Prosperity Key No. 8
Prosperity Key No. 9

Every successful person knows and practices the law of release in some form or other.  They know that to be prosperous, they must get rid of all they have outgrown, worn out, used up, by-passed, outlasted.  When you have decided which ideas, relationships, beliefs, and situations no longer work for you, it is time to release them.  Nothing stays new, shiny, or useful very long among dusty, old, cluttered, stored items.
     The first area of release is with yourself.  One way to stay open to the flow of life energy is to see yourself as a temple composed of body, mind, and spirit.  Your body is your base, holding the structure together.  Your mind is your communicator with your spirit, and your spirit is your connection with infinite energy.  Keeping this temple open to receiving requires release in all three areas - spirit, mind, and body.

     Health and balance in the body is necessary for any true prosperity.  We have our own 'inner doctor' always available for consultation.  You can do a 'Quickie' check-up by periodically asking yourself these questions:

1. Are you at the weight that makes you feel best?
2. Are you eating the fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains you need or are you primarily eating too many 'dead' processed foods?
3. Are you exercising daily: stretching for muscle tone and actively exercising for increased heart beat and circulation?  We are moving creatures - it is almost impossible to remain in a depressed state while actively moving in a body made firm, flexible, and relaxed.
4. Can you relax?  A tense muscle is a weak muscle.  Muscles become strong by tensing and releasing.  We are usually very good at tensing; all too often we don't know how to release in healthy ways.  Alcohol and drugs will help to release tension temporarily, but the price is outrageous.

Give yourself permission to relax.  Relaxing is not a sign of laziness; it is a sign of intelligence.  When we tense and release we are in step with the pulse of the universe.  By fully letting go of tension in the muscles, we are making room for fresh new blood to bring nutrients to the entire system, thereby increasing our energy level and promoting greater productivity.

     The most important release for the mind is letting go of negative thoughts.  We all have these thoughts visiting us - but we are not stuck with them.  Putting out the NO WELCOME sign doesn't work too well; they keep com-ing.  What does work is to view negative thoughts as you would a flight of birds crossing your path.  See them fly into view and continue on their way.  Choose not to follow them with further attention.
     We are only stuck with negative thoughts when we feed them by giving them our attention.  Positive thinking alone doesn't work because we become emotionally attached to our negative thoughts.  How do we 'let go' of negative attitudes (thoughts) when we don't feel positive?
     It helps to remember that thoughts come before feelings.  If you can stay aware enough, you can catch the thought that leads to feeling low.  Check it out the next time you feel slightly down - what were you saying to yourself just before your spirit started its downward slide?
     Becoming aware of, and dwelling upon negative thoughts are two different things.  William James, the philosopher, had this to say on handling negative feelings:

To wrestle with a bad feeling only pins our attention on it, and keeps it still fastened in the mind: whereas, if we act as if  from some better feelings, the old bad feeling soon folds its tent like an Arab, and silently steals away. *

     When we cleanse the spirit, we renew our sense of universal harmony.  It is an activity both refreshing and rewarding.  Start each morning by giving yourself a gift of ten to fifteen minutes to be by yourself.  The busier you are, the more important it is that you take this time.
     Close your eyes and be aware of the newness of each day, and of who you are in the universe.  Give thanks for your oneness with all there is.  This process opens you to your prosperity consciousness, where you recognize that what you desire is already yours.  By taking this consciousness into your daily activities, you make life an on-going cleansing and healing meditation.

     Once we start this cleansing motion of releasing body, mind and spirit, we will find it fun and easy because it is a circular action.  The more we experience peace and order within, the more we demand it in our environment.
     As we start today working toward having life more centered, focused, and peaceful, we will want to clean up the house, car, clothes, office, etc.  We'll want to clear out all that is no longer useful, including old clothes, dishes, furniture, whatever; straighten up drawers, closets, gar-age, attic, storeroom, checkbook; finish the incomplete things in our lives.  This may require taking care of those small jobs that are a constant irritant, running those errands, making those calls we've been putting off.  It may mean deciding to repair or get rid of broken items.  Unfinished cycles prevent us from experiencing peace, order, and harmony in our physical world.
     This is also garbage can time for old ideas, beliefs, and relationships that are not working.  Assumptions that are not bringing joy, such as "I have to cook every night" may be ready for the can.  Develop the sense that you do what you do by choice - for that is the truth.
    Worn out worries and doubts go, too.  They only serve to hold you back, and get rancid when they've been around too long.  Put all the old problems that wouldn't be 'solved' into that same garbage can - and release them, with love, letting go without further judgment or attachment. *

* See Catherine Ponder, Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, Prentice-Hall.
 

     If the energy is gone in a relationship and neither of you is contributing to each other's growth, decide to tell the truth about why you are hanging on.  Acting out of fear or lethargy is the opposite of moving creatively toward your joy.

     Another aspect of cleansing is learning to forgive yourself and others.  One of the most important keys on your prosperity key chain is:

     We do not need to wait until others deserve our forgiveness, because we're not doing it for them.  By holding resentments against others, we hurt ourselves more than anyone else.  Clinging to our resentments is like taking poison every day.  Why do we continue it?
     Here's a little secret that may help you to give up resentments.  Think about this: If a tiger were chasing you across the field hell-bent on eating you, would you be focusing on how much you were resenting having to run to safety?  Probably not!  Yet you would have every reason to.  You are not at fault; something out there is doing it to you; you feel helpless; you have no choice.  Why don't you resent it?
     We only resent situations in which we know, deep down, we could have reacted differently, could have done something other than what we did.  In other words, it is really ourselves and our actions (or lack of action) that we resent.  We don't resent the tiger, because tigers will be tigers.  We are doing all we can do, which is to get out of there.  To forgive and let go of resentments, therefore, we need to ask ourselves what we could have done differently that we didn't do.
     We can also learn to bless others - even our 'enemies'.  Knowing there is a lesson in every problem, we can see that our opponent has just helped us to learn faster.  It is to our advantage to forgive.  We're not victimized saints; we're doing what's best for No. 1. The more we can forgive and bless with our goodwill, the faster we are opening those channels to our prosperity.  But it can't be phony We have to really forgive - to recognize that the essence of the other person is the same as ours.
     Sometimes you're not even aware of being unforgiving.  Listen to yourself talk.  Every time you hear resent-ment in your voice, know you've found someone or something else to put on your forgiveness list.
     Asking our inner self who it is we need to forgive is helpful.  Forgiving our self and others is our single biggest step toward prosperity consciousness - exceeded only by the need to let go of negative thought.
     An excellent way to truly forgive is to (1) Imagine that you are speaking to the person who has offended you; (2) Ask her or him to forgive you for holding negative feel-ings about them; (3) Visualize that person surrounded in a white light that protects their well-being.  If, however, you cannot find it in your heart to forgive, know that your inner self has already forgiven and you can tap into the strength of that forgiving spirit.  A good statement to make while visualizing this is, "My inner self forgives you.
    The warm feeling you receive in your own heart as your ability to love increases is reward in itself.  But you will find that as you increase your loving responses to the world that you will also be miraculously effecting changes in the attitude of others toward you.

     Another phase of the cleansing process is learning to give generously of your resources.  We must always give before we receive.  This is an old adage every successful business person knows and puts into action.  Never pass up a chance to give.
     This does not necessarily mean money.  There is al-ways something we can give, even if we are on the tightest of budgets.  It may seem like an impossibility to give when our entire attention is on the need to receive, but it is expressly at those times when we feel needy that we will benefit the most from giving.  Giving is simpler than we think - even a smile is worth a million to thhe right person at the right moment.  We all have a variety of skills and talents that can contribute to others' well-being.
     Feeling scarcity can be very depressing, and when our energy begins to spiral down into depression, our prosperity prospects spiral downward also.  Our first task is to increase that energy level.  One way is to give.  It lifts our spirits to give.  Being kind, considerate, and helpful toward others with our resources reminds us of our oneness with all of life.  Giving also convinces our subconscious that we already have more than we need.  We are prosperous, and expect to continue to be so.
     The bottom line then, is that when we give, we benefit.  It is time to give up the martyr role of giving as a sacrifice.  Everything we do in life is for ourselves first.  If another benefits from our good deeds - that's icing on the cake - nice, but of less importance.  That's not being selfish; it's telling the truth.  By acknowledging how much we receive by doing our 'good deeds', we free up the receiver of our gifts from any guilt.  We need to thank others for the opportunity to give, because it makes us feel so good!

     Spending is giving also.  When we spend with the right attitude, it is love in action.  So much spending is associated with loss, and done with a grudge.  We want to give with the same attitude we wish to receive from others - with love and good will.  To do this, focus on all the benefits you receive for your money Actually picture yourself in the center of a joyous network of giving and receiving with love and wisdom.  This circular world of prospering energy is expressed in the song:

* @) Nathan Segal, of the musical duo Joseph and Nathan, Mill Valley, Ca.

     Let go of negative thoughts when you are spending money.  Acknowledge to yourself the spiritual nature of money, and know that as you give, so you receive.  Bless the money as a symbol of the unlimited supply of the universe.  Tell yourself that twice that amount is now on its way to you.
     By focusing your thoughts on prosperity instead of loss, you are convincing your subconscious that you are really serious about being prosperous.  As a prosperous person your supply will always be replenished.  When we assume the attitude and behavior of a prosperous person, we become one, through the action of the subconscious.
     One bit of warning: Just giving and spending freely can make you broke fast.  Only when it is done with aware-ness does giving promote prosperity.  In other words, it's all part of the package - prosperity requires a balance of giving and receiving.  Spending and giving must be done with a prosperity consciousness.
     The law of releasing is often overlooked, yet it is the basis of being ready for all our good fortune that is on its way to us.  What we already have is often obscured by living in clutter.  If we do not continually put our house in order, there is no space for anything new.  When we feel our space clogged, more satisfies less.
     Releasing, on the other hand, actually creates a vacuum - a space to breathe.  We have a way to think clearly, see what is important, and plan for the next step.  No vacuum remains empty long.  This vacuum is no excep-tion.  It literally pulls our desired results to us.
 
 

Kay Cash Smith is an Organizational Development Con-sultant in San Francisco.

Q: There is a strong sense of achievement and personal power about you, Kay.  My impression is that you've gone through a lot of changes to achieve a balance of power and receptivity.  How did you start on your road to success?

A: I have not always felt in balance.  I decided at age 16 to be a lawyer and not have kids.  I grew up feeling only what was male-oriented was validated.  My mother's advice was to get an education so I wouldn't be stuck "in the female role." My father's message was that in order to be successful I would have to follow the male pattern.

Q: What do you see as the male pattern?

A: Male conditioning is to askfor what you want in life.  Female
conditioning is to wait for Prince Charming; wait to be chosen -The result in business is that men ask for a raise, and women put their nose to the grindstone and hope someone will notice.
     I knew that wasn't for me.  It wasn't until I went to therapy that I found out that I had not wanted to be female most of my life.  I had liked the trappings - the clothes, and power to manipulatewith sexualattraction, butbeingfernalehadmeant, up until then, being weak, powerless, reactive.

Q: What changed your thinking about being female?

A: When I chose to leave a great job in Nezv York to follow my husband to San Francisco.  I loved him, and wanted to be with him, but I was in great confusion about my role.  Emotionally I fell apart.  Ifound myself blaming him for all that was wrong in my world.  The pieces of my life didn't fit anymore, and I knew I had to do something.  I went into therapy and there learned how out of balance my male and female sides were.
   Being female to me has now come to mean that I am able to balance my nurturing, supporting, caring side, with being whole, capable, and assertive, and neither side operates at the expense of the other.  As I see it, being male would mean the same thing.  The only difference between the two is a certain energy that makes me glad I'm female.

Q: Has this balance brought changes in your work?

A: I no longer need to manipulate to get what I want.  My intention now is to create only win-win situations - not do battle.  As I achieve clarity about who I am as a woman, my relationships with men are working better.  It takes two to dance, and I no longer send out messages to the old dance.  I can deal direct.
     I have need of my intuitive side to be a success in work.  My 18 hour days would be impossible without the strength I get from what I call my inner awareness.  I meditate regularly, using what I learned in India about "centering" to the higher self.  When I travel I even carry my own incense to remind me of the environment in which I learned to reach that inner self.