part0006

Money is probably one of the first social constructs we come into contact with as young children. A “construct” is a conceptual idea that is based on theory, and not based on something physical or observable. Therefore, we can say that “love” is a construct, as there is no way we can physically observe or measure an object called love. Similarly, many have argued that much of our beliefs today are social constructs or conventions, with no real objective standards on why they should be that way. In many ways, the whole concept of money as a “medium of exchange” is just that: A game all of us on this Earth have chosen to partake in and play. Suppose for whatever reason, everyone on this planet decides to stop playing the “money as a medium of exchange” game, in which money is used to exchange for various goods and services on the marketplace. Instead, we decide to simply return to the old barter economy, giving away our goods and services for free, and expecting others to do so. In an instant, money would lose its value in our society and no one would want pieces of paper with faces of dead people printed on it… even if you shoved it right down their faces! Suddenly, being a “millionaire” doesn’t seem that desirable or glamorous anymore… and we would suddenly lose our respect for people who have millions of dollars to their name. Isn’t it strange how a small shift in perception can cause a huge shift in external results?

As such, it always helps to recognize that this whole money affair is one big game we are all playing and have chosen to play. Our parents have chosen to play in this economy, so have our grandparents and their parents. It is beyond the scope of this book to examine how this game came into being, or how money became such a centralized and universally recognized medium of exchange… but this is what we have at the moment and what is probably going to be here to stay for quite a while. Therefore, anyone who lives on this planet at this time has two options. The first is to learn how to play this game well in a fun and enjoyable manner. The second, as some individuals have chosen to do, is to withdraw from the game completely by renouncing all material wants, and following certain esoteric or religious traditions that have absolutely nothing to do with money.

I see the second option as rather extreme because it is extremely difficult for the average person to just have nothing to do with money. Even religious organizations in our times have had to organize fund-raising activities and attract wealthy donors in order to stay afloat, for they too have bills to pay. If you live in a modern society, you’ll find it very difficult to function without money because so much of our life is tied to it. You need money for almost everything - from your daily food and shelter, to paying for your mobile phone and Internet connection, which is a great source of enjoyment for many. Therefore, I do not see the second option as a complete solution to the problem, because running away from it all often does not solve the problem in the first place.

Now for those who have chosen to remain in the game, the question that naturally follows is this: How can we learn to play it in a fun and enjoyable manner? This is a question which the hidden rich have answered masterfully for themselves. They have found a way to play the money game while enriching others, and having great fun in the process. But for every one of the hidden rich, there are many others who have not been successful at playing the money game and have come to see money as the ultimate struggle in life.

Wherever you currently are in the money game, do not be discouraged because this is one game that did not come with a rules book! We were not given a book of rules to adhere to, and thus many of the rules have to be discovered by ourselves through the process of playing the game. It does not help that money is one of the first social constructs we come into contact with as children. I am often surprised when interacting with very young children how much they “know” about money! I don’t mean that as a compliment, because invariably we will be talking and they would ask questions like, “How much does that cost?” or “That is too expensive, I (we) don’t have enough money to buy that.”

Now who do you think gave these children the concepts of money and scarcity? Who do you think taught them that there is not enough money for doing this or that, or buying this or that in their lives? The answer is of course their parents and those around them! Suppose that a child wishes to go watch the circus that is traveling through town. To the child, the circus is an extremely fun and exciting affair filled with jugglers, clowns, performers, acrobats and all sorts of sights and sounds. The child may have heard about the performance through television, his / her schoolmates or even the Internet. Naturally the child is excited and wishes to go, so he asks his parents. Now what do you think most parents will say, “Sounds like a good idea, but we don’t have the money for that.” Or the well-meaning parent might say, “The tickets are expensive and we cannot afford it.”

Let’s stop and analyze what just happened here, for there is an important lesson for all of us. I have mentioned in my books that children are often closest to the divine, for they have not yet received much of the negative conditioning which we receive as adults. Therefore, a child often acts on impulse and is drawn to new and beautiful things. A child is often concerned with creative self-expression, and experiencing new and joyous things in life. When a child sees the advertisement for a traveling circus, he or she naturally wants to go and feels like going because it feels like the most natural thing in the world! He is attracted by this higher calling of self-expression, of fulfilling one’s curiosity and of learning new things. The divine is calling out to him, just like the Universe is always calling out to us! Acting on this impulse, the child goes excitedly and asks his parents whether they can go. Now the well-meaning parents, not wanting to disappoint the child, explain that they simply do not have enough money for the tickets. This scenario happens not just once for the child, but possibly many times throughout his childhood years until finally, a child learns to see “money” or the lack of money as a physical limitation imposed on his self-expression. Little wonder we feel so curtailed by the lack of money in our adulthood, because we have come to associate our sense of physical freedom so strongly with it!

If you’re currently a parent, one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to help them see that their physical freedom and self-expression is in no way limited by the presence or absence of money. Suppose that your child comes up to you and asks to go to the circus or some other expensive performance. Instead of the usual “we cannot afford the tickets”, what is a better answer you can give your child? How about: “Let’s see how we can put together the money needed to buy the tickets!” Now that opens up a whole new world of possibilities and involves your child in the whole process! They’ll be thrilled and excited to take part in your adventure. And trust me, they will not perceive having to put together the money as “work.” Your response opens up an avenue for discussion, where you can sit down with your children and show them how certain unnecessary expenditure can be reduced, and how that money can go towards purchasing the tickets. Another way might be to ask them what attracted them to the performance in the first place. You may often be surprised by their answers. I know of a young boy who wanted to see the world-famous Cavalia show featuring live horses, but he was really driven by his love of horses and animals in general. A trip to the local zoo or stable would have been a much more enjoyable and memorable experience for him, at a fraction of the cost! Therefore, the next time your children bring up any of these requests, try to find out what they are really after and then help them find a way to express themselves creatively and artistically. You’ll be surprised when you engage in this exercise at how little money has to do with everything, and how much our perception has to do with everything! This is the greatest gift you can give your children and those around you — the gift of prosperity consciousness.

Therefore, when many teachers talk about having a “prosperity consciousness”, they are not really talking about believing that you deserve it, or believing that you can be rich and abundant. All of that is new-age mumbo jumbo that has been taken too far by the whole positive-thinking culture. A “prosperity consciousness” is a far simpler idea than that. It starts with finding new ways to express yourself and to enjoy your life to the fullest, by taking money out of the equation. If you are able to take money out of the picture and start focusing on living your highest good, then all the money you need will come to you and more. Stay with me for a moment if this sounds abstract to you. Suppose that your parents somehow read this chapter and started showing you new ways and new possibilities each time you approached them for something. Suppose that they never told you that money was scarce, and never rejected you just because they had not enough money for something you wanted. Instead, they always worked with you to explore other possibilities and avenues. Do you think you would have grown up with a lack consciousness, constantly believing that money is “not enough” and we have to work hard to earn it? Absolutely not! A child that grows up in an environment of possibilities and prosperity consciousness would have a completely different idea of reality from a child who has constantly been reinforced with the idea of lack consciousness. Therefore, whatever concepts or notions you have grown up with can be changed in an instant. The first step to changing your beliefs about money is to recognize that these old beliefs about money no longer serve you, although your parents were well-meaning and only wanted the best for you. They were doing the best they could.

I am able to write this book and recognize all of this today precisely because my parents (just like many others) belonged to the “not-enough-money” camp. So in a way I am grateful that I had to first unlearn all of that conditioning that was passed on to me, and then relearn all these new concepts about prosperity and abundance. It is the same for you too. Now that you recognize the cause and sources of your limiting beliefs about money, you too can make a conscious decision to unlearn them and relearn new beliefs that serve you better. There is nothing stopping you from giving up those old negative and limiting beliefs at any time except yourself. Therefore, do not fall prey to the mistaken belief that one is destined to be poor, or destined to live a rich life. Nothing is left up to fate or luck, unless you allow it to be so. If you allow yourself to remain in lack consciousness, you will certainly remain poor for the rest of your life and vice versa. Many people never take a close look at the conditioning they have unknowingly received from those around them. They accept it as natural, operate under its presumptions and hence get the same results as their parents were getting. The all-important question therefore to you is: Would you like to break out of this cycle?

If you have read my book “It Is Done!”, you would have read about my ten year struggle with applying the Law of Attraction and these manifestation principles. The main reason why I was struggling with a lack of results was because I was constantly worried about not having enough. In other words, I was living and operating under a “lack consciousness”, and therefore the act of worrying seemed natural to me. When I operated under that level of consciousness, it was perfectly logical and normal for me to be worried all the time, and therefore I never questioned my behavior. I saw it as justified. It is the same for your relationship with money too. Right now, you are living under a set of assumptions and beliefs about money, many of which will not be immediately obvious to you because they have been transferred to you by your parents. For example, a young child who was repeatedly told that he cannot do this-or-that because the family has “not enough money” would automatically come to assume that doing any “fun” activities in life involve money, which is hard to come by. And that he should not have “fun” because that would be selfish and deprive his family from spending the money on other things. He or she would not even question these absurd assumptions, because they seemed so natural while growing up. This is often the reason why we have so much trouble enjoying ourselves as adults! Many of us still feel bad and guilty about splurging hundreds of dollars on a ticket. To us, these feelings of guilt are absolutely normal and justified, because after all, three hundred dollars is a lot of money and we work hard for our money! But how many of us have ever stopped to think about where these “guilt” feelings came from? Why is all this guilt cropping up over huge purchases? Can these feelings of guilt be transformed into feelings of joy instead? Can buying a three-hundred dollar ticket be a joyous affair because it shows that we are honoring and celebrating our inner child within us who loves to play? It absolutely can! Therefore, the same event can be interpreted in many ways, giving rise to many different feelings and possibilities. How we choose to interpret an event is often determined by our level of prosperity consciousness.