I was inspired by this. It makes me want to write my own version. How about you?

Click here to view the embedded video.

I pledge allegiance to breaking the self-imposed barriers of my humanness. I recognize that my time on this planet is precious and limited. Every day is a canvas on which I can create. Everyday is an opportunity for me to move in the direction of the dreams and the expanded vision I feel inside. By setting aside petty grievances, past mistakes, righteous anger and my broken story, I pledge to move forward and embrace the experience of freedom right here and right now.

I pledge allegiance to the expression of my spiritual honesty. I fully own the fact that my presence here in this body and on this earth is a celebration of uniqueness and importance. Creation makes no mistakes. I am a creation of life, of a higher power, of perfection. My reason for being here matters in the grand divine plan. I must be honest with my contract of life and walk the path of my destiny with conviction, purpose and grace.

I pledge allegiance to the quiet soldier within. I understand that the championing spirit that is already cellularly alive inside of me, that was already in place at the time of my birth, waits patiently for my current belief about myself to join it in its knowing. I march forward towards a history of my own making, wisely, lovingly choosing the means by which I spread my beliefs and convictions. I never make others wrong for their chosen path for I recognize the innumerable roads that lead to the One.

I pledge allegiance to a partnership with divinity. I choose to see others and myself from eyes that already view the wholeness and perfection within. I do not entertain our past damage or encourage us to identify with it for I trust that a grander calling card has been printed for us to distribute in promoting our lives. I champion all of us to celebrate what is working rather than what isn’t.

I pledge allegiance to wise discernment – knowing when to speak and when to remain quiet, knowing when to comfort and when to leave alone, knowing when to intervene and when to avoid rescuing and interfering.

I pledge allegiance to people and projects of substance. I cannot travel this road alone. If there is anything we as a species need, it is each other. I actively choose to support those whose work I believe in with my time, talent and treasure. I joyously give to those whose intention and purpose is for self-empowerment and the awakening of humanity to its personal magnificence. I rally to make others aware of such light bearers and do what I can to support them in furthering their vision.

I pledge allegiance to the freedom from comparison. I once and for all lay down my wearisome, stale beliefs of unworthiness and not being good enough. I know that my past does not define who I am. I am forever evolving, growing and learning. I recognize that I am a marvel. I now choose opportunities to let my voice be heard; to let my light shatter the darkness of futility so that every personal dream is explored.

I pledge allegiance in knowing that things are not always as they seem. Just because something can’t be seen with the physical eye or rationalized by our current mode of understanding does not negate its existence. Understanding the difference between reality and illusion, I move into a fuller acceptance of the non-physical – the mystical, intuitive, soul aspect of living that expands my consciousness and deepens my days.

I pledge allegiance to actions that fulfill the greatest good for all. By becoming a gatekeeper of compassion, tolerance and love, I move into a fuller conviction of pure intent with regard to the words that I speak and the choices that I make. I pursue a win-win in all activities of life.

I pledge allegiance to those who have gone before me, the ancestral lineage whose courage, sacrifice and conviction still live in my bones. I honor the privileges given to me today because of the sweat from their pioneering efforts and the fortitude of their convictions. I give thanks for my responsibility in creating the same for future generations.

I pledge allegiance to a love that has no agenda. I no longer choose to give for what I might get, to manipulate in order to control, to abandon before I can be abandoned, to tolerate because there are seemingly no other options. I choose to love as a way of being. I am content in my choice whether outside circumstances respond or not. In being love, I create fulfillment above and beyond what the human condition can provide.

I pledge allegiance to the sacredness of laughter, knowing that the greatest healing force that exists reverberates from the vibration of this holy and irreplaceable gift. I allow humor, joy and eruptions of laughter to make their home in my heart. I let my physical body respond to the sacred stimulus and biological wonder that laughter creates and vow to keep this attribute alive and thriving all the days of my life.

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An excerpt from Plato’s Republic, the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ is a classic commentary on the human condition. It portrays how reality is not always what it appears to be on the surface. It is a story about the power of conditioning over the power of possibility.

This video was created using thousands of high-resolution photographs of John Grigsby’s wonderful clay animations. Enjoy:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the question: Where are you? Chained inside the cave, watching shadows reflected on the walls, believing in that version of “reality”? Or out in the light of awareness, beckoning to others to free themselves and leave their caves?

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(This article is cross-posted at the Huffington Post)

I’m really not a curmudgeon, I’m just not a huge fan of happiness. Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-happiness either. I just don’t believe that, in spite of what our forefathers proclaimed, life is about its pursuit. Those who chase it, end up mostly being unhappy. Happiness is okay, it’s just overrated in my book.

And here’s the irony: I spend a lot of time being happy. But it’s not because I’m trying to be happy. It’s because I’m busy being present and in the moment. And in the moment, without effort, happiness lives, like the air you breathe. It’s right there, on the very next breath.

As the Buddha taught, it’s the attachment to happiness that gets us in trouble. Seems to me like pursuing it is the equivalent of being attached. Yet some people make a living out of teaching others how to be happy. No offense, but making a project out of pursuing happiness doesn’t sound like much fun to me, it sounds like work.

I think happiness happens when we’re not “trying” so hard, when we’re not totally obsessed with “being happy” but rather living in the natural flow of our soul’s agenda. Happiness is a by-product of being aligned with one’s spirit, living with an open heart, and expressing one’s authentic passion.

Do all that and you’ll be happy. Maybe. Or not. Because happiness is elusive, like a butterfly that lights on your shoulder. It’s there for a moment and then gone. Try to capture it and you’ll damage its wings, rendering it incapable of flying. Rather than trying to guard and hoard it, happiness, like the butterfly, is to be appreciated and celebrated during its visit and allowed to move on when it’s time to move on.

We only cling to the idea of happiness because we fear we might not have it again. In our clinging, we miss the very moment of its ripeness, the mystery of its colors, its fragrance, its delicacy, the very thing itself. We clip its wings and crush it with our fear almost guaranteeing that we’ll lose it: a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There are many approaches that teach how to increase one’s chances for attaining happiness and that’s all well and good. I highly endorse meditation, a powerful practice with enormous benefits to body, mind and spirit. I meditate, not to achieve happiness, but to enter into the silence and stillness, which is a welcome respite from the outer “noise” of living. I meditate to quiet and calm my monkey mind, to come into a close connection with the divine, to release stress, and to get right with me. All of which makes me enormously joyful.

Now let’s talk joy for a moment. This, I can get on board with. One doesn’t pursue joy. Joy is a deeper state than happiness, not dependent upon external circumstances for its ability to be experienced and felt. Joy is what you feel when you’ve told your deepest truths, even if those truths make you feel sadness in the telling. Joy is present in loss as well as in fullness. Joy is knowing that you have not compromised your self, that you’ve lived up to your own standards of honesty and integrity. Joy is knowing that you’ve made somebody else’s life a bit easier, that you’ve loved well, that you’ve looked your fear in the face and had the courage to do what you needed to do anyway.

I think most people seek happiness, but really want to feel joy. Joy is a more permanent-like state. The Dalai Lama is joyful. Even in exile, even with his people suffering under the tyranny of China, his energy is light, playful, even mischievous. He doesn’t take anything personally; he does not carry burdens. His heart is clear — he is at peace.

Joy is a state born out of being at peace with yourself. Want to be joyful? Settle old scores and don’t be attached to how it comes out. Let the other guy win. Finish your unfinished business. Don’t leave any dangling participles behind. Clean up your act.

Joy incorporates both the agony and the ecstasy of existence. It requires that you make a vow to yourself, to live your life for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do you part.

I’ll take joy any day over happiness, even knowing that in so doing, I open myself to the pain of living a full-out, no-holds-barred kind of life. But I’m not attached!

What do you think? Would you rather be happy or joyful? Who is your favorite role model for joy?

Please leave a comment here or feel free to contact me personally at judith@judithrich.com.

And above all, don’t worry: be joyful and en-joy many blessings on the path.

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Imagine the following possibility (who knows if this is “so”, but just for fun, play along with me for a minute):

Suppose that prior to your birth, your soul got in the line where “life passes” were being handed out.  I know, this sounds crazy and I’m not suggesting this actually happens, but it’s an interesting metaphor to play with, so humor me just a bit longer.  “You” (as a soul) collected your life pass and on it was written: “Admit One– No guarantees”.

At that moment, you had to choose whether or not you were going to take the ride, and take whatever came with it.  You chose “yes” (you’re here, right?) and with that, you got on board your life, fastened your seat belt, and the ride began.  And here you are, right where you are, with all the bells and whistles you’ve accumulated along the way.

How are you doing so far?  Are you liking the ride?  Are there parts of the ride you’d just as soon didn’t happen?  Do you have the brakes on, dreading what could lie ahead?  Or are your hands in the air and you’re whooping and hollering for more?

The ride you’ve got is the ride you’ve got.   It might rocky or bumpy.  It might make you dizzy or sick to your stomach, or just downright sick.  But it’s your ride.  Are you fully present for the ride you’re on?  Given you choose it in the first place, are you bringing all you have to the journey and squeezing every drop of opportunity out of it?

If not, how come?  Are you envious of your neighbor’s ride? Still looking for the “escape clause” in the contract so you can exit this ride and hopefully get on a different one?  What if, no matter what your circumstances, you could make your ride a “joy” ride?  It clearly is not the circumstances that determine what kind of ride you’ll have.

Recall Frank and Kristen Alioto, the couple in Tony Robbin’s TV series.  Frank became a quadriplegic on his wedding day when he jumped into a swimming pool at his wedding reception and broke his neck.  With a lot of hard work and determination, Frank came through many challenges and proved his mettle.  He ended up sky diving and fulfilling his life long dream of driving his truck in the desert.

Recall Nick Vujicic, the man who was born with no arms and no legs and who today, travels the world giving speeches to young people about courage and resilience and believing in themselves.

Your challenges might not be as daunting as Frank’s or Nick’s but each of us has our own version of being up against our self-imposed limitations and having the opportunity to go beyond.

Supposing you came to take on the full ride of your life, no holding back, no playing small.  Supposing you came to go full tilt boogie with no guarantees of the outcome.  I assert you did, and so did I.

Take a look at your “ticket”.  Notice any guarantee clause?  Me either. So why not go for it anyway and, take the risk of winning instead of losing?

I’d love to hear your stories of perseverance and triumph.  Please feel free to share below how you’re making it through the ride.

Abundant Blessings.….…..

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Tony Robbins’ new series, Breakthrough: The Power of Crisis, launched this week in the Huffington Post,  is taking on one of the most important issues of our time: How can we be empowered by crisis rather than impaled by it? How can we use adversity as a mechanism for personal growth?

This is certainly not a new question. In fact, it’s essentially the human condition. Life really doesn’t care if we like what it brings or if we’re ready. Life is impersonal that way. Life “happens” and we are faced with choices about how we’re going to deal with it. Will we be a victim of circumstances or will we use them instead to grow and become victorious?

I’ve been exploring this same topic, but in a slightly different context: How can we transform the fear-based consciousness of scarcity, which has so many people in its grip today, and live in the consciousness of abundance?

Recall, our definition of abundance is not about greed or excess. Abundance in the context of these lean times is about sufficiency, living in the flow of “enough.” In the face of hardship, how does one overcome conditions of scarcity and create conditions of “enough?”

As Tony affirms, “It all starts with each individual’s inner strength and resilience.” So the question becomes: How does one shore up their inner strength when life has beaten them down? What do you do when the only thing in abundance in your life is scarcity?

Here’s an email I received from a reader of last week’s post, “Five Keys to a ‘New’ Abundance for Lean Times,” that gets to the heart of the issue:

Thank you for that wonderful article: 5 Keys to Abundance. The words were well written and thoughtful and it certainly makes a lot of sense. These types of articles are great but there is always one small problem. The landlord won’t take the article or words as payment. Also the car companies, gas and electric companies and super market will not take them as well. You get the point. Life will not wait for us to get better and learn to adapt these words and move forward.

Perhaps if the world was more compassionate it would work, say for instance tell all of your creditors that you need three to four months to get well and they accept that. Yes I am cynical but I am also the average hardworking, family-loving person who is ready to throw it all away. Not because of what I don’t have but because I can no longer support my family in ANY WAY.

The effort is great on the writer’s part and it will probably help some of the people get through a couple of extra days perhaps weeks but is not a solution. I myself don’t know the solution and try and figure it out every minute of every day.

When you love your family and they love you back and everyone is pulling hard together it certainly brings you closer together and you do learn a lot about your self but this for many people is not enough; they just can’t survive financially or emotionally and the result is what you see in the news every day and often. –Jeffrey F.

Jeffrey has voiced a legitimate concern that hits to the core of what many people are facing in today’s economic crisis. How do you pay the rent or buy groceries with “good ideas?”

All this abundance philosophy sounds good on paper, but when the resources are all dried up and the rent is due, then what? It might sound and feel good for a nanosecond, but when the rubber meets the road, the rent is still due and the kids are hungry. Let’s get real.

Seriously! Let’s do get real. Jeff feels he no longer can support his family “in any way,” and is “ready to throw it all away.” So let’s examine Jeff’s situation more closely because his circumstances and his despair echo what can be heard across the land in many people’s lives today.

Let’s look at how Jeff sees his situation: Given what’s so, Jeff feels he can no longer support his family in any way. To this I ask: “Is this true?”

Jeff tells us he loves his family and they love him back and they’re pulling closer together through this experience. I know love won’t pay the rent, but notice, the family is pulling together. They could be moving apart, but they’re not. I’m not sure if Jeff truly gets what a valuable resource this is.

There is something here that money can’t buy. So while love, alone, doesn’t pay the rent or make the car payments, within this circle of love and connection called “family,” or even friendship resources, there is a fountain of possibilities waiting to be loved into form. And that form might very well turn out to be what pays the rent and puts food on the table.

There is a sacred bond, a deeper connection, that manifests when people come through hard times with the love and support of family and/or friends. It comes into being when people dig deep to find within themselves the strength and courage they didn’t know they had, the commitment to their future, the legacy they leave behind for those who follow, and their commitment to stand for themselves and each other to realize and live into their greatest potential.

Talk to men and women who have been in military combat together — people who have stared death in the face together and come back to tell about it. Talk to people who have been through the catastrophic illness of a family member together. Talk to those who’ve sat at the bedsides of their dying loved ones together. What will you discover? There is an unspoken, sacred bond felt by those who confront life’s biggest challenges and who learn and grow from them together.

Do not sell this sacred bond short. In the department of valuable resources, this one is right at the top of the list. It’s intangible, yes, but if asked to choose which is more valuable, the love and support of family or money to pay the rent, what would you choose?

There will be people who, in the identical circumstances as Jeffrey, with all the same complexities, fears and misgivings, will turn their circumstances into a turning point in their lives. They will take this same hand and play it, not from being ready to throw it all away, but from stepping into the void that is already there, choosing it (it already is), and summoning from their deepest and highest selves, their powerful intention to move forward.

People who prevail and get to the other side of hard times do so because they discover a part of themselves they didn’t know they had. In so doing, they realize that it was only under the pressure of what felt like no choice, they in fact chose the hand they were dealt and used that exact same hand to get bigger. They were victorious in the face of what looked like being dealt a losing hand.

Those people will look back on this time and see this was when they chose to live as a conscious act, an act of volition. And then they set sail toward creating the rest of their life. Why couldn’t this scenario be yours?

Likewise, there will be people who, dealt this same hand of cards, will respond by feeling empty, passionless and drained dry of life. Like Jeff, they’ve lost access to their inner resources and in the face of hardship are ready to “throw it all away.”

Which response do you think is going to produce breakthroughs, and even success? Which is going to empower someone to press on, dig deep and come out winning?

Do you have a choice in the matter? Thinking you have no choice is a choice itself. Which choice is more empowering? Which one opens possibilities?

Surely in the face of “throwing it all away,” giving up, resigning, the doors to possibility are closed. The mind has decided there is no way forward and thus, it comes about. There is no way forward.

We literally speak and think our reality into being. If the mind says, “This is it. I’m done. I have nothing left. There is no way forward,” this thought takes form and creates itself on the material plane. Thoughts become things.

Abundance begins when you choose exactly what you have, not as in resignation or “settling,” but as a place from which to begin. If you’re in resistance to what already is, you are not in the present, where the only opportunity to change things resides.

Resistance is a form of denial that has you locked into a belief that “this shouldn’t be happening” and thus, you’re stuck right where you are. All the resistance in the world will not change your current reality. You must stop resisting and choose what you have. Only then, are you available to take committed actions that will begin to turn things around and thus, transform your life.

I sense that Jeffrey has not completely resigned yet. He has reached out and this is good. If he’d truly given up, he wouldn’t have taken the time to write with his question. He is still in the game, but on his way to the bleachers, while looking over his shoulder to ask one more time, “Is there another way other than giving up?”

Which to Jeff I say, “Yes! Yes!” For sure you’re going to lose if you retire to the bleachers and sit out the rest of the game. If you throw it all away, you’re not even going to give yourself a chance. So what if you’ve given yourself 1,000 chances? How do you know your chance is not at 1,001 or even 1,002 or beyond? How many times did Edison fail at the light bulb? 10,000? How do you know it’s time to quit? What if the game is just getting started?

And as for the rent, what if love and courage can pay it? What if self-love and courage are the missing ingredients that would have Jeffrey know he’s capable of winning, even if the score doesn’t look good? I’m reminded of a young man named Nick Vujicic, who was born with no arms and no legs. Nick is a winner. If you want to know what resilience and courage look like watch this. It’s worth 4:11 seconds of your time.

WATCH:

We have the hand we’re dealt. It seems unfair that some people should be dealt all aces and then there’s Nick Vujicic, who chose what he has and wrote his own rules about what it means to be dealt a life with no arms and no legs and we’re all richer for it.

Choose the cards you’re dealt, the ones you like and the ones you don’t, and play them full-on, play them with everything you’ve got for as long as it takes, for your very life might well depend on it. In a very real way, it does. For sure if you throw in the cards, you lose.

Jeff, I hope you still have your uniform on and are headed back towards the field. The team is missing a player without you in the game.

And to anyone who can identify with Jeffrey, to those who question if it’s worth it, to those who wonder if they matter, to those who don’t see a way out, please remember this: the human team is incomplete without you on it. You came to play out your life and there’s no one else who can “do you”. There’s something you came to do, someone you came to be, something you came to learn and contribute.

You are essential to the story of humanity. If you don’t contribute your unique piece, the human story is incomplete. So if abundance is scarce or if scarcity is abundant, go for it anyway. Your current circumstances are precisely what you have, so choose them and then get busy creating from there.

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Here’s a question from a reader of last week’s post on How Are You Playing The Scarcity Game?  

How do you implement an anti scarcity campaign when it seems all around is just that. I personally am seeing a reduction in my work and in my work day, I see so much increased poverty, lack of funds/person power, and people falling through the cracks. In the past months, I find myself going numb though my anxiety level is pushed as I feel that there really isn’t enough for all people that I see (professionally and personally). I would so appreciate any insight you may have.…..

What a perfect question to launch into exploring a conversation about what does it mean to be abundant when so much of the world is suffering from not enough? Is it even possible?

How can one be abundant if they’ve lost their job and have no money? How can anyone feel abundant when we’re awash in media messages 24/7 reminding us to be very afraid, the sky is falling?

I consider this to be a topic of critical importance for our time, as where each of us individually and collectively comes down on this subject will determine how we’re going to experience this period of human history and our own individual story within it.

So first, what do we mean by the term, “abundance”? The dictionary defines it as:

1. An extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply:

2. Over flowing fullness

The standard image of abundance is a cornucopia overflowing with the harvest. The message is “There’s more than enough for everyone. Come, take what you need, there is plenty.” Let that message sink in for a moment. There is plenty.

Consider what is plentiful in your own life.

How about time? Do you experience time as plentiful? Do you have plenty of time to do the things you love? If not, how come?

Everyone has the same amount of time in a day to use as they choose. OK, I know, you’re going to say “But I don’t have much choice about how I use my time. I have to work 8 or more hours a day and that only leaves me 16 left. And I have to try to sleep 8 hours a night, so that only leaves me 8 hours left to get everything else done. And I spend an hour commuting to and from work and 2 more hours shopping for food, bringing it home and preparing it, so when it gets right down to it, I only have 1 or 2 hours/day maximum to spend with my family or go out with my friends or just catch my breath before doing it all over again tomorrow. No, my time is not enough!”

But what if it is? What if exactly what you have is enough? What if you could choose to regard your current life circumstances as enough? Hear me out. Even if you don’t have a job and you’re living in fear, could you change your mind on the very next breath and bring abundant kindness, love and compassion to yourself in the midst of your fear?

Do you have enough kindness and love to nurture yourself and plenty to give to others? If not, how come? Where is it? Did someone take it from you? Or have you closed yourself off and no longer have access to the well of kindness and love within?

It’s extremely challenging to find one’s inner abundant resources much less draw from them when the external world is awash in scarcity. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe these times are the way they are exactly so we’ll ultimately discover, there is no where else to turn but within to find what really matters.

When the external resources have disappeared, can you count on you to be there for you or do you abandon yourself and give your power away to fear? Do you have abundant courage to face difficulties when they arise or are you lacking faith in yourself, compassion for your fellow human beings?

In the end, it’s not about how many “toys” we have when we die or how many vacations we take, or how many pairs of shoes we have in our closet. It’s not about the “things” we amass, even though we can look around and see there are those whose entire lives are devoted to accumulating more “things”.

We can also point to the Enron’s and Bernie Madoff’s of the world and see where the game of greed and self absorption leads. It’s never a happy ending. Look at all the so-called “celebrities”, those in whom our culture invests some false images of plenty. They’re supposed to “have it all”. I wonder if Mel Gibson or Lindsay Lohan are feeling “enough” about now? Did Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley, the most successful recording artists of all time, have enough? Did they feel they were enough?

Obviously, the answer is “no”. There will never be enough “stuff” to fill the hole of lack when we think that something outside of ourselves is the source of love and acceptance.

These times call for a new conversation about what it means to be abundant. We are living in the aftermath of our collective binge on excess. We see where that road has led. The “Inconvenient Truth” we all know is that this way of life is not sustainable. It’s irresponsible to think only of ourselves and pay no mind to the impact of our choices on future generations. The day of reckoning is already at hand. Look no further than right here, right now for the invitation to shift your way of thinking.

Lynne Twist, founder of the Hunger Project, global activist, and author of the best selling book, The Soul of Money, says about the times in which we live:

It’s a difficult time. I don’t deny that.

But it can also be a beautiful time. Because we can move towards thrift rather than accumulation; we can move toward appreciating what we love rather than being afraid of what we’ve lost.

We can focus our attention and intention not on what we’re losing, but on what we already have that’s so valuable and nourishing to us. And we can stop clamoring for more of what we don’t really need and take care of what we have.

This is a time that I think history will look back on and say, “These are the people, this is the generation of humankind, that made the changes that went through a transformation that made the future of life possible. These are the people who had the courage to make profound changes in the way they were thinking–as well as in the way that they were behaving–that gave the future to life itself.”

So, I’m privileged to be living at this time. I’m excited about being the generation that goes through this courageous period.

It’s a gift, it’s a blessing; a tough one, but something that will create the profound transformational change that’s absolutely necessary and required for us to have a future on this planet.”

How’s that for a reframe?  So in answer to the reader’s opening question: this is not an “anti-scarcity campaign”. If our focus is on combating scarcity, we just produce more of it, since the Law of Attraction brings us more of what we focus on.

Five Keys To Claiming Abundance

1) Treasure what you have- Gratitude begets abundance, so count your blessings every day. Not like in a Hallmark card, but seriously, for real. Read Anne Naylor’s wonderful article on Learning To Treasure Yourself. It’s impossible to be fearful or depressed while contemplating what you already have and are grateful for. What are the biggest blessings in your life? Fully acknowledge and appreciate them. We get more of what we’re focused on, so why not focus on what you have instead of what you lack?

2) Give from generosity  - What we share multiplies in the giving, what we hoard shrivels and dies. Do you have enough love to give to those you love and those who need love? Love increases as you give it. So do kindness and compassion. The more you give, the more you have to give. What would the world be like if we were less about getting and more about giving? Remember the story of the Loaves and Fishes when a little boy gave up his five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a crowd of 5000 and everyone got fed? This is a parable intended to teach us about the power of giving from generosity. Giving expands abundance.

3) Stand as the source of abundance- Abundance is who you are. Claim it. You are an infinite possibility unfolding every moment and there is always enough of what you need on every breath. On this breath; know that nothing is missing. On this breath; know that all is well. On this breath, know that you are loved. On this breath, know; and know that you know, that you are enough. Know that the source of your supply is infinite and that you always have access to it. Know there is nothing to fear.

4) Choose what you have- No matter what it is, choose it. You already have it. Lost your job? Choose it. Don’t have any money? Choose it. And then, in the fact of all “that”… Declare yourself enough. Declare your life enough. Declare yourself as creative, resourceful and courageous enough to come through these times with flying colors, not in spite of your circumstances, but because of them. Choose to have what you have and make it work to your benefit and to the benefit of others.

5) Bless those who are afraid- Breathe in love, breathe out fear. Pass it on. Become an infectious agent. Start a pandemic of loving generosity. Seriously, if we were all breathing in love instead of fear, no matter what the world says, we’d have this thing licked. Those who are afraid are simply reflecting your own fear. Bless them and in so doing, you’ll be blessing yourself.

Know that, as Lynne Twist brilliant reminds us; today, right where you are, you can be part of a critical mass of human beings, transforming the collective consciousness from fear and limitation, to being abundant; living in the flow of enough.

Know that your time here is short, so make the most of it. Know that you matter. Know that what you think matters and the actions you take matter. Live from this knowing and you’ll be living in abundance, no matter what the world may say.

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“Laura” (not her real name) has the kind of life anyone would envy. She’s been happily married to “Larry” (not his real name) for over 30 years. Laura and Larry adore each other. They have a grown son who’s independent and happily pursuing his dream career.

In their late 50’s, Laura and Larry are extremely successful by almost any measure, and quite probably never have to worry about money again in their lives. Their investments generate a handsome positive cash flow every month, which allows them to live the life of their dreams.

Laura and Larry are generous with their abundance. They support causes and organizations they believe in and feel a sense of responsibility for making a positive difference on the planet. Free to go anywhere and do anything they want at any time, they want for nothing.

Well, almost nothing. For in spite of all the material abundance in her life, Laura lives inside a conversation of scarcity. She can’t for the life of her figure out why her life is so abundant yet she feels so undeserving. It isn’t that she’s not extremely grateful for what she has. She and Larry have worked hard and earned every bit of success they’ve achieved. Nothing was handed to them.

In return, life has spread its banquet in front of Laura and invited her to the feast. Her plate is overflowing with “cake.” But like clockwork, every so often, Laura pushes the “renew” button on her self-doubt and ends up leaving the banquet feeling empty, disconnected and alone. She has her cake alright, but deems herself not worthy enough to eat it.

I asked Laura who she thought was responsible for all her success. Who is the person who was smart and creative enough to put together her life scenario?

“Well I did that”, she admits, “but I think I’m just a good actor. That’s not the “real” me. I think I have everyone fooled,” Laura replied.

“Who do you think is the real you?” I asked.

“The real me is the one who’s scared and thinks she’s not enough,” she responded.

“Really?” I asked. ” How do you know she’s any more real than the one who generates abundance? Maybe you’re the one who’s fooled,” I suggested.

““I never thought about it like that,” she responded. “I just assume the depressed one is really who I am. I feel so uncomfortable when I’m happy. Feeling good just doesn’t seem real.”

In the end, it doesn’t matter how much “cake” one has. If you live in an inner conversation of scarcity and lack of awareness about and acceptance of who you are, you are not much better off than a homeless person. You might not be sleeping on a cold sidewalk or worrying about your next meal, true. But oddly enough, the inner experience is the same.

In rejecting our own worthiness to just simply be, we become like orphans, cast out in the coldness of life at our own hands. All the magnificent homes and “stuff” doesn’t make any difference if you don’t deem yourself worthy to come to the banquet.

The soul of scarcity is rooted in the depths of not trusting or believing in one’s self. It is a fundamental belief that who you are is not enough. Nothing from the outside can make up for the deficiency of belief in one’s self as a worthy human being. Where those beliefs come from can most often be found in one’s childhood. The most innocent remark insensitively delivered can sometimes mark a person for life.

John, a beautiful young man in his mid– 30’s, stood up in a seminar I led this past weekend and shared that in 6th grade, a girl accused him of being “too much.” After that experience, John shut down his voice and has lived under the radar since then, afraid of ever ruffling anyone’s feathers again. Today, some 20 years later, John finds his life unsatisfying, even though he has everything he needs to be successful. He’s handsome, intelligent, creative, well educated and quietly passionate, but no one knows who he is or feels his presence. He’s become a “stealth person.”

John and Laura are poster children for playing the scarcity game in the face of overwhelming abundance. It’s not that they consciously choose to live their lives this way. But the choice is made at the unconscious level, where fear sets up the limiting beliefs that determine how we think, feel and what kind of actions we take in the world. As such, they are a perfect demonstration for how it is with human beings. We all have our own version of their stories. Yours or mine might look different at first glance. You might not enjoy the level of material things as Laura, you might not be as shut down as John, but look to see how you push away abundance by insisting on your belief that:

1. There’s not enough… (time, money, opportunity, jobs, etc.)

2. You’re not enough… (smart enough, educated enough, pretty enough, etc.)

3. There will never be enough… (love, respect, attention) to fill your needs.

The world, indeed, appears to be a scary place right now. Uncertainty abounds. Paul Krugman, the Nobel-prize winning economist and New York Times op-ed columnist, says we’re in the Third Great Depression.

Every day, 24/7, we’re fed a diet of bad news and it’s not getting any better. We read about the unemployment rate going up and the number of jobs going down. We see the value of our homes eroding, our retirement savings and the kids’ college funds disappearing. We’re running out of oil, ruining the environment, and killing each other in the name of who gets to control access to power and resources.

Scarcity = scare city.

In the scarcity game, we give our power away to the belief that what we fear is real. We allow fear to triumph over all other possibilities and disown the qualities in ourselves that demonstrate otherwise. Laura’s belief that her “successful self” is just a good actor dishonors the parts of her that really are successful and have the results to prove it. John dishonors his voice of passion by swallowing it and keeping it all inside.

Are you playing the scarcity game? Ask yourself the following:

1) Do you believe that there is “not enough to go around?”

2) Do you define yourself based on what you lack, not what you have?

3) Are you motivated by fear, and/or do you motivate others by fear? 4) Do you think that if others gain, you lose; or if you give, you have less?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are playing the scarcity game. Getting to the source of these limiting, fear-based beliefs and unraveling them creates the freedom to consciously choose from the present rather than the past.

F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real

In the face of a world filled with fear, what does humanity need now, more than anything? What can only you bring to the world that you’re not bringing because you’re afraid? What impact is the collective conversation about scarcity having in your life? How are you perpetuating the conversation of fear in your own life?

I’m listening for your answers. I have my own thoughts about it and surely our discussion will continue. But let’s hear from you.

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This is a continuation of  my last post, Choosing Freedom,   Let’s take a closer look at the dynamic I referred to as “waging the inner war” with one’s self.  

When I say I’m choosing freedom, I’m declaring a peace treaty with myself.  No more inner wars, the battle is over and I’ve won!  I’m freeing myself from being locked in the past, being at war with what is, in the present.   Sounds good, huh?  

“Well, of course”, you say.  “Of course I choose freedom!  Who, in their “right” mind wouldn’t?  Can you think of anyone who would prefer to be locked up, constrained and bound, like slaves?  This seems like a no-brainer!  Why are we even having this conversation?”

This may sound good and seem like a no-brainer, but I challenge you to look in your own life (and me in mine) and not be able to find at least one or more places where you, in fact, are not free.  

Human beings talk a good game when we talk about personal freedom.  But at ground zero of your life, if you are radically honest, you will most likely find several areas where you are living inside of beliefs that keep you enslaved to an old idea or pattern that restricts your freedom.

For example, take a look:  what are your compulsions or obsessions?  Where do you experience that you have no choice in your life?  Is it around food?  Work?  Looking good?  Being right?  Needing to be in control?  What are you driven to do and in fact, do it, sometimes against your own sense of good judgment or well being?  Do you overeat?  Drink too much alcohol?  Take too many drugs?  

Are you addicted to micro-managing everything or every one around you?  Are you super-careful, extremely cautious, never daring to take any risks?  Where does your behavior veer towards the extremes of the continuum?  Look closely and you’ll find several areas that have heretofore been invisible to you.  

In my Life Fitness Coaching Boot Camp sessions, several participants have realized they have no freedom around their relationship with food.  Their lives are driven by being obsessed with eating even when they’re not hungry, losing weight, worrying about how their bodies look and feeling guilt and shame because they can’t get this part of their life under control.  

Other people recognize in themselves an obsession around the need to look good, both physically and/or related to what others may think of them.  While this is not a gender specific issue, it’s a common one in women.  Being consumed with worrying about what others might think of you puts the brakes on self expression.  You won’t do or say anything that could draw negative attention.  This is how we humans play the game.  And it’s also how we begin to learn to be inauthentic and dishonest.  Not consciously.  Not like we mean to be dishonest.  But at the core of what we call “relationship”, is the need to please others and reign ourselves in in order to be liked.  And in the process, honesty gets white-washed in the name of “political correctness” and we settle for a watered-down version of the truth.  It’s all around us.  It’s in the air we breathe.

The common element in all such issues is the experience of having no choice in the matter.  So look to see, where do you experience your freedom to choose (fill in the blank) being constrained?  What are the things you do, day in and day out, and you do them, not because you like to or want to, but because it feels like you have to?  And in the experience of having to, there is no choice?

Dig around here for awhile and come back.  We’re just getting started.

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234 years ago today, our thirteen colonies declared their independence from the country that spawned our birth, Great Britain.

 In order to justify breaking away, our founding fathers and the radical revolutionaries who fought the war for our independence had to make King George the bad guy and England our enemy.  It took an all out war to establish these thirteen colonies as an independent country.  Such was the consciousness on which America was founded.

Fast forward 234 years to July 4, 2010.  We are still at war, only this time, we are fighting in a distant land for a cause we aren’t even sure of anymore.  The consciousness of war is steeped into the DNA of our country.   

America’s wars have resulted in economic disaster, greed, corruption, unemployment,  environmental devastation, and unprecedented polarization.  We’re being torn apart from within.  The terrorists planted the seeds of fear and suspicion on 9/11 and we’ve fertilized, watered and grown them from there on our own.

And what about us, its people?  How deeply imbedded into your own DNA is the consciousness of war? 

I’m talking about  the kind of wars we have when we look in the mirror and inflict harm and injury on the person we see reflected back. The kind of wars we wage with ourselves by holding on to guilt, shame, humiliation over what we’ve done in the past or over what others have done to us.

These kinds of wars are waged every moment in our lives.  The wars between head and heart, body and soul, ego and Spirit.  We may succeed in masking their ravages to the world at large, but we pay an inner price for such conflict.  Heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, eating disorders, obesity, divorce are just a few of the costs of these wars waged on the personal level.

So while wars wage around you, how about today, declaring your independence from the inner wars you wage?  Declare today, July 4, 2010, as your re-birth day, the day you are born into your own freedom.  It’s a choice.  Every moment, it’s a choice.  

The freedom to choose one’s own destiny is what our founding Fathers fought for.  I choose freedom today.  I choose my own freedom from the past and the freedom to choose the present. 

May all people be free and peaceful.  It may sound like a lofty goal or a Hallmark card, but many lives have been shed for this ideal.  May they not have died in vain. 

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