Uncover innate wisdom

To meditate on something other than the self allows widsom to reveal itself.  To discover the feeling of selflessness arises on the inside.  Are you ready to embrace experiences that demonstrate how much you love yourself?  Will you accept that all you do or do not do serves you?

Everything unfolds as is predicted, not based on the visions of self-interested people, but as is meant to be.  You will recognize when trials seem unavoidable in your life.  Yet, you will also evolve to sense trials arise and test you for good reason.  Uncover the wisdom.

To ask yourself how a given situation will improve you isn't a question to pose before an experience.  Only after you  live and learn are you in a position to reflect or grasp why obstacles stood in your path.  You create obstacles to learn to overcome each of them.

From whichever vantage point you gaze, the world and your conditions will appear different.  Yet, you are always the same being.  This shows you that only your perception and self-image change, not who or where you are.  Improvement is a state of mind.

Find the bright side

No matter what kind of condition or life circumstances you know and have known, a bright side exists. You can always train or untrain the mind to notice this.  Its a blessing to do so.

For instance, if it is raining outside, and this appears to spoil your plans, you can shift focus to be grateful for the nutrients this brings to the flowers and greenery. You can be grateful for the moisture that renews the Earth, that gives you water to drink, and enables you to do something you would not otherwise have done. You can see rain as opening the way to see the sun. Even an electric storm can be viewed as a form of relief for Nature and much more.

The same can be said for every person you ever know, every job you've ever had, every event that has ever unfolded in front of you. If you feel cheated or betrayed, you can find something positive about the same situation. You can focus what appears to be lacking or what insight, opportunity or wisdom you are gaining. What did you learn about yourself that you wouldn't have seen otherwise? It is valuable to step outside the judging mind.

If you feel you have reason to resign from your job, then you can choose to see that as the best possible thing that could happen, and feel excited about what is coming next. After all, to be your own boss or to find a different job more suitable to your skills would be marvelous!

Consider how an unforeseen injury that laid you up a few weeks enabled you to read the books you hadn't made time to read before. Perhaps you benefit from a reminder to relax and be kinder to yourself. Every event invites you to be more compassionate with yourself and others.  To recognize you have ability to see your life situation from another perspective is something that helps you, come what may.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, you can re-program your mind.  What will it take to convince yourself that you have blessings in your life? Start believing your relationships will be restored, that opportunities already exist for you and you choose to see them or not. As you start expecting good things to happen, then you reach a stage where this is all you see.  Know you pass your tests with flying colors. Recognize everything is preparing you for something else. You are being readied for conditions which are better for you than before. Sensing the bright side strengthens more than eyesight. It moves you from hope to trust.

"Always look on the bright side of life." - Monty Python

The essence of being

I recall someone encouraging me to take the stairs if elevators to success seemed out of order.  Now, why is humans are conditioned to desire quick access to those things that seem beyond our reach? What is it that makes us feel we need what we do not seem to have?

As we let go of conditioning and shift to a place of non-judgment, priorities mysteriously change. The same things no longer hold appeal.  What does it feel like to let go of what you think you want? Refreshing? A relief? Open the mind and catch a glimpse of true essence.

One view of success is what the ego views as achievement. It appears out of reach so we think we must do something to get fulfilled. If your goal is a half hour of meditation twice per day, and you complete this, the related good feelings evoke a sense of satisfaction. If you aim to develop greater physical flexibility in yoga positions or, mental aptitude in negotiation, success is still 'results-oriented.' Notice what happens as you discover immeasurable kinds of success also exist.

Consider a talkative person who is known for having ideas spinning in his head all the time.  He may typically know restless sleep because his mind is busy working out solutions to his problems.  Then, as he learns to settle the ripples down, he may experience stillness. To allow silence into your life is to discover you attract different versions of success into your life.

As you quiet the mind, you let go of judgment and mental noise. Explore what silence feels like. A sense of success arises as an innate feeling of acceptance.  Its like doing nothing and everything at once, and loving unconditionally, come what may.  This is the essence of being.

Brace yourself: Be what is innate.  Love is your true nature.  Its not the conditional feeling that you get through relationships that mind would have you believe it is.

What do you really need?

Societies tell us that our ability to accumulate wealth is often directly related job and career options. Jobs viewed as "dangerous" supposedly pay more than jobs that aren't.  Stressful jobs are supposed to compensate people for their specialized skills, and being willing to put their own life on the line.  Take a closer look a your reasons for choosing certain jobs. Knowing that you create your beliefs and perceptions, notice whether job choices are really that you seek.     

From the perspective of a country or givernment, skilled labour is viewed as an asset or form of wealth.  Consider many Western nations are desperate for more tradespeople.  These nations are hiring more foreigners for mining and other areas where they note a shortage in their labour force. What does this say about desirable career choices, other kinds of wealth, and job markets?

Ironically perhaps, trade schools have been virtually phased out of Western education systems. High schools still offer some technical courses, but structured apprenticeships became harder to find to train for paying jobs.  The status quo and governments believed more people should have opportunities to attend university, and it became a business. More students were lured into colleges on the premise that jobs would await them upon graduation. They accrue debts only to be disillusioned. Job markets are changing and students must still find work to pay their debts.  

Attitude can be a form of wealth or it can undermine your efforts to create wealth.  For example, many people develop an attitude that trades are "beneath them" and that true intelligence would only be reflected by higher- paying jobs of the moment.  Suddenly, globalisation led many traditionally, higher-paying jobs being outsourced offshore (such as medical tourism, legal services, IT and anything doable over computers, among many others). Material wealth is no longer simply attainable by following routes to key professions. In fact, the larger homes in your city may already belong to tradespeople or people you wouldn't expect.

Sources of wealth can come from unexpected places. Increasingly, you realize qualified plumbers, electricians, builders, mechanics (refriegeration, motor and others) are in demand and thus, choose their prices. Trying to find tradesmen when you need one in Western countries often means long wait periods.  Professionals trained in Western countries are becoming more mobile and moving to where they consider to find better circumstances. They determine what they think they need, ignore shortages of skills in their areas and go where they choose.

The result is changing views on what you need to do to create wealth. Tax bases are shrinking in Western countries. Young people move away and aging populations mean less people are working. The overall picture is governments have less money to use to help people and create infrastructure.  Career paths which were once assumed to be well-paying are not staying that way and career paths that were once low-paid are now gaining respect and higher salaries. Avenues which we once thought were effective ways to create wealth are no longer guaranteed.

So, what are the solutions to these issues? What do we really need?

Maybe we need to change our attitude about how and where wealth can be created. How often do you limit your own options?  The Internet is being used to create wealth in new ways that many of us don't think about.  Should we? Or, should we rethink our whole concept of wealth?

We could also increase numbers of trade schools and promote this career path as a well-paying and respected livelihood, rather than impose value judgments which may deter people from realizing their dreams. Why assume one kind of path leads to the most or the best kind of wealth?

Another idea is to require professional people who train in one geographic location to work there for a certain number of years in order to pay enough taxes to justify the subsidy of their education and reduce stress on the system.   Another idea is to evolve from the current economic-based system into some other more sustainable, global system. 

How can you expand on your ideas of wealth-creation. Does it go beyond work for you? Notice the mind defines what you think you need. The heart  feels all needs are already satisfied.

Affluence

Each of us perceives some things in abundant supply in our lives. However, visible and invisible sources of affluence exist.  Whether or not you appreciate everything remains to be seen.

A writer is never at a loss for words.  Ponder how you express words with and without judgment.  Notice words adopt the connotations you give them.  Alone and quiet, they mean nothing.  The question is, what is the intention behind a writer's words?

An experienced builder offers a wealth of insight to architects and city planners.  The question is, does such a builder acquire knowledge for his own benefit or does he have an altruistic side?

An investor can build a large property portfolio.  The question is, is this investor working purely for himself (i.e. is he self-interested), or does he have a wider vision for whom he is or can help?

A missionary tends to overflow with religious ideas.  The question is, are people always persuaded that his perspective on the world is as valuable as he thinks it is?

You may have more than enough food to eat and consider you have enough to waste. After a dinner party, you may have so many leftovers, you compost for worms, leave some for the raccoons and throw some in the garbage.

A family may consider its pets to be its greatest source of wealth. How many people do you know whose cats, dogs, or other animals have become the centre of their universe?

Parents may feel their primary source of wealth is their children or other family members. The levels of love, affection and compassion shared may seem inexhaustible and unconditional.

Such examples remind you wealth is understood in different ways. It could take the form of money and material possessions. It could be something  measurable or immeasurable.  

In essence, you feel rich when you focus on what triggers joy in life. Wealth begins as a state of mind.  If you desire to create new kinds of affluence in your life, as you visualize it, then you'll be more likely to realize it.