|
Sample chapter: Emotional
Wealth and You
True
wealth is what you are, not what you have.
When it becomes more important for you to be content than
to continue living as you have been, you will find a way to
transform your life. If you are willing to do whatever it takes,
transformation will happen. Emotional wealth is at the center of
life; it is the soul of passion! It is the in-between moments
when the wind kisses our faces and we know we are alive. These
are the moments for which people yearn. We forget that the
beauty of our world exists in our inner lives of emotions and
feelings rather than externally in our material possessions. Emotional wealth means remembering who you truly are.
Unfortunately, emotional bankruptcy is much more common
in today's world than emotional wealth. Frenetic life styles and
the relentless pressure to constantly strive for more drain our
energy. At the same time, we feel as though something essential
is missing. Each one of us only has a finite amount of energy on
any given day, and all too often we are exhausted before lunch.
We waste our energy on non-essential things, musing about the
past, projecting into the future or on toxic relationships and
situations that withdraw from our energy accounts. No wonder we
feel listless, worried and anxious. How can we begin to be conscious of where we expend our
precious energy, to make more deposits than withdrawals so we
can live in emotional wealth and avoid emotional debt?
There is a way to have your energy account overflowing
with positive and happy energy--your true emotional wealth. This
book is designed to help you discover what is draining your
power and how you can begin to redirect your energy today, in
this moment.
To be emotionally wealthy is to be able to meet your
daily life on a deep emotional level, which is possible only
through being fully present. Emotional wealth is a healthy
vulnerability and openness to being who we truly are.
Emotions
and the feelings we attach to them are so strong and powerful
that they often override reason, truth or logic. That is why we
remember events from the past with vivid detail, particularly
the ones that were emotionally charged (like a favorite toy, an
unjust punishment or first love). I was very young when I was
able to tie my shoes for the first time, and I can still recall
how I ran to my mother and proudly showed her my accomplishment.
It was an emotion-filled moment, which is why it is still so
vivid in my memory.
Emotional
memory often becomes colored over the years, and this can lead
to false perceptions. These stories get ingrained into the
psyche as representations of our identity. If you live by these
stories, which are often untrue, are you really living your own
life? It is not that the negative emotional memories are any
stronger than the positive; the ones we choose to empower
are the ones that maintain a lasting impact. In fact, it does
not matter whether you are thinking about (empowering) a
positive or negative memory, either one will keep you stuck in
the past.
Emotional
wealth is something that we can all have in abundance.
Paradoxically, you become truly wealthy only when you stop
searching for wealth. We desperately seek external wealth to
soothe and pacify our fears of not being enough. By seeking
wealth, we approach from a powerless position of fear and lack.
Once we make the shift within our own consciousness from lack to
affluence, wealth of all kinds can flow freely into our lives.
Knowledge and trust are the gems that we already have within us
and are all we ever need. This is lasting wealth that can never
be taken away, lost or threatened.
People invest incredible amounts of time and money into
looking good and having all the material success they possibly
can. When I began my journey towards personal growth, I was a
successful person in the worldly sense, but I began to have the
nagging feeling that material success was not all there is to
life. Part of me knew that something more meaningful was just
beyond my grasp. There is nothing wrong with having beautiful
things that give you pleasure, but do not let material wealth
define you. Have your possessions truly made you any more
content? True contentment comes from being grateful for what you
have at any given time. Take control of your own life instead of
letting life take control of you! You can find contentment in
your everyday life, regardless of your situation.
The difference between happiness and contentment is
significant. Contentment is constant and eternal while happiness
is fleeting. Contentment comes from within and is not dependent
on external forces. If you do not have contentment and peace of
mind in your life, what good is anything else you might
accumulate? Being content is a solid foundation in an uncertain
world. When life shakes you to the core, and it will, emotional
wealth is the beam of light that keeps you afloat through the
inevitable storms.
Your life reflects your state of mind and core beliefs.
If you are excited and energetic, so is your life. If you are
bored and listless, so is your life. If you want to know what
you truly believe at any given moment, look at the state of your
life. Your emotions never lie; they always indicate the true
state of your life. Negativity, anger, bitterness and
resentment, among other negative emotions, destroy your life
energy. This in turn affects your health, happiness, success and
whether you let your life-giving energy flow freely.
Contentment, positivity, optimism, love, passion and an honest
desire for growth create more balance and harmony in your life,
which in turn bring health, happiness and success. Ask yourself
several times a day whether your thoughts are negative or
positive at that given time. If they are negative, you are
resisting and restricting the flow of your life energy. If you
are in a negative frame of mind, look around and find something
you can appreciate, and that act will help you to become more
positive. Positivity is the bedrock for a good life and
emotional and material wealth.
Negativity brings with it the very opposite of what we
desire. Whether you want happiness or money, they are waiting
for you. However, we have been too preoccupied with our worries
and negative thoughts to notice. Everything we receive is based
on our own thoughts, emotions and life energy. Our lives are the
reflection of these thoughts. For example, let’s say you want
more money. If you have negative thoughts or internal conflicts
about money, this will keep the riches out of your reach.
When we let ourselves be who we really are, we find our
own true power and life energy. When this life energy flows
freely, we are being authentic, and we attract, health, wealth
and happiness. ANY negativity destroys this energy. The
strength and quality of this life force is determined directly
by how positive or negative we are. And it affects all aspects
of our lives, from contentment to wealth.
Being responsible for your own life is the only way to
make it worthwhile. You can blame your hard luck on many
things--a tough childhood, gender, race, looks, educational
status, health, age, and so on--yet nothing can hold you back
unless you let it. You can make excuses or you can make a
difference. Every person has to discover and honor his or her
own truth. I encourage you to find yours. Rise above your
intellect and let your emotional wealth flourish.
You
cannot buy peace of mind.
-Describe
the state of your emotional wealth in as much detail as you can.
-List
the people and situations that drain your energy.
-List
the people and situations that enrich your energy account.
|
