There is nothing more valuable to a sentient being then peace of mind that comes from living each day from a place of love. The alternative is an existence where perception is based on fear as taught to us by the ego. The ego teaches us that we are separate from one another; that grandiosity through competitiveness is the path to our greatness because scarcity of resources is the nature of our existence.

For this reason the greatest spiritual teachers of modern times teach the necessity of discarding the ego as a guide to our thoughts and actions. Buddha for instance came to see that in the absence of the ego our minds are all united into a collective consciousness. The mind that is the voice of “A Course in Miracles” and who’s name is poorly translated into the word “Jesus” came to see that in the absence of the ego our mind’s fuse into a collective mind he calls the “Sonship.” The shadowy figure of “Don Juan” chipped away at Carlos Casteneda’s ego like a jackhammer using spiritual knowledge from a Mesoamerican point of view.

Each great teacher shows us that there is a higher collective mind that is ready and willing to be our true guide if we will but listen and follow. Is this true inner guide the voice for our collective Mind and the great Mind that created our collective mind? Is the laying aside of the ego the path to our collective grandeur as opposed to a separate and petty grandiosity offered up to us by our perceived little separate selves?

Because of my position as finance professor and doctor of financial economics I meet many very wealthy people who seek my consultation or mastermind communion. The most successful rich people I have met extend a striking contrast to those individuals I consider rich but unsuccessful. The first group of wealthy individual is guided by love of all that they perceive in this world and live following a loving guide that only perceives abundance around us. These truly wealthy individuals extend love to everyone they meet and promoting the knowledge that all of us are equals and capable of greatness. The second group follows a miserly and fearful guide that only perceives lack in the world. Such individuals display great financial wealth but are truly poor because they project fear onto all they meet as they attack or defend themselves to stave off the scarcity they perceive in the world about them.

As investors we really have only one question as we start our day and that is which guide we elect to follow. If you choose to follow the ego then your day will be dark and fearful. This will be so even when you experience financial windfalls in the stock market, bond market, futures market, or real estate market. If on the other hand you follow the collective consciousness then your day will be filled with happiness, joy, and peace as you become one with all you do. I wish you the great abundance in your life you deserve because of what you are and don’t forget that happiness is found only in the precious present moment!

RECOMMENDED READING:

1. Rahula, Walpola; “What The Buddha Taught”, Grove/Atlantic, 1973, ISBN: 0802130313

2. Dyer, Wayne; “The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way”, Hay House, Inc., 2004, ISBN: 1401902154

3. Castaneda, Carlos; “The Active Side of Infinity”, HarperCollins Publishers, 1999, ISBN: 006092960X

4. http://www.ACIM.org; “A Course in Miracles”, Foundation for Inner Peace, 1993, ISBN: 0960638881