I have been both and blessed and privileged recently to study the Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles under the guidance of Bob Proctor. Bob is a master at providing the insight and exercises to allow these teachings to become personal and quite pragmatic. Several years ago I actually spent an entire day with Bob, learning his views on creating wealth as a part of achieving our divine purpose in life. One of my biggest breakthroughs in this program is understanding that we as humans are able to choose our thoughts. It is in choosing our thoughts that we learn what is true and what is not true about abundance in our world.
People often think that their thoughts are at the mercy of the environment. This is true if one is only able to think in reaction to what is experienced by the five senses. However, to really think and reason about the real truth and not just the apparent truth is indeed tedious. Our thoughts can be quite random and flighty as we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste so many things. Our senses are exposed to millions of stimuli in a given day which our minds have to either process or ignore.
Can you imagine what your life would be like if you gave attention to every single stimulus brought in by your 5 physical senses? Thank goodness our minds know enough to filter most of it out before it reaches our conscious awareness. The goal now is to choose what to do with those things that do reach your awareness. Do you believe them all as true? Think about what you hear others say or what you read in a book, newpaper, magazine, or online. Is it all true?
The real work involves choosing which ideas and concepts we accept to be true. As we all know, this is not self-evident. As human beings, created in God's image with His indwelling spirit, we also have the intelligence, wisdom, and intuition to make judgments for ourselves. You see there is only one truth. Do you trust yourself enough to know that truth? Or do think you have to learn the truth from a source outside youreself?
If all of our truths, also known as beliefs, come from the outside, how did they get there? Who put out the so-called truth that human nature is innately evil? Who put out the truth that for one person to have more, another must have less? That's like saying each tree in the forest is allowed 1000 leaves. So if one tree has 1100, then another tree is only allowed to have 900. Isn't that absurd? It's the same with all of the physical resources on earth. It's also true of the population. People somehow get afraid that more people mean less quality of life or less available resources for each person. Creation was designed for growth and abundance.
Since there were droughts and famines thousands of years ago when the population was very small, how can anyone claim that there were more resources then than there are now? It is staggering for me to realize that there are twice as many people on earth today as there were 45 years ago. And I personally have a lot more resources at my disposal than I did then. Any personal lack in the world today is caused by human thought, not by the paucity of avaiable materials. If a human believes there to be lack and convinces another human of the same, then their behavior changes and as a result, they begin to experience lack.
As you can tell, I enjoy exploring the psychological, spiritiual, and social ramifications of what we each perceive as the truth about abundance. The thought I'd like to leave you with now is, "What is your truth?" I believe in exploring other peoples' thoughts, and espcecially God's thoughts on truth, which is why I read voraciously. Even with the Bible, though, different people interpret truth differently. As I read the Bible and other books, such as The Science of Getting Rich, my foremost goal is to know for myself what is true. Thinking is indeed hard work but worth the effort as we all learn the real truth about abundance.
To You Abundance,
Sandra Hayes
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Abundance Is Our Birthright
I am so blessed and grateful to be sitting here in my home watching the sunrise on Lake Murray. It's Sunday and a bit chilly this October morning. Sundays are special in several ways. They represent a fresh start on a new week. They also offer an opportunity for me to join good friends and fellow Christians in Sunday School and worship services at Chapin United Methodist Church. In worhip, I thank my creator for the abundance of blessings we enjoy.
Over the years as we have lived in different places, Ed and I have worshipped at different churches. They have each blessed us in a special way and taught us lessons about God, life, and ourselves. Regardless of the pastor or the message, however, the recurring theme has been how abundantly blessed we are. As a result of being blessed, our duty is therefore to be a blessing to others.
As I read the story of the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis, I realize that abundance was their birthright. These men and their families had challenges to be sure. Sometimes they made wise choices and sometimes not. Regardless, God continued to bless them and stay true to his covenant promise to bless them and make them as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sand on the shore.
Here we are, four thousand years later, and these blessings continue from one generation to the next. Like the patriarchs, we have challenges in life. And often our challenges are similar to theirs. As families we deal with sibling rivalry, jealousy, alienation, forgiveness, and reconciliation. As nations, we deal with war, peace treaties, immigration, and trade agreements.
The beauty of all of this is that the same God who made a covenant with Abraham seeks to make one with us. We may think we live in a different time with all our technology and so we do. But all we experience today was made possible by the one God who set everything in motion by His powerfully spoken word.
As we approach this Sunday with all of its abundance, let's take the time to recognize and offer thanks to the creator who makes it all possible. Abundance is our birthright. Our grateful stewardship of this abundance is our response. We have been freely given so that now we can freely give.
May you enjoy all the abundance, peace, and joy that you were created to experience.
Sandra Hayes
Prosperity, South Carolina
Over the years as we have lived in different places, Ed and I have worshipped at different churches. They have each blessed us in a special way and taught us lessons about God, life, and ourselves. Regardless of the pastor or the message, however, the recurring theme has been how abundantly blessed we are. As a result of being blessed, our duty is therefore to be a blessing to others.
As I read the story of the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis, I realize that abundance was their birthright. These men and their families had challenges to be sure. Sometimes they made wise choices and sometimes not. Regardless, God continued to bless them and stay true to his covenant promise to bless them and make them as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sand on the shore.
Here we are, four thousand years later, and these blessings continue from one generation to the next. Like the patriarchs, we have challenges in life. And often our challenges are similar to theirs. As families we deal with sibling rivalry, jealousy, alienation, forgiveness, and reconciliation. As nations, we deal with war, peace treaties, immigration, and trade agreements.
The beauty of all of this is that the same God who made a covenant with Abraham seeks to make one with us. We may think we live in a different time with all our technology and so we do. But all we experience today was made possible by the one God who set everything in motion by His powerfully spoken word.
As we approach this Sunday with all of its abundance, let's take the time to recognize and offer thanks to the creator who makes it all possible. Abundance is our birthright. Our grateful stewardship of this abundance is our response. We have been freely given so that now we can freely give.
May you enjoy all the abundance, peace, and joy that you were created to experience.
Sandra Hayes
Prosperity, South Carolina
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