Investment

When talking about money, love, and life in general, abundance is a word that gets tossed around a lot these days.  It is true that we all have the ability to share in abundance once we get out of our own way, but the concept is broad and lacks detail. When then need is to hone in on specific personal changes necessary for moving forward in life, its all in the specifics.

  

Playing with Energy

There is also a lot of talk about the law of attraction: like attracting like.  This is a powerful concept.  If I exist in lack, its lack I magnetize to me.  As everything is comprised of energy, how I use or play with energy determines what will come back to me. So, the question is, what kind of attraction are we putting out there?  What is the inner story?  What is the running theme inside that prevents us from attaining what we want?  Why for some is it seemingly easier to attract an abundance of money, love, and health, where for others only stumbling blocks appear?

The Inner Story

I have been asking myself these questions, going deeper to find the answers that are beginning to surface almost effortlessly.  What is my inner story? What have I absorbed through my parents and their imprint on my psyche?  How comfortable am I with the concept of getting what I feel I need for a more complete life – even knowing that my life is complete as it is?  What are the illusions around what I perceive as abundance and what really is abundance?  What are the old paradigms that are breaking down and what are the new paradigms coming in?  How am I defining my own personal paradigms by realizing that life is infinitely richer as I turn away from what society/business determines as the ideal? What is truly ideal for me?

Concept and Metaphor

One of the most powerful things that I am now beginning to understand is the concept of (and metaphor associated with) investment.  For example, if we’re talking about money: if more money is going out than going in, what does this have to do with investment or the lack therof?  Are we investing our time efficiently if we are not getting a commensurate return?  What if we apply this concept to love?  Many of our relationships are based on giving more than we receive, which eventually drains our investment in the time we’ve spent giving ourselves to them. The law of balance says we should at least receive that which is equal to what we give and spend.

100%

When looking at Investment, I can clearly see in my own life where I am not fully invested.  Am I involved 100% in what I am doing?  Am I wishing for something else while I’m doing what I’m doing?  Am I completely invested in where I live, the work I do, the people surrounding me?  By fully committing to my choices, I become invested and am much more likely to get a fulfilling return.  Its the law of attraction: committed energy attracts energy of like kind.

Discernment

Commitment/investment requires another essential element, which is discernment. Discernment requires that we become clear about who we are, what we are not, what makes us tick and why, and where our weaknesses lie. With the ability to discern, we can then be clear that our choices are healthy ones, which then empowers our investment. When we feel instinctively that what we’re doing is not the correct path, regardless of what is expected of us, our inner protective mechanism will subconsciously prevent a full investment.  We ultimately invest where we find our joy, our passion, our calling. When we’re in this place, the commitment we invest becomes a pleasure. 

Feeling Where You Are

I have recently made a commitment to invest in a more healthful way to think about money and relationships. This means that where money is concerned, I am analyzing or perhaps a better way to say it is feeling where my stumbling blocks are around it, such as:  seeing lack rather than prospects, not wanting to see or deal with elements around money that are uncomfortable (debts and the like), and judging myself for past unformed or un-informed choices.  As these feelings come up, just by noticing them they begin to resolve.  I begin to feel more mature, responsible, and more invested in making my money issues work for me.  Regarding relationships, it is a similar process.  Noticing where I am blinded by externals, what energies I have allowed next to me that drain me, and how my concepts around loyalty have sometimes kept me in unhealthy situations all help me to properly invest in my present and future personal life.

The Oxygen Mask

The most fundamental aspect of investment is the investment in ourselves.  I always think of how we are instructed on airplanes in case of emergency to put the oxygen mask on ourselves before putting it on a child.  How can I help another if I myself cannot breathe? 

The Law

Everything I write about in The Body In Form is to remind us to work on ourselves first.  In the context of the oxygen mask metaphor, this is the opposite of selfishness. When we feel better and do better we are better able to help others feel and do the same.  When we feed ourselves with beautiful, organic foods along with nurturing thoughts and behavior, when we are discerning enough to recognize that this is the basis and meaning of success, we are in then rooted in the process of making our most important investment.  It’s the law.