What is Wealth Consciousness?
Consciousness in itself is an awareness of something.
If you are conscious, you are aware of your surroundings; if you are self-conscious, you are aware of yourself and likely focussing your attention on your image.
If you are wealth conscious, you are aware of your wealth.
People that are wealth conscious are not so just because they are wealthy. Being conscious of your wealth does not require any sum of money, moreover it determines how a person will regard their financial losses and gains.
A person that is wealth conscious likely will not go extended periods having very little money as they are aware of their income and outcome and will manage their spending.
Wealth consciousness is a mindset that acts as a magnet, a way of thinking that will ensure a person remains financially stable at all times.
Being conscious and being mindful are often considered the same thing, and this assumption is fair.
Mindfulness is a state of being that ignores the past and the future and focuses on the here and now. In reality, the present is the only moment that truly exists because both the past and and the future are fleeting and yet to be experienced.
Meditation
Meditation is the practice of bringing the attention to the present moment and is key to becoming wealth conscious for it enables us to live fully in the here and now.
There are a whole load of meditation practices around, some focusing on the breath as a tool to direct the attention to the present, others using physical movements such as yoga.
Find which practice suits you and dedicate a small (or large, depending on your availability) time slot each day to it – whether it be twenty minutes, ten, five ( there are even one minute meditation methods out there!) – every little really does help.
To give you a brief overview of the practice of meditation, I will outline a method I use and have found to be successful in reducing anxiety and boosting mindfulness.
Find a comfortable, seated position in which you will not be disturbed.
Close your eyes and take deep breaths, breathing into your stomach/abdomen rather than the chest.
With every in-breath, count one, and two with every out-breath. Focus your attention entirely on your breath, feeling the sensations over your body as the breath enters and exists.
You may find it easiest to focus on the tingles around the nostrils as the breath moves through them, or to focus on the inflation of the stomach with every inhale. Whatever works for you – there is not right or wrong method.
Try to dismiss any thoughts that come to mind.
There will be many, this is okay.
Try not to judge your thoughts, marking them as unhelpful or bad, or even positive.
Just allow them to float freely over you and recognise them as being separate from you – you are not your thoughts.
Continue this practice for as long as you wish.
There is no time limit.
I try to meditate for at least ten minutes a day and find that to be just right.
Find what works for you.
Repeat.
Repetition is key and if you do not intend to meditate daily then I wouldn’t recommend meditating at all.
Thoughts may fly straight away, ‘I don’t have time for this’, ‘I have so much work to do and I’m sat here thinking about breathing’.
These are just thoughts, they are not you. Think of yourself as a mountain.
Clouds may pass over you, but they are not you.
Your thoughts are the clouds.
How to Become Wealth Conscious
An important step to take is to quit avoiding money, brushing it under the carpet and acting as though your payments are being made from some invisible source that replenishes itself.
Look your money in it’s eyes for what it is.
You are not bound by your income, it does not control you and you should not fear it – just be conscious of it.
Keep a track of your earnings and losses and don’t be afraid to check your bank balance. I would recommend opening a spreadsheet (I use Google Sheets) to keep a loose track of your financial developments.
In doing this, you can increase your income steadily simply by controlling and being aware of your transactions.
Have a conversation with your future, financially stable self.
How have they got to this place?
What attitudes have they had towards money to get there?
Create that reality.
Do not feel guilty about making money.
The premise that a rich man cannot enter the gates of heaven is simply a myth.
While yes, giving to charities and spending on others is essential – it is essential for personal growth and happiness and keeping balance in the world, you should not feel guilty for earning money and saving money.
There are many ways of giving, spending money is certainly a less significant way than, say, giving love and support to others.
If you wish to be charitable then give gifts richer than wealth and do not feel guilty for earning money.
Wealth that has not been earned will not stay.
If money was simply given to you, let’s say you won a million on the lottery, you would not have developed the intelligence to keep hold of it.
The process of earning money through putting in effort develops your values for it and, in turn, your ability to sustain it.
Hard work is important in any field, including earning money.
There is a difference, though, between hard work and worthwhile work. While you may slave 56 weekly hours at a full-time job, you are not maximising your earning potential.
Work of this nature does not encourage personal growth.
Working smart, however, will initiate a positive multiplier effect that will increase your profit overtime.
