The Free Spirit Centre UK on Personal Growth Diversity new Section

Last year, I attended a metaphysical study group on Wednesday nights. One month, the topic was abundance and prosperity. The main book we were studying was Catherine Ponders, _The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity_, but we also addressed several other books, including Lynne Twist's, _The Soul of Money_.

In _The Soul of Money_, Lynne Twist introduces the concept of living in sufficiency. Through her work helping to alleviate world hunger, she became acutely aware of one of the common beliefs of Western culture, and American culture in particular: _more is better_. Like so many of our deeply-held and cherished beliefs, it is utterly and completely wrong, and holding onto this belief simply creates more of the pain that we expect the belief to alleviate. Twist introduces the concept of _enough_, of living in sufficiency, and also reveals that when we do live in sufficiency, and are truly grateful for it, that our sufficiency increases. _This_ is true abundance consciousness.

When I first explored this concept, my ego immediately objected. "I can't get by with just _enough_! Enough isn't enough for me! I need more than enough just to survive!"

This, of course, simply made me _aware_ of one of my unconscious beliefs about money. Now that I was aware of this belief, I could _own_ it, and _choose_ whether it still served me. The first thing that struck me was how silly this belief was. "Enough" is, by definition, enough. Enough is all that we need, and all that we can use. All we ever need is enough, because more than enough is simply too much, and would go to waste or become a burden.

So, I started to explore the concept of living in sufficiency. Then Guy Williams, the facilitator of the study group made one of his off-hand comments that once again
completely rearranged all of the furniture in my head. He said that often, when we affirm abundance, what we are really affirming is _lack_. When we affirm abundance, we want more than enough; we want enough for our current needs,
and enough left over as a hedge against the point in the future where we know we will not have enough.

I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but it definitely applied to me! (I often sit back and marvel at how subtle and insidious the ego can be, finding ways to cling to old beliefs and patterns.) I looked back at all of my affirmations for abundance, every one of which affirmed "more than enough" in one way or another, and rewrote them to simply affirm the truth that I always have enough.

One of the exercises we did in the study group was to set our intentions for abundance. What condition or experience did we want to create in our lives? For me, my intention was never again to worry about money. To me, not worrying about money represented absolute financial freedom. So, I began to explore what would have to happen in order for me to no longer worry about money. Naturally, I started by considering exactly how much money it would take for me to no longer worry about money. I imagined how I would feel with $50,000 in the bank...with $500,000 in the bank....with $50 million in the bank.

As I played with this exercise, I realized something startling. No matter how much money I had in the bank, I still found that I could worry about money. Somehow, even the idea of having $50 million in my personal checking account didn't eliminate my financial anxiety. What's more, even imagining that I had $50 million in the bank didn't feel like it was enough.

And then, it hit me. All at once, I discovered the secret of never again worrying about money! It was so simple, yet so powerful!

The secret of not worrying about money is this: _Don't worry about money_.

Now, before you get too upset, let me share my realization, and how I know that all anyone needs to do to stop worrying about money is to stop worrying about money.

No matter how much money I imagined in my checking account, I could still worry about money. Therefore, whether or not I worry about money has _nothing at all to do with the balance in my checking account or my savings account_. It does, however, have everything to do with the balance in my _safety_ account.

Money is the single most common and most powerful attachment most of us will ever experience. When we create an attachment to something, it immediately becomes a safety need for us. Now, money can certainly help us to feel safe.
Having an ample flow of money allows us to meet so many of our most pressing survival needs-food, shelter, and clothing-as well as many of our higher needs, including validation and self-actualization. Money is a powerful energy that allows us to create, to express ourselves, to experience love and relationship, and to feel free.

What we so often lose sight of is that money is not the only way that we can meet these needs; it's simply one option.
Often, money appears to be the _easiest_ option, which is why our egos are so attracted to it. Unfortunately, it's a very short step from loving and appreciating money to believing that we need money in order to survive. As soon as we create an attachment to money, it becomes a safety need.
We link up our bank accounts with our Safety Accounts, and the lower the balance is in our bank account, the less safe we feel.

On the surface, this doesn't seem too catastrophic. As long as we have enough money, we'll feel safe, right? Wrong. We receive deposits in our safety accounts in many different ways, through many different conduits. When we create an
attachment, we begin to shut down these other avenues for receiving deposits in our safety account, and only notice or accept deposits that come through the conduit of our attachment. As a result, the balance of our safety account is always dropping, which inevitably causes us to become more attached to our attachment, which, in turn, makes us feel even less safe. This is why it's not possible to have enough money in our bank accounts to make us feel safe for very long. The balance of our Safety Account is always dropping, which means we always need more money than we have in order to compensate.

When we release our attachment to money, when we break the link between our bank accounts and our Safety Accounts, we no longer worry about money. It's that simple.

Of course, simple is so rarely the same thing as easy.

Before we can release our attachments (to money or anything else, for that matter), we first have to bring the balance in our Safety Account to its minimum required level. As long as we feel even a little unsafe, we will cling to our
attachments and be unable to release them.

So, here is a very simple exercise you can do to help restore the balance in your Safety Account so you can release your attachments to money. (You can also listen to
this exercise online at http://www.EveryRelationship.com/PMA/)

PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS EXERCISE ABOUT MONEY

First, create a space where you will not be disturbed for at least five minutes. Turn off the phone, close the door to your office or bedroom, and do whatever you need to do in order to create five minutes of quiet around you. Settle into your chair and gently inhale deeply, hold your breath for a count of 10, and then release.

Close your eyes if that feels comfortable to you.

Let yourself be aware of your breath. Let yourself experience being supported by the chair. Gently notice any part of your body where you are holding, and simply let go, allowing the chair to do all of the work for you.

Let yourself become aware of your thoughts, simply observing them. Observe the sounds you hear, any sensations you experience. Simply observe, simply notice, and allow your thoughts to quiet on their own. Allow your awareness to settle on the present moment. Allow yourself to experience yourself as you are in this moment, as you are now.

Breathe into this experience, and allow yourself to relax.

Now, consider the truth that right here, right now, in this very moment, you are completely safe.

Right here, right now, in this very moment, you are whole, complete and perfect. You are exactly where you need to be; you are exactly who you need to be.

Right here, right now, in this moment, all of your needs are met. You are completely safe. You are completely validated.
(Just sit with this truth and observe whatever thoughts bubble up to the surface, and let your awareness come gently, easily, effortlessly back to the present moment.)

Right here, right now, in this moment, all of your bills are paid. Right here, right now, in this moment, you have enough money. Right here, right now, in this moment, you live in complete sufficiency.

Your rent or mortgage is paid for the rest of the month.
Your bills are all paid, right here, right now, in this moment. The future does not exist yet, because you have not yet created it. Bills that are due tomorrow, or next week, or next month do not exist yet. All that matters is the truth that in this moment, you are free. In this moment, you are safe. In this moment, you have enough. In this moment, you are enough.

In this moment, every single one of your needs is met, easily, effortlessly, automatically, by a loving and supportive Universe.

Allow yourself to take a few breaths and experience how it feels to be enough; to be supported; to be whole.

Finally, consider the truth that just as your needs are completely, easily, effortlessly and automatically met in this moment, that they are _always_ met, because there is only now.

I invite you to explore this exercise anytime you feel worried about money, or unsafe in any way. Whatever your experience, whatever your reaction, it is absolutely perfect. You do not have to believe any of these truths; simply consider them, experience them, observe your reactions and responses, and allow your mind to return to the present moment.

If you practice this exercise three times a day for three minutes each time, for thirty days, you will experience truly amazing changes in your life. One change you will certainly experience is that you no longer have to worry about money.