Is Money Important?

Money. Is it the root of all evil? Or does it make the world go round? Or a bit of both?

We spend a large portion of our lives chasing it through work, investment, playing the lottery and so on... But can it really bring happiness? Yes and no.

There are plenty of happy poor folk, and just as many unhappy rich ones. But money can certainly ease our journey on earth.

If we don't have the basics of food and shelter, life is hard in the extreme. But if we have a roof over our head and food in our belly is it still significant?

I suggest not as much as some people might think. Sure, money can buy lots of "things", but "things" aren't really important and are ultimately unsatisfying in that they only make you ant yet more "things". And you can't take any of these "things" (or money itself) with you when it's time to go home (pass away). All you take is your meaningful experience.

There is an argument from a Spiritual perspective that if you're poor you spend so much time putting food on the table that you don't have time to pursue your true Spiritual purpose. And with money in your pocket you'd have more time to spend doing more meaningful stuff. But meaning can be found in all things, even in struggling to put food on the table, even in trying to find an alternative to a job you hate...

Of course, sort the basics. But beyond that spend your time and effort seeking what really matters - meaningful experience.

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Doing What You Can't Do

Throughout life we are called upon to do things we can't, or thnk we can't do. It starts when as babies we're asked to crawl, then walk. As babies it's all a fun adventure, but as we grow older we learn to feel stress when asked to move outside our comfort zone.

Fact is, the comfort zone whilst superficially comfortable is boring and ultimately defeats our purpose in being, which is to learn and grow.

So, how can we do things we think we can't? Start by recognizing that our inability is mostly in our mind. We are all capable of far more than than we believe.

So don't worry if you're called upon to do something that you (think you) can't. Just pretend to do it, and keep pretending for as long as you can. And after a while you'll stop pretending, because you'll really be doing it.

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Patriotism

Samuel Johnson called patriotism the last refuge of a scoundrel. I've always thought it not only dangerous (how many million have been killed or maimed by its excesses) but also stupid. We can be proud of our achievements and good deeds, but how can we feel pride in something that's pure chance - ie the nationality we're born into?

Nations, the grouping together of people on a large scale, has served some useful purpose in the past. But nations by definition are so big that their peoples are highly heterogeneous. We're all different, so any attempt to lump us together as one is meaningless.

Unscrupulous leaders have long mesmerized their subjects into committing acts of great destruction in the name of patriotism. But if we abandoned patriotism, and ultimately nationhood how much better might the world be?

Far fetched? Maybe not. The relentless march of globalization is breaking down artificial national boundaries fuelled by technologies such as the Internet for which they are invisible.

We are first and foremost all one, all part of that great unity that is Spirit. Secondly we are all individuals, incarnate for a specific purpose. We will be drawn to other individuals (regardless of nationhood) for the purpose of fulfilling our, and their, purpose.

Over the centuries nations have produced a rich variety of culture. But rather than wasting energy arguing that the one we happen to have been born into is best, let's instead enjoy the best of what all nations have to offer.

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Psychic Vampires

To most of us vampires mean count Dracula, the anti-hero of Bram Stoker's classic novel and star of countless old horror movies. We may be relieved to know that there are no beings in reality that maintain eternal life by drinking the blood of innocent victims.

However, there are such things as psychic or psychological vampires. These are individuals who either purposefully or unconsciously suck the psychic energy of others.

Just as some charismatic people are a pleasure to be around and make you feel alive, so there are those negatives who mentally and physically drain those unfortunate enough to be in their company.

The degree to which an individual is affected depends on their sensitivity, and also on their incompatibility with the "vampire" concerned.

The simplest solution is just to avoid psychic vampires. But sometimes circumstances make this impossible. In such cases the priority is to preserve your energy in dealings with them by expending only a minimum of energy.

A simple, regular visualization can also help. Take a few minutes to relax, perhaps put on some gentle music. Then picture yourself wearing a shiny suit of armor. This armor allows positive energy to pass through and enter your body, but it reflects negative forces back from where they came. Feel the positive energy passing through the armor, bringing you strength and peace. See the destructive energies bouncing off the armor, back to their origin.

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Cosmic ordering

Cosmic ordering is one of the most recent new age fads.

Essentially, cosmic ordering suggests that the universe exists to serve the wants of the individual. To get anything we desire we simply have to explicitly express our wish. Having done so the forces of the universe begin working to satisfy our demands.

One of the most high profile advocates of cosmic ordering is the English TV presenter and DJ Noel Edmonds. Edmonds'career had been in obscurity for several years when he expressed a wish to return to the limelight. Lo and behold he was offered a job presenting another game show which proved a great success.

Whilst it is true that the physical universe does exist to serve the needs of the individual Spiritual being, it does so in the way of a school rather than a wish-grantng machine. Schools exist to serve their students, but they don't hand out graduation certificates without considerable work on the part of the students.

Also, while the universe does offer the potential of abundance for all, our true purpose is to learn and grow, not to accummulate material trophies.

The principles of cosmic ordering can be both useful and dangerous.

It is useful in that it encourages positive thinking. Without defining and expressing our wishes there is very little chance that we can accomplish them, other than by pure luck.

But the real danger in this belief is that it discourages effort by breeding complacency. "I've made my wish, now I can put my feet up and wait 'til it comes true". Life ain't like that. We need to express our desires, but we also need to devise and follow a plan for their fulfillment. In fact it is our efforts toward their fulfillment that is our real purpose.

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The Mind-Brain Problem

The question of whether mind and brain are separate entities is one of conscious man's oldest conundrums.

Conventional science favors materialism, ie that mind is a mere function of brain. But there are many arguments to the contrary, eg the existence of emotion, our need for art and beauty, the huge body of evidence supporting the reality of psychic phenomena, near death experiences and good old common sense.

While we can no more prove the separateness of mind and brain any more than the monists can prove the opposite, my article Mind, Body, Soul articulates good reasons to believe they are distinct entities.

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money isn't everything

Money, money, money. We can't get enough of it. We'll gladly sell our souls for it. If only I had this much more I'd be happy...

Just about everyone is relentlessly chasing money. It buys us freedom, choice, and makes us quietly feel superior to those with less.

But aren't we misleading ourselves? One day our bodies will all be dead. And what was inside them - our spirit, essence, or soul, will have passed back to its home in the Spirit realms.

Whether we made money or not, the size of our houses, cars and jewelry will matter not a jot. All that will matter is what we learned and experienced in our brief stay upon the earth plane.

I'm not saying don't pursue money. In fact if we do well in other pursuits, those that do general good, we will make money. We need money to live - for food and shelter. If we have money we can use our time as we choose - and that may be very constructively - rather than having to serve others just to survive.

But don't make money your only, or even your main, goal. Once you've met your basic needs you can probably gain more valuable experience through non-monetary pursuits.

And remember, though the vagrant may walk a harder road he will also experience much more than many a rich man.

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The Role of Psychics

The New Age era has seen clairvoyance raised to a growth industry. The demand for supernatural guidance seems limitless. And yet all too often consultations with psychics leave us disappointed. Why?

The primary role of psychics is to demonstrate to us our true Spiritual nature that we might spend less time chasing meaningless trivia and more on the important stuff. But too many approach psychics in order to abdicate their own free will.

Most psychics are genuine, but where money is available it's hardly surprising there are a few charlatans. Choose your psychic(s) carefully. Be guided by reputation, but above all by your inner voice.

We are born to learn and grow. We are given free will that we might do so. Why then are we so surprised that the Spirit realm won't invalidate our gift by making our choices for us?

Treat all psychic consultations with an open mind. Never blindly accept. Always apply your own judgement.

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When Someone Lets You Down

We're all imperfect, every last one of us. Otherwise we wouldn't need to take physical form and go through the hoopla called life.

Almost certainly at some time on our journey we're going tomeet some bad guys who will try to cheat, rob, con or otherwise wrong us. That's why we have laws, penalties and penal systems.

But maybe what's worst of all is when someone we trust lets us down or betrays us. That can shatter our confidence in people in general, and worse shatter our self confidence because we were foolish enough to believe in this person that has done this bad thing to us.

How can we rebuild from that? It would be sad if we could never trust anyone else again. But we know we are born to learn from experience. And such an experience should teach us to trust, but never absolutely.

Good and bad are relative terms. Who can say what's absolutely good or bad?For we are all part of that one whole that is Spirit, but incarnate we each have our own agenda to pursue.

If you are let down by someone you perceived to be close, don't be devastated by the experience. Recognise that person had reasons for acting as they did, even if thise reasons didn't serve to lighten your load. Don't have a down on all people. Accept them for what they are. Simply souls like yourself seeking to understand. Maintain a healthy skepticism in future relations, but do not forget that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

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If God is good...

If God is good, why are people often so bad to one another? Why's there so many wars? So much crime? So much selfishness?

This is one of the toughest questions faced by students of Spirituality.

God is omnipotent. God could easily move to end all suffering. So if God is good, why doesn't God do so?

It's because we are all here to experience, learn and grow. We can only do that if we're allowed to exercise our free will, and too often we show our great imperfection.

God COULD end all suffering at the drop of a hat. But if God did, we would learn nothing, and our incarnation would be futile.

The challenge for those aware enough is to use their earthly influence to try to do some good.

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