(an excerpt from Loving What Is)
I’ve never seen a work or money problem that didn’t turn out to be a thinking problem. I used to believe that I needed money to be happy. Even when I had a lot, I was often sick with the fear that something terrible would happen and I would lose it. I realize now that no amount of money is worth that kind of stress.
If you live with the uninvestigated thought “I need my money to be safe and secure,” you’re living in a hopeless state of mind. Banks fail. Stock markets crash. Currencies deflate. People lie, bend contracts, and break their promises. In this confused state of mind, you can make millions of dollars and still be insecure and unhappy.
Some people believe that fear and stress are what motivate them to make money. But can you really know that that’s true? Can you be absolutely certain that without fear or stress as a motivator, you wouldn’t have made the same money, or even more? “I need fear and stress to motivate me” — who would you be if you never believed that story again?
After I found The Work inside myself — after it found me — I began to notice that I always had the perfect amount of money for me right now, even when I had little or none. Happiness is a clear mind. A clear and sane mind knows how to live, how to work, what e-mails to send, what phone calls to make, and what to do to create what it wants without fear.
Who would you be without the thought “I need my money to be safe”?
You might be a lot easier to be with. You might even begin to notice the laws of generosity, the laws of letting money go out fearlessly and come back fearlessly. You don’t ever need more money than you have. When you understand this, you begin to realize that you already have all the security you wanted money to give you in the first place. It’s a lot easier to make money from this position.
More resources:
- Video: Inquiry - "You Need More Money—Is that True?"
- Video: Inquiry - "I Panic About Losing Money..."
- Video: "I need to give my son money" [Israel 2007]
- Book: Byron Katie on Work and Money
Comments (2)
Hi Katie,
I was really struggling with this one. As a singer, I was writing a song about how I just couldn't stand being poor anymore!!!! No more starving Artist!!
That was a really frustrating thought. I did the work...the beautiful work and the new title is "I wanna be poor"
here is the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CT2CkniFnQ
P.S. I am the lady who made you the necklace that says "Is it true...turn it around"
Posted by Monica Yocom | October 9, 2008 8:30 PM
Posted on October 9, 2008 20:30
Thank you for the blog post! It really got me thinking....I used the work and found out it wasn't that bad.
I was so inspired to share this idea with the world, that I created a blog of my own.
I thought about the idea of the collective consciousness and thought it would be a wonderful idea to send that question out to the universe to respond.
I really appreciate finding the work. it's a blessing that came to me right when I needed it! I love the way the world works!
Posted by Christine | October 8, 2008 7:01 AM
Posted on October 8, 2008 07:01