Stop trying to earn Love; you already deserve it.

What if you are already good enough?

In preparation for the creative retreat I attended last weekend, my mentor had all of the participants read The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of our Inner Resources by Lynne Twist. Ms. Twist, a long time fundraiser and activist for The Hunger Project who has worked closely with some of the most resource rich and resource poor individuals and communities in the world, puts forth some revolutionary ideas about our capacity to experience abundance no matter where we are in the world and what our access to money is like. Ms. Twist actually challenges us to let go of the money myths that have become the foundations of our Western capitalist culture ("there isn't enough to go around so stockpile as much as you can for you and yours") and replace them with a liberating, and ancient, myth of abundance ("there is enough for all of us").

At this creative retreat, we explored how to weave the myth of abundance into our businesses, lifestyle and even spirituality. As we explored how to integrate our passions and businesses with our chosen lifestyle, we were actually exploring how the paradigm of enough could liberate, not just our relationship with money, but our relationship with ourselves, our families, our clients, and all the other people in our communities. A series of "what if" questions started popping into my mind as the possible ramifications of the myth of abundance began to sink into my consciousness.

What if individuals started to realize that they are good enough just as they are?

What if communities began to see that there are enough resources for everyone if they work together?

What if there is always enough love and support to nourish me and everyone else?

What if none of us has to earn dignity, worth, value, love, abundance, opportunities, appreciation, gifts, income and anything else our hearts desire?

What if we are all inherently good enough to receive these things?

What if it's just a matter of being open to revealing this abundance inside of ourselves and our communities?

Though my mentor has been trying to teach me this for a while, it wasn't until I came home from the retreat did I start to really understand how my entire life and my business could be different if I approached it from this lens of abundance. Our society equates a sense of security with money, through employment. Do you?

Yet, indigenous tribes did not have money. They had food, water, community and all were fed, housed, and cared for. They teach us that a loving community is more security than money and employment. What is community? It's really just a group of people through which Love flows to you and to others. Money is simply one way that abundance flows to you. What's abundance? An expression of Love. It's something we all innately deserve - it's not something we have to earn or prove we deserve it. Money, abundance, love are the appreciation and support from the Universe that flows to you through your community, your work, your family etc..

Thought about in this context, money is really a form of appreciation, an expression of Love. Your clients come to receive Love through your gifts, guidance, and advice. You receive their expression of Love and appreciation through the fees they pay you. On a practical level, I wanted to know how to transform my business by shifting into this alternate paradigm. Here are some questions I worked on as I began the transformation, and I encourage you to start exploring them for yourself.

Your Transformational Homework

Spend some time first thing in the morning with a journal and reflect on these questions:

• How do I act as a channel for Divine love and nourishment?
• How do I cultivate receiving Divine love and nourishment?
• How can I view my business as a channel for this Divine love and nourishment?
• How does the Divine/Source direct love and nourishment to me?
• Am I receptivein my business? Am I rigid in my ideas about money=security=abundance or am I open to receiving abundance in wonderful and unanticipated ways?
• What beliefs do I attach to being paid by my clients?
• What beliefs do I attach to the relationship of money and success to my business? Is the belief: "I have to earn money" a foundation of your business? Remember that money is just an expression of Love - deep down do you feel you need to earn Love?
• Are you limiting how much you appreciation receive? Who you receive it from? Does taking payment from your clients make you uncomfortable? Why?
• How can I practice receiving appreciation in the currency of money? How can I open up to the Divine flow of love and abundance in my business?