★Greatness is a state of mind

What really confuses me is whether ‘Greatness is a state of mind’ or it is actually reflected by the car u drive, the labels u wear, the area u live in, the clubs u r a member of…..?
The fact that the world has enough for everyone ,yet some people go hungry everyday makes me think if I am justified in buying a handbag costing a fortune?
As somebody more priviledged than others is it ok to go for the best or to look for things that can fill in the gap and provide just enough comfort and class? This is what is bothering me?
Is there any connection in greatness of mind and social affluence? If not, then why do we support people who are rich in monetary terms and not so in their minds?
Please help.

In response to SONIA’s post:

Hello Sonia,

This is a topic near and dear to my heart because I have been on both ends of the money spectrum. I have come to believe that money is simply energy. In order for money to come into your life, you need to be on the same vibrational wave length (some people call it vibrational harmony) with receiving money. Truly, wealth is an attitude.

Rather than concentrate on the wealth of others (or their spending habits), I like to think about educating those who feel powerless or trapped. They need to know that they have to power to change their lives and that they are 100% responsible for changing it. It is simply a transition of your belief system from victim to victor.

I have seen the empty, hollow eyes of the women waiting in the government offices to collect their coupon for a ration of milk, cheese, eggs… These women were powerless and had seemed to have lost their way. I, too, was one of those women. It is heartbreaking.

But, feeling bad about what you have or desire is not going to help the situation. You need to feel grateful and keep gratitude as your way of life. This keeps your vibrational energy strong.

What can help? Encourage them to find their power. Don’t lecture (it is easy to do) but give them little hints. Maybe hand them a book to read… let them contact you if they are ready for the message. As my daddy used to say, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” It is well known that when the student is ready, the teacher will come. Be their teacher – WHEN THEY ARE READY!!

Enjoy your life – in the manner that you feel comfortable with – and take every opportunity to bring others up from where they are in life. You will feel better and the world will be a better place!! :)

Peace to you Sonia – and may you receive many blessings from the Universe (God) for your pure, beautiful heart!!!

˚ allowing all good 💗  

Posted on 13/07/2009.

In response to SONIA’s post:
In response to meditatingmama’s post:
Great Post MM.

Love the parts about:
not feeling bad for what you have or desire.
Fill your life w/gratitude.

And helping others with encouragement to find their power

And love the saying when the student is ready, the teacher will come. Be their teacher – WHEN THEY ARE READY!!

Love to you both for bringing out such wonderful heartfelt ideas(:

In response to laurie- effectively & easily handles every challenge~‘s post:
In response to meditatingmama’s post:
Thanx so much for the insights that will surely be of great value to me.

I am really looking for an answer to the delimma— In any society we honour and respect the very affluent (businessmen, politicians, actors, leaders in various fields..)and the very successful. In this acknowledgement of their achievements we shower all kinds of praises on them and many youngsters in turn start to idolize these very people. But does anyone ever wants to know how fair these people have been in their lives, how many unscruplous ways they have resorted to…..?
What is the connection between success and greatness? Greatness of heart and success in a particular field are 2 different things. The new generation is only exposed to the successful and rarely to those with a golden heart.
A man is respected in the society if he drives a big car, has a mansion to live in, wears designer clothes…. but what about those who are dressed like a ordinary person, commute in the local bus but are ever willing to help others even with their own money and time, those who are there to volunteer in every crisis… does anyone honour these people?
Are we not setting the wrong examples for our kids?

Are we supposed to tell the new generation—‘Don’t hate the wrong doer, just shun the wrong deed’.?

This topic stirs me. Eckhart Tolle says (at least this is more or less my understand, and I sense a truth about it) that humanity is sort of at a tipping point, an awakening. Things are simultaneously getting better and worse. People are desperately searching for meaning, and most people still get their identity from their ego. As people awaken – the ego’s hold on them begins to fall away and a transformation begins. I think this goes to the heart of what you’re talking about. I read the other day that the combined assets of the seven wealthiest people in the world is worth more than the combined assets of the forty-one poorest countries. How can this be? If this is true then what kind of monsters are these seven people? I have a hard time reconciling so much with what I believe! Why doesn’t one of these rich SOB’s go around to these poor countries and build water treatment plants? How about a few schools? Children are dying and there is no reason for it? Our own government has become so corrupt that we claim to fight wars for freedom, when the real reason is for oil and power. We send the sons and daughters of poor families to die to protect the interests of the priviledged few. Many in the government want to stamp out any sense of spiritual morality. I’m getting side tracked. It bothers me though. Anyway, you are not alone in your frustration. I feel at odds with myself at times, especially when it comes to the suffering of the innocent. I know, (maybe I just try to convince myself that it’s true, but I think not, I think it is in fact true) that things are as they should be. We can work for change and we should, we should speak up and express ourselves. We work on causes that matter to us, that is how we foster positive change. We keep working on ourselves too! We need to be the light. Be an example. The mainstream media is about making money, our whole culture is built on consumerism. (Consumption used to have a very negative connotation, but no more). Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that capitalism is a better system, at least at this stage in human evolution, but we have lost our way as a country and I fear at times that we are going to have to collapse on ourselves before we heal from our mistakes.

Your topic also brings to mind thoughts about balance. I believe that we can become successful (I personally am not a good example) and lead a balanced life. To become successful in any particular area of our lives we have to focus on that area, we have a limited amount of time on this earth so if we want to become an astronaut there are a whole lot of particular things we have to focus on. To become an astronaut, we probably don’t have as much time to focus on our family, or a business or whatever, so there is a cost to other areas of our lives if we want to become an astronaut. However, we can still live a life in balance. We live in balance by being true to ourselves. I could write this better, but I’m being lazy and my eyes and brain are tired! We can talk about this idea more later if you want to.

Okay, here’s the last thing I want to talk about and it’s really more of a question or two. Was Michael Jackson a success? Was Mother Theresa a success? By whose standards? Jesus said something about “to be first, you must be last”. What does that mean? Who is more successful, the unrecognized volunteer who works in the homeless shelter, or the high-society socialites who donate their crumbs at a fund raiser?

I hope you don’t mind this long, incoherent and rambling post, but these are important ideas and I hope some more people will share their thoughts.

In response to themadcookieman’s post:
MCM I loved your long, incoherent and rambling post.
You got me right. All these things about being fair and doing for the larger good is what is bothering me too.

“to be first, you must be last”. What does that mean? – I really cant fathom that at this moment but will meditate on it and get back to you. Thanks for giving me something as deep to think about.

In response to SONIA’s post:
In response to laurie- effectively & easily handles every challenge~‘s post:
In response to themadcookieman’s post:
In response to meditatingmama’s post:
You guys are insightful and this thread is fascinating me. I too, like Sonia, need to meditate on these wonderful ideas. I particularly like MM’s gratitude for the present attitude as I truly believe like attracts like in the financial sense. The ‘being first to be last’ (MCM) I love that and it stirred up so many issues in my head – its about humility to me. Like you said about the wealthy man’s crumbs that are of little effort or value, you must only give honestly and entirely from the heart, in order to recieve the true blessings – those priceless rewards.

At the moment, I am currently battling with my humility and pride….
On one hand I feel ‘less than’ because I am being totally bossed about at work and being treated in a way that I dont deserve….On the other hand I know my true greatness and dont need praise from others to know that my work is of a high standard and that I do my best. Therein lies the dilemma – what is true greatness? I may be in a role that is way ‘lower’ than what I have studyied for BUT as long as I feel valued for the quality and efficiency of work I deliver, I should seek no reward. To be humble and to get on with the task, no matter how big or small and do it from the heart, brings a feeling of greatness – not the salary at the end of the month. I have learnt that small jobs (i.e – not the great money spinners), like mine, CAN reap greatness and great rewards.

Perhaps I am rambling now too….Its one of those subjects isnt it?
Time to breathe….(thanks to Laurie for giving me that reminder – I have it on a post-it note at my desk now!)
Love and blessings to you all for your greatness…
;o)

˚ allowing all good 💗  

Posted on 14/07/2009.

Anoushka,
Do you listen to any motivational audiotapes?

I know it can be tough in a work environment when there are certain behaviors that seem ‘less than respectful’, to often say the least.

I’d like to share some of my work lessons with you.
1. We are more than what we do.

2. While we aren’t better than anyone else, we are always better better better, and w/the potential of being better than we were at a given moment. We use ourselves as a yard stick, not people.

3. We can aspire to the talents of others, though we don’t aspire to be them. It’s more exciting and more rewarding to bring ourselves whereever we go, rather than the image of someone else we think has attributes we think we’‘re supposed to have, or for whatever reason we think we’re supposed to ‘fit in’ with.

4. Most of the time ‘fitting in’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

5. Learn to celebrate yourself around the clock, instead of waiting for someone else to do it.

6. Many people will not celebrate your good stuff, for some odd reason they want you to be less than, so they can feel more than. There are power struggles in the work world, probably more now than before because of the economy. Be true to yourself. Would the child in you admire the adult you’ve become?

7. Learn more for your personal and professional life. Do it for you. And ask yourself all of the reasons you want to grow at your current place of business.

8. If you know your greatness, give yourself permission to shine.

9. Bring your healthiest self to work. You are being paid to do a good job. Though talk to your self at work helping the child in you to keep up with your work goals with gentle persuasion and love. When you get home reward yourself with love and kindness for a job well done. Think of words to market the talents you’re acquiring to keep doing what you do at work, and doing it in the caliber you’ve chosen to do it.
You’re a star, and there is no one like you.

10. There are other stars out there, but for you, you shine bright enough, and can create a new you moment by moment whenever you want.

11. Teach yourself the best of the best, like a teacher treats her best pet who has the potential to be whatever she wants.

12. See God’s light in others. When others control, know it’s because they don’t feel in control. You are free. You don’t need to be caught up in power games.

12. Read about abuse in the work place and ways to communicate there.

13. Be proud of what you’ve formally and informally learned and ask yourself how you can make that info work for you at work.

That’s it for now. Just waking up…

Aren’t you glad, I’m still groggy->I might have gone on and on some more(:

This is a topic I quit often contemplate on myself. Greatness has definitly nothing to do with what you own. It is your heart and mind.
Unfortunately quit often people with more money do recieve more respect from others. Partially this has to do with the fact that people hope to profit from them by paying them more respect.
Partially though, it is the respect they recieve since they feel themselves successful and respectful. As MCM questioned, who is successful? This one brings us back to our affirmations :-)

I also believe that depriving oneself from spending money or having interest in material things, does not reduce ones greatness.

I saw a report only yesterday on a how some multi millioners were partying at the cote d’azzure, spending thousands of euros only on one bottle of champaign. I was thinking to myself:WHY?
I could not realy see them with a high opinion, although they were not harming anyone.
I still am stuck with the why?
I think moderation is part of the answer? But then who draws the line for moderation? … ok, got lost already :-O

In response to themadcookieman’s post:

Hey Cookie~ I’ve been listening to “A New World” when I go on my long runs. I love listening to Eckhart because he just puts me at ease instantly when I get trapped in whats “out there” in the world instead of whats “in here”.

My daddy had a quality about him that used to frustrate me to the flipping end of my wits… He was an ostrich! He used to bury his head in the sand and completely disregard things that did not match his concept of reality. However, now, I tend to be just like him. When I am at my breaking point and the world is coming down too hard on me, I go to my “happy place”. I surround myself with only good…. good people, good thoughts, good practices… This brings peace back into my life and I know longer worry about what is not fair and what is wrong.

When I am strong enough to come out of my “happy place”, I usually bring with me ideas how I can make just one person’s life a little better. I don’t try to change the world, but one person at a time.

Don’t worry about changing the world. It only takes one person. Remember, the flap of a butterflies wings in Australia can cause a typhoon in Japan… (ok, I probably really messed up that well-known saying – but you know the Chaos Theory, right?)

I’d just like to add, by the way, that there are a lot of great people right here on this site, they just aren’t famous!

In response to themadcookieman’s post:

((( Bravo – Loud Applause )))

You are so right, Jeff!! I have came across so many people who have helped me tremendously!!

In response to themadcookieman’s post:
Bravo Jeff – Another LOUD APPLAUSE….
You are one of them!

In response to laurie- effectively & easily handles every challenge~‘s post:
Wow Laurie ! you come up with such motivational ideas even when u r feeling groggy!!! Bravo!
Thanks MCM for acknowledging all the great and not so famous people on this site.
Laurie I really like the way you have shared some of the work lessons with us. I really appreciate the prespective you have put acroos with ‘See God’s light in others. When others control, know it’s because they don’t feel in control. You are free. You don’t need to be caught up in power games.’ Its a fabulous way to look at other person’s attitude towards himself/herself. The relationship we share with others is a true reflection of our own strengths and shortcomings. If we are insecure with others then we are insecure with ourselves, if we are critical of their work then we lack the confidence in ourselves, if we are cheating then we are not true to our needs and self. We lack love for self if we redicule or belittle the other person.
The fact that we are all individuals and unique in the way we have crafted our life and karma is what is important. If we can be true to ourselves we are great and are doing a service to the society by loving ourselves. Love for self does not mean being selfish here. It means knowing that I am my own unique self and I am responsible for all that goes on inside me. Why hate someone for having an opinion about us, that’s his point of view and he has a right over it… but at the same time why should his point of view bother me. If I am true and loving then my opinion about myself matters. Nobody can affect that. But the truth is that we get affected and transfer our frustration on others, leading to anger and choas in our surroundings.
Love yourself and be true, lead a life that is in the right direction(!!!!) and you will be great bcoz you will spread unconditional love.

"Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. it is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character"

William Arthur Ward

˚ allowing all good 💗  

Posted on 16/02/2019.

Thank you for bringing this thread back up. So wonderful to see it again...

˚ allowing all good 💗  

Posted on 16/02/2019.

I had been given an opportunity at work... to be involved with a healthy project...

There were people from everywhere, all ages, all walks of life... and a big part of what I was doing with each (beyond the health info that was expected) ... was giving smiles... positive thoughts.

It was an awesome day.

I came home tired... from talking and standing... Though it didn't matter so much... because joy was the name of the game. Harmony was in the air. You could feel the love.

To me that is the energy of greatness.

So thankful!

˚ allowing all good 💗  

Posted on 16/02/2019.

• How can we ever doubt the specialness of the part we play on this
  planet? What honor we deserve for handling, indefatigably and indomitably,
  the most delicate and tender task of evolution: to make love out of nothing
  and to let it last. David Richo