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    Creating True Prosperity
    Creating True Prosperity
    Creating True Prosperity
    Ebook142 pages2 hours

    Creating True Prosperity

    By Shakti Gawain

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This practical handbook presents Shakti Gawain's definition of prosperity, one that places importance on the fulfillment of our real desires rather than the amount of money we have. Most people equate prosperity with money — if they only had more of it, they would prosper. In this new, innovative look at self-fulfillment, personal-growth pioneer Shakti Gawain shows us the pitfalls of such thinking — how people, regardless of their wealth, eventually find money fails to offer true contentment.



    Shakti Gawain presents a new definition of prosperity, one that places importance on fulfillment of the heart and soul rather than on monetary gain. She dismantles the cause-and-effect relationship most people construct around money and happiness, without ignoring the important role money plays in our lives. She challenges us to pay attention to our deepest longings, and yet to discard false desires.



    Shakti shows us how to create true prosperity, which includes satisfying relationships, happiness, and fulfillment. Her unique method of self-examination helps readers recognize the paradoxical relationships they establish with money. Instead of either denying its value or giving it too much importance, Gawain shows how money can be used to teach people to identify where they need more balance in their lives, freeing them to pursue fulfilling relationships and personal satisfaction — the main ingredients of true prosperity. She speaks with authority and warmth as she sheds new understanding on a subject that concerns us all.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNew World Library
    Release dateFeb 8, 2011
    ISBN9781577312796
    Creating True Prosperity
    Author

    Shakti Gawain

    Shakti Gawain’s other bestsellers include Living in the Light, Developing Intuition, Reflections in the Light, and The Relationship Handbook. Through her workshops and books, she has assisted thousands of individuals from all over the world in developing greater awareness, balance, and wholeness. She lives in Mill Valley, California.

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    Reviews for Creating True Prosperity

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      make me be another person
    • 5/5
      Total science without any mumbo jumbo or going round and round the circles.
    • 5/5
      I love Shakti Gawain. This is my third book to read of hers. She is very grounded in her writing so it doesn't come across as all hokey. she explores three perspectives on prosperity that people usually adhere to and then she breaks them down into what is positive and negative about each one. she then takes the best from each perspective to create a new perspective. she encourages the reader to delve deep into their own psyche to find their fears, habits and beliefs. there are some exercises in the book. i have only started on a few of them and i have already found them to be supremely enlightening and helpful. at the end of the book there is a chapter of questions that people have asked her with her answers and then the final chapter shares stories from other people and their experiences in transforming their own experience. this was a very inspirational book and i highly recommend it

    Book preview

    Creating True Prosperity - Shakti Gawain

    prosperity.

    Introduction

    About a year ago my friend and fellow publisher Marc Allen asked me to write a book on prosperity for his publishing company. At the time I was too busy to even think about it. Marc persisted, and it eventually dawned on me that it was a great idea. I had always intended to write a book someday on the relationship between money and consciousness.

    Normally when I write a book, it is the culmination of several years of intense focus on a particular topic. During that time, I study certain ideas and techniques, lead workshops on the subject, refine my understanding, and of course, work to integrate it into my own life. By the end, I’ve really mined the topic for all the value I can get from it. Writing a book is a way of completing a certain cycle of my own learning process and passing it on to others.

    This book was different. I hadn’t been thinking or talking much about the topic of prosperity in recent years. I knew I had some things to say about it, but hadn’t developed or refined those ideas. I had touched on the subject of prosperity in some of my earlier books — Creative Visualization and Living in the Light — but I knew it was time to update and expand my message.

    This project has challenged me to think about and clarify what true prosperity is for me. In the process, I have led seminars on the subject and had some very interesting conversations to learn other people’s ideas of true prosperity. In this book I offer you what I have learned. I hope it will be a catalyst for you to discover what true prosperity is for you.

    I suggest that before reading further, you take a few moments to close your eyes, and think about what the word prosperity means to you. Don’t forget to breathe while you do this! It may help you to begin the process of opening to an experience of greater abundance.

    Then, read on. …

    May this book inspire and assist you in your quest for true prosperity.

    With love,

    CHAPTER ONE

    What Is Prosperity?

    Most of us think that being prosperous means having plenty of money. So how much is plenty? Some people have a fairly clear idea of how much money would make them feel prosperous. If I earned twice as much as I do now, I would be prosperous, or If I earned as much as ____ (a specific person they know), I’d feel prosperous, or Prosperity means being a millionaire, or Winning the lottery would definitely make me prosperous.

    Others define prosperity in a less specific way, something along these lines: Prosperity would mean having enough money to feel secure about my future, or Prosperity would be having enough money to do what I want, to have the things I want, and to not feel limited by money concerns. A prosperous person doesn’t have to worry about money. In other words, prosperity is a kind of freedom to be, do, and have what you really want, without much limitation.

    Most of us yearn for this kind of liberation from money cares and worries. We think that if only we could somehow earn, inherit, win, beg, borrow, or steal enough money to be prosperous, our financial worries would be over, and the money would probably solve many of our other problems as well!

    The question is, how much is enough money to bring us prosperity? Some people have a specific amountinmindthey feelwoulddo thetrick;others just assume there must be some amount that would work.

    Yet the sad fact is that most of us do not experience prosperity no matter how much money we earn or have.

    It’s easy to see why we don’t feel prosperous if we make very little money and have to struggle just to meet our basic needs.

    It’s also easy to understand why we don’t feel prosperous if we have a moderate income but also have a lot of financial responsibilities: a family to support, a mortgage to pay, and so on.

    Yet many people make a considerable amount of money and still do not experience prosperity. Somehow, when our income increases, our level of financial responsibility rises right along with it. The money goes out as fast as it comes in, and we find ourselves under more pressure to manage it all.

    I recently read an article about one of the most successful movie stars in Hollywood. The interviewer asked him how it feels to earn several million dollars per movie. He responded, Well you know, a million dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to. Clearly this man was not feeling very prosperous despite what most of us would consider great wealth.

    There are often anxieties that accompany having a lot of money: How do I invest it? How do I manage it? What if I lose it? What if I do something stupid and it all goes down the drain? We seem to work longer and harder and yet find ourselves missing many important aspects of life — relaxation, intimacy, spiritual connection, fun.

    Oddly enough, many wealthy and successful people, especially as they reach middle age or older, find themselves yearning for the kind of simplicity they had earlier in their lives, when they had less money, fewer needs, and more time.

    People to whom wealth has come easily, or not necessarily as a result of their own hard work, often experience other pitfalls. Someone who has inherited money, had a lucky break, married a wealthy person, become an overnight success (as with certain actors or musicians), or won the lottery has his or her own set of problems. These may include a lack of self-worth or personal power, inability to manage the money wisely or responsibly (often resulting in losing it), or feeling indebted to or controlled by the source of the money. These people may feel their lives lack direction, meaning, and satisfaction, or feel the tendency to overindulge themselves to the point of self-destruction.

    And there are the reactions of others. Do they genuinely like you or are they just impressed by your wealth? Do they love you for yourself, or do they just want what you can give them? These questions can loom large when you have a lot of money. As you can see, things can disrupt the experience of prosperity at every level of financial wealth.

    Ifyouhaveneverbeenwealthy, itmaybedifficultto believe or accept that having more money will not automatically make you feel prosperous. Yet you probably know or have met someone who’s in this exact predicament — they have more money than you, but theyarefarfromenjoyingit.Theyareunhappy, uptight, and obviouslydon’t feel prosperous. I’m thinking of the brother of one of my best friends who is a successful Madison Avenue executive with a huge salary. Unfortunately he and his family are very unhappy people, always quarreling about their conflicting needs.

    I’ve read many articles about extremely wealthy individuals — multimillionaires or billionaires — who seem intensely driven by the desire to make more and more money. Why? Once you have many millions, how could it matter whether you make another million or two? They don’t seem able to enjoy the vast amount of wealth they’ve created, or able to put it to constructive use. They are obsessed with making more.

    At every level of wealth, from the poorest to the richest, there are problems and pitfalls.

    When we have very little money, we fear for our very survival. Life is an intense struggle just to take care of basic necessities. We have little opportunity to develop our talents and interests. We feel powerless and perhaps resentful when we see others with more opportunities and luxuries.

    As we earn more, we almost inevitably take on more expenses. Life becomes more complex and stressful with so many choices to make. The more successful we become, the harder it can be to sort out our priorities. The more money we have, the more power and responsibility we have to deal with.

    When we have wealth, we have to manage it successfully. We become afraid to make mistakes or be taken advantage of. We may be constantly approached by others who want something from us. We have to either face or deny the problem of guilt — Why should I have so much when others have so little?

    On top of all that, wealth does not guarantee security. There is always the possibility of losing a fortune through bad investment, mismanagement, a lawsuit, a worldwide financial depression, or some other unforeseen calamity. Even a high degree of financial stability cannot bring emotional security. One reason some people continue to pursue money compulsively, even when they have a great deal, is that no amount will ever make them feel secure or powerful.

    Having more money, then, does not necessarily bring fewer problems, greater freedom, or security. The truth is, prosperity has less to do with money than most of us believe.

    So, what is prosperity?

    Prosperity is the experience of having plenty of what we truly need and want in life, material and otherwise.

    The key point to understand is that prosperity is an internal experience, not an external state, and it is an experience that is not tied to having a certain amount of money. While prosperity is in some ways related to money, it is not caused by money. While no amount of financial wealth can guarantee an experience of prosperity, it is possible to experience prosperity at almost any level of income, except when we are unable to meet our basic physical needs.

    Problems exist at every level of income. Prosperity can exist at every level, too.

    If we think that money has the power to bring us prosperity, we give away our personal power to money. When we give our power away to anyone or anything, we ultimately feel controlled by that person or thing. So, in order not to feel controlled, and therefore limited, by how much money we have or

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