Beloved Students:

As the sky becomes thick and gigantic snowflakes fall rapidly to the ground here in Glenwood Springs, I greet you in the wonder of Nature’s beauty. Those of you in the northern hemisphere are looking forward to the coming of Spring, while those of you in the southern hemisphere are moving into the wonder of Autumn. Wherever you find yourself at the present time, know that the demonstrations of Nature always have something to offer you. Your assignment, of course, is to discover the lessons so graciously offered, and to apply them in your process of spiritual becoming. How magnificent! What a glorious way to discover your true nature!

As 2005 launches the energy that will move through the year it seems to me this is a good time to take notice of the areas in your life where you experience things as “out of control,” or perhaps “beyond” your control. It seems that one of the lessons 2005 is likely to present to all of you is an escalation of these areas, or your experience of these areas. Of course, whenever such happens it becomes an excellent opportunity to cut through the perceptions that may be keeping you stuck in relationship to these areas. The specific areas will vary person to person, of course, but I think it is safe to say that nearly everyone has areas where they are unable to perceive their freedom, or liberation, potential.

The good news (or bad news, depending on how you look at it) is that when something arises in consciousness for many people at the same time, Life is inviting each to join some new dance - a transcendence dance, in this case. It is up to each individual to decide whether s/he will accept the invitation and join the dance or attempt to sit this one out on the sidelines. The only problem is that when folks opt to “sit out,” it only complicates things more when the next invitation to the dance comes along.

A good place to start the dance may be on the floor of duality. This is where the dancers view themselves as being separate from 1) the dance, and 2) their partners in the dance. At first, it may seem as if one is dancing the dance - sometimes with a partner or two, and sometimes solo. The fact (or perception) that the dancer must learn the dance seems to prove that dancer and dance are separate. However, if one continues the dance long enough, and gives his/her attention fully enough, one eventually allows the dance to dance them, rather than the other way around. In the letting go of controlling the dance, one opens to being danced, and both dancer and dance are lifted to a new level of expression. At this point, one may still dance, but one no longer has to dance. You could say, a type of liberation has been actualized.

As I look into the growth process of so many of my students (particularly in the West), I notice many of you still struggle with old patterns of impoverishment. Now this presents an interesting question: how can you expect to embody spiritual wealth when you experience yourselves to be poor in other areas?

It really matters little whether you perceive yourself impoverished in terms of money, time, love, creativity, etc. The fact that you are experiencing any kind of impoverishment actually works against the attainment of your spiritual goal. Likely, it also takes up a fair amount of your internal space - perhaps even occupying the space that could hold the experience of your enlightenment. For many of you, it seems that you are not dealing with one all-encompassing area of impoverishment so much as smaller notions of impoverishment in multiple areas.

It is very important that you consciously listen to the words you use when talking about yourself. Pay attention to all the areas where your choice of verbiage comes from a position of lack. Please do not kid yourself that these notions are true in any real sense, but determine to see how the ego has conditioned you to believe your own thoughts - even if untrue. How is it your mind is conditioned to sort your personal world in terms of what appears (to the mind) to be missing? Or, how is it your mind likes to spend so much time comparing what it perceives you have (or do not have) to what it perceives someone else has?

Indeed, I think is it somewhat useful to express all types of impoverishment consciousness in terms of money, since the perception of lack in this area is actually responsible for notions of lack in all other areas. Thus I would like to suggest that you begin thinking in terms of spiritual wealth being the measuring standard by which you sort out your life, not simply the old money standard. While at first blush this may seem easy, I daresay you will discover that the mind (hard pressed to give up its old notions of lack) will give you a “run for your money,” as the saying goes. Better yet, let yourself step beyond the dualistic habit of mind which tends to separate the notions of spiritual wealth and material wealth (i.e., money). You might even let your self pretend, at least for the moment, that somehow, they are the same thing.

After all, wealth is wealth. Some people measure it in monetary terms; others measure it in spiritual terms. Who is to say they are not talking about the very same thing? Of course, they likely do not now perceive those areas to be the same, and if such is the case, clearly, they will not be able to demonstrate the same degree of facility with the two notions. Begin asking questions like: “What if everything I have believed about the separation of spirituality and money is unfounded?” “What if wealth is just a concept, and I have been duped by the collective mentality about the whole issue?” If you can ask these questions - seriously of course - then you can also begin rewriting the old scripts you have played in your head, perhaps for lifetimes.

In looking about the western culture (particularly the American culture), one of the things you might recognize is that monetary wealth is an area wherein the entire culture seems to validate mastery. Everyone recognizes the monetary masters. Their photos are strewn throughout all manner of media, and they are generally seen as some kind of gods. Wall street bows to them; legislators and presidents bow to them; countless millions (perhaps billions) envy them; many imitate them, coveting their apparently extravagant lifestyles. Their mastery is not only recognized, it is literally worshiped in a surprising way.

Of course, there are also those who are considered masters in their respective fields of study or service, such as the arts, or certain sciences. When you consider the area of spiritual mastery, however, most hold this to be in a different, perhaps opposing, arena. You might like to wonder how you would see yourself and the world around you if you were able to simply dissolve these perceived (perhaps hallucinated) mental boundaries. Indeed, what if you could actually strip them from your creative process, freeing your mind to explore without any pre-conceived notions about wealth of any genre?

I have noticed that many well-meaning people, when trying to re-program their minds from a state of impoverishment to a source of wealth modify their behavior in a manner that they perceive reflects the activities of the rich. They say to themselves, “I’m no longer going to think of my self as poor, so I will do what the rich do,” whereupon they go out and start spending money wildly. In their perception, “the rich” spend a lot of money, and in their imitation of “the rich,” they end up throwing away their hard-earned money on things that the rich would never buy! What this demonstrates, of course, is that they really do not see themselves as rich. They see themselves (and therefore engage the karma) as imitating the rich, because what they actually believe is that they will never themselves be rich.

Convoluted? Yes. But so the human way. Please join me this month in listening to A Spiritual Balance Sheet, a lecture I gave in Denver on February sixth. May you find a gem in this teaching that allows you to drop some of your old notions about wealth, or the lack thereof, in your life. May you look toward the accomplishment of mastery, and do so in as many fields as your mind can accommodate. May you stretch as you take on the assignment given, and may you discover the wealth that surrounds you - on all planes and levels!

Djwhal Khul