The Value of Money

Yesterday I gave my son 8 Israeli coins to go buy himself a snack. Not being familiar with the coins here in Israel, they seemed to me like 8 canadian nickels. After giving him the coins, I began to figure out in my head the value of what I had just given him. I realized then that I had not given him 40 cents but had just given him $8!!!!!.

It was really interesting to me to see that when I didn't realize the value of the coins, I had no emotional reaction to giving him the money. But when I made money 'mean' something, I right away felt a tension inside of me that reflected the thought: "That wasn't 40 cents he's going to spend, but rather $8....and that's a lot of money!!!"

This further validates what Ekhart Tolle said in his book "The New Earth", on the Oprah show, about the impact of labelling things in our lives. When I didn't label the value of the coins, I felt relaxed and peaceful, yet once I labeled the value of the coins I felt tense. The coins never changed nor did it's value....only my perception of the coins changed.

Ekhart Tolle and Oprah

Ekhart, in his new book, The New Earth, talks about the benefit of not labeling items. He says that being open minded about people and things that you see allow you to be curious and to truly explore it without reverting to beliefs you have from the past.

In listening to Sonia Ricotti's interview of Denise Marek on 'Inner Peace and Happiness", Sonia talks about how being in nature gives her a sense of inner peace.

This week, when a client of mine came to the office to see me, she complained of feeling very high anxiety and couldn't find a way to reduce the level of anxiety. Spontaneously, I decided to take her outside. At first we looked at an evergreen bush and I asked to tell me what she sees. Then I asked her to notice the warmth of the sun on her back and the feel of the wind on her face. Next, I decided to go to a flower shop next door and spent about 2 minutes asking her to describe the beauty of the flowers, white on top, verigated purple on the back, yellow centres with brown dots.

This excercise took less than 10 minutes and my client reported her anxiety diminished by 50% and now at a manageable level. Her anxiety put her in a state of resistance - I shouldn't be here, and trying to get to somplace else - in the future. Simply being in nature, allowed her to be in the present moment and allowed her to shift her focus and her anxiety.

Last week, I was in the Dominican Republic getting some well deserved R&R with my boyfriend Glenn. I had also recently watched Oprah’s webcast with Ekhart Tolle about his book “A new Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose”. In this webcast, Ekhart (we’re on a first name basisJ), talked about not labeling things or people. He said that when we label things, we limit our ability to see beyond that label and doesn't allow us to see it with an open mind.

The label can take the form of an adjective like “stupid, slow, selfish...” Labels can also take the form of a race, a culture or simply the name for the object like “rose, car, man, woman, officer, army…”. When we label people and things, we can only see them within the constraints of what we believe belong to that object. Notice your own reactions to the word “clergyman” or “prostitute” or “baby”. Each word brings up for us the beliefs about that word like “all men are….” “all babies are….”. You get to fill in the blank, because each of us has a different belief about what men are like, babies are like and all objects in our world. These beliefs limit us from truly seeing who or what is in front of our eyes.

Next to my room in the Dominican, I saw some magnificent orchids. In as much as I remembered not to label the orchid as “an orchid”, I automatically did label it. Since I do not have a visual in my head of what an orchid should be, I could look at the flower with wonder and curiosity. It allowed me to be in the moment, truly marveling at what I was looking it. I was able to look at the orchid with a beginner’s mind. This lead to feeling peaceful yet alive at the same time. Something so simple, yet so connecting.

I am taking on doing more of the ‘not labeling’ and looking at something as though it was the first time I was seeing it and truly exploring it with my eyes, my mind and my being. What are you willing to explore with a beginner’s mind?

Oprah's 'The New Earth Webcast Seminar

As many of you know by now, Oprah has launched the largest webacast seminar ever produced. She has created a seminar based on Ekhart Tolle's new book 'The New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose'. By the time I signed up for this seminar, there were already 360,000 people who had signed up .....and there was still a few days to go.

What struck me the most in the seminar is something Ekhart said. Many of us search for our life purpose and once we've discovered it feel that we need to follow through on what we believe we're supposed to do.

Ekhart suggests we ask ourselves: "What does my life purpose ask of me". This is a much bigger question and allows us to tap into the universal energy to find out what is it I can use my gifts for in this world.

To access this information, you need to be still. You need to find a space and a time where you can sit quietly, slow your breathing down and become very present. Allow your mind to quieten and turn off. Then simply allow any universal messages to present themselves to you. This may seem fairly simply, but actually takes something. It is about letting go of control and letting our minds and our ego take a break to allow the greater message show up. Go ahead.....enjoy!