Taking Money

This might turn out to be the longest post I have ever written--or ever will write. But it is likely the most personally important one I have ever written, either. So please bear with me as I share a major major major revelation I had yesterday.

You know how you have these little breakthroughs (and if you're doing your Beyond Freedom, you have them all the time), and you think they're so exciting, until you have a GIANT breakthrough, and you realize those other things were nothing? Like people digging for gold and getting all excited because they found little strains here and there. Woo hoo! We're rich! Until they come upon the mother lode, and those strains suddenly seem really insignificant.

Well, this breakthrough is the mother lode and will no doubt have a powerful effect on the rest of my life.

THE STORY

Every Monday is cleaning day at our house, and the first Monday of every month is "super cleaning day"--just an extra boost for a few things we don't clean regularly.

I think that no matter how much money I make, I will always clean my own house.

I just love it.

Even though it is hard work, I am consumed with gratitude while I do it--gratitude that I HAVE a house to clean (I always wanted a house of my own and am so grateful that my husband had the foresight to buy this one before we were married) and gratitude that it's so big (five bedrooms, four baths, finished basement) and gratitude that I found some natural cleaning products so I don't have to worry about getting sick or poisoned from the chemicals.

And I just love the moment when everything is clean and orderly. It resonates with the deepest of my core values: order and simplicity.

It's hard work, but the results are so worth it!

Anyway, one of the sections in Beyond Freedom is about the subconscious mind. And in one of the lessons, we are asked to write down where we were and what we were doing when we had our greatest ideas. Of course, most people find that the ideas came when they were doing something completely unrelated--when they were in a moment of relaxation (such as drifting off to sleep) or focussed on something else (like driving down the highway).

My lesson came while I was cleaning the shower.

I'm not sure why it popped into my head--perhaps my subconscious had been trying to send me a message for some time and I was always to preoccupied to hear it. Regardless, here was the message:

I have a history of refusing to take money from others.

In case the significance of that didn't quite sink in, let me say it again:

I have a history of refusing to take money from others.

When this thought popped into my head, I thought of ALL the times in my life when I had an opportunity to take money--even when I really and truly deserved it--and I turned it down.

I went back ages ago to a time when I was a kid and I helped an old lady with her groceries. She offered me a quarter, and my mother said not to take it--I should do things out of the goodness of my heart.

When I was in college, I tutored a number of other students for free--out of the goodness of my heart. Today, tutoring has become its own industry--I could have made a killing.

When I was newly in the work force and most of my friends did not have any money, I would often pay for things for them--like dinner out--and I wouldn't accept repayment. I just wanted to do it...you guessed it...out of the goodness of my heart.

Throughout my years in corportate America, I never once asked for a raise or a bonus. I just gratefully took whatever they gave me, and it wasn't until years later that I learned I had been severely underpaid. But even after I found out, it didn't bother me! "Money isn't important," I told myself. "I did the job because I loved it, not for the money," I said.

When I started my first business, I spent tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours getting it going. And then I provided the service FOR FREE. When I eventually realized I could start charging, I charged a ridiculously low amount. Everyone told me that, but what did I say? "Well, I'm really just providing this service (can you guess?) out of the goodness of my heart. It's not about the money."

In my last business, I spent hours and hours and hours and hours developing a (you guessed it) FREE training program for people who were struggling in the business. Since there were so many struggling, I developed a following of over 200 people--people who loved me, listened to me, respected me, looked up to me, followed me, and paid me nothing.

I guess somewhere in my pysche, as evidenced by the patterns I developed and the results I got, I must have thought the money would just miraculously appear!

How stupid is that???

Every time I said NO to money, I was telling the Universe I didn't really want it.

The result? I didn't get any!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE LESSON

Awhile back, I wrote about being in Receive Mode--about making a conscious effort to accept the things that come into your life, whether it be a compliment, an act of service, or something of material value.

But what I realized is that this is only half of the picture.

Being in Receive Mode is about me. It's about willingly accepting things that come into my life--getting rid of the "knee-jerk" reaction of "no, I'm OK, I'm fine, I don't need any help, I can do it by myself."

But accepting these things can raise an internal conflict if you don't believe you deserve to have or that somehow it is wrong to have. For many of us, this idea is a major major component of our religious, social, and cultural beliefs. And I think, for me, this was a huge part of my programming--all stemming back at least as far as the incident with the woman at the grocery story.

What I realized yesterday, and what I'm still reeling from today, is that being in Receive Mode does not mean receiving and keeping. In fact, I am a conduit.

I simply provide safe passage for the money (blessings, compliments, service, etc.) to flow from one place to another.

And I don't mean giving it all away to charity.

Even if I use the money to buy a BMW, I am paying for the food on the table of the thousands and thousands of people who made that car possible.

When I use the money to remodel my house, I am providing jobs for the people who manufacture the materials, the people who sell the materials, the designers, and the contractors who do the work.

Even if I don't spend the money at all and just invest it, I am playing a part in the viability of banks, public companies who have stocks, and the people that work for them. I am putting my money in a place where it will be used for the good of others--loans for buildings and businesses and other things that create a thriving economy.

And my reward for being this conduit is a life that I enjoy and a happiness that is my birthright!

When I don't take money, I am not being good or noble. I am blocking the passage of all of these good things into the lives of countless other individuals--and it is shameful.

So, no more!

I hereby declare that I will step up and take my place where it belongs as an instrument of bringing good in the world. I will open the gates and be a conduit for money to pass through me and into the hands of others so that we can ALL enjoy prosperity and abundance!

TAKE ACTION

• If you like what you read in this blog and would like to find out more about the Beyond Freedom program, please contact the person that sent you here. If you found this blog by accident (knowing, of course, that there are no accidents), you may contact me at beyondfreedom@theremmersfamily.com
• What are you saying no to in your life? Start paying attention to your "knee-jerk" reaction when someone pays you a compliment, provides service, or even offers to pay you for something. Remember, your job is not to say no. Your job is to say yes, and pass it on!