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1.
There is never enough money or prosperity to create abundance
Western society is addicted to money. It confuses standard of living
with real quality of life. And in its constant struggle to achieve growth
and accumulate more, it shuts itself off from the abundance of resources
we actually have. As long as you're focused on money, your capacity
to enter abundance is limited.
2.
Money has no importance in itself, only in terms of our reactions to
it
Money does have a role to play, but not as a measure of success or an
end in itself. It is a gloriously rich and hilarity-provoking tool for
working with trust and self-esteem. Your attitude to money, whether
you love it, hate it, resist it, treat it with disdain or discomfort,
hoard it, use it to make insidious comparisons ... or let it flow freely
through your life speaks volumes about your level of trust, self-esteem
and human maturity.
3.
Worry blocks energy
Worry is the most monumental waste of time and energy ever invented.
It creates nothing except ulcers and other things to worry about. And
it takes the joy out of everything. Stop worrying! It opens up a channel
in you through which abundance can flow.
4.
Money is only of value if you value nothing else
What really matters in life is coming into relationship with your self
and with others, sharing, learning and growing, stepping into your potential
and feeling wonderful whatever your own context. These things are worth
valuing. Money is just a distraction. A certain amount is of course
useful, but obtaining that assumes a wholly disproportionate place in
our lives.
5.
The old laws affirm lack and separation: the new lawsaffirm connection
with abundance
The old laws said that unless you work hard, get to the top and make
a lot of money, life will be difficult. They constantly stress that
there is not enough to go around and that you have to fight against
others. What a waste of a life! How much better to connect with the
enormous potential that lives within you and allow it to flow abundantly,
like releasing the energy trapped in a lump of coal.
6.
The discomfort of undergoing change is nothing compared to the pain
of resisting it!
Even when you know change is overdue, you may resist, reluctant to get
it wrong, attached to what seems secure. This holds you back. The conflict
between how you really want to be and what you're used to can be agoniz-ing.
Once you decide to change and open yourself to possibility, once you
step off the apparent cliff, the pain of resistance can gradually be
reduced. It is still scary, and part of you hankers after the 'fur-lined
mousetrap', but slowly fear gives way to excitement.
7.
We create our own reality, because we control where we direct our consciousness
If I am not running my life and creating its reality, who is? And why
do they have this power and I don't? We always have a choice - what
we believe, how we react, how we perceive things. And we have 100% responsibility
for all this and the consequences. Setting a goal that results in disappointment
is just one of the choices you make. We always get what we put out for,
or a lesson about what we put out for ... and our escape mechanisms
are not always perfect!
8.
Right energy means committing yourself and then letting go
It is not enough just to be open to the forces of the universe or natural
law. Nor is it enough just to put everything you've got into it and
exhibit powerful commitment. You need both. You need inspiring vision
matched to the need of your environment, clearly stated with total commitment.
At the same time, you must release all attachment to the result. Attachment
is ego, seeking validation from outside to repair its insecurity inside.
It takes massive energy to achieve an ego goal and there is little joy
in it. When the energy in you is right, abundance flows through you.
Let go. Let God.
9.
Abundance contains lack
It can be very difficult to discover abundance when you're surrounded
by things! Debt and deprivation is a much easier place because there
are fewer superficial distractions. The main lessons are acceptance,
gratitude, release, openness. Lack is at least as good a place as any
other to learn these lessons and discover the meaning of abundance -
feeling wonderful regardless of outer circumstances.
10.
The measure of success is not money, but learning
Fulfilment is a journey towards wholeness, acknowledging what we already
have and not stopping at that but pressing on to explore all of ourselves.
How much we accumulate says nothing about how much we have learnt or
whether we have grown and realised our potential. It is a distraction,
a game invented by people who live in fear of self.
11.
Work is a place we each create in order to grow
The main place we can do this learning and growing is our work. This
is what it is for. This is why we have created it. So if your work is
not a place of personal growth, leave! Life is for living.
12.
Wherever you are is a good place to start
It's all too easy to say "Well, okay, next year ... when I've moved
home ... when the children are older ...when I'm earning £30,000
... when I've got my degree ... when pigs fly ... when I'm dead."
Here, now, with whoever is there, without delay is the best place to
start being you and being abundant. Please don't waste any more time.
©
2002 Andrew Ferguson
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Andrew
Ferguson is
the author of LifeShift: Doing The Dream, which guides you
round whatever interferes with choosing the life you really want and
names the challenges to be overcome at each new phase of your life;
Your LifeShift Manual & Workbook - a complete course for
creating a successful career; and a third book (which is now out of
print) from which the above article, 12 Keys to Abundance,
is a summary. 