The 12 steps to Joy and Happiness

The word 'prosperity’ has become a favorite word of some of the contemporary self-empowering speakers and preachers, culminating in the book "The Secret", that has gone viral, with a large number of speakers, large crowds, and much hype, all speaking about how to become rich and comfortable only by thinking about it. This has been picked up by many mega-churches, teaching the “Prosperity Gospel”, or that with the belief in the gospels one grows wealthy, remains prosperous, good health, great job with a steady growth, great cars and homes, etc. But if someone happens to lose their job, have health problems, or other calamities, then obviously they failed in their belief, and are told to firm up their faith, and all will be well, and if still not, they are asked to leave, since they obviously do not have “the faith”. Another term being used is the Law of Attraction, meaning that we attract the world and environment that we live in, and just by thinking, writing lists, and firm belief we can change our life for the better. This term is closer to what I call Abundance, but it is still used too often in a manner that is very close to Prosperity. Many have been attracted to these messages, and enter them with great enthusiasm, only to find that they seem to fail in their basic message, as life eventually offers challenges that these approaches cannot respond to in any manner that would signal ‘prosperity’. This rubbish has left the very concept that our beliefs and working with God can lead to a good life in doubt by most mainstream believers. I will not use the term Prosperity or Attraction, with their materialistic connotations, but instead I will use the word Abundance, to form the path of knowing that all is good, no matter what the outward appearance seems to say, and we can, in Truth, live a life of Abundance if we so choose. I have been blessed with Abundance I have been blessed by abundance that has let me live comfortably all of my life, but I have found that the words espoused by those preachers and writers talking about 'Prosperity’ or even ‘Attraction’ missed the mark of the truth of Abundance. Yes, there is such a thing as Abundance, but it requires so much more than wishing for success, and hoping it will be done. Abundance is real, for it is based on the Truth that we create our own life by what we think and do, consciously and sub-consciously. And the Truth is, it is almost always the sub-conscious mind that directs our life, based upon our action or reaction to each event in our life. Wishes of the mental or spoken kind by themselves will not become reality, but our thoughts, actions, and patterns of life that lead to that moment of life is what spells out what the next moment will be. For wishes are just wishes, but the fundamental grasp of life we hold spells out the next moment of Truth for us, moment by moment. Yes, I did just say that our beliefs, understanding, and our perspective on life create our life, and if we really wish to live a life of Abundance we have to adjust our beliefs, understanding, and perspective to achieve that level of control. We shall see that both from the meta-physical viewpoint and the scientific viewpoint our life is a product of our beliefs, understandings, and perspective as one event leads to the next event. This is one of the great Truths of life that science is just grasping, and it is causing a giant ripple in thought, especially among those who study the fundamental causes of all that is. Those physicists in the quantum physics world have some mighty strange conclusions based on the mathematical theories that seem to hold against the patterns of nature of the very small particles and extreme energy they ponder. Did I know that I was living a life of Abundance at the time? Not really. I did understand that life seemed good, that I had a lot of extraordinary ‘good luck’, and that my faith in God seemed to be part of the equation, but it is only from looking back on my over 80 years of life that I have realized how blessed I have been, that I have lived a life of Abundance. I have been a “seeker of the kingdom of God”, and “All else has been granted me,” as in what Jesus said: “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all else will be granted you.” Matt. 6:33. Did I understand what I was doing in this process? No, I did not; but it still happened. There were times when parts of my life were far from that center, but I still continued as best I could to ‘seek the kingdom of God’, and God continued to grant me all I needed for a good life. We will look at these areas in further details later, but right now it is important to see that all we think and do, the patterns we let our mind follow, all form the link that sets our life, step by step. One step leads to the next, and a life of Abundance is based upon having a sequence of steps that follow general patterns that include certain beliefs, certain understandings, a trust in both our beliefs and understanding, and a firmness in following where they lead, even if the present moment seems far less than desired.