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In the last 6 months I’ve learned tremendous things about the way I communicate, the language I use and the energy I put on things. I’ve learned that the way I think about something impacts the results I get. Pretty easy concept, right? Not so easy. It’s a very simple concept. There’s a difference.
On more than one occasion I’ve imagined that I’m making myself understood. I thought that the way I was communicating to the people, places and things in my life that I was conveying to them a very clear message. I haven’t been. I’ve been getting my messages, my desires and my needs muddled for a variety of reasons. I know I have because the results I’ve been getting are exactly what I’ve been communicating to myself and the world. They haven’t always been the results I want. One reason I know my messages aren’t getting through is that I have not been speaking the same “language” as the person I’m talking to or to the world at large. Another has been that I don’t really know the proper use of the word I’m using at any given moment. Yet another is that I’m putting the wrong energy, or emphasis, on words, language and actions.
I’ll give 2 examples. “Home” and “Money”. Those are two really simple, yet powerful, words – right? Wrong, they are powerful words. They are complex words with multiple meanings. It all depends on my environment, my past, the way in which I understand the words, and the emphasis I am putting on the words.
Let’s look at “Home.” What does “Home” mean to you? According to Webster’s dictionary “Home” means a lot of different things: one’s place of residence, the social unit formed by a family living together, a familiar or usual setting, a place of origin, an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs (homes for the elderly), and finally, the objective in various games. When you use the word home what energy are you putting on it? When I speak of my “Home” I’m generally speaking of where my treasure is. Home for me is where my heart resides. You can easily tell where that is by the words that come out of my mouth, the way I live my life, the things I decorate my space with and the people I surround myself with. Home for me is wherever I’m at. I can find comfort, love and peace anywhere. “I carry your heart with me” as e.e. cummings said so eloquently. Everyday, no matter where I am, I pray and meditate and carry the heart of my Spirit with me. Growing up, and even as an adult, I moved around a lot – I was homeless too at one point, sleeping out of my car – “home” became where I laid my head to sleep at night. Being in a specific residence for a long period of time was not something I’d exposed myself to until I was an adult. Even then, I prefer the nomadic life. So, for me, when I say “Home” with the capital H I’m talking about my spiritual home, which is within me. When I say home with the lower case h I’m talking about where I live and where I sleep. Do you see what I mean?
Let’s take a look at “Money.” “Money” is another funny word. Webster’s says that “Money” is: something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment, a form or denomination of coin or paper money. So if “Money” is strictly a thing then why do we get so hung up on it? Again, it goes back to our understanding of the word, the environment we were raised in and the emphasis we put on the word. For curiosity’s sake, I looked up the term “Money” at www.urbandictionary.com. Urban dictionary is a cool, little website that breaks words down to how some people in society use the word or phrase – slang. Interestingly enough, I found many different definitions of “Money.” The one that stood out for me was this one: 1a) A person possessing an outstanding personality quality, social skill, physical appearance, or any exceptional ability or skill that makes them stand out.; 1b) To be the best at something; 1c) Skilled to the level of being as good as currency. “You’re so money, and you don’t even know it.” (Origin “Swingers” Miramax 1996)
So, now we start to get to the root of it. “Money” as a word dorks us up because we are putting human qualities on it. Anytime we put human qualities on non-human things we distort the meanings, the usages and the energy that we place on it. We personify it and it has the ability to “do” things and accomplish things. Money on its own does not have the power to do anything to us or for us. Money can’t buy me love. It can’t make me happy. It can’t make me sad. It can’t even drive my car! Money can’t do anything until I do something with it. I can’t even get money until I decide I want it or don’t want it. Wait a minute! Why would anybody decide they don’t want it??? What a silly notion. Of course everyone wants some money. Right? Wrong. It’s not the money I want. It’s never the money that I want. After all, what do I really want with a lot of paper and metal? I’m really looking for an experience. Money is sometimes the tool I use to barter for the experience. Wait!! Money’s a tool? That one throws people for a loop a lot in my experience. Money is a tool. That’s all it is. It’s a tool we use to exchange for the products or services that we wish to use.
Think about it. Let’s start to erase some of the old tapes. What’s the phrase? You need money to make money. No, you don’t. You need an IDEA to make money. I’m a HUGE fan of Napoleon Hill. I even lead study groups on his book, “Think and Grow Rich.” He talks about exactly this in his book. He names not just one man but many men who built tremendous fortunes and experiences for themselves and countless others from an idea and no money. I’m certain if you talked to a few people who you thought were successful they will tell you the same thing. Take a look at some of our wealthiest countrymen and women from recent years: Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Bill Gates. If you read about them you will discover they did not come from money. They did not make money and THEN pursue their dream. They accumulated money and wealth from pursuing their dream. So does that make money powerful? Or does that make the person who wields the idea and implements the idea powerful? What does that really say about the true power of money? To me it says this, money is the result of my own efforts and the efforts of others entrusted to help me bring my idea to fruition. It’s an acronym. M.O.N.E.Y. = My Own Natural Energy Yield. If I’m sitting on the sidelines wondering why I don’t have any money it might come down to the concept that I’m telling the entire Universe that I don’t want it because I’m unwilling to change the way I think about it and I’m complaining. I’ve noticed when I spend the majority of my time and efforts complaining I don’t get very far. Again, it’s about communication. How we get our money, how easy it is for us to use it, save it and give it away is a function of how we think.
All that having been said, “Money” to me is a tool. “M.O.N.E.Y.” is a product of the way that I think and the actions that I take. Which is it really that I mean when I’m communicating? Do you see what I mean?
If I desire to change the things that are happening in my physical world I need to begin to change the way that I talk to myself and to the rest of the Universe. Communicating differently takes practice and it takes education. Mostly communicating takes effort. If I’m willing to put in the effort to communicate differently, my outcomes will begin to change. Once I start taking a look at the world around me that I’ve created through my thoughts, words and deeds I can become a student of my life. As I study my life and the tools and skill sets that I possess it becomes clear to me what I need to learn in order to achieve different results in my life. As I learn and apply the new skills, tools and words I’m able to begin to change my life for the better. Life changing for the better is what many are talking about when they talk about wanting more money. That’s what I was talking about when I said I wanted more money. It was never the money I wanted. It’s always been the experience that I wanted to have as a result of having the money. I’ve had it all backwards and I’ve been communicating it backwards as a result. Life looks a lot differently when I think about the experience I desire to have BEFORE I begin to question how I’m going to manifest it. It’s all about communication. How well are you communicating your thoughts, desires and needs?