Healing with Energy Medicine, Shamanism and NLP

Wealth is a State of Mind

Often people will confuse who they are with how much money they make. Whether someone makes a million dollars a year or $15,000 a year, everyone still has the capability to achieve a certain degree of financial abundance in their life.

For example, when the Nazi’s took over in Germany, there were very many wealthy people in the society who had their lives ripped away from them and they ended up in concentration camps. Viktor E. Frankle or Anne Frank were in situations of the worst poverty, yet they actually had an abundant life.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, author Viktor E. Frankle said that the one thing that a person has that can never be taken away from them is their attitude.

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: The last of his freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Frankle, a psychologist, adopted a creative attitude that helped him survive the nightmare of living in a concentration camp. He was able to manifest internal prosperity by exercising his right to do so. This same attitude led him on a path towards achieving and living an abundant life once he got out.

Wealth and Self Worth

When it comes to thinking about prosperity, it’s helpful to understand that it’s a resource that flows through us. We are a conduit for prosperity. Once this is realized, then we start to identify with the fact that we’re the ones who choose how to channel this resource. Viktor Frankle made this distinction in the concentration camps. Every single one of his material possessions were stripped away from him, including his shoes. The only thing he had left, was the ability to believe in himself and to embrace the idea that he was still a good person, despite the fact that everything had been taken away from him. This was an important distinction for Frankle to make, because then having money was no longer a question of his self-worth.

Money doesn’t determine who you are; it’s simply a resource. Having a strong inner sense of self is what is truly important. Money is merely an external element. Once people stop equating their self-worth with money, then the doors of possibility swing open for them because they’re willing to try more things. Once they start feeling better about themselves, they become less fearful and are open to trying something completely different.

It’s a matter of getting clear on your financial goals, and then declaring to yourself, “This is what I want and there are several ways of achieving it. There are several possibilities for making it happen. If something doesn’t work, then I’ll try something else.”

And if the next thing doesn’t work out, then it’s simply feedback that you need to try something else. It doesn’t mean that you’re a failure or a terrible person. It simply means that there is something out there that will eventually work and that something is outside of you. You are still the same person on the inside, no matter what.

Measuring one’s self-worth by how much money one has can be devastating. For example, there was a woman who had 17 million dollars set aside for her in a trust fund by her parents. It would pay her out at least $800,000 a year in interest as long as she was breathing. This person found her identity and self worth in the lifestyle that she lived and how much she owned. During one shopping spree, she spent $18,000 in the lingerie section of her local department store.

Most of the actions that she took when it came to spending large sums of money were the result of comparing herself to her sister. The sister was in the same situation; she also had a trust fund that paid out a lot in interest. However, the sister never looked at money as an aspect of her identity. She never determined her self-worth by how much she had.

All it meant to her was that she had something to fall back on if there was ever a problem. She married and started several businesses with her husband. They became extremely successful in their own right and it turned out that after many years, the income from her trust was relatively small compared to the income generated from the businesses they had developed.

Interestingly, the woman who based her identity and self-worth on her pocketbook spent large sums of money to keep up with her sister. She eventually went bankrupt. This is an extreme example of someone who measures their self worth on how much money they have.

The woman’s situation became even more complicated when she started comparing herself with her sister, which is also a statement about her self-worth. It’s common for a person to compare their financial status with someone else and, sadly, this is the root of much of the emotional pain that people carry. People have a tendency to compare themselves with their friends, co-workers, family members and so on. When people compare themselves with someone, what they’re actually doing is making a judgment about themselves and the other person. At some level they’re basing their identity and self worth on external elements.

When someone decides to stop comparing themselves to others, they’ll begin to notice amazing shifts in their life because they’ll be viewing life from the inside looking out. They’ll be internally referenced, which will enhance their self worth and identity because they’ll be determining who they are from their own heart. They’ll no longer give other people the opportunity to determine who they are, because they’ll already know themselves at a very deep and spiritual level. Instead of basing their self worth on external elements like a paycheck, they develop a strong inner sense of self-worth which gives them the courage to try new things-thus expanding their opportunities.

For example, there was a janitor who made only about $1,800 a month. After doing some beliefs work with NLP and financial planning, he decided to start his own business. He began by saving money and then he bought all the supplies that he needed. He kept his regular janitor job, but he took a new cleaning contract on the side. He then got another contract and hired somebody else to help him out. After a period of time he decided to quit his janitor job and started his own cleaning company. He eventually made a tremendous jump in his monthly salary, and had a sense of freedom that he had never experienced before.

What is interesting about this story is that the man was still doing janitorial work. What changed was his self-worth. Instead of thinking, “Oh, I’m just a janitor, I can’t do anything else. I’m not smart enough, I’ll never be rich,” he began thinking, “What is possible? What are some ways that I can achieve wealth? Everybody needs someone to come in and clean. Homes need it, schools need it. They’re hiring me to do it, why don’t I just get on the other side of the fence and start up my own business!”

That’s how you open up possibilities. It starts with a dream. Then it’s a matter of turning that dream blueprint into reality. As a person begins to embrace their own self worth and open themselves up to the idea of what is possible, they’ll attract wealth and prosperity into their life. The outer world is truly a reflection of our inner world. If someone is feeling good on the inside, generally it will show on the outside and they’ll draw positive experiences into their life. That’s the way life works.

References

(1) Hallbom, T. and K. Hallbom, Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, (Beverly Hills, CA: The Holistic Book Project, 1993) Neuro-Linguistic Programming, p. 382.

(2) Hallbom, T., Dilts, R. and Smith, S., Beliefs: Pathways to Health and Well Being, (Metamorphous Press, 1988)