A short cut to real wealth? Who wouldn’t jump at that?

When I was in private practice as a psychologist, one of my clients sheepishly asked me if I had a policy on receiving gifts. Noticeably, she was holding a small parcel at the time.

“Yes,” I replied, “I do have a policy on receiving gifts.”

Her face fell. She assumed, as a professional, my policy was to not accept gifts. I continued, “My policy is that I accept all good that the universe offers.”

Immediately, her face lit up with a wide smile as she handed me her gift. Happily, it was a handmade patchwork shopping bag. Generously, he had made it for me, choosing bright colours that she noticed I preferred.

Decades later, I still have the bag which I still enjoy using, a reminder of this generous client and my gratitude for all the good I receive.

Disappointment can be useful

That gift was great. But sometimes the gift we receive is not what we expected.

One day, a friend of mine asked me to come to a free weekend NLP seminar. My antennae told me to avoid this free seminar. At the time, I remember being told that if you didn’t know how NLP worked you could be manipulated by unscrupulous people using it. Previously, I had studied NLP and observed its exploitative power. I kindly refused her offer to attend. However, my friend and her partner went along. At the free seminar, they both signed up for two, five-day seminars at the cost of $20,000. These seminars were supposed to show them how to become rich. Sadly, some years later, my friend and her partner filed for bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, what they learned at these expensive seminars was not helpful at all. Back then, they set out to apply their newfound knowledge, but they lack one essential ingredient—self-knowledge. As time progressed, I observe my friend and her partner doing a lot of wishful thinking. Actually, the same trap evident when they were first invited to the free seminar.

Unfortunately, they are open to deception. But really, it was self deception. In truth, they are not discerning. Is their trust a mistake? Perhaps. Obviously, going bankrupt is painful. However it also presents a useful opportunity to learn. They can gain a deeper understanding of their motivations and actions. Naively, they hoped to get rich quickly.

We learn from experience and that is a gift from the universe. Here is an example of NLP get rich seminars. I do not endorse any myself but in the 1990’s, I did learn a lot from HLP Seminars conducted by Richard Bandler.

The role of trust and discernment

During the regressions, which I am privileged to conduct, spiritual guides give us their wisdom. They tell us there is a short cut to spiritual development that very few people are taking at this point in time.

In one regression, the client was told by the guide, “I gave you this shortcut many lifetimes ago, but you still haven’t taken it.”

Naturally, the client and I both wanted to know more details about this short cut.

“Trust,” the guide replied.

At that time, the guide’s words didn’t seem to make sense. In her past lives and current life, this client had trusted, received what was offered, and had been terribly betrayed. Those betrayals had caused her great grief, and even death. Why would she want to trust?

The guides left it to us to figure it out. In the meantime, similar messages keep coming from the guides of other clients.

Gradually, I gain a deeper understanding what they meant. When we trust without discernment, we are likely to be disappointed. However, this is the fastest way to learn. Over time, we learn what not to do and who not to trust. Even though, we suffer being let down, we are continually refining our ability to make better decisions.

Think about it! How do we learn if we stop trusting and say ‘no’ to new opportunities? We cannot learn without taking risks and accepting new challenges. Importantly, courageous learn quickly while the fearful develop slowly. That is fine. It is their choice. But some of us want to progress more efficiently.

Trust is the opposite of fear. It takes courage to trust especially when we are also fearful.

A short cut to real wealth

Gradually, I have learned an important principle. Take action motivated by desire, not fear. In other words, don’t let fear distract you from what you truly desire.

My friends did that. Although they lost out in the short term, they created a useful opportunity to learn.

Recently, I am guiding a young friend on consolidating and paying off her many debts. Suddenly, she realised how much money she would be applying to debt in the next year or so. “Oh! I’m not going to have much money to spend. But, I love buying things. I like the freedom of having money.”

“What do you really want?” I asked. “Do you want the freedom to spend like you have in the past, or do you want your life in control? This is your choice.”

Quietly, she sat for several minutes, mentally comparing these two ways of living, which are mutually incompatible.

“I want my life in control,” she stated with considerable conviction.

My young friend is giving herself a gift. In the past, she did not trust herself. She was not wise.. Her careless spending propelled her into financial trouble. Obviously, she didn’t feel good about her financial situation. Wisely, she was willing to look at her previous behaviour and motivations. Once she understood what she’d been doing and why, she committed to change. Now, she is taking actions that will give her what she really wants. She wants her life in control and she is willing to be sensible and responsible.

Even though she’d been naïve and spending carelessly, she trusted that all would be well. It wasn’t, not in the short term anyway. But ultimately, her trust and her debts are a gift. Now he is learning to spend money wisely.

Conclusion

Trust is our short-cut spiritual path. By trusting, we are developing the greatest wealth anyone can have: Wisdom.