Being in the business I am in, I am constantly amazed in how we focus on things that either empower us, or disempower us. While this is a "no-brainer" thought process or something most take for granted, I am in constant analysis and research on the fundamental basics of human needs, desires and empowerment. Since people come to me for answers and direction, they expect answers and direction that manifests in results for their lives. In most cases, people expect immediate results and benefits. ...... I would too.
The challenging aspect of what I do is to get to the fundamental issues that keeps an individual from obtaining their goals. Sometimes it is very simple to assess. Sometimes, it is very difficult to dissect and confront. And, since every human being is unique, almost all of their experiences and interpretations are quite subjective. And, why wouldn't they be, if it entails how each person believes and experiences for themselves?
In offering those first two paragraphs as a basis, you now get to peek into my world and daily functions of assessing human behaviors, thoughts and philosophy. It can be difficult. While I do like a challenge, I often get caught up myself in the empowering and disempowering aspects of money and it being the only "resource" or remedy for a problem in many cases. Certainly, it began in this recession. But now, instead of being able to move people forward in their lives, it turns out that much of my advice and consultation is directed more towards how to keep people in their homes, or just to find money to pay for their basic needs such as food, gas, electric and so on. As it turns out, most people today just want / need money. Money seems to be the answer for most of their current problems.
Being the common thinker that I am, I cannot help but try to understand how and why people put themselves in the mental flux that they often end up. Even for myself, I find myself focusing on the "financial basics" being covered before I can move forward in my life. But, at what point did we empower "money" or the "Almighty Dollar Bill" as the essence and mainstay of our lives?
Today, especially in the United States, without money your life almost comes to a halt. Money provides for most all of our basic needs now. 50 -100 years ago, you had a small farm or garden, or knew someone that did, and you could often acquire food to sustain your life, fairly simply. Common gardening knowledge, practice and space was amongst a family group, and could provide some basis for sustenance. Also, carpentry knowledge could add an addition onto a house to provide for additional family members who had lost their home. Survival instincts and capacities back then required different knowledge and abilities than most recent times.
Today, most people are looking for or taking an additional second or third job (if they can find it). Many people are looking online for resources to assist in obtaining money. For the most part, people are cutting back on expenses, trying to do without their normal comforts or luxuries in order to make ends meet. Thus, money becomes the common denominator in self-empowerment in not just "reaching goals" but sustaining life today.
Again, my instincts go to work to find and understand how and why we, as humans, empower these small snippets of green-printed paper cloth as the common denominator of our lives. Today, without money, almost everything you have is at risk, as well as almost everything you need. Mortgage (your house) / rent costs money, food, automobile, gasoline for the automobile. heat and electricity costs money. And, if you have knowledge of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, you realize that even the very basics today costs money. At what point did we put ourselves in such a vulnerable situation?
People that are religious used to be (and most religious people still are) "thankful" for the basics; a roof over their head, food on their table, etc. Thus, the family prayer consisted of naming and praising the basics and fundamentals that were present in their lives. More than one car in the family was considered a "luxury". Today, it is defined as a "requirement" to most households. Electricity now "heats" and / or "cools" our homes, as "air conditioning". That which was once a luxury is now a staple expectation in our lives.
So, the things we used to be thankful for, the bare minimums, are generally taken for granted. Today, we "need" a roof over our head, a car to get us where we are going, food to sustain our lives, and electricity to run our computers, cell phones and to provide heat or cooling to our surroundings. All of these things today, are not possible without money.
Most religious people in the past and of the day, claim that "God provides for our needs". Today, it appears that only "money" provides for our needs, God was / is generally given credit for any financial means or abundance, by religious or semi-religious persons. So, if Americans are struggling with meeting the financial obligations of today's basic needs, does that mean that "God" is "teaching us a lesson"? Or, trying to get us to appreciate what basics we DO have, instead of taking so much for granted? You won't have to look far to find these sermons being preached in most churches today. As well, many churches are preaching awareness of the "end times" because of these "signs" today.
I am not challenging religion as much as I am the things that we often utilize to "empower" ourselves. We, as humans, should be able to look beyond these small snippets of green colored paper cloth if we want to truly have happiness and fulfillment in our lives. Instead of empowering things that "matter" to us today, we have obviously "empowered" a (semi-) tangible object (dollar bill) that other people control the value of , which in turn seemingly controls and dictates the happiness and fulfillment of our own lives. And, to some, bemoaning money and its power is as insulting as bemoaning a religious person's God. Me, attacking the "power of money" is as offensive to some, as attacking ones "Faith".
Truly, living in these times, is a test of will, strength and survival. But, who would have thought it would fundamentally rest on the shoulders of the dollar bill? As, even persons of "faith" today turns to their God in prayer and in faith for "money" as to resolve the majority of their woes.
Changing How We Think
So far, from this recession, I have learned alot. In listening and learning from my clients' needs, I have developed a keener awareness of necessity and principle. I used to practice the "Abundance Principle" which is based quite a bit from the movie, "The Secret". It is where you teach others how to "attract" the things that they want into their lives. Now remember, I said "want", not need. While this worked well for a number of people, it is not practical to teach to most everyone now, because with human "basics" at risk, it is difficult to teach / train guided meditation, calmness and stress relief conditioning to people who are stressed about losing their home, car or even just trying to find a basic job that pays their bills.
Today, I am progressively trying to teach how to find fulfillment in oneself and the "free" things and basics that go with life. These FREE things are the rights of anyone. Yet, we are constantly forced to believe that they are rights that either "cost" money or worst of all, have little to no value or consequence. These are things such as physical health, mental health, sanity, love, personal empowerment, relationships, communication, atunement, nature, and the list goes on and on. As, if we continue to create this "monster" (money empowerment), then we are only feeding something that is eternally hungry, and never fulfilled. As proven today, the dollar bill value goes way down, as the cost to most anything goes up, further and further. We end up spending all of our time and energy focused on "money" and its empowerment, more than we do ourselves. If you are not understanding this philosophy, then you are probably caught up in feeding this monster right now.
In order to "learn" a new approach to personal fulfillment and personal success, you pretty much need to unlearn much of what you already know. Because, you are "taught" from a young age, that most "anything of value" costs money. In a Capitalistic Society, money IS power. And, unfortunately it now means "Money equals happiness and fulfillment in life". Money seems to dictate the hierarchy and empowerment in which you live.
The truth is, money only has power, because we give it power. If we begin to empower other things, then they will uniquely take on power in which gives us (individually and collectively) more empowerment, instead of giving power over to something that others own and have control thereof. We need to begin to think "outside of the box" if we are tired of living "inside of the box". It is our "right" to do so. Why not exercise it?
You see, if only the things we "want" or need in life costs money, then we are individually disempowered when there is not enough money to go around. This clearly reflects that we are NOT in control of our own lives, and that someone / something else is. This happens because we have ALLOWED it to happen in our own lives as well as in our society. And, if I am a "SELF-Help Guru", then of course, it is my JOB to find different ways to empower individuals or for them to find fulfillment and happiness. So, that is what I do.
This is "food for thought", and there is more to come related to this subject. My goal is to get you to recognize that YOU have the ability to change your life and the world around you. Do not lose site of that empowerment. And, if you need help with that, then that is what I do and through my company.
www.MindDesignUnlimited.com
