The Breathing Prosperity blog

Today we have a small task; an exercise, if you will.

We are going to take an everyday word…a word that many of use very often - daily, I suspect - and look at its underlying implications with respect to our beliefs and our lives.

The word is EXPENSIVE.

A seemingly innocuous, innocent little word, isn’t it? It comes in quite handy; we use it to label just about anything we can’t afford, or that we think is a ‘rip-off.’ And here we begin our exploration…

When we use the word expensive, the beliefs we are expressing are not objective; they demonstrate our perception not just of the item in question, but of the world around us and ‘how it works.’ Here are just a few of the common ways in which this word is meant:

• Too much money
• Decadent, or ‘over-the-top’ in a way that is frivolous
• Not worth it
• Someone is ripping you off
• It would take selfishness to get it
• There are better things to do with your money
• Dear, as in it costs too much life and heart - too much of your time went into earning your money to spend it on ‘just this one thing’
• It’s wrong to spend ‘that much’ on something
• It should be cheaper
• I can’t afford that
• Who am I to think I can/should have that?
• It will take all of my money, then I can’t have anything else

As you read to this list, you may even find yourself mentally adding to it. Hopefully you will also begin to notice all the underlying garbage that is insinuated in these common thoughts. This is just ONE example of ONE word that is used in everyday language…and look at how much it tells you that you can’t have and can’t do! By nonchalantly using the word expensive, you are inadvertantly reiterating to yourself that:

• Something can be out of your reach
• You lack: money, resources, hope for more of the same
• You are limited in what you can do and have

By uttering this simple little word, you are stating to the Universe that you live in lack and limitation. You are pinching off the flow of energy, love, life force, joy, happiness…both for yourself and for the person or company that created the ‘expensive’ thing. For if they are not deserving of the money that would flow to them from their creation, then no one is. Either we are all deserving, or no one is. When we judge, which we do by using words like expensive, we try and preclude someone else from experiencing abundance…and this never works.

Thanks to my friend Lexi Sundell at Energies of Creation for reminding me of this post, which I had written some time ago and never published. She sent me a link to Steve Pavlina’s great post about Money & The Law of Attraction which is bang-on and which re-iterates and fills out even further what I am trying to say here.

Enjoy, and prosper in every sense of the word!

TIP: Want to learn more about BREEEAAATHING PROSPERITY (insert deep, happy breath here)? … About how to expand your wealth mindset? Try the following resources:

• NEW! Money and the Law of Attraction by Abraham-Hicks - in book or CD form
• The updated Prosperity Thinking! E-Course here at Breathing Prosperity
• The 30 Days to Wealth instantly downloadable e-book at IncreasingVelocity.com

“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”~ Jim Rohn

Patience is a virtue, my mother always told me…and I’ll bet your mother (or someone else close to you) may have told you the same thing.

But is it really?

The Good

Patience can serve us in many circumstances, both personal and professional. When we are likely to jump to erroneous conclusions, for instance, or when we react in a panic and almost do something against our own good…these are times when patience is a virtue. A prior commitment to - and practice in - patience allows us to calm down, assess a situation and react with calmness and dignity. It prevents us from ruining relationships and from making rash decisions we might later regret.

The Bad

However, what about situations where we are waiting for something good to happen, where instead of creating what we want in life, we sit back and hope they will happen the way we envision? What if ‘all good things’ don’t come to those who wait? What if, instead, the only thing that comes to those who wait is regrets at the end of life?

The Ugly

I have come to believe that ‘All good things come to those who wait’ isn’t necessarily true.

With respect to meeting life’s hopes and goals, this is definitely mis-guidance. (Sure, that’s not a word, but it works!) As anyone who has lost someone close to them or perhaps experienced a life-threatening illness or incident truly knows, LIFE IS SHORT. 

It is extremely easy to get complacent, and also to save our dreams for ’someday.’ For many sad and regretful people, someday comes when they are nearing the end of life and wondering how all that time slipped by so quickly. Someday comes and the realization of so many lost and forgotten dreams hits like a blow to the heart and soul…and the sense or urgency that should have been present all along becomes painfully apparent. We have all heard the adage about how much better it is to look back and be proud of everything we’ve done and tried, rather than to look back and wish we had done and tried things…yet many of us do not take this into account in our everyday lives. Even now, for instance, as I look back on my twenties I think to myself that if I had only known and practised then what I do now, I’d be much farther ahead financially by now.

The pain of discipline Jim Rohn speaks about is that of making the effort to do the little things every day which ensure our dreams are met, and do not instead fall by the wayside. The weight of regret truly  is far heavier.

The question then becomes, What will the future me look back and say to the woman I am today?…

I can see this because I am asking clearly: She will wish I was more consistent with my fitness, more proactive with my goals, and even more appreciative of loved ones. She will remind me to be kind to myself, while at the same time asking more from myself on a daily basis. 

The Beautiful

When we open our minds and perspective in this way, we can see opportunities and storylines to which we are now blind. We view our lives from a higher and wider place, and admit that someday is not only now, but is also coming sooner than we think. We bring our actions and our goals into alignment, and in doing so we enrich our current lives and our future days beyond measure.

Life can be a beautiful balance between being patient with ourselves and being impatient with our intentions, between passionately and actively pursuing our dreams and having the humility to allow the Universe to show us the way.

EXCITING NEWS!

Here at Breathing Prosperity, we get many requests for sponsorships, reviews and endorsements of products and participation in various projects. Time constraints being what they are, we cannot say yes to everything - nor would we want to!

With this in mind, an opportunity has come along for us to support one of our favorite mentors, Bob Doyle. Bob is the creator of the amazing Wealth Beyond Reason program which I have been raving about for years, and you will also recognize him from the movie The Secret.

Bob himself is very excited to have put together the Boundless Living 45 Day Challenge, and we are proud to be corporate sponsors. The winner of Breathing Prosperity’s contribution will enjoy their choice of any of our popular E-Courses.

BE SURE TO CHECK THIS OUT! It’s empowering for all involved, and it’s FREE! Your goal does not have to be a ‘rah!rah! I’m going to run a marathon in 30 days’-type goal, although it certainly can be! Bob himslef is focusing on his love of creating music and bringing ito a more mainstream audience.

By participating, you’ll be able enjoy the welcoming support you may have been lacking and jump-start your goals. Join thousands of people from all walks of life and make the changes you have been striving for become reality!

CLICK HERE here for more information. At the very least, we hope you’ll head on over to see what it’s all about. There is no financial obligation whatsoever, and anyone who knows Bob will know that this is all about helping YOU get what you want. Enjoy!

Many times when we are striving to create ‘better’ lives, we forget that we already have it all.

We are not separate from the magic and wonder and abundance of the Universe - we are just disconnected from it in certain facets of our lives. We compartmentalize ourselves, and in so doing we cut ourselves off from the flow and magic of life. It’s not that the Universe is not delivering - it’s that we are not noticing and receiving!

There was a time when hearing this would have annoyed me…I would NOT acknowledge or believe that I was the one pinching off my goodness. Having grown and expanded since then (with so much more to go!), I now see the inarguable truth in this - we are each letting in only so much, and our outer lives correspond exactly to the flow we are allowing.

Example:

The other night, my honey and I were out watching planes; an activity we enjoy as we are both pilots and watching jets come and go lets us feel the magic of traveling. At any rate, we were out walking in the industrial area which surrounds our international airport, and expressing immense gratitude for the fact that we did not have to work in any of the cubicles in the dusty old buildings or in the warehouses we were passing…we are so grateful for the life we’ve worked to create, and with our expression of gratitude we invite more wonder, happiness and joy.

At one point, the sun was setting, just slipping below the clouds. We stopped mid-walk to watch it, marveling at how quickly it sinks and being reminded at how fast time passes. Right there, we re-vowed to try and enjoy each moment. As we were standing there on the sidewalk, the last working stragglers from the day were getting in their cars and trucks from various offices and warehouses; some of them looked at us as if to say ‘What are YOU lookin’ at?’ What we were looking at  was this spectacular sunset right behind them; you would think that seeing us both looking up into the sky with grateful smiles on our faces would at least prompt them to turn around and see for themselves…but no! Not one person did this! They all walked to their cars in various stages of grumpiness and resignedness (I’m making assumptions but a) I’ve been there and b) it was fairly obvious), missing the glory and beauty right above their heads. It’s choking me up just writing this, how human beings can miss such exquisiteness by being trapped in their own heads, dealing instead with spiralling thoughts about how hopeless things are, or even more mundane, thoughts about what’s for dinner.

The bottom line is, there is abundance, wonder and magic ALL AROUND US, from the tiniest wave of energy to the most complex functions of human bodies, the cosmos and our beautiful spinning planet which supports us all in myriad ways.

P.S. If you want a reminder, try some of the following resources:

• The Case for a Creator
• What the Bleep do We Know?
• Conversations With God
• The Intention Experiment
• Wayne Dyer’s Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling

Photo credit: ccjones
 

Here is a question for you: Do you think that being a ‘good’ person somehow precludes financial abundance?

While your immediate answer may be no, I invite you to explore the question in a round-about way by considering how you feel about others and the prosperity they may attract:

• Think about someone who is well-known for charitable acts and human kindness, such as Mother Theresa or perhaps the Dalai Lama. They live or lived lives of simplicity, eschewing luxurious possessions and preferring instead to dedicate their time to communion with God and helping their fellow human beings.
• Consider people who spread messages of abundance and unity, such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Gary Zukav. These gentlemen all believe in our spiritual connection to each other and to our higher source, and devote their time to sharing this with the world, in the hopes of making it a better, more peaceful place for each of us.
• Look at industry leaders who are scions of wealth such as Bill Gates, Ted Rogers and others. Whether or not they contribute to charitable causes, they enjoy extreme abundance financially, and can physically have anything they desire.

Now, as you read through that short list, do you have any judgements about who is or is not a ‘good’ person? Would it be OK if Mother Theresa lived in a mansion and drove around in a $200,000 car? What about Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer? Do you feel that they should all enjoy (and deserve) abundance, or that somehow any money they receive should be given away toward the ‘greater good?’ Where did these thoughts come from, and are they really valid?

Somehow many of us have it in our heads that we can either live a monk-like existence, devoting our lives to others or to God or to contemplating spiritual truths…OR we can live lives rich with financial abundance and enjoy all the physical luxuries available. Why, I ask, do we perpetuate the belief that goodness, or spirituality, and massive, magnificent wealth are mutually exclusive? Why do we think that keeping it is selfish and spiritually bankrupt?…

Not everyone thinks this way, of course, but if this strikes a chord within you, then it may be worth exploring further. By examining the thoughts and beliefs which bubble up when looking at the lives and actions of others, we can see more clearly what conflicts may exist between our own intentions and the inner beliefs we hold.

For instance, if we feel we are basically good people, and we are trying to create massive abundance for ourselves, is it possible we are holding ourselves back - albeit unconsciously - because we feel any money we attract should not be kept? Maybe we have a desire for a fantastic sports car, and all the while we think we are sending out the vibration of loving the car, yet we are undermining it with a deep-seated and hidden belief that it is somehow rude, pretentious or even downright wrong to ’show off’ our money or possessions.

As usual, this is just food for thought. The conflicting beliefs which limit us are often hidden - even from us - maybe especially from us! It’s often easier to see what someone else’s beliefs are by the results they are creating in their lives than to notice your own. Have you ever even asked yourself ‘What are the results I have in my life at the moment, and what do my circumstances say about my beliefs?’ It’s a great question, and you can ask it any time to get a reading on how you’re doing, vs. how you’d like to be doing. Honesty is always the fastest track to change.

Here are great book suggestions to explore this question further in your own life:

Why You’re Dumb, Sick & Broke, and How to Get Smart, Healthy & Rich by Randy Gage

Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace and More by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew, Ph.D Len

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

…And, for further help with aligning your thoughts, try these:

Quantum Creations with James Arthur Ray

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Some other ideas to help you align your thoughts with the abundance you desire include creating affirmations for yourself which you repeat daily until the ybecome a prt of you, and keeping pictures of things and experiences you would love to have in places where you can see them - where they will ’sink in’ and become a part of what your mind accepts is possible - for you!

You are a wonderful, good person and you deserve to experience massive abundance!

Today I was reading a book Get Real and Get Rich and the author of the book Farrah Gray says his grandmother always told him to ask a question- Why not me? So I’m asking myself the question today- Why not me? It’s actually a really great question.. because the more I ask the question the more the answer that keeps coming back is NO REASON- There is no reason it can’t be me!
The book is about conquering the 7 lies keeping you from getting rich. I believe some of the lies were
The born rich lie, the winning the lottery lie, the famous lie but don’t quote me on the lies but this book caused me to think- WHY NOT ME?
If people are on the internet making $1 million a month- then why not me? This guy became a Millionaire at 14- GET THAT 14! and again you ask the question - WHY NOT ME?? He is now a 22 yr old millionaire.
You may have noticed that the blog now has a new design and if you scroll down to the bottom you will see it was made by yours truly- You can check out some of my designs at my own website- Yes that’s right there is an Ophelia Nicholson.com so there is a theme competition going on at lunarpages and I decided to enter. So far I’ve entered Missing Kids which is a missing kids theme that updates automatically from National Center for Missing and Exploited teens, I also entered Creation and then I thought about entering my ipod creation that plays mp3’s yes a wordpress theme has a built in mp3 player- but then the question kept coming up why would I ever win- till I asked well why not me- I don’t see any reason why I can’t win, I do great original designs, why shouldn’t someone else win- WHY NOT ME? So today the question is Why not you? There is no reason why it can’t be you too!

Alot of people will think I’m crazy for making this post- who has ever heard of a blog deserted for almost a year and then started up again…that never happens right! I think that a lot of times we fall off the horse be it, our exercise goals, our financial goals, our spiritual goals but how often do we fall off the horse and actually have the courage to get back on.
As you may have noticed we haven’t updated the blog in months or even been a part of the community for quite a while, part being the fact that your goals do change and shift into different directions and part being that sometimes your original goal may not be what you currently need in your life- It’s like having a goal of losing 20 pounds in march and you carry that goal for 1 month till you realize that maybe losing weight should not have been your aim but you should have made the strive to tone your body and that may not mean a 20 pound weight loss or it maybe having a goal to get rich and then realizing that you first need to learn financial money management and how to invest.

Moving away from your goals and then coming back

A lot of times we move away from our goals and we face a fear with coming back because we all hate to be seen as failures, I have thought a lot about coming back and updating the blog consistently but the fact that I had fallen off a horse (the horse in the instance happens to have been my spiritual growth), Left a huge sense of failure in my mind and sometimes when you look at failed project you feel its easier to keep walking away as opposed to giving it another shot. My son now 3 Nicholas, I haven’t spoken to his dad in more than two years, I remember at one point he disappeared for 6 months and when he finally made a phone call he said that the more time that passed the more you feel that you should just keep going in that direction and not try to go back and fix any old mistakes or work on any old goals that you may have given up on.
It’s even easy to give up when you feel you are continually putting in effort and seeing no results, that can be discouraging to keep going to the gym and after months you look the same or keep writing a blog and feel you are not changing anyone’s life ESPECIALLY YOUR OWN

Growth isn’t straight up, Growing doesn’t happen in a straight line
What did I learn from falling off the horse- I learned that despite what I think I am human, I do make mistakes, I do leave things unfinished but I also noticed that my spiritual growth and my practice and belief in law of attraction slowed or halted once my writing stopped. Growth doesn’t happen in a straight line, it doesn’t matter what it is, it could be losing weight, spiritual growth, a tree or a child growing, it never just happens in a straight line, sometimes you have a plateau, a rest period where none or little growth occurs and then like all things you have a growth period where everything grows at endless speeds.

Where am I now?
It maybe hard to believe but this post has been almost a year in the making, I would come and write a post, feel like a failure and stop so this time around I’d like to learn more about me- more about goals that I had high expectations for that got killed before they had time to grow.

My lesson for today to myself
Just because something shows no growth or movement doesn’t mean that it’s dead! What goals are you afraid to face and try again? Is it a blog, your health, a hobby, excerise -

Here is the question for myself today
Who am I afraid to face by coming back and writing the blog- Is it myself, the people who listened as we wrote- Who are you afraid to face by picking up goals that you had long forgotten about.

My thought for today
I am always making the best decision in that moment.

Ophelia

What if I’m are wrong and just I’m just an ordinary guy who should get a job? I heard that phrase on Night at the Museum -When Ben Stiller said those words it struck a cord with me, What if I’m wrong and I’m just an ordinary person seeking to be extraordinary? What if I’m wrong and there really is no greatness inside of me? What if I’m wrong and there is nothing special about me? What if I’m just ordinary…?

Are we really able to live up to the dreams we hold inside our heads? 

We all seem to have these great pictures of ourselves achieving great standards and reaching the heights of men/women we hold as our heroes. We all dream to be basketball stars like Michael Jordan, Composers like Mozart, Amazing chefs like Wolfgang, Have voices like Mariah, Money like Bill Gates and the looks of a supermodel but do we ever get up and wonder one day What If I’m wrong? What if none of these things apply to me? What if I’m just me and what if there is nothing special about that?

What if I live my life and die and I didn’t achieve any of these great things that I have filled in my head? 

Do We Need To Achieve World Recognition to Be Extraordinary?

My biggest goal to date is to be on the Forbes 400 Richest List which will give me tons of money and just slight recognition but do we really need that to be extraordinary? Do we really need that to be special? Do we really need that to be remembered?

Isn’t that all what it boils down to - Everyone wants to be remembered, Long after they are gone, they want to be remembered for something they did or achieved.  They want to know that they change someone lives years from now when there is nothing left but a gravestone and when everyone they ever knew has already passed.

 I got a phone call from a guy who I had spoken to a few months ago, he told me his name and where he lived and bits of our conversation and he got angry because I couldn’t remember who he was, he kept trying to give me hints but still I couldn’t remember him, frustrated he got off the phone as if he had just lost a huge battle, I know deep down he probably felt hurt that he was so unimportant to me that I’d forgotten him..

Does the need to be remembered fuel our lives?

We go thru life just like this guy, we go thru relationships both love relationships and regular relationships hoping to create some kind of lasting memory, or impression or feelings so that person won’t ever forget us. Sometimes we will even leave the person with a negative image just so we won’t be forgotten…

We want to be the girl or the guy that someone falls madly in love with that they tell their grandkids about when they are 70, or we want to be the one who made such a life changing impact on someone lives that they keep retelling the story over and over again…  As a matter a fact we will even take the role of the person who broke your heart and you cried for weeks if that means that you won’t forget us, We will take the role of being a crazy person because then you won’t forget us. That’s why no one wants to be ordinary because they feel no one will ever remember the ordinary guy, the one sitting in the corner at the party, the one who you pass every day on the street and never really notice anything about him, the one that passes on and no one shows up at their funeral…

Being remembered is even the reason why alot of people have kids- It isn’t a conscious thought but still a big reason as they want their bloodline to continue or their last name to continue- They want some part of them living even long after they are gone, they want someone to come to their gravesite and remember them and they want to live on in someone’s memories.

Is there any value in just being ordinary?

I believe Shauna said this a while ago that she would run from that thought of being just a regular person… I believe we all have that we fear being ordinary, we fear being one of the masses; we fear what it means to us… What does it mean if you are ordinary? What negative connotations does it bring if we are just ordinary? Can we be ordinary and still change someone’s lives? Can we be ordinary and still be remembered throughout the centuries? Can we be ordinary and have someone talk about the relationship they had with you when they are 70? Can we be ordinary and have a huge gathering at our grave?

The vast majority of us work for money, and the fact is, we need money to live. If it weren’t for this, many of us would choose not to work. True? True. (Of course there is pure value in physical labor for its’ own sake, but that is another story.)

So what is the difference between working for someone else ie. being an employee, vs. working for yourself, ie. being self-employed? Do you think there is someone else in charge with the former and not with the latter? While it’s true that you are responsible to others when you work in an employee environment, the bottom line is it always comes down to YOU.

The fact is that your performance affects your outcome no matter where and when you are working. Whether your boss is another person or yourself, you are still the one in charge of putting money in the bank. When you don’t provide quality work, your bottom line suffers. You may suffer such a dramatic consequence as being fired, or endure more subtle effects on your paycheck such as being passed over for raises or a promotion, or only being hire-able at a fast-food restaurant.

Take Control

When it comes to finances, you must be the one who takes responsibility; the one who makes the decisions and demonstrates the work ethic required to get the job done. Be proactive and you will feel a sense of control and confidence because you know you can handle anything, and handle it well. Take the courses that help you develop your skills and expand your perspective. Think in bigger pictures and plan for possibilities such as job loss or a change in management. Use your spare time wisely so that you are never caught in a financial predicament you can’t get out of. NO ONE can do this for you - not your parents, your co-workers, nor your boss. Bosses come and go, but you are always in the driver seat of your paycheck/s. In fact, a new boss can be seen as an ooportunity to have someone with fresh eyes appreciate your (growing) skillset.

Do You Love Your Work?

I would venture to say that unless you are working at something you love, you will have difficulty staying on task, no matter who the ‘boss’ is. While you may not be able - or even want - to leave your current job, making it more pleasant and enjoyable is always a plus. There has been much written, here and elsewhere, about how to improve both your place of work and how you feel in it. Even if it’s a tiny step you can take, go ahead and take it. Try reading this post about The Little Things for some inspiration in this regard.

Remember, no matter who you work for, you are the ultimate boss. How would you rate the job you are doing?…

Just a quick post today to point you to a fabulous and growing list of personal development blogs.

Initiated by Priscilla Palmer, the idea was to put together a comprehensive list of people who inspire and empower us with their words, and I know many people will appreciate having the links all in one place. You can find the entire list at Priscilla’s blog by CLICKING HERE. Enjoy!