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Dr.
Joseph Murphy, one of the great metaphysicians of our time, made the
statement that "poverty is a disease." He further
explained that poverty is no different than other disease. What
poverty does, he explained, is take our freedom away ... and Spirit must
be free. Being in poverty is no different than being confined to a
sick-bed or being limited in our mobility due to physical disability.
Poverty limits our ability to experience Life ... to experience the joys
of Life. But many of us are trapped by the dis-ease of poverty and
a "poverty consciousness" is not limited to money nor is its
debilitating consequences.
Whenever we think there
is not enough ... or our tendency of thought is on limitation, we will
see poverty in our lives. It may manifest as lack of money or
financial struggles or it may manifest as lack of good relationships or
supportive friendships. It will definitely block ideas and the
energy necessary to move us into a greater experience of success,
prosperity, companionship and happiness. Very few of us can live
through an on-going experience of poverty and not have it show up in our
lives in other forms. People who believe in lack and limitation
almost always also accept ideas of sickness, disability and
dysfunctional relationships. Our limited concepts about Life ...
our beliefs in not having enough ... equates to not being "good
enough" to experience the Good Life. Long-term poverty
attacks our self-esteem and confidence deeply and oftentimes isolates us
from the abundant Goodness in the Universe.
I believe at the root
of poverty is self-pity ... the ability to feel "imposed upon"
rather than empowered. Self-pity relates to problems but shies
away from opportunities. In fact, the tendency of self-pity is to
self-sabotage all opportunities to rise above the material lack and
limitation to a Higher Idea Of Life. The root of self-pity is a
belief in duality ... good and bad. Many believe that a "good"
person endures strife and struggle ... while a "bad" person
will use any means at hand, seemingly ethical or not, to gain wealth and
success. This false belief is created by a lack of awareness of
our relationship to God. God does not withhold or give based on
our measure of good-ness or bad-ness. We can read the Principle
clearly in scripture, "it rains on the good and the bad
alike." The Infinite Abundance of the Universe is not limited
... and therefore there is no god that gives to us based on a judgment
of right and wrong, good and evil, deserving or undeserving. At
the same time ... there is no god that withholds from us based on a
judgment of right and wrong, good and evil, deserving and undeserving.
This would be to look at God in the image of man/woman ... rather than
to look at the Universe as Omnipresent with God.
Tammy Wynette, the
beautiful and spirited, Country Western singer, made the statement,
"money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure takes the edge off
misery." In scripture we can read, "God loves a joyful
giver" ... well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out
that if we are going to be joyful givers ... we must demonstrate
prosperity ... a person living in poverty or on the edge of financial
disaster ... does not give joyfully. Now, this "joyful
giving" is not limited to giving to our church or synagogues ... it
means we must pay our bills joyfully ... not begrudgingly as if somehow
we have less every time we write a check to our creditors.
We must "release" our
money with joy knowing that we cannot out-give God, Infinite Supply ...
we cannot! The more we have the more, I assure you, we will give
back to the Universe. Our consciousness of prosperity will prosper
housekeepers, doormen, limousine drivers, Tiffany salesclerks, and of
course, the country clubs that we join. We can raise our
consciousness above poverty and limitation ... by dwelling on abundant,
prosperous activities ... when our mind turns to lack and limitation ...
we can think our way out of it ... by turning our thoughts to rich ideas
... imagining ourselves in lavish surroundings.
I don't think too many people at the
Beverly Hills Country Club are filling their minds with concerns about
whether they are "good enough" to sit in the elegant dining
room or to have a highly paid tennis pro teach them to bat a ball across
the artfully landscaped tennis courts ... they are enjoying life too
much for that ... each of us can enjoy a "Country Club"
consciousness ... as we make the decision to focus on "Higher
Thoughts" rather than let our minds dwell on the outside ...
looking in.
And
So It Is!
Letting
Love Use Me In Its Own Good Way,
Henry
Lee Bates
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