Money and the Law of Attraction (Blog)

[Erin Pavlina]

Originally Posted by nique

What I have a hard time envisioning is spending my money on what I see as extravagances. I just can't envision myself in a situation where having a tennis court in my backyard or a full 20 car garage is OK and normal. And when I hear about and see "rich people" that's what I see: extravagances. Yes you're spending a lot of money on other people, but you're spending a boatload on yourself too. Way more than you need. Is that actually OK?

Can you envision yourself seeing a movie at the theatre at night instead of during the matinee when it's a few bucks cheaper? Same movie, why would you need to go at night? That's just an extravagence.

Can you envision yourself buying an extra large coffee when a regular size would do?

In the old days I used to have to decide if would spend $2.99 on a value meal at McDonald's or "splurge" and buy the one for $3.49. Truly it was a huge difference to me. Back then the larger meal was an extravagance for me. Today that price difference wouldn't even register as an issue.

It's all relative. When you have millions, do you notice the difference between $500 and $1000? No way. It's like the difference between a penny and five cents.

When I'm purchasing a meal in a restaurant I'm not even looking at the price because I know I can afford anything on the menu. So I get what I want, not what I think I need or should have based on what other people could afford if they were there and ordering.

[Kylark]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Changing how you feel won't compel you to spend $500 you can't afford to spend. This is about how you feel, not about how much you spend.

Try this for starters: Estimate how much cash you normally carry in your wallet. Then double it for two weeks to see how that feels. Once you get used to that, try doubling it again for another two weeks. This will help to bring some of your limiting beliefs to the surface, where you can finally heal and release them.

I love this idea! I normally carry $20 cash (or less) in my wallet. For the next two weeks, I am going to make sure I always have $40 in my wallet, replenishing it at the cash machine when necessary. Yay!

[moonrambler]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

It's wonderful to feel appreciation and gratitude for what you have. That's part of feeling normal because it falls within the realm of belief and acceptance. Gratitude is simply a deepening of acceptance. It would be different if you pushed gratitude all the way to shock and disbelief at your amazing or extraordinary luck -- if you do that, you'll actually be pushing those things away from you.

I like this comment, and I was thinking while reading the blog, that in imagining how I'd feel if I was getting 10x more income, I would feel this HUGE GIANT RELIEF AAAHHHHH . . . and I've known for a long time that one of my favorite feelings is of relief, which is not so great considering that you have to go through something stressful or painful in order to feel great relief!

Today I took my old, diabetic cat to the vet, and I was somewhat concerned because she wasn't feeling well, but also not scared or upset, because I had a feeling it was probably going to be ok. It turned out she had a bit of an electrolyte imbalance so they want to put her on a potassium supplement and change her food. When I got back in the car, I felt very grateful and said a message of gratitude to the universe. In fact, the cat and I had a very nice time while lounging around in the clinic's back yard for a half hour while they got the blood panels worked up.

This is a huge difference from a situation like the one a few years ago where I was really scared because my old dog was very ill, and I was almost certain I was going to lose her, but it turned out to be something treatable, and in a couple days she was back to normal. Then my mood swung violently from fright and anxiety and begging the universe to help me, to sheer relief and joy at her recovery.

The big rush of intense relief can be addicting, and I can see how it can push money away . . . you need to have a big lack of money in order to feel intense relief at a big influx of money. It makes for a very unpleasant roller coaster ride which I have been stuck in for a long time.

Great article, Steve.

[Jake Birkett]

Great post thanks. All makes sense. T Harv Eker has a great book about the Millionaire Mind which helped me a lot with this sort of thinking.

I like the point that has cropped up in the forum of feeling gratitude for everything and ALSO thinking that having big money is normal at the same time.

When I think back to what I thought was lots of money as a 20 year old it's amusing. I wonder if I'll feel amused about now in another 10 years? :-D

I read a post of Steve's a while back about carrying round more money in my wallet. Started carrying around £100 ($200) + a million dollar note (even though my account was in overdraft), and that felt good. Then my finances changed to positive and I started carrying even round more. It's nice to always have enough money to buy whatever (within reason) with cash. I've even bought a Victorian gold coin that I had a photo of on my dream board (got the same date too!) and I keep it near my financial filing system along with photocopies of big cheques and wire transfers etc. This really helps me to focus on my value to society and how to provide more value because I get remunerated for my value.

A while back I was changing my mindset to think that receiving 5 figure sums would be good (instead of 4 figures or less), but now it feels normal, so I'm moving onto 6 figures. One zero at a time! ;-) I've just signed a deal with another company that will generate $1000+ per month of passive income, which is great, but at the same time it's not massive either. Like Steve says, I'm not trying to be elitist or whatever, it's just that sums like that (and I'm sure much higher) can eventually feel normal or small.

Hope my story helps others to get the vibe.

[Steve Pavlina]

Great story, Jake.

[Niamh]

Great post .
I've been waiting for my money for years. I know that I'm supposed to be wealthy. I guess its just a matter of how. How shall I get m'ah money... It's hard to get the money$ without knowing the means through which it will come. The universe won't take into account your approval or disapproval of the manner in which it makes the $$$ reach you. Does it? Without having a clear vision of how you want to attain your wealth, "Be careful what you wish for" can become a terrifying threat.

[Jesann]

Originally Posted by Niamh

It's hard to get the money$ without knowing the means through which it will come. The universe won't take into account your approval or disapproval of the manner in which it makes the $$$ reach you. Does it? Without having a clear vision of how you want to attain your wealth, "Be careful what you wish for" can become a terrifying threat.

I'm pretty sure this is where phrases such as "under grace in perfect ways," "for the benefit of everyone," and "in an easy and relaxed manner, in healthy and positive ways" come in. I grew up watching Twilight Zone and reading "The Monkey's Paw," so I at first got very paranoid about doing affirmations for money. The last thing I wanted was to wish for lots of money and have bad news as a consequence. I may still be trying to figure out the whole LOA thing, but those phrases became my friends very quickly.

In addition to adding phrases like these to your affirmations, wouldn't the feeling/vibrational level have to match "good" money as well? Okay, that made no sense. What I meant was, in feeling that yeah, you can afford whatever, money is no problem, wouldn't that feeling also include feeling totally fine with how it got to you, kind of like reinforcement for those phrases? I still feel like I can't explain what I mean....

[Jesann]

Originally Posted by nique

What I have a hard time envisioning is spending my money on what I see as extravagances. I just can't envision myself in a situation where having a tennis court in my backyard or a full 20 car garage is OK and normal.

This has been getting me, too, because these are things that I see as pointless for myself (just because, I just don't need something like a tennis court in the backyard). I've been telling myself that the idea isn't to think that I'm building a tennis court or going out to buy 20 cars, but to feel that if the whim appeared, I could afford to do or buy this or that. The idea may not be to envision a situation in which you have these things, but to envision a situation in which you know you could afford to if you wished.

If I've totally misinterpreted that, please say so!

[cylon]

Looks like detachment shows up again. Get excited about having something (financial or otherwise) feel the gratitude and genuine enjoyment of having that in your experience.... BUT from the MINDSET of someone who experiences this as a normal, if enjoyable, experience.

[dbstraight]

This post really helped me. Thanks, Steve.

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

When I'm purchasing a meal in a restaurant I'm not even looking at the price because I know I can afford anything on the menu. So I get what I want, not what I think I need or should have based on what other people could afford if they were there and ordering.

This really goes back to what dalante said about thinking in terms of things you can afford rather than a dollar amount. This, in particular, is something I would really enjoy. I'm always looking at prices before anything else on the menu. Definitely something else to think about.

[Mr.Mustache]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Right now I don't actually want to experience that. I wouldn't be a match for it anyway. I feel ready to take the next progressive step for me, so that's what I'm working on.

Jumping ahead to a billion dollars would be premature. That would be like buying a level 50 character in a role-playing game straight away instead of enjoying the adventures in levels 1-50 first. It defeats the point of playing the game. The point isn't to get to level 50. The point is to enjoy and learn from the experience.

In theory would be possible for any person to manifest a billion dollars as easily as it would be for a person to manifest 50 dollars? Even if I believed intention-manifestation to be fact the implications of your "abundance mind-set" would still strain credulity.

[child]

Finally, an article from Steve that I do not agree

"General enthusiasm about your goals is fine, but if you’re holding yourself in a state of awe and amazement when you think about them, it’s a safe bet you’ll never get there."

If you are nervous, yes, you will never get there, but excited, aroused or amazed... I believe you will get there faster. At least that is my experince.

[daj]

I agree with the blog post. Many times I've psyched myself out and never attracted what I intended.
Most of the time the wanting, desiring, and longing was much more fun than the having(ask any mother)!


I was also thinking about how excitement ties in with my dog's food addiction. My little pug will literally sit in the kitchen and wait for food to be servered to her for hours sometimes. I realized today why that is. It has nothing to do with her "being a dog". A healthy dog doesn't desire food all the time! I realized that when she was a puppy and ever since I've always made her get excited and jumpy as I was about to feed her, give her a treat, or food scraps. I created the trigger in her that food equals happiness/excitement, and that's why she has this abnormal behavior of always desiring food now. Excitement & other emotions associated with the wrong things can cause a lot of disorders if you really think about it.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by nique

I can definitely see the benefit of having a lot more money than you strictly need. Being able to use it to make the world a better place is a good thing.

What I have a hard time envisioning is spending my money on what I see as extravagances. I just can't envision myself in a situation where having a tennis court in my backyard or a full 20 car garage is OK and normal. And when I hear about and see "rich people" that's what I see: extravagances. Yes you're spending a lot of money on other people, but you're spending a boatload on yourself too. Way more than you need. Is that actually OK?

I found it strange yet typical of these sort of discussions (about using LOA for money) that the majority of people tend to be focused on either statements like the above, or opposing them. Either: I can't see myself having it, or I can. Nothing or not much else comes into it.

I think the root of the problem is that I see such things as unsustainable. I can envision a world where everyone has their basic needs met and has enough means to pursue their heart's desire. I can't envision a world where everyone has palatial estates, so who am I to have one?

In other words, a world in which everyone is living at a level comparable to where I am now seams reasonable to me, but much more than that feels wrong. So if I spend too much money on myself just because I can I'll feel guilty.

What does this mean in terms of LOA? Is it bad for me to feel guilty about wanting things that I know not everyone can or should have? Is this line of thinking all an illusion? (i.e. the things I want everyone probably could have and the world would survive.) Should sustainability even factor in? (Chances are most people aren't actually going to make their lives better, so getting what I want isn't Actually a bad thing.)

However, the first thing that came to mind for me was similar to this second part of the quote, along the lines of sustainability. (Brilliant word; I've been trying for a while to find the right word to describe why I didn't sit right with these prevailing opinions, and it's been sitting there in front of my nose for ages!) As one of the younger generation who are going to have to help this world and not let it degenerate until it's solely occupied by humans and nothing else, I find the idea of things like 'winter mansions' abhorable. Why do you need so much space? Why can't you use it in a way that doesn't hurt and/or use up all the land? What's the obsession with them? Is it just image?

I think I also agree with those saying to feel like you can afford the things you want without worrying about their cost. I'm just not sure how that fits into sharing this world with the world itself and everyone else on it (and everything else too!).

(There's more I want to say, but I can't yet find the right words, so I'll leave it at that.)


Wolverine

[NDavid]

Okay so this post confuses me because it seems to contradict my understanding of some of your earlier articles reagrding manifestation. In your other articles such as 'feeling blessed' and even the law of attraction one where you first introduced the concept of polarity, you mention about cultivating a burning desire and a deep passion and excitement about your goals. You said that you should feel downright lusty and oozing with passion. In fact I thought that the whole point of polarisation was to increase your motivation and passion because that brings greater results. So how can it now be about:

less excitement = stronger manifestation?

What am I missing?

[Allerim]

This was such an interesting post! Very topical for me at the moment.
I'm a teacher in Western Australia and with a state election looming the ongoing dispute over teacher pay is getting stronger.
The state government has offered what the media is portraying as an excellent pay rise and most teachers are rejecting the offer. Instead they are dreaming bigger and asking the government and society to value education and educators more highly.
Recently around the staffroom table we were discussing tutoring and what a reasonable rate is. I'm a maths teacher so tutoring is easy to come by. My Head of department commented that many teachers are charging $100 per hour and my reaction was that this seemed very expensive. So this post was a wake up call for me, and probably would be for many other teachers. We can't just ask the government and society to value educators, we have to start demanding it in what we do. This is a very important message to pass onto our students as well.
I recently made a goal for myself to pay my mortgage off in 3 years time (when my spreadsheet suggests it should be 5.5 years). I wasn't sure how this could eventuate but this post has made it so much clearer. I too look forward to the follow up!
Thank you so much Steve

[GreenTea]

Okay, I think I see the answer to my question yesterday (about how this relates to emotions and the law of attraction)---and it looks like a couple of other people are confused about this as well so I'll share how I'm seeing it now.

In order for us to align with that which we want, the vibration of it must be very familiar within us. Abraham-Hicks says that we're not likely to do something we haven't practiced, so we must practice the kinds of thoughts we will have when we're already in a desired set of circumstances. They use an example of a woman who said to them, (paraphrased here) "Abraham, I don't think you care if I ever meet my lover, you just want me to get so good at visualizing him that I won't notice he's not there." Abraham--"That's exactly right."

When we practice the feelings of wealth (like with the ex. in the article of imagining going from $5000 in the bank to $50,000), at first we are going to feel those really strong emotions that are helping us to BEGIN to align with our desires, but if we keep practicing, we'll get so good at it that eventually those feelings (that new, higher vibration) will be normal in us. When this truly happens, we're aligned with the desire, and it can come into our physical experience. Of course we still feel appreciation, but the stronger feelings are naturally no longer there...
Then we move on to the next desire and repeat the process....

Steve said this more clearly in his article, but it just took a little time for me to get it......

[nique]

Money is social debt owed to you by society.

Something I ought to remember.

Anyway, I think my post was mostly about expectations I have of "rich people". As in having a lot of money means that I must do things I'd consider wasteful because that's what I see everyone else doing. But the truth is if I had an unlimited cash-flow I'd spend a good amount of money on a sustainable home, which I consider to be a genuinely good thing even if it is expensive. It's my money and I can use it however I want. Moreover just because I can do something doesn't mean I must.

So I'm thinking that the next step for me is to envision ways to spend my hypothetical money that feel right and good to me on multiple levels (i.e. enough on self and enough on others to feel contented.) That way I can visualize myself with lots of money and not see myself as a bad, wasteful person.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

In theory would be possible for any person to manifest a billion dollars as easily as it would be for a person to manifest 50 dollars? Even if I believed intention-manifestation to be fact the implications of your "abundance mind-set" would still strain credulity.

The part you're missing is that unless you're going to cheat and steal to earn money, you'll need to become a person who can generate $1 billion worth of value for others. That takes some doing.

As you expand your beliefs about how much money you can feel comfortable with, you also have to expand your beliefs about how much value you're capable of creating for others. If you want to double your income, you need to double your value delivery as well.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by NDavid

Okay so this post confuses me because it seems to contradict my understanding of some of your earlier articles reagrding manifestation. In your other articles such as 'feeling blessed' and even the law of attraction one where you first introduced the concept of polarity, you mention about cultivating a burning desire and a deep passion and excitement about your goals. You said that you should feel downright lusty and oozing with passion. In fact I thought that the whole point of polarisation was to increase your motivation and passion because that brings greater results. So how can it now be about:

less excitement = stronger manifestation?

What am I missing?

These are two different phases. The initial excitement helps you identify your true desires and get moving forward on them. It acts like a compass to point you in the right direction. The second step is to bring yourself into alignment with those goals so they can become a reality, which is what this article addresses.

[DivaLion]

I'm with ya, all you folks who are concerned about sustainability and kind of turned off by the stereotypical trappings of the ultra-rich.

So here's my thought about reconciling the intention to prosper with the concept of what it really means to be very rich: One role that the very wealthy can play is to help bring sustainable innovations into the mainstream.

Maybe you don't care about owning 20 cars-- no need to. However, if you had that kind of money, you could afford to buy the cutting edge technology in hybrid or other eco-friendly cars.

Wealthy people buying Priuses (Prii?) when they're still new and expensive, make it worth it to car companies to keep making them, and enable them to eventually put the technology in lower-cost models.

If you're that wealthy, you can hire some of the top architectural geniuses in the world to come up with a plan for a house that is creatively, innovatively "green", which might inspire more widespread building techniques across the economic spectrum.

You can fund whole programs in research, the arts, education, health & human services. You can buy all your food from local organic farmers and ranchers, supporting their livelihood. You can offer someone you care about the opportunity to pursue their own passions without the stress of a day job, or help get exposure for their work, or invest in their dream.

I work for a large nonprofit and I can tell you that we have a handful of devoted donors who directly fund specific programs. Everyone gets a little anxious about making sure they're happy, but it's because those donors care very passionately about those projects and want to know what effect they're having. I imagine they take tremendous joy from meeting the intern they paid for or seeing the tools their money developed.

Wealthy people with a passion for social change can have a tremendous effect on the world with every choice they make-- from what they eat to what they wear to the media they consume to the people they associate with. If money is a form of energy, they have tidal waves of energy to pour into anything they care about. I find it unfortunate that so many of them choose to pour it into destructive, wasteful, elitist things; but that's not an inherent part of being rich, and I don't have to choose those things for myself.

I decided a while back that I am already a philanthropist, since working in the nonprofit world means making less than I could get in the corporate world. I figure that salary difference plus the fact that my work every day contributes to a cause I care about makes me a VIP donor, even if I don't get the elite parking. Maybe I'm getting in the way of my own prosperity by being too excited, but I can't WAIT to do the philanthropic projects I know I'll do when I have more abundant money. They're things I try to do now in some way even if it's on a small scale, but it will be SO COOL the day I write a huge check to set a great new initiative in motion.

(Of course, I strongly suspect that when that time comes, I'll be writing that check and I won't be totally blase about it-- I'll be doing a little chair dance and thinking OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME! I often have those experiences of "life is beautiful" euphoria now, being conscious of how much I'm loving whatever it is I'm doing in that moment, so I doubt that'll change...)

[Jared]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

When I'm purchasing a meal in a restaurant I'm not even looking at the price because I know I can afford anything on the menu. So I get what I want, not what I think I need or should have based on what other people could afford if they were there and ordering.

This reminds me of what Harry Browne says in How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, where he set for himself a conscious limit of $100 where he doesn't even consider the price ---

Originally Posted by Harry Browne

If I ever find that the limit costs me more than it saves me, I can adjust it. Until then, I refuse to ponder restaurant prices, repair bills, or any other small expenditures. Meanwhile I see people who will spend hours (if not weeks) pondering a $15 expenditure. They feel they have to, because of their limited means. They never consider that their means are limited partly because of the time they waste over pennies.

[Bristol]

While this "scarcity" mindset has been discussed in various forums on various topics, I do see a pattern (This's not meant to be personal about Steve's post at all - merely an observation/opinion...)

<BEGIN OPINION>

People post comments about how other people have a scarcity mindset when something they have been piking is construed as "too expensive" by some people. This stance usually comes across as a defensive posture - one that's designed to somehow elevate the poster to a higher level by dumping those who are having trouble finding a way to pay for the product/service into the "scarcity mindset" stereotype.

Ok, lets see here...

I really really want to buy something worth $2000 (Just an example).

I have, lets say, -$600 in the bank (yes, with a negative sign, happened to me many times)

My essential expenses per month are probably add up to more than $2000.

There's no way I can buy this. If only it were $500 or so, maybe I could have put it on my visa that has barely that much avaialble on it...

Now, if I look at this equation and feel that $2000 is "too high", I got a "scarcity mindset" ?

If only I could think wealthy, I could write a check and the bank would somehow allow it to go through?

These are real, objective numbers - not play-cash in a board game. Either you can afford something or you can't. If you can't and you really would like to have it, the price will appear out of reach, too high, greedy ...whatever.

Yes, one could try not to post something to that effect, and just simply admit that he couldn't afford it, perhaps next time...

Maybe then we can call those people to have a "neutral mindset" or something like that.

Dumping people in a generic "scarcity mindset" group because they can't afford something they would like to have, IMHO, is a sign of arrogance.

Blimey, but mostly these posts are written by people who can afford the prices. Maybe somewhere in the past they couldn't, but now they can. Happens all the time to many people...people in debt work out of it and go on to riches and vice versa.

And now that it's a new world for these people, suddenly, those "down there" have a scarcity mindset...if only they could look at their overdraft bank accounts, speak to the debt collectors, deal with the past due rent and feel wealthy....alas!!!

</END OPINION>

[Mr.Mustache]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

The part you're missing is that unless you're going to cheat and steal to earn money, you'll need to become a person who can generate $1 billion worth of value for others. That takes some doing.

I agree that generally speaking that to earn a billion dollars requires the generation of a billion dollars worth of value to others, but in the article you seem to imply that all that is required is that one needs only an abundance mindset to attract a billion dollars or whatever amount of money. How much of a role do you believe intention has (or potentially has) over productivity or vis versa.

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

As you expand your beliefs about how much money you can feel comfortable with, you also have to expand your beliefs about how much value you're capable of creating for others. If you want to double your income, you need to double your value delivery as well.

Then why not simply double the amount of value you're creating? What do beliefs have to do with anything other than motivation? How practical is it to try and develop an abundance mindset when you could be thinking of ways to generate more value? How do you know you're not attributing an effect from the universe that isn't there?

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by nique

What I have a hard time envisioning is spending my money on what I see as extravagances. I just can't envision myself in a situation where having a tennis court in my backyard or a full 20 car garage is OK and normal. And when I hear about and see "rich people" that's what I see: extravagances. Yes you're spending a lot of money on other people, but you're spending a boatload on yourself too. Way more than you need. Is that actually OK?

I'm not rich, so keep that in mind, but of course it's ok to spend a boatload on yourself. Life has no rules. 1

What's important is whether you think it's ok to spend a boatload of money on yourself.

Personally, I wouldn't want to spend a boatload of money just on buying myself things I don't need. I don't see it as extravagant--I just see it as not intelligent or useful. I'd rather channel it in a useful way. But I'd be perfectly fine spending money on things I think are going to positively benefit my life because I've aligned my life such that anything that benefits me ultimately benefits others as well.

If something makes me feel 2x better than I would feel without it, it makes plenty of sense to buy it. And that doesn't mean I'm attached to external items; I simply acknowledge that reinforcement exists and that it can save a lot of time to consciously make use of the concept of reinforcement instead of just accepting whatever you're currently getting.

I know one other person who lives in a way that what's best for him is also best for others (not including those I know from the internet and myself), but those who strive to live consciously generally gravitate towards doing this. It seems complicated an involved, but I think any other way of living, because of the massive loss of efficiency and leverage, is inherently more involved, or at least, unnecessarily harder.

I will say though, this mindset seems to be something that is part of you to a degree. You have to be drawn to some aspect of the "holistic, non-compartmentalised" mindset as a natural result of your talents, your values, your desires, etc.

I know people who just don't get this mindset, and I think they have a different path in life. Steve likes to make living consciously seem like it's for everyone, and I agree that there are a lot of people who could transition to this style of living and probably be a lot happier with it as well, but for other people, I think there are different approaches that may closely mirror living consciously, but go about it a different way. They all have the same goal in the end (love, and most likely, truth and power), but the particular "path"--the methods used--are different.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that is the case. I think Steve understands that living consciously isn't for everyone, and his goal is to influence those who are willing and want to live consciously, so they can have a net positive impact on the planet and consciousness in general. Other people have a different role in life. People who live consciously have a lot of power, but so can other people as well. Others may not have the magnitude of power, but what they lack in size they may make up for in depth.

People need to learn to stop trying to live a certain way, and start living the way *they* want to live. Only then will they feel congruent in their decisions and a degree of alignment. This is a choice. It doesn't just happen. People might say it's about not giving power to others, but those people probably want to monetise your problem and charge you money for an e-book or something. All you really need to do is update your mental model of reality and acknowledge that (A) you want to feel connected with yourself, and (B) to feel connected, you should start listening to what you want and what you think about things and take action in alignment with that.

In my experience, any personal development practices that are worth doing are easy to implement and elegant in nature (like Steve's truth, love, power principles, or the StrengthsFinder talent theme language--see my Twitter profile for more info on ideas related to the latter). If something feels difficult on an emotional level, it's probably less about the issue you're facing and more about a lack of alignment in some area (either your own alignment, or alignment with universal principles and mechanics, which may be the same thing).

Foot notes

1. Non-gamers have a hard time with this concept, but one of the most challenging things I've had to deal with in life is the no-rule-ness of life. Ultimately, for me, that meant living consciously since other ways were suboptimal.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I knew the Hicks had a new book coming out with that title -- I saw copies of it when I visited Hay House last week -- but I haven't read it. I'd already picked this title for the article though and didn't want to change it since it seemed like such a good descriptive fit for the content.

FYI (for you and others interested), I think Abraham's "Money and the Law of Attraction" (or whatever it's called) is mostly re-packaged old content from an old audio CD the Hicks have been offering for years.

That's not to say it's not good content, but yeah, if my source is right (I can't remember what my source is, but I think it was from an Abraham-Hicks-associated site of some kind), the info probably isn't terribly new.

For the best Abraham content (relative to what I deem to be helpful), I recommend the most recent audio CDs from Abraham, and perhaps a few select programs where Abraham was particularly insightful.

General explanations of core concepts of the more updated processes Abraham "teaches" are usually always good. Specific examples and answers to people's questions can vary in usefulness, I find, so it's good to be selective if you want good value for your time, money, or both.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Bristol

While this "scarcity" mindset has been discussed in various forums on various topics, I do see a pattern (This's not meant to be personal about Steve's post at all - merely an observation/opinion...)

<BEGIN OPINION>

People post comments about how other people have a scarcity mindset when something they have been piking is construed as "too expensive" by some people. This stance usually comes across as a defensive posture - one that's designed to somehow elevate the poster to a higher level by dumping those who are having trouble finding a way to pay for the product/service into the "scarcity mindset" stereotype.

Ok, lets see here...

I really really want to buy something worth $2000 (Just an example).

I have, lets say, -$600 in the bank (yes, with a negative sign, happened to me many times)

My essential expenses per month are probably add up to more than $2000.

There's no way I can buy this. If only it were $500 or so, maybe I could have put it on my visa that has barely that much avaialble on it...

Now, if I look at this equation and feel that $2000 is "too high", I got a "scarcity mindset" ?

If only I could think wealthy, I could write a check and the bank would somehow allow it to go through?

These are real, objective numbers - not play-cash in a board game. Either you can afford something or you can't. If you can't and you really would like to have it, the price will appear out of reach, too high, greedy ...whatever.

Yes, one could try not to post something to that effect, and just simply admit that he couldn't afford it, perhaps next time...

Maybe then we can call those people to have a "neutral mindset" or something like that.

Dumping people in a generic "scarcity mindset" group because they can't afford something they would like to have, IMHO, is a sign of arrogance.

Blimey, but mostly these posts are written by people who can afford the prices. Maybe somewhere in the past they couldn't, but now they can. Happens all the time to many people...people in debt work out of it and go on to riches and vice versa.

And now that it's a new world for these people, suddenly, those "down there" have a scarcity mindset...if only they could look at their overdraft bank accounts, speak to the debt collectors, deal with the past due rent and feel wealthy....alas!!!

</END OPINION>

Not quite. That isn't really the point. You're close, but you didn't take it far enough.

The point isn't to try to get you to spend money you don't have. It's to get you to see that you're the one who sets your standards and defines your financial equilibrium, and if you want to afford something that costs $2000 when you only have $600, you'll need to raise your standard of contribution to get there.

So if you only have $600 in the bank, you've only generated $600 of social value more than you spent. If you want to afford something that costs $2000, then it's up to you to generate that extra $1400 of social value by making a bigger contribution.

The idea is to push you to stop holding back on the contribution side. Go out and generate more value than you're doing now. Start associating with people who are more contribution-focused and don't waste time complaining about how little money they have (because they're hardly created any value for others).

In order to afford something that costs $2000, you have to go out and give $2000 worth of value to other people. This is a good thing.

Since money is social debt, having lots of money means that you've given much more value than you received.

If you only have $600 to your name, it means you're pretty darned selfish, doesn't it? You've only given society a net $600. Is that the best you can do? What's stopping you from creating a million dollars worth of value for other people?

Money is simply a note from society that says, "You've given more than you've taken out, so we owe you X amount of value in return for the service you've already rendered."

The more money you have, the more you've given to society. Having lots of money is a result of generosity, not greed.

* Note: This assumes a contributor mindset towards income generation, not a moocher mindset like thievery.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

I agree that generally speaking that to earn a billion dollars requires the generation of a billion dollars worth of value to others, but in the article you seem to imply that all that is required is that one needs only an abundance mindset to attract a billion dollars or whatever amount of money. How much of a role do you believe intention has (or potentially has) over productivity or vis versa.

I recommend that you learn more about Steve.

Your question is interesting, but in general, I find I can answer most questions I have about Steve's content (I have very few now since I kind of "get" Steve pretty well) by drawing on my knowledge of Steve.

Since his content shifts in many different ways so often and so quickly, it's not ideal to rely on understanding the content alone--unless you enjoy being confused.

Interestingly, I now find information about Steve's personal projects and progressions to be even more helpful than his actual content, probably because such reports turn into quasi-articles since I'm essentially further fleshing out things he's already written about, and his real-life project reports (i.e. things he mentions he's doing, etc) act as examples.

I've never actually considered why that is before, but there you go, heh. This quote continues to hold up for me:

Fortunately, the act of composition, or creation, disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind but supply it, too.
– Strunk and White, Elements of Style, Sirlin.net — Your source of shocking insights on game design » Writing Well, Part 2: Clear Thinking, Clear Writing

Originally Posted by Mr.Mustache

Then why not simply double the amount of value you're creating? What do beliefs have to do with anything other than motivation? How practical is it to try and develop an abundance mindset when you could be thinking of ways to generate more value? How do you know you're not attributing an effect from the universe that isn't there?

Your "what do beliefs have to do with anything other than motivation" question kind of makes me do a double-take (the answer: a lot!), but in general, I find that asking these questions isn't terribly helpful--at least, not directly--since it has more to do with a process that you don't need for the particular issue you may be working on.

For example, yesterday I read Steve's article and thought, "huh, some nice ideas there... I wonder if I could apply them to what I'm trying to do" (which is far too large in scope to cover in this forum post). Long story short, I realised that the best way was to trust myself and go with the original solution I had already decided on.

I find that this pattern holds up, too. Usually the most effective route is what I think I should do, regardless of how good a specific idea may seem. Perhaps my execution of some ideas isn't good, but then, does it need to be? Perhaps listening to myself just naturally aligns me with my strengths, and developing in other areas, at least in terms of strengths-theory, isn't an effective use of my time (I'm not saying developing other skills and gaining knowledge is not useful; that's another point entirely).

Perhaps you get what I'm talking about, but this whole "trust yourself, not external concepts" seems to be a really obvious concept and I'm not sure why it isn't widely known (in general, there's a heavy emphasis on processes and methods instead of self awareness and self trust--what Steve might call truth, which also includes power somewhere in there). I'd have figured that humans would have solved and clearly documented this already.

But then I've been known to greatly exaggerate what people are capable of (not trying to talk myself up here at all; people just consistently don't meet my expectations, although I do encounter some nice exceptions). I'm also aware that you can be so close to your talents that you aren't even aware of when they're in play. Perhaps I should start a blog.

(I'm only half kidding there. I've considered it, but really, I'm not sure how I can convey these ideas without them becoming processes, or without people being confused by the high level-ness of it all, since most of these ideas fit into a philosophy and don't work too well in isolation. But I digress, although, really this is all related, but me talking about how related it is will probably be far to abstract for people--again, not bragging, most people just think more in terms of--to use a GTD analogy--the "runway" while I think more in terms of "lightyears away in space" Really it's all about different ways of looking at the world, but my digressing is becoming intense.).

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

[insert awesomeness here]

The more money you have, the more you've given to society. Having lots of money is a result of generosity, not greed.

* Note: This assumes a contributor mindset towards income generation, not a moocher mindset like thievery.

Holy jesus Steve, can you write posts much better than this?!

They're gobsmackingly vigorous and lucid.

I want what you're having... which means I should probably start eating a heck of a lot more raw fruit and vegies. This veganism stuff doesn't cut it.

Perhaps I should also write a book, you know, just to reach a new level of clarity and elegance in my thinking.

Methinks you best be adjusting that $500 consulting-coaching number. Adding a few zeroes after it might work.

[dream23]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

If you only have $600 to your name, it means you're pretty darned selfish, doesn't it? You've only given society a net $600. Is that the best you can do? What's stopping you from creating a million dollars worth of value for other people?

The more money you have, the more you've given to society. Having lots of money is a result of generosity, not greed.

I'm sorry but what a load of rubbish. So on your current model a nurse giving $600 to charity is less generous than say P.Diddy who gives a million pound to charity. Is it not all relative?

Does it not matter what the person does in there working hours? while the nurse is in a noble job serving society, P. Diddy is out corrupting the youth rapping about bitches, money and flash cars.

His Net worth 3 billion while the nurse is worth peanuts, is that the result of him being more generous?