirited.
Here is the second main point. There is a secret of many of those desert flowers. Due to the long dry months the flowers develop deep roots. Their roots are adapted to thrive where they are located and are almost like a carrot in shape. These roots are capable of storing lots of moisture that is efficiently wicked from the dry desert sand during the rainy season and then used sparingly in the long dry spells that follow. If it were not for those long dry spells, the plants would not grow these deep roots- rather they would grow wide and shallow roots during the rainy season. If that were the case, the desert plants would then die off during the dry season.
The roots on these desert flowers are exactly like our own soulful consciousness. If we grow and deepen our consciousness year round, especially during the dry seasons, then it will help us thrive in those times when we do not seem to be in the flow. And, when the flow arrives, we will be ready to burst on the scene in our radiant glory. The desert flowers are growing year round. They bloom in May, not just because of the spring showers, but mostly because they have been growing during the dry spell as well.
The springtime is the season for planting seeds. Let’s look at the metaphysics of this. Seeds are a metaphor for divine ideas, so when we talk of planting seeds metaphysically we are talking about investing in divine ideas.
Many New Thought teachers suggest that their students set an intention and then also establish a due date by when their divine idea is supposed to manifest into being. This is like planting a seed and then telling Mother Nature when it is supposed to sprout and blossom. I disagree with this approach because it looks to me like someone is suggesting that we can dictate to God when our good should arrive. If adopted, then this teaching leads to an expectation that is likely to result in disappointment and disillusionment.
Imagine someone wants to manifest a new job or a new relationship by a date certain. The only way this can occur is through the interplay of their consciousness and Divine Order or through self will. If it is through their consciousness, then they are committing to a path of self awareness that may or may not be in parallel with the timetable they set to manifest their good. If by self will, I am sure you can see that it is likely to be manifested only through force and not through ease and grace.
When we plant seeds in the garden, our job is to prepare the soil and provide water and choose a location with the right amount of sunlight and so forth. We thus create conditions for Mother Nature to do her work on her timetable. The seeds sprout and the buds bloom according to Divine Law and not on our timetable. So it is with Divine Ideas.
I have the lifetime dream to be a friend, mentor and confidant to both my children for their entire lives. This dream needs to be cultivated just like any garden. I call my kids, and return their calls with great intention. I spend quality time with them each year entering their world and doing things that enhance their lives and sense of well being.
What I want to point out, however, is that the seeds coming to fruition in this Divine Idea now were planted some decades ago, when my children were very young. There were many years in between where this dream of mine did not look like it would ever bear fruit. I could not dictate to my children and in fact to be a friend confidant and mentor, I needed to allow them to co create a relationship that worked for them.
Here is a recent example of a Divine Idea coming into bloom in its own time. When my children were very little, my ex wife and I divorced. Consequently, they spent a few days a week at my house and most of the time with their mom. When they would visit me, I would take them into the yard and have them look for new flowers that had bloomed or bulbs that had come up or whatever had changed in the garden. They loved finding new things in my garden and showing them to me. Then as they grew older they seemed to loose interest and finally when they were in their late teens they rarely came to my house to visit.
My daughter now lives a thousand miles away from me. She has her own condo and Debbie I recently went to help her plant a few flowers bordering on her patio. One would hardly call it a garden. We planted some bulbs as well and this spring they began to come up. My daughter was all excited and called to give me for daily up dates. (I would typically expect to hear from her perhaps once per month which was a substantial up grade from a long while of only hearing from her a few times a year). Then when they bloomed she would send me digital photos, of each color of flower blooming.
What is important here is that as far as I can tell, she does not remember at all when she was very little and would tramp around my garden when I had visitation. For her, this is all new and all her idea and all about her little patio garden. Only I know it is answered prayers for God’s guidance on a Divine Idea that took 20 years to bear fruit.
So my suggestion is to plant the seeds in soil well prepared and let Divine Mother manage the timing.
As Easter approaches, Christians and non Christians alike can benefit from remembering that everything which happened to Jesus factually -as reported in the Bible -applies metaphysically in our own lives. Here is an application of a portion of the Easter story that few teachers focus on.
First, for those who are not so versed in the details of the Bible, here is a quick summary of the last week or so of Jesus life. At this juncture, Jesus is at the height of his powers and has just raised Lazarus from the dead. Word spreads quickly and he now knows that he must come in from the hick towns and minister in the capital of all Judea, Jerusalem. When he arrives, he is treated to a hero’s welcome while at the same time, he knows his fame and power makes him a threat to both the Roman Empire as well as the Jewish Religious Establishment.
He has many followers including a dozen or more committed disciples. He knows he is facing a show down with the Jewish leadership (when he arrived in Jerusalem he went to the high temple and confronted the entrenched practices of the priests and temple officials for their corruption and dishonesty), and on a high holy holiday (Passover) he has a lovely banquet with his key followers. He knew then that he would have to surrender all the glory and power that he had amassed and so afterwards went to a nearby garden, Gethsemane, and prayed deeply for reassurance and peace.
He then was arrested and tried by the Jewish High Priests for blaspheme against God. Rather than defend himself, Jesus remained calm and assertive of the truth of his being. As part of the Passover tradition one criminal was to be freed, however the very crowd that had adored Jesus a few days earlier demanded the freedom of another petty criminal. Jesus then was brutally beaten, publicly ridiculed and hung on the crucifix to die a terrible death.
During this ordeal, all his formerly loyal disciples abandoned him and perhaps his favorite disciple, Judas, actively betrayed him. He was utterly alone. He refused a quick death or mind numbing drugs and died in great agony with two common criminals along side of him. At his moment of death he is utterly forlorn, asking “Why God have you forsaken me”?
I think that all of us can relate to this experience of thinking that we are on top of the world. Our life looks like everything is coming up roses, that we are truly masters of our universe, and then suddenly, it all turns to black. We loose everything we held dear, we feel alone and abandoned, our heart feels numb. Our whole body and soul ache desperately for any comfort or peace. We may not actually be crucified, but emotionally and physically we feel like we have been crucified. If we can relate to this experience in our own lives, then we can metaphysically apply the teachings hidden deep within the story of Jesus.
This Easter tale of Jesus does not stop with his crucifixion. After his death, he is buried in a tomb and after 3 days in the darkness, he is said to be reborn again. It is this interlude in the tomb that I want to expound upon this Easter. In the tomb, Jesus has fallen to the absolute low point and yet from this he resurrects into an even higher level of mastery. Metaphysically, this explains that we must let go of our attachment to our present level of mastery and go into the depth of the unknown as we prepare for the next phase. Let’s look at this a little closer.
Prior to being crucified, Jesus is betrayed by his closest comrade, Judas. He is abandoned by his disciples, rejected by his more general followers and vilified by his religious leaders. One the cross he even feels abandoned by God. Thus, in the tomb, there is no outside force upon which Jesus can rely. Thus, there is no political or religious power available to him. He is alone.
In the tomb Jesus has lost all physical power as well. It is pitch black, he cannot see anything. His bones and body are broken by the beating he took. His life force is depleted due to the crucifixion. Thus, he has no physical strength to rely on. The tomb is a small cave, there is no room to move or maneuver, he must lie there completely still in the darkness. It is on a remote hillside and a massive stone closes the opening. Even if he could call for help, no one could hear him or soothingly touch him or offer him any other medical assistance. Thus, while in the tomb, Jesus has nothing left; nothing physical or emotional or political.
Jesus has nothing except one remaining item: his consciousness. This represents a place of absolute surrender. For three days (which is not necessarily a real measurement of time anyway since we are looking at this in a metaphysical framework) Jesus is alone with his consciousness and his faith in it. There are no distractions and no other happy endings except what he can manifest through his own consciousness.
I mention faith, because just before Jesus enters Jerusalem he raised Lazarus from the dead. What if this was a dry run and not just an ordinary miracle? What if it was the basis for Jesus’ faith in his ability to master death so that when he was in the cave alone, with nothing, he still had the knowing that he could resurrect Lazarus and so perhaps he too could rise again? I do not know the answer to this, but I do wonder if lying in the tomb, alone with nothing, if there wasn’t a glimmer of hope for Jesus because he had done it before. Maybe not exactly the same, but close enough that even though he did not know how, his faith would pull him through this death experience into a re birth experience.
The Tibetans, as I understand it, believe that each loss and the grief we experience throughout our life, is but practice for the moment of death when we are faced with the ultimate sense of loss. They believe that if one can stay conscious at the moment of death, and surrender completely, then one can transcend the cycle of life, death and rebirth in this plane of existence and move into the next higher realm.
To my mind, we each are going to face some difficult or impossible losses on our spiritual path. We are going to face things that feel insurmountable. We are going to think they are impossible to bear- I know this because I have been right there and I know that many of you have been in your own version of this as well.
In terms of our prosperity, a partner we rely on is going to betray us, loyal customers are going to abandon us, and promising endeavors are going to turn to disasters. Everything that is not God is going to fail us, and in the face of that we are going to thing that God too has forsaken us.
In this moment, we can turn to the story of Jesus in the tomb. He had nothing but his consciousness, and that consciousness transformed in the three days so that he was able to resurrect. In the same fashion, as you know, the problems we face cannot be solved at the level of consciousness that created them. There must be transformation. The stillness and the darkness in the tomb represent this time for focused transformation. When it is complete, when we have mastered our past and surrendered our attachments, then we are ready for the next phase of the Easter story, the resurrection.
We have been looking at the concept of living with Ease and Grace. How this feels on the macro level (Like being in the Kingdom of Heaven) and how it feels in the context of being in the Divine Flow (Not like we would expect it to feel). Now we look more deeply at Ease and Grace itself.
Ease and Grace is about the balance of energy. When that which Flows In matches up with our needs, it feels like abundance. When that which flows out is greater than what we perceive as flowing in, we experience that as loss. When that which flows in is not perceived as meeting our needs, then we experience that as scarcity. So, to fully comprehend Ease and Grace, we need to understand Balance.
On an energetic level, money is worthwhile only because other people are willing to trade their time and talent for it. Money has no intrinsic value in and of itself. Confederate Banknotes towards the end of the Civil War were worthless. German Deutschmarks were inflating so fast after the First World a War that people carried them in wheelbarrows so they could buy a loaf of bread. Thus, in order for us to operate with Ease and Grace, we must optimize our personal balance between money, time, talent and energy.
Ease and Grace involves an understanding that that I have gifts to share, and that in sharing them, the Law of Circulation provides that I will have the resources to meet my needs. This works provided my consciousness is not tipping the process out of balance. Thus if I invest my time and talent (creativity and skill and wisdom) in a way that is aligned with my overall value structure, then the Universe will successfully provide me with the opportunity to generate all that I need. What I do with the opportunity will determine how much stress I invite into my life or how much time I gratefully spend living in the Land of Milk and Honey.
If we are under earning for example, then we are trading our time and talent for less than full value. Living and working from this posture leaves us tired (if not exhausted), unfulfilled (if not depleted) and creatively stifled (if not suffocated). The reason we would choose this experience is deeply embedded in our consciousness. For me, it was tied to my sense of self worth, or more accurately my sense that I did not have any self worth. In this circumstance, no amount of material goods would compensate for the deep seeded issue underlying my under earning until the issue itself had been healed. To find a path of Ease and Grace, I thus had to be willing to do the hard work of examining my actions in any area when I did not feel fairly (or handsomely) compensated.
If we are now consciously expending our resources in a manner that is congruent with both our values and our desires, we are out of balance. This often shows up as being in debt. Energetically we are not living in Ease and Grace and the stress of meeting our current needs as well as paying off the debt (being out of balance) will wear on us. The remedy is to be fully aware of our choices around how we spend our money.
Penny Pinching is another symptom of not living from Ease and Grace. It involves over valuing money and undervaluing time and energy. This leads to exhaustion. One personal example is that I was recently shopping for paper plates for our hospitality on Sunday. The first place I went seemed to be too expensive and so I went to another store. They did not have the type I wanted and so I went to yet another store. The paper plates were the same price as the first place, which still seemed too high for me. (We are talking about something like $2.50 for 50 plates). In the end, I went to 5 stores to buy 50 paper plates for $1.99. Thus, I was willing to trade hours of my time for a 51 cents savings for the church. Trust me, this thinking will never lead to Ease and Grace.
One of the most common inhibitors from us living more fully in the Kingdom of Heaven is when we take on the work of rescuing others from the consequences of their decisions. In these situations, we are then not only expending our energy in doing that which is ours to do, we are also doing that which is truly someone else’s to do. Far from being rescuing them, this inevitably leads to exploitation or resentment for the other person not carrying their share of their own load.
Having someone take care of us in this fashion may feel like the Kingdom of Heave for a short while. But over time it dis-empowers us and we develop a dependency that quickly weakens us. We cannot find that level of profound contribution which is so satisfying when we are continually trying to get someone to do what in our hearts and souls we know is our to do.
In a similar fashion, Ease and Grace are never available when we continually try to take more than we give. In the very short run it may feel like we have gotten over on the Universe when we do not offer our fair share. However, the Law of Karma operates perfectly and in the end we are diminished when we try and take advantage of the generosity of others. Speaking from my own experience, we soon begin to feel shame surfacing and the temporary sense of smugness disappear.
Living in Ease and Grace is finding the balance on what is ours to do and what is ours to have done. There are often things that we are not easily capable of doing or that we do not enjoy doing. There are things that are confusing to us or outside the area of our expertise. In these situations it is invaluable for us to see Ease and Grace operate to find a balance between what is ours to do and what is not ours to do. It is the mark of a sage that knows the tradeoff in expending our time, talent and energy in creating that which is truly ours to do, (and being rewarded with money), while also knowing that some other soul is eager to trade their time, talent and energy to help us with those things that are not really ours to do. (while they too are being rewarded with money). Getting our car repaired might be a good mundane example. For those of us reading this that don’t see ourselves as mechanically inclined we could spend many frustrating hours trying to do simple car repairs that would leave us feeling anything but like we are living in the Kingdom of Heaven. For others, perhaps it is housework or doing taxes. Whatever the onerous job that we seek to avoid, someone in the Universe feels is their life calling (or furthers their life’s calling) and Ease and Grace allows us to have energy flow from us to them and back again to get both of our needs met perfectly and smoothly.
In this post, I want to clear up some common misperceptions about how it feels to be in the Divine Flow. As we noted in an earlier post, the quantity of Ease and Grace we experience in our lives is directly related to our ability to live in the Divine Flow.
The Divine Flow is a current of energy that is organized by an intelligence that correlates your intentions with those of everyone around you while at the same time perfectly executing the Law of Karma (the Law of Circulation). Simultaneously it co creates a world that meets all of your deepest needs on time and abundantly and as well as fulfills your life purpose on a Soul level. This level of multitasking and sophistication confounds the human ego while it is also trying to predict and control and manage our lives. When these two forces are aligned it is the Kingdom of Heaven, when they are in total conflict, it feels and looks like Hell. Most of us live somewhere between and this feels like life like a life of quiet desperation. A contemporary bumper sticker reflects this struggle with the phrase “Life’s a Bitch and then you Die.”
People that are not aware of the nature of the Divine Flow often take actions that pull them out of the Divine Flow and put them into a stretch of life that looks like raging rapids or tumultuous water. Some people end up exhausted because they are actually rowing as hard as they can against their Divine Flow without evening knowing it. Others feel abandoned by God because they cannot find the flow, while they are paddling to stay in a side channel eddy or anchored in permanently in their Soul’s backwater.
The most important thing to remember about the Divine Flow is that it almost never looks or feels like you believe it is supposed to look and feel. It rarely feels the same way twice. The best practice for you then is to think like a river rafting guide in the spring. No matter how well you think you know the Divine Flow, check out the river after the stormy winter before taking your first run of the season. Talk with others that have run that stretch of water before. (Build a relationship with a minister/spiritual director). Take an exploratory trip with some senior guides skilled in whitewater rescue. (Have a spiritual community and support group). When you are in the slow season, read some guide books and keep in shape so that when you hit the Big Water, you are not overwhelmed. (Keep up with your daily spiritual practices).
At any given time, Divine Flow can feel like one of the following. By the way, keep in mind, sometimes one area of our life will feel one way and other areas will feel another way.
Circle or Dead Loop. If you are covering the same ground over and over again, obsessing about the same problems, holding onto the same hurt feelings, reacting to the same pattern of fears then you are in a dead loop. Best practice would be to change your thinking and the best way to do that is to choose a tough instructor and pray for a quick breakthrough.
Pulse. This is commonly stated as “two steps forward, one step back”. The Divine Flow feels like Divine Fits and Starts. Your good seems to come in small bits with long lulls of stagnation between surges of blessing. This is sometimes a signal of your own powerful resistance to your good, but conversely can also be 2nd force arising up to test the quality of your intentions for transformation. If the lulls are long, then it is most likely resistance, if the steps back feel sharp and intense then it is likely that you are experiencing second force.
Wave. Divine Flow can be experienced as a wave. This is characterized with a fair amount of up and down movement coupled with an increment of forward movement. This is a very normal process of allowing time to integrate changes and to prepare for the next surge. If the waves are large ups followed by large downs then the key skill to acquire is to relax and stay calm at both ends of the wave cycle. If the waves are very small and repetitious then you might look to see if you are deadening your experience.
Turbo Flow. This feels like an exponential curve where you look back and cannot believe the progress you have made. Your good keeps appearing in greater and greater measure as you keep saying yes without knowing how you are going to manage all of the abundance. One helpful key here is to remain humble, this too shall pass. If you want Turbo Flow to continue I suggest being grateful, give back to all those that have helped you generously and remain courageous.
Crash and Burn. This feels exactly what it sounds like. It signifies that you were committed to a wrong track and were ignoring signals (intuitions) to make changes and so in order for your good to arrive, you needed to let go completely of whatever you were overly attached to ( addicted to) that was less than your highest good. There is no “wrong track” spiritually, but if you set an intention and hold to it using tactics that are not aligned with the intention then sooner or later you will crash and burn. The good comes when you set an intention and then adopt tactics that will allow the intention to manifest.
Chaos. Chaos is experienced when nothing makes sense, nothing feels congruent, and too much is happening at once for you to easily manage but at the same time you do not quit on your good. When the Divine Flow feels chaotic it often means that you are in the midst of major greatness flowing your way while major good is still present. On the other hand, it can indicate that you are ambivalent about your good and keep canceling out your opportunities.
Brick Wall. This is what crash in burn will feel like a few cycles before the actual crash and burn. It is when you are still determined that your good must come to you in a certain fashion or though a certain channel when Spirit has other plans. This also could be, or course, what it feels like when 2nd force is melting and you are tempted to quit just before the miracle. A skilled veteran coach is essential here to help you determine how to move forward from this point.
Glacier. It feels much bigger than anything you can control or withstand. This is a force that will not quit. When Divine Flow is pushing like a glacier it is often painful, it continues to grind and propel all that is in front of it forward. It will methodically scour everything out of its way, but slowly and painfully. When Divine Flow is pulling from Glacier mode it is like a magnetic draw that keeps you headed for your good (a giant tractor beam from Star Trek that will not let go).
Dark Night of the Soul. This is when you wish that you had just merely crashed and burnt. This is being in the crucible. It feels dark, and alone and eternally separate from the flow of good. Mystics say this is a great place because Spirit never gives us more than we can truly handle. Suicide Prevention counselors wonder about that. You need help here and the willingness to ask for and receive help if very far away for most of us in our Dark Night of the Soul.
There are of course an infinite number of variations on how Divine Flow shows up. Each one of us must at some level navigate this dynamic energy field in our lives. Just remember that Divine Flow is dynamic, it is always changing. It is always present and it is rarely going to show up in the fashion we think it should.
Wouldn’t you be pleased if there was more Ease and Grace in your life? If there were fewer struggles and less stress in your day to day experience wouldn’t then there be ample room for more bliss and tenderness? How would you like it if your life got easier? These are the questions many people seek answers to in times of turmoil.
Ease and Grace are usually the resultant experiences we have when we are in the Divine Flow. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is available from within, and to my way of understanding the Kingdom of Heaven feels just like Ease and Grace. So, if we want Ease and Grace, if we seek the Kingdom of Heaven then we just need to find the Divine Flow.
The Divine Flow is an energetic field that is systematically and intelligently organized to bring us our good. In order to tap into the Divine Flow we first need to deeply understand the concept of “our good.” Our highest good always includes the highest good of all concerned. Whenever we operate from the fear that there is some sort of competition for our good or think that someone else’s gain is our loss, or that someone or something is against us, then we have utterly crimped our ability to experience life as Ease and Grace. Jealously, envy or trying to show up someone else are sure signs that we are in the struggle rather than in the Flow.
Another challenge is that some of us have been conditioned to think that the Universal Flow of our good always feels good. This is manifestly inaccurate and resisting this Truth often inhibits the flow of good into our lives. The Universe is always aiming at our highest and best long term good and when we want to settle for mediocre short term good we experience conflict, fear and discord. In the face of the Universe bringing to us our highest good we need to surrender deeply our judgment of how it should feel.
Flow means Flow, which means that we must let go to be in the flow of Divine Good. When we latch on to something that we think is our good, and want to hold on to it because we are sure it is our good, it is likely that we are inviting suffering into our lives. All things must pass, they come and go, and to the extent we get overly attached to things we create an environment that leads to suffering. This is the great teaching of the Buddha.
Thus, Ease and Grace requires a subtle surrender and detachment from all things that are not permanent. In our culture we tend to attach meaning to things that are not intrinsically valuable. Our jobs, our money and cars and homes and vacation time shares should be held very lightly if we want to live in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The other aspect about the Divine Flow feeling good is that our highest good is often about our Soul’s evolution. Our Ego self wants to be secure and safe, to be right and to look good. About the time that our Ego thinks we have it made, our Soul is looking out for a new experience and if we hold on to the present and resist our destiny (dharma is a better word for this) then we are signing up for pain and suffering. In order to remain in the Divine Flow then a good practice is to remain very humble and open to loving what is unfolding in our lives.
The Universe is organized to bring us our good. It is amazingly responsive to our yearnings. For example, just about everything that we have now did not exist 100 years ago. Think of all the women washing dishes by the sink who were yearning for a machine to automatically clean the dishes. That yearning led to the manifestation of the Divine Idea of a dishwasher, which is now commonplace in every new home and apartment built.
Unfortunately for those of us that want to live in Ease and Grace, Madison Avenue discovered this correlation between our yearnings and our sense of well-being and has been manipulating us ever since. For example, people wanted personal credit (which did not exist 50 years ago) so they could have things now and pay for them later. Consequently, credit cards were invented. The problem is however, that our personal consciousness does not always evolve at the same rate as our social technology and so we get into a jam when we want things and more things and then more things on top of that. This confusion about what is truly ours to have vs. the things that we stubbornly demand is born out of a materialist mind set promulgated by Madison Avenue marketers to sell their products. Expecting the Universe to meet our every demand on this basis is childish.
To enter the Kingdom of Heaven then we need enough spiritual maturity to discern the difference between a need and an obsession. What is something that serves life and allows us more freedom to do what we are called to this planet to accomplish then that which we are yearning for might show up as a need. (Needs in this context are not just bare survival needs). If the product or service that we are wanting is motivated by a desire to look good, to be right or to please another person, then it is more likely than not laced with materialistic values rather than life enhancing wonderment. When we are striving to acquire things that do not truly enhance our life we end up depleted or in debt.
Many spiritual traditions of both the East and the West renounce possessions to avoid this very trap. Unfortunately, possessions are not the barrier to a life of Ease and Grace. In New Thought we have no resistance to Truth Students seeking nice things, so long as they are aware of the risk of excessive attachment to them and the impact that attachment will have on our entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
The question “Where can you reliably turn for economic security in times of financial turmoil?” is on the minds of a lot of people these days. I have some thoughts that might be helpful.
First, the ultimate point is that the source of freedom from economic insecurity is God.
Some people think that their job or their wages is their source of security. I read today that 1/10th of all workers in California are presently out of work. In the greater New York City area approximately 100,000 MBA types that used to earn over $100,000 per year have been laid off in the past few months. Construction workers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers as well as thousands of other professionals are being laid off or are functionally unemployed. Jobs are inherently insecure.
Some people rely on their home for security. They thought that the equity in their home would always be there as a nest egg. Ha! Home values have dropped over 20 % in the past year. In some places they have dropped much more. In many markets the backlog of homes for sales is two years or more, so the only people that can even sell their homes are doing so at a deep discount. Real estate does not offer security any longer.
Stock Indexes and many investment accounts are down 20% in just the past month. Many once blue chip stocks have lost nearly all their value. GM is on the verge of bankruptcy, Citicorp shares are selling for under a dollar each. The great investment genius of our lifetime, Warren Buffett has lost multiple billions of dollars this past year. Hedge Funds and private equity funds have been hammered in the past year. Even money market type accounts, supposedly the safest of the safe have been wiped out. There have been two reported frauds in money market type investments where the outright losses appear to be in excess of $50 billion. Investments are inherently risky.
Given the massive deficit in the US, there is no doubt that dollars are going to suffer significant inflation in the next few years. The value of commodities has gyrated all over the place. Oil is way down after reaching historic highs just last summer. Gold, Silver and Platinum are up and down and risky. Cotton was at an all time low and then is now gone way up in price.
Retirement programs are also insecure. Private Annuities and Pension programs have lost 33% and more in their value this past year as the stock markets have tanked. The entire Social Security program is terribly underfunded. The State and local PERS programs have lost billions in the stock crash and were underfunded to begin with so they now face a horrific shortfall. All those government workers that think they have a sure thing are likely to find out that the tax payers just cannot earn enough to cover the costs of those pensions. Voters are fickle.
In the face of all this upset, many people are turning to politics and government to bail them out. Governments however do not create wealth, they redistribute it. Those in favor today will be out of favor in a few years and anyone who relies on the promises of a politician for their security has never studied history. Politicians that can be replied on are few and far between. Honest people rarely run for political office- much less get elected in the climate of corruption that exists in political circles these days. Both parties have proven over and over again that they put their own interest over that of the citizens that vote for them.
On the macro scale Empires have risen and fallen. None offer any sort of permanence. In fact history shows over and over again that about the time the citizens begin to rely on their government to provide for their security, is about the time when an empire begins its steep decline.
Now, there is hope. I do mean to provide an uplifting message here, so let’s turn away from what does not work and look at where we can get results.
God is eternal. Spiritual Law is Universal and everlasting. If you are looking for economic predictability then we know there only one place where you can be assured of results. That is to invest in Spirit.
I can assure you that if you invest your security in Spirit, your security is promised. Anyone who has invested in the stock market has a strategy. Every one that got an education had a plan. Each person with a career followed some sort of path. The same is true for spiritual investment, you need an approach. Here is a proven and systematic approach that works and has always worked.
There are four straightforward steps to systematically transform your life approach away from the fantasy of material security.
First, become aware of all the lack thinking that you engage in. Notice when you think you do not have enough time to do that which is yours to do or enough money to enjoy the things that really matter to you. Become aware of when you feel harried and exhausted. Pay attention when you feel drained or depleted.It is essential to your connection to the inexhaustible source to eliminate the lack thinking that prevents you from finding the infinite flow of good in your life. If we focus on the world being a place of deprivation and impoverishment, for sure that is what we will experience. (I know I mentioned some of this above, this was to help folks see where they might be holding onto ideas that are not spiritually sound.)
In order to do this, it is very helpful to continually recall that we are children of the Divine. That which created us, created the entire universe. The universe is orderly and there are laws that govern its behavior. Likewise there are key Spiritual Truths that have been known to mystics and sages throughout recorded time. We know these Spiritual Principles as well. In times of transformation it is a good idea to be clear on what these laws are and which we believe and which we resist. So, take the time to organize what you actually think about prosperity and compare it to what you “know” about prosperity in terms of Truth Teachings. (We as a church are undergoing this process now as we get in touch with our core values surrounding prosperity.)
The third step is then to be open to new ideas. There are several components to this, and to change our thinking is to change our life. If we want transformation then we need to be willing to make some shifts in both our thinking and in our behavior. Sometimes we change a behavior to help our thinking get realigned with Truth. Other times we have to change our thinking and surrender our behavior, knowing that in the end our behavior will align with our most deeply held belief.
One of the essential keys here is to be open to Divine Ideas. These are the great Gifts that lead us to our good. There is an infinite supply of great ideas available to us. It is the purview of our ego to be right, look good and keep us safe. The ego likes to plan for our future and organize our life. On the other hand, our Higher Power is an infinitely better organizing intelligence which resides in us at all times. It can correlate things that our ego cannot even conceive of. Thus our path to prosperity is to be open to these Divine Ideas and not allow our egoic thinking- which is inherently short sighted – to run (or ruin) our life.
These Divine Ideas will run up against your thinking that says that you are not smart enough to successfully implement the Divine Idea. You will think that you do not have the experience, the resources, the intelligence, the time, and numerous other lack based excuses to manifest your Gift. Anytime that you make a decision to reject a Divine Idea based on the belief that you do not have enough money, then you are then investing in lack consciousness. Lack begets lack so please beware that you are investing in a fantasy when you operate from this perspective.
Here is another aspect of being open to new ideas. There is only one surefire and bankable way to know that you are opening yourself up to Divine Ideas and that is to tithe. When you tithe (which is to joyously give to those that spiritually nourish you with a sense of gratitude for the gifts you have been given) then you are demonstrating to your mind and to your ego that you do have enough. It is impossible to tithe from a place of sustained lack thinking. As you tithe, you will be reminding yourself each week to look for the Divine Ideas flowing your way. When they arrive you will be receptive because in your heart you know that tithing creates a flow. You give, but you cannot out give God. And thus, as you tithe, you must be willing to receive. The abundance that you receive tends to come in the form of Divine Ideas, authentic and supportive relationships and in opportunities to joyfully make difference in people’s lives. To the extent that you serve life, and joyously serve life, you will experience prosperity.
The fourth stage or step in this transformational dynamic is to courageously step out in those matters of finance which we feel called to undertake. It means we will spend our money consciously, in an organized fashion (rather than reactively or compulsively) to bring about a sense of good into our lives. It means that we will expand our horizons fearlessly as we find our right livelihood (that which brings us meaning while serving others). It means we will be supportive of the success of others knowing that their good does not take away from ours. A measure of discernment is helpful here, so this is where spiritual guidance or mentorship can leverage our good. Some so called Great Ideas are really a Brain Fart.
Thus, one new concept I had to learn early on my spiritual path was to tell the difference between a spiritual calling and ego driven behavior. Getting good guidance from those more fully attuned to the ways of Spirit was an extraordinary blessing to me in learning how to make this distinction.
So, here it is; the simple and straightforward path to freedom from economic insecurity. Simple is not always easy, and straightforward does not always mean that you can see the way, but I promise you that you will find a life of ease and grace as you master these principles.
