Prosperity consciousness

I was speaking with a friend last week and we started to talk about the economy and how it was impacting her family and friends. We spoke about how life-changing it has been for many people, requiring not only a change in how they live their lives, but more importantly, how they think about their lives and the choices they make. She said it forced her to notice the places she was frivolous or things she buys because her mom or dad bought the same products or that she saw some ad on TV that interested her.

I began to look at my own life and the way I was conditioned by my family and the culture about what things to value. What are the things that I don’t think I can do without? Why? When I walk into the market what makes me choose this brand or that brand – or do I always get the generic brand because it makes sense – even if I don’t particularly like the way the clothes smell? Where am I being cheap and where am I being extravagant? Do I buy more at the store when I am hungry? Or buy things I don’t really need? Do I really need a cell phone and a landline too?  How about more/better channels for my TV, more Netflix, CD’s, new shoes, new skis, bike, gifts, chocolate anything? Oh, I realize that I could go on and on, but what I want to write about is prosperity consciousness. The word consciousness means having an awareness about something – in this case prosperity.

So, what is prosperity? What do you think of when you see the word? Are we prosperous if we have lots of “stuff”? Does it mean that we not prosperous if we don’t have “stuff” or even if we think it’s not good “stuff”? I remember a comedy routine that George Carlin did about stuff. He said your “house is a place for piles for your stuff, with a cover on it.” We keep tools and clothes we don’t need and yet feel compelled to go out and get even more? How many screwdrivers does a person really need? I just went into my kitchen and looked in the “junk” drawer and found five of them – and didn’t find one Phillips head and made a mental note to get one next time I’m in town. Then I laughed.

Then I started thinking about it and I realized that I associate prosperity with all of the pleasures I derive from living my life fully, especially all of the things that I love. I love spending time with my family, doing meditation and tai chi, listening or/dancing to tango, connecting with friends, taking a walk, contributing to someone else’s life, in any small way I can.

As we move into the holiday season – with all of the giving and receiving traditionally done with gifts – it’s a great time to question your own thinking and so my questions for you are:

• How do you spend money mindlessly, habitually and addictively?
• What does prosperity mean to you?
• Make a list of what is really important and has heart and meaning for you?
• What is your wish for yourself and any changes you want to make around prosperity.?