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"The
Bible says: God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy (I
Timothy 6:17). Riches are of the mind. There is a guiding
principle within you that can lead you to fulfill the desires of your
heart. Wealth is a state of consciousness, a mental attitude, an
acceptance of the riches of the Infinite. The whole world was here
when you were born. Life was a gift to you. You are here to
express life and to release your hidden talents to the world."
- Dr.
Joseph Murphy, Think Yourself Rich
Most of us are aware that in order to
manifest good, we must think positive and fill our mind with the things
that we consider to be good. And for many people this is very
effective, but doing so does not always "effect the change"
that is required for us to go from "rich to richer." To
do so, according to Neville (Neville Goddard), we must concentrate on
three fundamentals of metaphysics: Self-Observation, Definition of
Aim (Ideal), and Detachment. Neville taught: "The
purpose of true metaphysics is to bring about a rebirth or radical
psychological change in the individual. Such a change cannot take
place until the individual first "discovers the self that he/she
would change." This discovery can be made only through the
uncritical observation of his/her reactions to life. The sum total
of these reactions defines the individual's state of consciousness, and
it is the individual's state of consciousness that attracts the
situations and circumstances of his/her life."
I want to emphasize Neville's words,
"uncritical observation" ... we must always remember that our
observation is to discover what it is that we must change, and if we
become self-critical, we sabotage our success in doing so. Most of
us have reactions and ideas that are so habitual that we are not even
conscious of having them. Just today, someone was telling me about
a friend of hers who goes to a "positive thinking" church in
Los Angeles. But, she said, her friend will go to lunch after
church and her conversation will be filled with negativity and fault
finding with others. And so we know that this is
"unconscious" to her ... it is habitual to the point of being
her natural state of awareness of the world around her. As Neville
states, "Most of us think we are kind and loving, generous and
tolerant, forgiving and noble; but an uncritical observation of our
reactions to life may reveal a self that is not at all kind and loving,
generous and tolerant, forgiving and noble. And it is this self
that we must first accept and then set about to change." In
order to change our consciousness, we must begin right where we are ...
and so we must know where we are, and know it without self condemnation.
Emerson wrote: "Man surrounds
himself with the true image of himself ... what we are, that only can we
see." If we want to aim higher in life, through
self-observation, we can discover if we are seeing life from our highest
thought about it, or not ... and then begin to effect the change that is
necessary within our consciousness by changing our thoughts about life.
Neville: "At this moment, try to notice your inner state.
To what thoughts are you consenting? With what feelings are you
identified? You must be ever careful where you are within
yourself." As we do this self-observation, do we notice any
feelings of being treated unfairly, or being short-changed in our
compensation? Do we blame others or ourselves for our financial
situation? Do we hold any bitter feelings towards those who are wealthy?
And, most of all, are we holding thoughts of being dependent on
something or someone outside of ourselves for our wealth?
After we have done our work of
self-observation and begin to make the changes in our reactions to life
that are necessary, then we are ready to define the change that we
desire to experience. As Neville states, "you must define the
one you would like to be instead of the one you truly are in secret.
With this aim clearly defined, you must, throughout your
"conscious" waking day, notice your every reaction in regard
to this aim. The reason for this is that everyone lives in a
definite state of consciousness, which state of consciousness we have
already described as the sum total of his/her reactions to life.
Therefore, in defining an aim (ideal), you are defining a state of
consciousness, which like all states of consciousness, must have its
reactions to life." Being Rich, is a state of consciousness
... it is a consciousness of "having" not a "have
not" state of mind. Our reactions must be in alignment with
that which we desire to be, to do, or to have ... this creates the
consciousness of being it. Neville suggests that we assume we are
the ideal that we want to be, and then notice our reactions in regard to
this assumption; for our reactions will tell us the state from which we
are operating.
Neville:
"This is where the third fundamental - Detachment - enters in.
Having discovered that everything is a state of consciousness made
visible and having defined that particular state which we want to make
visible, we now set about the task of entering such a state, for we must
move psychologically from where we are to where we desire to be. ... The
purpose of practicing detachment is to separate us from our present
reactions to life and attach us to our aim (ideal) in life. This
inner separation must be developed by practice. At first we seem
to have no power to separate ourselves from undesirable inner states,
simply because we have always taken every mood, every reaction, as
natural and have become identified with them."
In order to have greater wealth, greater
health, greater success, or more loving relationships, we must begin
with self-observation. And we must be honest with ourselves and
impersonal to the thoughts and ideas that have blocked us from accepting
and receiving the greater good that we desire. So many of the
thoughts and ideas that we hold within our mind are based on emotions.
But, we are now working with Intelligence, and so we must work with It
intelligently. And so, we must intelligently know what we want ...
what do we really want to accomplish, to have, to be ... not what
someone else wants us to have ... but what do we want? After we
have revealed and chosen what we want, then we must detach ourselves
from any reaction that negates our having it, being it or doing it.
We must identify ourselves within our mind as being the thing that we
want now ... and reject any reactions, mood swings, thoughts and ideas
that deny it. We must keep faith with our ideal until it is
realized in the physical. Everything
comes to us for our good ... either for us to enjoy and use for our
good, or for us to heal ... and the thing to heal is within our
consciousness.
As Dr. Murphy states:
"Life was
a gift to you. You are here to express life and to release your
hidden talents to the world." In other words we are born into
a world of riches and wealth ... but we have learned lack and
limitation, financial struggle and indebtedness. These did not
come with us ... and they are not ours ... unless we accept them.
We are rich in spirit, and this wealth of intelligence and creativity
within us can attract to us all the wealth we can accept for ourselves.
Let's not only choose to be rich, but let's be the rich that are getting
richer, for in this state of consciousness, our wealth is guaranteed.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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