The Correlation between low self esteem and materialism

Researchers have found that there is not just a correlation between
low self-esteem and materialism, but also a causal relationship
where low self-esteem INCREASES materialism and materialism can
CREATE low self-esteem. They also found that as an individual's
self-esteem increases, their interest in materialism decreases.
In a study primarily focused on how this relationship effects
children and adolescents, Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of
Minnesota) found that even a simple gesture to raise self-esteem
dramatically decreased materialism.

"By the time children reach early adolescence and experience a
decline in self-esteem, the stage is set for the use of material
possessions as a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth".
The paradox that findings such as these bring up, is that
consumerism is good for the economy in the short run, but bad for
the individual in the long run, especially for young people.

Most of us want more income so we can consume more stuff. However,
several separate studies show that as societies become richer,
they do not become happier. Statistically people have more
material possessions and money than they did fifty years ago, but
they are actually less happy. In fact, the wealthiest countries
have more depression, alcoholism and more crime than they did fifty
years ago and yet we have more material goods to purchase than ever
before. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States,
Australia, continental Europe and Japan.

The real reason people want whatever is currently "hot" or "in
style" is because they believe it will contribute towards their
satisfaction and happiness in life. The word "believe" is the key
here. People believe that buying more and more things, especially
name brand clothes and cars, will make them happy, when in fact
research has shown time and time again that this simply isn't the
case.

The point here is if you believe that when you get enough "stuff"
you will be happy, you are setting yourself up to be very
disappointed. So instead why not be happy NOW?  That's right!  Cut
out the middleman (all that stuff you think will make you happy when
you get it) and just be happy NOW. A radical idea, wouldn't you say?

Today will bring you a new awareness, a lesson or a manifestation
that you are making progress - IF YOU LOOK FOR IT! 

Life doesn't come with a money back guarantee

Life doesn't come with a money back guarantee and yet many of us
live like it does. People are certain that they will keep their
jobs. They are certain of living a long healthy life. Others might
be certain that they will lose their jobs or get sick and die
young. Certainty comes in many forms but it rarely corresponds to
the truth.

The truth is nothing is certain. The need for certainty is the need
for safety. It is the basis of all religion. Since we do not like
uncertainty, we choose to believe in something that we feel we
can be certain about, even though we have no logical proof that it
is true.

Some might argue that if nothing can be counted on then why bother
trying. In order to move forward in life many people need to have a
sense of certainty about the outcome. But this kind of certainty is
an illusion.

Certainty is a form of disconnection - from the truth and from
ourselves. When we feel certain about something, we are
disconnected from the natural flow of life.

Certainty is the perpetual elusive dream of most people.

What in life is certain? There is a part of you - your Authentic
Self - that is unchanging. This pure consciousness is certain while
everything else is uncertain, impermanent and an illusion. But how
do you discover or experience this pure unchanging consciousness?
Through Inquiry.

If you are certain about something - anything for that matter - you
immediately place a lid on that thing. It cannot change. You won't
let it change because if you do, you will be wrong in your
certainty. But all things, except one thing, do change.

The only thing that doesn't change is WHO YOU ARE - your Authentic
Self or what is commonly called consciousness. Consciousness is
what remains when all concepts, beliefs, values, habits and ways of
thinking are stripped away. In other words, all of your ideas,
concepts, beliefs and so on will change over time. If this is true
then why waste time on trying to be certain?

By inquiring how and why you get certain results in your life you
learn about your beliefs and patterns that create those results.
Then through the power of your mind, you can consciously form new
patterns. The need for certainty is replaced by a relaxed "learning"
pattern.

Can you imagine a world in which nothing changes? It would be
absolutely miserable. Inquiry is the habit that leads us out of
that misery.

Through uncertainty you move from being an expert to being a
student. All of life, all experiences, everyone and everything
become our teachers.

Today will bring you a new awareness, a lesson or a manifestation
that you are making progress - IF YOU LOOK FOR IT!  No matter how
large or small, please record it in your Journal

How judgement robs you of success

"It's impossible to hate anyone whose story you know." - H.S. Boylan

We talk a lot, in our work with Personality Filters, about
developing compassion, both for yourself and others. We say that
when you understand why someone behaves the way they do, then you
are more able to feel compassion instead of judgement toward them.

Typically, when we judge someone we are making a whole host of
assumptions. Take a simple judgement: "She should be on time". Is
that true?

Do you know:

-If something unavoidable occurred to prevent her from being on
 time?
-What lessons she is learning in her life by being late?
-If being on time is an important standard for her?
-If her inner guidance was keeping her from a certain intersection
 at a certain time?

The bottom line is that you don't know, you never really know what
someone else's path in life involves. Therefore, the answer is
always, "No, it's not true". It's just your opinion.

Having compassion does not mean that you have to condone someone's
hurtful behavior, but it does mean that you don't judge the person.
Now I imagine that some of you are thinking, "What about
criminals?" I'm willing to bet that the most heinous crimes are
committed by people who had heinous things done to them as
children. Does that excuse or justify their behavior? Definitely
not. But if you knew their story, you would feel more compassion
for them. We see this in our work in the judicial system, where
judges pass judgment on the action of an individual, while
remaining compassionate to the person, well some of the time.

Our day to day judgments are typically not of that magnitude.
They are mostly about things that we believe other people should be
doing based on our own values, standards, wishes or needs. So the
next time you find yourself judging someone, take the judgmental
thought and ask yourself; Is that true? Can you know with
absolute certainty that it is true? If you're not in that other
person's skin the answer has to be - No, it's not true.

Today will bring you a new awareness, a lesson or a manifestation
that you are making progress - IF YOU LOOK FOR IT!  No matter how
large or small, please record it in your Journal

What controls your life....

For most people, their life is controlled by their thoughts about
money. But if we are in Alignment and in the Flow, how could money
be a problem?

Many of us are motivated by the desire for success. What is
success? Success is a concept - an illusion. Without a "story" we
are always successful wherever we are.

I have never seen a money problem that did not turn out to be a
thinking problem. I used to believe I needed money to be happy -
even when I had a lot. I was often stressed out that something
terrible would happen and I would lose all my money. I realize now
that no amount of money is worth that kind of stress.

If you live with the un-investigated thought that you need to pile
up money to be safe and secure, you are living in a hopeless state
of mind. Banks fail, stock markets crash, currencies deflate,
people lie, break contracts and break their promises.

If you live in this confused state of mind that you need to pile up
money to be safe and secure you can earn millions of dollars and
still be insecure and unhappy.

Some people believe that fear of not having enough is what
motivates them to make money. But is that really true? Can you be
absolutely certain that without fear as a motivator you wouldn't
make the same amount of money or even more?

Who would you be and what would happen if you never believed that
"story" again?

Once I understood and applied the principle of Alignment and Flow, I
began to notice I always have the perfect amount of money for me
right now.

A clear mind is in the Flow. It knows how to live, how to work,
what emails to send, what phone calls to make and what to do to
create what it wants without fear.

When you understand this you begin to realize you have all the
security you wanted money to give you in the first place. And you
will also notice it is a lot easier to make money from this
position.


Today will bring you a new awareness peace and blessings.

Whats in Laughter

"Laughter is an instant vacation!" - Milton Berle
When was the last time you laughed? I'm not talking about a chuckle
or a smirk. I'm talking about a good, hard belly laugh. Remember
the last time you laughed until you cried - doesn't just the memory
of that feel good?

Some statistics tell us that children laugh 300 times a day, adults
only 15. Others say children laugh 146 times a day and adults 4.
Whatever the actual numbers are, it's clear that we, as adults, are
not having much fun! And I'm willing to bet that many adults aren't
making the statistical average these days - even as low as it is -
especially if they listen to the news and get caught up in negative
conversations, of which there are plenty to be had if you succumb.

Laughter is good for the soul and the body. Science tells us that
laughing has many health benefits, among them the release of
endorphins and decreased blood pressure and stress hormones (70% of
diseases are stress-related).

But laughing is not something you should do because it's good for
you - it's something you should do because it feels good.
Actually, it feels great and it provides an instant connection to
the Flow. So recognize that I want you to be light
about your life - don't take it so seriously. You can almost always
find humor in a situation if you look for it.

What makes you laugh? Rent it, watch it, read it. Who makes you
laugh? Call him, meet her for lunch, play with your kids or your
pets. Lighten up - feeling better is just a belly laugh away!


Today will bring you a new awareness, if you look for it you will find it.


Peace and blessings.

Energy, Life, Love, Money.

Unfortunately we are surrounded by a lot of negative energy. Yet,
if we can raise our energy, we will start to feel ourselves pulling
out of the negative energy surrounding us. The energy in our
environment is often pulling us down so we have to protect
ourselves by aligning ourselves with people and situations that do
not deplete our energy.

How can we build up our energy? By only focusing on things that
make us feel good. I have also found associating with like-minded
people raises my energy faster than anything else because I am
surrounded by the groups combined energy. The problem is, when I
leave that uplifting energetic environment and go back to my normal
daily routine, that higher energy level is often dissipated.
I soon realized that I had to learn to condition my energy to
maintain or vibrate at a consistently high level. Once I learned
how to maintain my energy, I could also use that energy to uplift
other people. The easiest way to do this is to make the decision
that you will feel "good".  That's all it takes.  If you feel "bad"
in any moment, reach for a thought that makes you feel just a
little bit better and see what happens.
One of the fastest ways to open the flow of riches into your life
is to help other people raise their energy. In fact, it has become
a major part of my purpose to raise the energy of every person I
meet.  This is not easy to do, but the rewards are far beyond the
effort it takes to do this on a daily basis.

I practice it every day. Even when I meet a total stranger, I make
the effort to uplift their energy, even if it is as simple as
giving them a smile or being warm and friendly.
Since energy is transferable without having to say a word, you can
raise the energy level of the people around you just by sending
them your thoughts. Try this experiment.  As you come into contact
with other people, especially the ones that seem unhappy or
stressed, take a moment and project a good feeling toward them. Say
something like. "I wish the best for you."  Or better yet, say "I
love you" however you must come from the heart.
Now I know this is not easy, but the rewards will be
well worth your time and effort if you do it consistently, moment by
moment and day by day. It has an accumulative affect that will
simply amaze you.

In accordance to money, the money you desire
will flow into your life in direct proportion
to the energy level or consciousness you are willing to maintain.
Now you have two choices. You can read this and forget about
it, agreeing that it is a good idea but do nothing about it, OR you
can DO something about it.  Just try it for a week and see what a
difference it makes in your life.

Raise your energy

One of the fastest ways to increase the Flow into your life is to
raise your energy to have more life force and more power.  But how
do you go about raising your energy? 

In the graph below 0% represents no energy and 100% represents 
maximum energy. 

0%-----------------25%--------------50%--------------100%

If someone is at 0% energy, then they are dead. Unfortunately, many
people are living just above 0% energy.

At the other end of the graph, 100% represents the highest positive
energy available. As you move up the scale, you will have more of
the good things in life because you are vibrating and evolving at a
higher level. 

The higher up you move on the scale, the more easily you will be
able to use the Law of Attraction. All you have to do is think a
thought, attach emotion to that thought and then it manifests
rapidly because your life force is flowing freely and is not
blocked.

Your energy level not only attracts money into your life, it 
attracts everything else, including other people. If you have a very 
dense or low level of energy, you are going to manifest that same 
energy you are projecting. In other words, you will attract people 
and relationships into your life that have the same low level, dense
energy.  This is explained in the Levels of Awareness that you are
studying.

What most people really want in their life is energy without even
being aware of it. People think they want money, but from what you
are learning, you realize that money is just another form of
energy. 

Stop right here and think about this because it is a key point to
opening the flow of money into your life. When you fully understand
this you will see the whole world differently.  We can sum it up
this way - if you raise your energy level, you will raise your
income. It is that simple.

Today will bring you a new awareness, a lesson or a manifestation
that you are making progress


Peace and blessings.