posted February 26, 2006 03:00 PM         

However, I can see that my relationship with money and materialism is slightly off kilter and I have a real problem wanting and feeling as though I deserve better things and a more comfortable life. Im not entirely sure that it is healthy. I want to have a slightly better lifestyle, live in a nicer area and look after my home and possessions a bit better but I have this inherent disregard and tend not to be able to view the value of things. I dont want to nor do I ever see myself as turning into someone who needs to collect goods around themselves and sees those things as an extension of themselves. However, I really need to improve my living conditions and have created this 'guilt' mentality around the whole issue.

This has been developing over some years now. Does anyone have any mediatations or books, advice anything that can help me start my inner work to untangle this particularly gnarled growth. Its going to take some time to undo and the work lies with me but any starters will help.

posted March 01, 2006 05:57 PM         

First start calling it "Prosperity Consciousness"

Being raised Catholic I had (still have but getting better) this idea that not having stuff was a virtue. Yet, look at all the diferent pink flowers that exist in this world, look at the abundance of nature and recognize that God has given us so much - we should enjoy.

There is a balance to prosperity that one learns in time. For many years I frowned on people who boasted manifestation and prosperity and having stuff - I was thinking that their focus was on stuff and not spirituality. That may be the case or not. I have learned that prosperity/ money is having WHAT YOU NEED TO DO YOUR LIFE'S WORK for now. One person at my church is extremely wealthy. She dresses great, wears incredible clothes, car, houses, etc. She is a business women who needs this stuff to be influential in society in order to create great wealth and provide education for other people. She donates ridiculous amounts of money. I personally do not need all that stuff to do what I'm meant to do ( or maybe I need some)

Prosperity isn't just about money - It's having love, frienship, peace of mind, and whatever you need.

Financial prosperity isn't about hoarding either. I've learned that hoarding or being tight with money really is not being spiritual. It's the attitude that God is not the source of your good and that God is not loving and keeps good things intentionally from you, or if something bad happens God will not be there for guidance. That's not true.Your job, society, etc. are not the source of your good. Having an attitude of properity is really a spiritual attribute. It's about the flow of money from one person to the next. What you give eventually comes back.

posted March 04, 2006 03:01 AM         

I am from a third world country too and it took me many years to realize that we get what we focus on. Focus on waelth, you attracte wealth. Share wealth, you attract wealth. Chase wealth, you may or may not get wealth.

But criticize the wealthy or rich or glorify the poor or focus on poverty and...

I used to judge/condemn the oil rich sheikhs as filthy b****** who looted their people's oil and splurged on golden palaces and so on. I did not get any richer but King Fahd increased his wealth by a few billion pounds even as milliosn were criticizing him.