Prelude
BY CIARA LONGMAN
This workshop is intended to be read whilst participating in a group or with a facilitator one on one, so that you can process anything that comes up for you.
It is important to do the exercises. You can download a Word file to input your answers in here. You can also download an expenses spreadsheet here. The files automatically download when you click on the link.
Whilst you are reading each chapter of this consultation it is crucial to tune in to yourself and notice:
- how you are feeling?
- what is going on inside of you?
- notice sensations in your body
- your body language – crossing your arms, slouching your shoulders, frowning
- what thoughts are coming up for you?
- going blank, numb, silent or unable to speak up
- having to justify yourself
- you feel ‘charged’ inside of you i.e. you are feeling electrified, not relaxed
- Do you feel angry?
- Do you feel sad?
- Do you feel powerless? Or do you want to give up
Uncovering your reactions and thoughts are crucial to mastering the money game.
- Do you think that, “it’s just not possible to earn money easily?”
- Do you always think you have to be careful with money?
- Do you think you never have enough?
Mind mastery is essential, listen to your thoughts that come up about money. It is your responsibility to take responsibility for the thoughts you are having, as well as what you are feeling or not feeling.
Money is a very charged issue and the aim of continually doing this consultation; is to take away the charges you have related to money. Some breathing exercises are provided in Appendix 2 to help you as you go through each chapter.
Resistance is part of this process and dealing with resistance is an essential component of Rebirthing Breathwork trainings. It is likely that you may feel resistant by going blank, numb, getting angry, being dismissive, disbelieving and being critical.
Notice how critical you might be of this consultation – perhaps your rational mind presents you with thoughts like:
- “there’s no way I can do that,”
- “this can’t be done,”
- “this isn’t relevant to me/my situation,”
- “this consultation is rubbish”
- “ugh I’ve done this so many times before”
- “this is positive mumbo jumbo”
- “this isn’t realistic”
- I am beyond this!
Do you really believe these thoughts? Do you believe you can change this kind of thinking?
Whilst you’re reading this handout think about what your money and earning story could be:
- “I have to go and work hard to earn a decent amount of money”
- “It’s easier for me to work for someone else/receive money from someone else”
You have to understand how you have learnt your attitude towards money:
- What was your parent’s attitude to money?
- Was money scarce when you were growing up?
- Did your parents earn a lot of money periodically then spend it all?
This workshop is about challenging the way you think about money. Do you consider yourself truly valuable? Notice what bodily resistances come up when you say this to yourself.
- Does your body stiffen?
- Do you feel jumpy inside?
- Does your mind sharply say “of course you are!” notice the tone of your inner voice
- Do any areas of your body feel tense?
- Do you feel agitated/dismissive/numb/zone out?
- Do you disagree and feel angry?
When you feel truly valuable to the core of your being then you won’t have any abundance issues!
As you do this consultation it is important to observe the changes that happen inside of you.
Doing this consultation once is not enough. When you repeat the consultation again and again, notice how you change over time.
When you read the consultation again you may think, “I don’t remember reading that the first time.” Your mind may not take it all in the first time.
Just because your mind knows something, it doesn’t mean that your unconscious / subconscious are in alignment with your mind!
When you come to Chapter 6, learning to negotiate is a valuable lesson – it can be fun! So make it fun. Negotiating builds self-esteem and we realise how valuable both our time is and our effort is. You are paying for the effort and energy that is being made in delivering this consultation.
Most westerners hate haggling and think it’s beneath them. They don’t realise that in those countries where it’s normal, it is a mark of respect between the two people. So let the games begin…
Finally, it is really important read the consultation out loud and to do the exercises. Even if you’ve done something similar to this before, doing the exercises is important because you will find you have more to discover inside of you. This is because you need to uncover more of your unconscious thoughts and programming to understand what your blocks and resistances are.
Chapter 1: Introduction
THE PROSPERITY CONSCIOUSNESS CONSULTATION BY LEONARD D. ORR
The Prosperity Consciousness Consultation is a guide to understand yourself as an unlimited being with unlimited potential to prosper in the world. The prosperity ideas you are about to experience will show you the source of the world’s riches within your own awareness – your Prosperity Consciousness. With these ideas you can create for yourself and others, financial success, personal fulfilment, and peace of mind.
One of the purposes of this teaching is to provide an outline for consultation that is worth at least $300, but the immediate value of the consultation depends upon how the person receiving this consultation applies these to ideas and how well they are applied.
Some people instantly get $300 worth of value just from reading it and other people have to reread and integrate this information into their consciousness over a period of time, to receive this much value.
The learning experience of receiving the Prosperity Consciousness Consultation has intrinsic worth, well over the suggested price of $300. You are exchanging money for ideas, goods and services, as in any financial transaction, but in this case you are receiving something of exceptional value. Furthermore, you get to determine the value and negotiate after you have received the ideas and understood their personal application. All participants in the Prosperity Consciousness Consultation are receiving value and enriching their lives.
The Prosperity Consciousness Consultation is also a guide to prosperity consultations and seminars. What works best is to make an appointment for an hour or more and read this guide to each other, discussing the ideas and feelings that it generates. You can teach as many people as you like and receive as much financial compensation as you feel you deserve.
The Prosperity Consultation is an investment in your self-worth. It is an opportunity to play with real money in the real money game, involving real creativity, real feelings, real generosity, and real communication with real people. It is a working demonstration of your unlimited capacity for prospering, determined only by your willingness to serve and your openness to giving and receiving.
Another purpose of this document is to provide a consultation outline to be transmitted on a one-to-one basis, in groups or in seminar form. In other words, it is a collection of basic powerful ideas about money that everyone will be better off knowing. It is an attempt to establish a private-enterprise educational system to get this information into the hands of the masses so that they can benefit from it.
Yet another purpose of this consultation is to set up this educational system as a game with real cash exchange so that it becomes a real money game. The basis of this game is the realisation that reading this information produces real value and some real learning, but that it must be read and discussed over and over to master the principles. In other words after you have read this information once negotiated the price, and paid the person who is consulting you, you may have other people read it to you. If you have at least one new person to read this document with each day, you will spread it successfully, having fun negotiating with each person that you read it with and develop a successful business consciousness.
You should also be willing for the same person to read this consultation to you several times – say once per week – because the ideas are so powerful that they may get ten times as much out of it the fifth time they read it as they would have done the first time. It may be desirable to have your clients read it to you once per week so the discussion about it becomes deeper and more practical with each appointment. Discussing it weekly for a month provides an opportunity to integrate and assimilate these great new ideas into practical action.
The time it takes to read and discuss the consultation is determined by how many of these ideas are new to the people discussing it. It may take some people an hour and it may take others a week. It is best to give your mind plenty of time to absorb and integrate new ideas.
The knowledge of prosperity consciousness is the most valuable of all business knowledge. It provides a foundation for success in any business. The experience of negotiating the price of this consultation with 50 to 100 people is an invaluable educational experience. That will provide a basic training for success in any kind of business. It is an educational experience that unfortunately is not available in any business school that we know of.
All the money in the world that you do not have, other people have. To receive other people’s money you have to supply them with ideas, goods or services that they are willing to pay for. This consultation not only opens up your personal creativity so that you can supply more wealth to people out of your infinite storehouse, it also gives you a tangible way to participate with others in a specific way that will increase your personal cash flow.
It is important to remember that the money game is not a game to be taken seriously. People in our society tend to take money too seriously. A sense of humour is required when discussing money. It is as important to be able to lose money gracefully and to experience failure as well as success without losing your humanity. All the wealthy people we know have learned how to fail successfully through lots of experience. We have included some money jokes at the end of each section in the hope that it will lighten up your consultation and stimulate your own sense of humour.
Where I was brought up, we never talked about money… because there was never enough to furnish a topic of conversation!
Chapter 2: Prosperity Consciousness & Poverty Consciousness
Prosperity consciousness is your natural state of unity with Spirit, Nature, Humanity and your Inner Self. It is knowing that the abundant riches of the universe are there for our loving and caring use, to creatively express our divinity in the world.
A work of encouragement: you only have to learn prosperity consciousness once. When you do, you always have it and you can turn it into cash any time you feel like it.
Poverty consciousness is the fear of lack and denial of self-worth. It is mistrusting the natural abundance of Life and ignoring your creative potential. It is a socially-reinforced mental illness which can even afflict people with plenty of money.
Working only for money, without enjoyment and fulfilment of the world itself is an expression of poverty consciousness, of fear and doubt. There can never be enough money to spend nor enough time to enjoy it, for no amount of money can compensate for the lack of fulfilment in one’s work. Without the joy of Life, even spending money becomes joyless work.
Money slavery is upheld by the belief that people are basically lazy and won’t work unless coerced by the fear of poverty. People stay in uncreative, stifling jobs out of the belief that this is necessary for economic survival. They fear that to do their own choice of work would require the sacrifice of financial compensation. This poverty belief, in their own minds and in others, is the only reason they experience it as so. Actually, once we are attuned to our true nature, we love work as an outward expression of our being.
The truth is that when we choose work which engages our creativity and interest, we work for the enjoyment of what we’re doing. Money is a by-product of pleasurably and lovingly serving others.
We then have access to tremendous resources of enthusiasm and energy which enables us to create financial success, as well as greater health and happiness. When we express ourselves through our work, we produce something of real value to share with others, worth far more than the products of resentful, poverty-conscious people. We deserve to be prospered for doing our true work.
Prosperity consciousness is a structure of thought – a belief system or a group of beliefs So is poverty consciousness. Once we unlearn our poverty consciousness and learn prosperity consciousness, money, business, and success flow easily in our Life.
What this country needs is not more money.. but more people who have some of it!
Money doesn’t always bring happiness: a man with ten million dollars is no happier than a man with nine million!
Chapter 3: Limitation and Belief
We are essentially unlimited spiritual beings, but our experience in this world is often one of limitation. We often live in a delusional world of isolation and scarcity, living a Life patterned after the expectations and limited ideas of others. We ignore the special gifts we have to share with the world and our opportunities for growth and learning in our particular Life situations.
The experiences of limitation are reflections of our basic beliefs about ourselves and our universe, attitudes formed by such experiences as:
Traumatic hospital births our birth affects our life and even a normal birth can be traumatic. That trauma is stored in our bodies and can block our creativity, keeping us in a state of fear.
Parental disapproval and expectation parents take out their hostility toward their parents on their children (you). The spirit of the child is broken. Then you, as a child, have to suppress your true feelings until you have children and you take out your anger on yours—it goes on from generation to generation;
Social conditions our social circumstances as we are growing up; and
Unconscious death urges; the belief system that death is inevitable and beyond our control. This belief is taught by parents to children generation after generation. This stifles our creativity, if we consider that we can live longer we then have more time to be creative.
These beliefs pattern our thoughts, feelings, and actions, creating our experienced reality, which we can use to justify the beliefs. For example, “I know I am poor because I don’t have any money.”
We may think that our belief that the world is a hostile, uncaring place is caused by our experience of other people not supporting us. Actually, the reverse is more often true.
There are many limiting beliefs which can reinforce poverty consciousness. Some people feel that money is evil, that material things are unspiritual and corrupting. Many people have such low self esteem, such guilt and hatred, they feel they don’t deserve prosperity. Others fear that if they are too successful, they won’t be loved because of their experience with their parents.
Children are often punished for expressing creativity and freedom. In spite of the freedom guaranteed by the United States Constitution, many people feel emotionally that freedom is dangerous because of the way they were treated by their parents. This emotional bondage is projected into their personal finances as well as their view of the economy. Often people fail, as an expression of anger or resentment, as a way of asking for help and support. We can add our own examples from our own experiences.
However limited our past patterns, we have the power of choice in the present.
By changing our beliefs, we change our reality.
By changing our actions we give practical expression to our new consciousness.
By giving this consultation, we are making a powerful choice to change – to prosperity consciousness.
Money is not the root of all evil.. the lack of money is!
Money can’t buy everything.. poverty for example!
Chapter 4: Affirmations
An affirmation is a statement of the unique Life force flowing through each individual, an acceptance of each person’s special gifts and opportunities. It is a positive Life supporting statement chosen on purpose to replace former non-Life supporting beliefs.
Affirmations can help us to develop our prosperity consciousness by redirecting our thoughts from habitual patterns to a fuller realization of our true potential. Here are some prosperity affirmations to repeat in writing, speech and thought. You can also visualise situations corresponding to the affirmations, feeling them as reality. Notice your response to these affirmations:
- I deserve to be prosperous
- I have great worth just for being myself
- I am love just for being myself
- I forgive myself, my parents, and others for past errors
- Prosperity is my natural state of being
- Prosperity enables me to fully express my creative potential
- Fully expressing my creative potential enables me to be prosperous
- I am the master of money. It serves my growth, happiness and creative expression
- I use money to fully express my spirituality in the world
- Money helps me help others
- There is enough for everyone, including me
- There is an abundant place within me, flowing with Love
- My prosperity prospers others; their prosperity prospers me
- The more I give, the more I receive
- I am willing to receive all I need
- Everything I need is available from the Infinite Source of all
- I am willing receive money abundantly, as an expression of people’s Love and support
- I love working and serving people
- I express my Love and my creativity in my work
- People love paying me when I deliver valuable ideas, goods, and services to them
- I enjoy making money doing what I enjoy
- I express my Love and my creativity in my work
- People love paying me when I deliver valuable ideas, goods and services to them
- I enjoy making money doing what I enjoy
- I easily attract money and prosperity by my self-acceptance and self-confidence
- My creative imagination and my connection with the universal mind is an unlimited source of money making ideas
- I am willing to receive money while pleasuring myself and letting my Life be easy
- The only difference between a millionaire and me is that while he’s working second million… I’m working on my first
Exercize 4.1
Create your own prosperity affirmation from your unlimited creative imagination
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Affirmations can have the best effect of bringing to our awareness whatever resistant feelings and limiting beliefs are blocking their effectiveness.
Acknowledge the feelings without judgement and examine the beliefs, then release them, knowing that we are replacing them with affirmations of self-acceptance, honouring the abundant Life Force that flows through us. It helps to actually write out the negative thoughts that the affirmations stimulate and to invert them into positive thoughts in writing.
This is called the emotional response technique. Change is not created by the passing of time, but by the evolution of thought.
- in the left column write out your affirmation
- each time you write the affirmation, in the right column write down any negative responses to the affirmation that come into your mind.
Exercize 4.2
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Affrimation |
Response: Negative Thoughts |
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Affirmations are not the same as wishful thinking. For instance, an apple tree which found itself in a pear orchard might repeat over and over again, “I am producing big, juicy, beautiful pears,” but it would only experience frustration.
The message of all affirmations is to relax and be yourself. If you truly know who you are, you are rich beyond your wildest imagination! You are an Infinite Being, Infinite Intelligence and Infinite Manifestation. We prosper most fully when we deliver our natural divine gifts to others.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. Yet I say unto you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these. Now if that is how God clothed the grass in the field… will he not much more look after you…” (Matthew VI, 28-29)
Do not use affirmation to suppress your negative feelings, but to create a safe environment to feel them, to verbalise them and to change them. Through affirmations and simple spiritual purification practices with earth, air, water, fire and community, (Appendix 3) you can totally liberate the mind of negative emotions. Fire purification is particularly useful for clearing negative thoughts.
Useful suggestions for applying the technique of auto-suggestion to the affirmations:
- Write each affirmation 10-20 times. Writing is an extremely powerful technique of auto-suggestion.
- Work with one or more affirmations each day. Good times are just before sleeping, before starting the day and especially when you feel an effect. They can also be recorded and played back. The best way to do that is by recording each affirmation 5 to 10 times so that you have time to think about them when they are playing. Use voice notes on your mobile phone and take a pause between reading the affirmation and repeating it.
- Make a list of affirmations that are the most meaningful to you.
- Put specific names and situations into the affirmations.
- Play with the words in the affirmation – make it personal and meaningful to yourself.
- Say the affirmations to yourself in first, second, and third person as follows:
I _______________ now like myself
He/She ________________ now likes him/herself.
- Feel free to invent new ones
- Continue working with them daily until they become totally integrated into your consciousness.
- To dissolve negative patterns and free maximum aliveness in your consciousness, write each affirmation in order 10 to 20 times. Note the ones that are most meaningful or produce the greatest charge. Write out your negative emotional responses and change them into new affirmations. Continue working with these until they go flat. When they go flat, you are the total cause and master of the results implied by the affirmations.
- Experience working with the affirmations: All my affirmations are working for me, whether I work with them or not.
- Find an accountability partner to do this with to make sure you both follow up. Commit to doing this process.
Discovering your negative thoughts towards affirmations and turning them around is the way to overcoming them.
Now read Appendix 1 Family Dynamics and do the exercises with a partner.
Rich or poor – it’s nice to have money!
Chapter 5: Creative Thinking Exercises That Produce Success
Express your prosperity consciousness in action by creating goals for yourself, both easy goals and more challenging ones.
Here are some exercises to help you start thinking creatively. Complete each exercise before reading the next.
Exercize 5.1
- Take two minutes to write down:
- 1.Five financial goals for this month
- 2.Five financial goals for the next year (i.e till this time next year)
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This Month |
Next Year |
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Exercize 5.2
Take another two minutes and list ten to twenty of your most favourite pastimes (things you really enjoy or are even passionate about)
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Exercize 5.3
Next, pick out your favourite pastime and spend two minutes listing ten to twenty ideas on how you can make money while engaged in your most favourite pastime. So you are creating up to twenty new businesses. Don’t get stuck on being able to do it or the logistics at this very point in time – just be creative. What did you LOVE doing when you were younger?
Ignore your mind if any negative thoughts come up, for instance if your mind says, “you’ll never do this,” or “this just isn’t possible.” Read Appendix 4 to help you get your creative mojo back.
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Favourite Pastime Money Ideas |
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Exercize 5.4
The following is an exercise that, when practiced daily, will build a millionaire mentality.
List ten to twenty enjoyable ways of serving people that will increase your personal cash flow by the end of the day. In addition to doing this exercise right now, do it every morning until your money problems have disappeared. Be sure to execute the ideas that are the most profitable and the most fun.
As your creative imagination and intuition develop, the ones that are most fun will also be the most profitable. If you are reading this consultation as part of a group you will be given the opportunity to sell your product or service to the group. What goods or services could you sell to other people right now?
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Enjoyable Ways of Serving People Income Ideas |
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What your resistances are to doing this exercise? find an accountability partner to do this with.
Exercize 5.5
Personal product exercise – 30 seconds for each point
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Express your product or service in one word only |
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Write down one price for one deliverable unit of your product |
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Write down the name of your next customer |
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If you own’t have a real product, a real price and a real customer then you’re out of business!
Our personal cash flow is increased by serving more people in ways they are willing to pay for.
Reframe your fear. If your material is good and you know it can help people, it’s your OBLIGATION to share it with the world. You’re doing this in service to the people who can benefit from your help (and actively repelling the people who it’s not right for). When examined that way, any success you have is simply the result of helping others FIRST.
What kind of work feels like play? Tune into your inner child and find what feels like play.
The chief advantage of having money is that you don’t have to worry about not having it!
Chapter 6: Negotiation
You have now finished the consultation. It is time to negotiate. Take plenty of time to discuss each point in the following section. Learning the art of negotiation through experience is the essence of the money game. Negotiating is an essential aspect of human communication. Since money is the most popular game in town and people spend most of their time playing it, it makes sense to learn negotiating.
Negotiating seems to make a lot of people feel uncomfortable. It is helpful to acknowledge this and to tell the truth about each of your uncomfortable feelings as you complete your negotiation for this consultation. The uncomfortable feelings have inhibited your financial success during your whole life up until now.
So take as much time as you would like to right now to verbalise them, discuss them, and release them. If you release any uncomfortable feelings that have inhibited your financial success your whole life, it should obviously make this consultation worth $300. You can pay anything from $1 to $300 or more.
Now that you have received the Prosperity Consciousness Consultation ask yourself:
How much are these ideas worth to me?
How much value have I received from this consultation so far?
How much money am I willing and able to pay as a symbol of that worth?
When you teach the laws of prosperity to others, you are giving a professional business consultation that is worth at least $300. The actual price is determined by negotiation. Spiritual ethics means that you don’t desire anybody else’s money unless they want you to have it. It also implies the willingness to trust other people’s Love for your support, success, and financial abundance.
The purpose of negotiation is to enable both sides to win. The price you ask should not impose a psychological or financial burden on people. By letting people see the price of this consultation, you learn about them as well as yourself.
Use your intuition to make the negotiation process part of the consultation. If people have difficulty giving you enough money, show them how this reinforces their fear of lack and their poverty consciousness. If they are determined to give you more than they can really afford, out of guilt of receiving your services, or to please or impress you, show them how a willingness to receive is essential to prosperity consciousness. You may do a series of consultations with some people, negotiating the fee each time until they develop enough self-worth and prosperity to pay the full $300. No one should feel any pressure.
Drop all money worry, be free, and let everyone make a free choice to play with money now. Make it a habit and the money game will always be fun.
Your willingness to negotiate is a demonstration of your service motivation in teaching, proportional to the quality and quantity of your service. Remember your ability to receive is proportional to your ability to give.
As a result of working with this consultation for over ten years, I noticed people get the most when it is read with a consultant at least 3 times on three separate appointments. You’ll notice what you missed in previous consultations.
Affluence is the state in which you complain about the quality of the champagne.
Appendix 1: Family Dynamics
BY CIARA LONGMAN
Our life is determined 5% of the time by the conscious mind and 95% of the time by our subconscious and unconscious minds. So if you want to change something in your life you need to either; re-programme your subconscious mind or make what you desire a new by repeating every day until it becomes a habit. You can of course do the Personal Law with the emotional response process (Chapter 4) to delve into your unconscious responses.
Your thoughts are creative: when the wishes and desires of your conscious mind/inner world match your subconscious mind you then create and maintain those wishes and desires in your life/outer world.
Our habits of life consist of the programming we received between birth to 7 years old. This is because a child’s brain is in theta brainwave state, this is the brainwave state which operates when a person is in hypnosis or meditation. Therefore, children are highly suggestible. They are like sponges soaking in all of the circumstances they are subjected to and what they experience is programmed into their subconscious mind. The aim in doing this process is to uncover and replace any programming you have which is blocking you with positive programming.
See what you can remember, so review your life and this will reveal what is programmed in your subconscious mind. If there are things you struggle with and want in your life – re-programme them in your subconscious mind. Here are some pointers to consider. Review whomever your childhood primary carers were i.e. mother, father, grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents:
My most negative thought about money is…
Who earned the money in your family?
Who controlled the money?
Were there any fights about money?
Did they borrow money?
How about any lending/formal loans/loan sharks?
Any bankruptcy?
Did they lose money in business?
What were their spending habits like?
What were their savings habits like?
What did your parents teach you about money?
Now write down what you have realised about your primary care givers’ relationship with money:
Exercize A1.1
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Father/Mother/Grandparent/Foster |
Father/Mother/Grandparent/Foster |
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Can you see how you may have adopted their experience with money? What have you learned from your parents about money?
Exercize A1.2
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My Relationship With Money |
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If you are resistant or feel blank when responding, having a few Rebirthing Breathwork sessions with a competent facilitator will help uncover your thoughts towards as well as money programming. It is important to note that dealing with resistance to connected breathing is an essential component when you are having sessions. Working through physical and emotional resistances may take a few sessions. During a session your mind goes into theta state which allows your thoughts and programming to become apparent. Consequently, it is possible to set this as an intention for the session when you have worked through resistance.
Contact info@breathtalks.com to locate a Rebirther near you.
Take responsibility for your money issues because this allows you to shift your energy to moving forward and becoming positive. You need to make a plan to get out of your current situation. On a piece of paper or create a spreadsheet and input all your monthly and yearly expenses. Then in a second column add in all your income. This will allow you to calculate how much money you have left over each month/year. You can download a copy of an example spreadsheet .ods file here. Note the file downloads automatically.
Responsibility is the freedom to make a choice and only you are accountable and responsible for your life.Appendix 2: Breathing Techniques
BY CIARA LONGMAN
Connected Breathing – How To Do It
This exercise is designed to reconnect you with your natural breathing rhythm – deep breaths, inhalation and exhalation connected into one continuous motion.
- Begin by loosening any tight clothing – belts, ties, etc. take your shoes off and remove your glasses if this makes you feel more comfortable.
- Relax – the more relaxed you can become, the more natural your breathing will be.
- Close your eyes.
- Breathing through your nose, take a slow deep breath up into your chest and when you reach the top immediately drop it off, exhaling until you reach the bottom of your exhalation.
- When you reach the bottom, immediately begin the next inhalation. Breathe audibly – hearing your breath will help you concentrate on your breathing.
- Do this for at least two minutes, making sure that you don’t hold your breath either at the top or the bottom of the cycle.
The Circular Breath – How To Do It
This breathing technique builds on the Connected Breathing you did earlier. Where Connected Breathing uses only the upper chest cavity, this technique focuses on getting a connected breath with a full engagement of the breathing mechanism. This helps dissolve any holding patterns in the lower lung area
- Breathe through your mouth with your eyes open.
- Relax. Breathe deeply up into your chest. Don’t hold your breath at the top – connect the inhalation to the exhalation.
- Drop your chest gently on the exhalation.
- When you reach the bottom of the exhalation, give a gentle push in with your stomach muscles to squeeze that last bit of air from your lungs.
- As you finish the push in, let your stomach muscles release, allowing your lower lungs to fill with air.
- Follow this natural filling motion up into the chest again, and when you reach the top, connect the inhalation to the exhalation.
- Move right into the next cycle, gently dropping the exhale.
- Do this continuously for at least two minutes.
On completing this exercise you should feel even more energy, more relaxation and less tension than you did before the Connected Breathing exercise.
Alternate Nostril Breathing – How To Do it
Alternate nostril breathing is a pranayama technique that has been used for centuries in India. It is a very powerful, efficient method of cleaning and balancing the energetic channels within the body called nadis. The idea is that we not only breathe air we also breathe energy, which is called prana in Sanskrit.
- Sit comfortably in your chair with your eyes closed.
- Block your left nostril with your left thumb and breathe out.
- Once you reach the bottom, whilst still blocking your right nostril take a full breath in through your left nostril slowly and gently.
- When you have taken in as much air as you can release your thumb from your right nostril and block your left nostril with your index finer, then breath out through your right nostril.
- Then take a full inhale through the right nostril, whilst blocking the left nostril with your index finger.
- When you reach a full inhale release your index finger from your left nostril and exhale through the left nostril.
- This completes one cycle. Do this two more times without stopping.
- Once you have completed three cycles, then take one or two deep integrating breaths through both nostrils and notice the difference of how you feel now compared to before doing the exercise.
It is recommended to do this exercise for 21 days consecutively for the best results.
Twenty Connected Breaths
In this final breathing technique, you will experience something that may be new to you – breathing energetically without being engaged in heavy physical activity and without tensing or using anything but the breathing mechanism. The results can be quite dramatic.
As you work with this technique, you may experience a tingling sensation on the skin – an indication that you are breathing not only air, but energy. You may also experience the feeling that you are not so much doing the breathing, but rather that the “breath is breathing you.” The mind follows the breath. The body follows the mind. By consciously breathing, you are engaging and body fully. This is the total Response.
How To Do It
- Relax
- Sit comfortably in your chair, eyes closed, hands apart on your lap.
- Breathe through the mouth up into the chest and exhale for four short strokes; then inhale slowly and deeply and exhale slowly and completely.
- Relax your shoulders, your mouth, your body. Pull the breath into the chest on the inhale. Let it drop out on the exhale. Don’t stop at the top or bottom – connect the inhale with the exhale.
- Repeat this cycle without stopping for a total of twenty breaths.
- Gradually slow the breath by taking one or tow more long, deep integrating breaths and return to normal breathing.
- After a minute of enjoying the energy, open your eyes and return to normal.
Appendix 3: Spiritual Purification with the Elements
BY CIARA LONGMAN
When it all gets a bit much, you feel drained or you simply want to become clearer – follow the secrets of the yogis; spiritual purification with the elements. What this means is that our emotional energy body is cleaned through basic spiritual practices with earth, air, water and fire. By doing these practices our life energy is renewed. Simply sitting with candles or by a fire can renew our urge to live and increase our vitality and creativity. It is without a doubt, that we physically feel better when the energy body is clean and balanced.
Leonard Orr the founder of Rebirthing Breathwork spent many years reading the Vedic texts and learnt these techniques by observing yogis. Leonard often spoke about how we take on emotional energy pollution from other people, with whom we interact every day. Whether you agree with Leonard or not, revitalising yourself with these spiritual purification techniques will help you and you’ll feel the difference:
The basic Earth spiritual purification practices are fasting, proper healthy diet (preferably vegetarian) and exercise. If you haven’t fasted before take it slowly by first cutting out meat and carbohydrates for a day, then only eating two meals between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Progress to drinking fresh juices for a day and when you master that try water fasting. Liquid fasting for three days helps to renew the digestive system. Progress through these stages slowly. It is really important to be sensible and responsible for yourself. If you have difficulties, stop fasting.
Earth purification also involves movement: exercise, singing, dancing, drumming, walking in nature, earthing – walk barefoot in your garden or lie down on the grass.
The basic Air spiritual purification practice is conscious energy breathing. This involves taking deep full breaths and not pausing between breaths. Allow your chest and your belly to expand at the same time when inhaling, then let go on the exhale. Start with 10 minutes, then try 20 minutes continuous breathing. Close your eyes and sit down or lie down, breathing through your nose. When you do this you’re breathing energy (prana) as well as air. If you know pranayama exercises these also help clean the energy body. For further information on breathing exercises see Appendix 2.
The basic Water spiritual purification practices are bathing twice per day and proper drinking to make sure you are well hydrated. Yogis tend to bathe in rivers before sunrise and before sunset clearing their energy system with clean flowing water. Water helps clean our emotions so don’t share water used for purification. It is best to take a warm water bath or jacuzzi. It’s a good idea to buy a waterproof pillow to rest your head on when you’re not submerging it. Change the water if you use a hot tub. If you go to a hot springs make sure there is a flow of water. Bathing in water is not only a great purification technique, it’s also a treat to float in the water and allow your mind to still. Children’s inflatable paddling pools work as a great alternative and can be bought cheaply. Fill it in your shower or wet room.
The basic Fire spiritual purification practice is sitting with an open flame. If you have a an indoor fire stove this is perfect. Fire safety is of utmost importance when using fire purification, be responsible when using fire. When you’re outside the physical containment of the fire is needed with a fire pit, this can be a metal structure or a ring of stones. In India sacred ceremonies are held in a dhuni which is generally a concrete fire pit. As an alternative, you can easily buy a metal tray with tall sides and place candles in the tray. For tall candles make sure that if they fall over, they won’t fall outside the metal tray – so nothing can catch alight.
It is recommended to sit with the fire for a minimum of one hour and still your mind. Allowing the mental dross to be burnt away. Sitting with the fire stimulates and opens our chakras and cleanses them. For this reason it is important to do fire purification on your own and without speaking to other people. Keep taking some nice deep breaths as you sit with the fire. Fire helps our mind calm, so if your mind chatter is going wild, take some time out, sit with fire and just let go! It is important to observe your thoughts as you would in mindfulness meditations. Don’t attach to your thoughts, simply observe them and let them go. Remember when you were a child and you would lie on the ground looking up at the clouds passing by? When using the mindfulness technique you are asked to observe your inhalation and exhalation. Then when you have a thought, view it as if it was a cloud passing by in the sky. Let your thoughts simply pass by. Do not identify with them. This is what is meant by non-attachment and assists us with our next spiritual purification technique; Mind purification.
The basic Mind spiritual purification practice is using mantra. Are you the master of your mind, or the slave? Understand that your thoughts create your reality and it is important to observe the quality of every thought as it flows through your consciousness. The Buddha called it the supreme technique of enlightenment. Learning to transform our negative thoughts and feelings into positive thoughts and feelings is a part of this technique.
Mantra Yoga/Chanting is a great way to master our thoughts and feelings. Mantra yoga means to repeat and meditate on this thought until we have mastered it. It is a great spiritual journey to understand and master our own mind. If you already have a favourite mantra then use it, even better with mala beads. Mala beads are widely available and made up of 108 beads or ruksha seeds. You recite a mantra 108 times by turning each bead on the mala starting after the larger bead. If you haven’t used one before ask the seller to show you. It is useful to buy a fabric pouch to place your beads in.
Languages such as Sanskrit and Aramaic are high vibrational languages and chanting mantras in these languages becomes a pleasure. The mahamantra dedicated to Shiva is “Aum Namaha Shivaya.” There are many sacred mantras you can choose or make up one for yourself that resonates with you. Remembering and meditating on a mantra brings us into the present moment as well as a loving and still state of mind and body. You can also do this with fire purification.
You may be drawn to one element to find out what its effect is like, but also try those that you might be resistant to! Sometimes you may find resistance to using the element that will help you the most, so push through your resistance and try it. Trust in the process because spiritual purification really does become pleasurable!
Appendix 4: Finding Your Creative Mojo
BY CIARA LONGMAN
To get your creativity flowing, here are some examples of successful projects from doing this workshop:
One student who did this process came up with a great idea and did it successfully! She was a taxi driver and really wanted a change. Whilst doing this process she had the idea that it would be fun to take tourists to beautiful natural locations. She would advertise beach to rainforest tours in Australia’s Gold Coast. She decided if she sold her executive taxi, she could buy a large 4WD. She took the leap, did it and her idea paid off. That’s what she does now and absolutely loves it.
Another student came to a Rebirthing training in Virginia and when he did this seminar he came up with the idea of selling organic vegetables. He had moved to the mountains in Central America where he couldn’t buy any fresh organic produce. After the training he bought lots of organic seeds whilst in the States. The only lettuces available in the local town were the tasteless iceberg variety. So he grew different varieties of lettuces when he got home. It doesn’t make a lot of money but he really enjoys doing this. He sells to restaurants and is educating the owners about organic food, they comment about how good the lettuces taste. He even eats at these restaurants so it’s a win/win situation and is affectionately known as Don Charlie de lettuga, Charlie of the lettuces. He collects his own seeds now, built a hothouse for seedlings and employed locals to help him out.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to travel. I’ve visited a lot of sacred and energetic locations. So whilst doing this process myself, I decided I would start a web site called the “Conscious Hub,” with a map of locations and information on conscious businesses and sacred sites. I paid a lot of money for it to be developed and spent a lot of time entering site information on the map locations. I wanted it to be interactive but unfortunately it didn’t take off. It wasn’t wasted because the next time I did this process I decided why don’t I just write travel guides and so “Conscious Guides,” was conceived. It took a few years to publish my first travel guide book.
Leonard Orr told me that he wanted his work to continue after he passed away, so I am publishing his seminars as Conscious Guides too. It also feels great to continue the publishing tradition of my Longman forefathers!
A few years ago I spent a summer in Ireland and drove over. So I decided to take a lot of clothes I no longer wore and thought selling at a market would be a new experience for me. Everything fell into place easily, as I was even lent the market stand. I bought two clothes racks cheaply from Ikea. I had a great time doing it, talking to the public and as a bonus made €250 each day. This isn’t going to pay my bills but it really got my entrepreneurial mojo moving and thinking creatively about making money in enjoyable ways.
I allow my mind to be connected to unlimited intelligence.
It’s really simple: do what you love and the money will come.
Let’s face it, society stifles creativity. Remember when you were at school it was all about learning for exams and creative subjects were only a small part of the whole curriculum. Creative people are more likely to be free thinkers. This process is about breaking free from the prison of your own mind and unleashing your creativity.
Bring positive and successful people into your life who support you, instead of people who bring you down.
It’s up to you to examine your critical thoughts such as “that’ll never work”. Think about who used to say that to you? Yes – it might not work right now. But you can have a great idea and gradually put a plan together. Your idea can evolve, like mine did.
It’s important to get out of your comfort zone.
Even if you get an idea that seems completely outlandish, just write it down because you’re kickstarting your creativity. Trust me, more thoughts will come.
It’s ok to make mistakes, like I did. I learnt so much from it and I don’t regret losing the money I spent on website development. Entrepreneurs are persistent, committed, make mistakes, learn from them and move forward. Surround yourself with successful, positive people instead of negative people who will bring you down.
Question Yourself
What is your mission in life? Or what gives you meaning in your life? Think of any ideas that you love and believe in, that will enrich, improve and enhance other people’s lives. Turn your passion into profit.
Question: “what am I good at?”
Answer: “I’m really good at helping people.”
Question: What can I do to help people?
Answer: “Oh I’m really good at writing, I have already offered to write up information for my friends’ websites.”
Question: “why don’t they do it themselves?”
Answer: “Most people have a block when it comes to writing about themselves. They tell me about themselves and what services they provide, then I just seem to find it easy to put it into words.
Question: “Can I make money from this?
Answer: “Yes of course I can! after doing it a few times for free I’ve now got the confidence to charge for it.”
Word of mouth is the best advertising you can use. If you did great work for someone they’re going to tell lots of people. Most people like helping out their friends and if they know of a good service or a good deal they’ll spread the word. So it is worth doing some freebies for friends or clients and getting feedback or testimonials from them.
Small Project Ideas to Get Yourself Started
Sell on Ebay/Amazon/Etsy/Craig’s List/Gumtree – do you have a hobby? There will always be someone to sell to. Art, crafts, niche fashion – 1920s design. Sell within your country or worldwide (you’ll need to understanding sending international parcels, best secure postage prices, customs and tax.)
Start a website – WordPress is easy to learn and you need to buy a domain and pay for hosting.
Virtual store – know the consumer protection legislation for your State/Country. Understand your responsibility for postage and GST/VAT taxation/import taxes.
What services can you provide? I know someone who advertises an hourly rate for constructing Ikea purchases. He can’t keep up with the work and it’s good money. Especially when you advertise in affluent areas where householders are too busy or simply don’t want to do it themselves.
Put up a notice at the grocery store, supermarket, community noticeboard, organic food store for your services.
Do you have a great dish or condiment you can make? Check out your local governments Food Safety requirements first. Sell your products at a market stall.
Can you teach? Give sessions? Hold group activities on Skype/Zoom?
Seasonal: a woman I know set up a Christmas market stall selling home made angels. She was highly successful and opened a seasonal store, taking out a short 8 week shop lease each year. Eventually it became a year-round store selling other metaphysical products. She now runs courses and easily markets them through her store.
AirBnB, do you have a spare room? And want to rent it out? Make sure you understand all of the rules they require you to do. There are alternative websites to choose from.
Area of interest or expertise – write articles and sell them to magazines. Write a book and sell it on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play.
Make short videos and start a YouTube channel then re-post on Social Media where you offer your goods or services.
Start a PodCast. A friend of mine started a PodCast called, “The Overwhelmed Brain.” He talks openly about having a breakdown and his consequent healing journey. It became really popular and he is now inundated with who want counselling. Being vulnerable and honest has really helped thousands of people.
Make an MP3 and sell it on Amazon or iTunes
Teach – in person, via Video Chatting or develop an e-course.
Be a Travel Guide www.withalocal.com because you know your area! do you know the best pubs, restaurants, hidden gems, unique nature spots or activities? do you know the history of your area? You could even take groups to special sites or lesser known places. You may even come up with a quirky tour idea that is unique. Check out what insurance you may need. A friend of mine takes groups of people in Cusco for a bar or restaurant socialising experience and they must only speak in Spanish. They have to ask questions and find out information about other people in the bar, in Spanish. She also offers individual shopping experiences, she teaches Spanish words as they walk around shops and coaches them in how to ask for what they need.
All of these don’t have to be a major career choice, putting a smaller idea into action gets you into the entrepreneurial mindset and builds your confidence. So don’t dismiss the little ideas! Get creative and have fun.
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