I have meditated ongoingly, for over four years now, with eyes anew — Eyes that now envision Abundance in a much more expanded way than I could even glimpse before Life called on me to release my self-conscious efforts to achieve, and enjoy the freedom of unfettered Being.
What a relief! From what? For one thing, from times that advanced my concerns over finances.
Such times posed enough of a distraction that I could too easily lose resonance with the robust Essences of Abundance– not only Prosperity, but moreover, naturally inherent Abundances of:
Health & Wellness of Being, Happiness & Love of Life,
Vibrant Energy (Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual), as well as a
Balance of Satisfaction Now & a Clear Expectancy of What Can Be.
I am reminded of a story that imparts powerful significance:
More than a century ago, a young, rookie newspaper reporter — new to town and filling in for a last-minute substitution in the paper’s newsroom — was hastily assigned to do an interview. That chance meeting was (as was later journaled), “when the Hand of Destiny reached out.”
The young reporter in 1908 was Napoleon Hill — the now-legendary author who ushered in a new philosophy of personal achievement central to a “success movement” in the last century.
The man he met was Andrew Carnegie — Steel magnate, and the richest man alive at the time. Amidst the 73-year-old millionaire’s 64-room mansion in Manhattan, Carnegie evidently told robust tales of his achievements — except one still not certain to involve Napoleon Hill himself.
That was until Carnegie, in fact, proposed an intriguingly futuristic venture with him in mind:
“The opportunity to pioneer the world’s first practical philosophy of individual achievement.”
“I will introduce you to men who can and will collaborate with you in its organization,” Carnegie stated, then asked, “Do you want the opportunity? And will you finish the job if I give it to you?”
“Yes!” Napoleon proclaimed without hesitation. “I’ll undertake the job — and I will finish it!”
At last, Carnegie, the master commander, presented a defining challenge, with this question:
“If I give you this opportunity, are you willing to devote 20 years of your time to research the causes of success and failure without pay, earning your own living as you go along?”
When the generation’s most powerful businessman saw that Napoleon was beyond startled — suddenly nonplussed, perplexed, confused, and bewildered — Carnegie explained,”It is not unwillingness to supply the money. It is my desire to know if you have in you the natural capacity to ‘go the extra mile’ — that is, to render service before trying to collect for it.”
Indeed, Napoleon willingly and ably met Andrew Carnegie’s mandate with sustained action:
He went on to design and organize an American philosophy of personal achievement.
For the next 20 years, he Interviewed such men as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Theodore Roosevelt, John Rockefeller, and many other leaders and innovators.
From those teachings came “Think and Grow Rich” — considered by many to be the greatest success book ever written. It offered essential principles for improving one’s health, wealth, and success — Theorems as powerful and pertinent today as when they were drawn 70 years ago.
What I see in this story — and what determined my sharing it with you now — derives from a knowing that my own experience is similar in essence to that of Napoleon Hill’s, depicted here.
Factual elements include this particularly notable similarity (herein below):
Hill spent 20 years without salary, interacting with people at the front edge of their expert fields. He received varied sources of support, increasing as his focused purpose gained momentum.
I myself spent more than 20 years without salary, but with a livelihood supported by a network of intentional communities, where I worked with people at the front edge of ontological experience.
Each of the experiences (both Napoleon Hill’s and mine) was perfectly destined for each of us.
In the end, I realize that my own resonance with each of the Essences of Abundance has been, is now, and will ever be precisely what I let It Be. May Abundance Fully Appear for Us, Each & All.
Yours Contently — PenDell