I have written here on and off over the last year or so, mainly because there has been no outwardly significant step that seems to fit into the path of becoming obscenely rich. However, during this time there have been many internal events and a lot of progression of my mental and spiritual state that has a direct impact on the success of my goal.
This post is about those changes.
Firstly I will start with something I read many years ago in ‘The way of the peaceful warrior’ by Dan Millman. He meets his spiritual teacher who claims he is the richest man in the world. When asked to explain this (his teacher worked in a petrol station) he stated that the measure of how rich someone was, could be calculated by their wealth divided by their desires. The man who has no desires is infinitely rich.
About a year ago, I started reviewing different stages of my life looking for patterns of success and failure and comparing this with some of the stories in the books I have read (and reviewed in this blog a few years ago) about the path to success and how successful individuals have achieved their goals. Examples of these books are: ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, ‘Trade your way to freedom’ by Van K Tharp, ‘Trading in the Zone’ by Mark Douglas and ‘Contemporary Strategy Analysis’ by Robert M Grant.
The common theme throughout the successful part of my life and the successful advice given by others seems to be that success comes when the goals you are working towards have the full power of commitment to them and there is no doubt whatsoever that that you will achieve your goal and any knock backs are just temporary hurdles in the march to victory. Different people talk about quietening the internal voice until you have clear thought (beyond thought) to become one with your goal, and imagining you already have whatever you seek. A type of creative visualisation as discussed in ‘Creative Visualisation’ by Shakti Gawain.
I have experienced this in the past and it seems the whole world is working with you to help you succeed, however in other times, like when the business I had failed, this feeling of oneness was completely absent. (I once imagined so clearly that I needed an office chair with such clear thought that resonated with the universe that an office chair appeared in my front garden the next morning.)
These experiences are rare and I have been trying to find out what causes them and how to manifest more of these types of experiences in my life.
This blog originally started out by talking about happiness. And that happiness is our only responsibility. When I have analysed my business efforts and the actions I have taken in my personal life, it has always been to seek happiness and spiritual oneness, even if I did not realise this at the time. I have worked hard over the years, imagining a time when I would be financially free and able to enjoy myself more. It seems looking back upon my life; it has been one long quest to find true happiness.
A few months ago I had a clear thought, like a compulsion, to read a book called ‘The deeper dimension of Yoga’ by Georg Feuerstein. This book starts by detailing the history of Yoga and then goes on to describe all of the different aspects of this huge subject. The reason I mention it here, is because it was this book that made me realise that the path to success has been detailed through the ages, through yoga by spiritual masters for over 5000 yrs.
It struck me I have been working on my own, building my own path to happiness, forging my own way, but here was a tried and tested path, even though a very long path, to happiness. And it starts by practicing meditation to remove desires and to quieten the mind.
I decided that (being adverse to any religious doctrine or cult) I would give the practical ideas a go and practice meditation each day and do the yoga asanas which are specifically designed to bring harmony to body and mind. I changed my routine and have for over two months now, got up at 6.15am and practiced yoga. I also go to two classes a week with a qualified teacher. I also have been reading a lot around the subject, including the religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita etc.
The effect has been nothing short of miraculous. In such a short time, I have had very clear insights into seeing which paths I should take when making decisions which align me with the surrounding environment, society and universe. I can see clearly now, why some of my past endeavours have gone wrong, mainly because I was working from a sense of desire and not from an alignment with truth.
In other words, the world I was living in, existed more in my head than in reality, and where the two deviated, is where you fail.
I have also found my general levels of happiness have increased and my levels or restlessness have decreased. I am working now on decreasing desires, including sublimating a strong sexual desire, into spiritual learning. (This is detailed and given a whole chapter in Napoleon Hill’s book ‘Think and Grow Rich’).
I will try to make my path one that will not be decided by ego which is driven by desires but by an alignment with the universe and a governing will.
If all desires are removed, I will indeed become one of the richest men in the world.
I am still working on my financial plan, still working on a trading engine and still working for an investment bank. But now I am doing it with a clearer head and a calmness that was not there previously.
This is an ongoing process and has no definite end. Happiness it seems is not a thing to be achieved but an attitude which comes with practice every day.
Anyone who is interested in this path, I would recommending reading all of the books discussed in this post as well as ‘The autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda.
