June 2008 Newsletter

Hello dear friends. It been a whirlwind couple of months and I genuinely missed talking with all of you in May. Now that we’ve had a break lets prepare ourselves for some spiritual adventures for the rest of the year.

This month we’re going to tackle the topic of financial transformation. While I’ll only scratch the surface of this discussion I hope that the 5 C’s I’ll discuss will help you in your day to day quest to master this area of your life.

For the rest of the year I’ll be writing specifically on the Living in Enthusiasm; Principles of Self Mastery pathwork. We will review a pillar of self mastery each month. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have been enjoying planning the segments!

As the year progresses I am more and more grateful for all of you in my life and this opportunity to share my thoughts. Thanks to all of you ! You are all a gift!

Onward & Upward! Karuana

June’s Topic: Financial Transformation for the Spiritually Minded

Money! It’s the second most argued about subject amongst couples. A large source of stress for most, many of us believe that money is a multifaceted reflection of who we are and our value in the world. There are many ways to be financially successful and we each have a choice about how we want money to impact our lives. Instead of having money rule us, our moods and our marriages I propose that we reinvent our ideas about this complex idea.

Speaking from personal experience I can tell you that without a healthy perspective both having money and lacking it can be stressful experiences. Do you know someone who:

• Is well off but who continues to have anxiety about not having enough money?
• Someone who lets the price of everything determine his or her likes and dislikes, removing them from the direct experience of living?
• Or who refuses to discuss money or financial planning favoring instead the “ostrich approach”?

All of these personality types are examples of how financial issues can become obsessions which impede our ability to live in balance with ourselves and our environment.

While there is plenty to write about regarding where we get these sometimes self destructive ideas about money we can save that for another time. Right now, here are some suggestions for retooling our ideas about money, financial security and creating balance in this area of our lives. These 5 C’s of financial transformation may not be unique in and of themselves, but together they have helped me to have a more positive, well balanced attitude about my financial reality. So let’s get started!

1. CREATE Financial Security Daily

Money is a reflection of our self respect & awareness but NOT our value as individuals. Let me repeat that – you have tremendous value no matter how much money you make or have. The problem is that most of us do not actually believe that because we feel so much better when our bills are paid and there is money in the bank. The key is this – on a daily basis you must be actively engaged in creating prosperity and financial achievement in your life. What actually makes you feel better when your bills are paid is a sense of control over your own life, responsibility and accomplishment. You can have these things even in the worst financial situation!

If you are simply “getting by” or “making ends meet” you are succumbing to the culture of fear and uncertainty that is surrounding you and probably doing a bit of sticking your head in the sand. Only you can take responsibility for your financial situation and take steps to change it and the time to start is now.

Each day you make a hundred little decisions that affect both your short term and long term financial future. Little things like making lunch instead of buying it, purchasing a water filter rather than bottled water every week or skipping that $4.25 latte every day can have a dramatic effect on your monthly budget. You might also consider that neglecting your physical and mental health will also impact your pocket book. It is also a financial decision we make when we eat poorly, drink too much alcohol, smoke or engage in negative thinking. Each of these activities will impact our ability to function well as well as we age, both physically and mentally. We leave ourselves open not only to debilitating illnesses but a decreased earning capacity as well.

Each of your decisions impacts your financial security. Taking charge of these decisions, becoming aware of the choices you make, even a little bit at a time, will transform this area of your life no matter what is happening in the overall economic environment.

Exercise: For the next two weeks pay attention to these large and small daily financial choices and see what you notice! Information is a good thing!

2. CONSTRUCT a Plan

The information you gather while noticing your daily financial choices will enable you to construct a plan. This plan can be for your overall financial security or for a segment of it. Some examples of things to plan in this area are:

• Finding a financial planner
• Creating a retirement plan
• Opening a savings account
• Investing in career training
• Putting money aside for that vacation you’ve been wanting
• Creating an exercise plan

The thing to remember is that construction is a physical, not mental, activity!Many spiritually minded people focus the majority of their attention on meditation, chanting and other positive activities geared toward creating prosperity. There is a wealth of books available to help you to craft the particular spiritual pathwork for attuning yourself, at the quantum level, towards prosperity. This is very valuable personal work. At the moment however I am focused on the tasks that need to be accomplished, with a spiritual attitude, to put your plan into action.

I have often shared with my clients that the most difficult part of visualizing a goal is to be ready to receive it when the time comes. You must create a “landing pad” for the experience you want to manifest and that means getting into action and clearing out of the way any obstacles to your success, both internally and externally. You probably can’t have a savings account with $10,000 in it if you do not have a savings account to begin with! It is unlikely that you will become a famous screenwriter if you have never invested the time in training yourself for that task. In other words, there are 3 dimensional activities that you need to engage in to harness the positive energy of the Universe and transform your financial life.

Let’s use an example here. Amy wants to buy a house but she has not checked her credit score, educated herself about mortgage options or looked at the price real estate in the neighborhood she’d like to live in. She assumes that it will “all come together” when she’s “ready”. My suggestion is that you get “ready” by taking action! By taking the actions that others have before you who have accomplished your goal you place yourself in alignment with the energy of success and have an opportunity to remove any obstacles to attaining that goal. When Amy checks her credit score in advance she has an opportunity to have removed any erroneous information. By educating herself about property prices and mortgage options she knows what to expect for a down payment and closing costs. She cannot have her dream derailed by a lack of information or planning.

So, pick a financial target large or small and construct a plan. Take actions to turn this plan into reality. Include both your chosen spiritual pathwork for prosperity attunement and steps in our three dimensional world. It is this powerful combination of spiritual intention and focused action that creates life changing transformation.

Exercise: Take one piece of paper and write down 3 areas of financial success you’d like to create. Under each one write down the actions you could take to turn them into reality over the next 30 days. Transfer these “To Do’s” into your calendar or daily planner and do them!

3. Be CONSISTENT!

It is too often overlooked that the tortoise won the race, not the hare. Consistency is a virtue that cannot be under rated especially in this area. In an age of the automatic payroll deduction is there really any reason why 10% of your paycheck is not being transferred to your 401k? If you are an independent contractor it is critical that you learn how to be consistent with your own set asides for retirement, savings and tax planning.

More importantly, in my own mind at least, is that being consistent with your financial behavior towards yourself reflects the qualities of self respect, reliability and wisdom. You, and your own financial future, are more important than new shoes for the office Christmas party or lending money to your friend for the 15th time. Consistently taking time out to take actions based on your plan from the above step shows that you respect your own finances and are willing to keep your word to yourself.

If you do not keep your word to yourself – how can you effectively keep it with others?

Take time out weekly to keep your affairs in order and pursue your financial plans. Your attitude as you approach these tasks is just as important as the action itself. Gratitude is the keyword here!

Exercise: Stop right now and think about the 10 things you are grateful for in your financial life. Do you have a steady job? A good home? $5 in your pocket? Look around and focus on those things to be grateful for and do this daily. Not only will this help you to see the wealth that is already around you, but the gratitude exercise is the antidote for the anxiety and negative thinking that can keep us from embracing change.

4. CONSERVE Resources

The idea of conservation does not just apply to the resources of our planet but to our personal resources as well. I am not just speaking of the obvious idea of not wasting money on unnecessary purchases. The result of taking the actions outlined above is that you can have a clear focus on what you want to accomplish. In this manner you will use your personal energy efficiently as you approach completing your goals.

More than once a highly intelligent individual has sabotaged their own success by disorganization, procrastination or obsessive doubt. These invalidating behaviors can plague us all at one time or another. Having the written touchstone of a plan and the clear actions that support its completion can get us back into action when these mental and motivational challenges present themselves.

The Universe in all its grace is not a wasteful construct however humans can be. We scatter ourselves, over commit, under perform and generally inhibit our ability to succeed by spreading our attention and intention too thin. Combat this by taking time to focus on your daily priorities for financial success and watch what happens.

Exercise: Spend 15 minutes each day quietly reviewing your progress on your plans. Use this time to plan your next steps and see them completed in your mind’s eye. As you do this, do not forget to BREATH!

5. CONTRIBUTE Consciously

The wonderful thing about a life lived with enthusiasm is that the main focus is rarely ourselves. As we progress towards leaving behind debilitating and often self destructive behaviors our attention turns outward towards others and how we can be of assistance to them. Prosperity and abundance are not just ideas that apply to our bank balances. They apply to our ability to help others through generous acts of kindness, charity and good will.

If you are committed to stimulating abundance in your life, find a worthy cause and give your time and energy to it. Practice generosity of spirit daily, with intention. That which you give will, without doubt, be returned to you threefold. Self respect breeds success and the positive reinforcement you will receive by participating in your community is an integral part of transforming the idea of your own worth.

Exercise: Select a charity, community activity or cause that you can contribute to consciously. Give of your time, money and attention to stimulate the vibration of abundance in your own life.

Thought of the Month

“The spiritual life is not a theory. It must be lived.” Bill W.

Educate Yourself!

There are many great books about financial planning and these issues. One of the best is by Suze Orman entitled The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying. Check it out in our store and grab a copy! For $10 I am sure you won’t be disappointed.