My book, Prosperity Now! A 12-Week Journey to the Life of Your Dreams” came to be out of a conversation with a friend here in Paris. They asked me how I managed at 60 years old, to pick up and leave New York State (where I had lived my whole life) and move to Paris, France?
How did I find a beautiful apartment, and do it in August, when nothing gets done in France because everyone is on their congé? (the 4-5 week vacation many French people take every year) And how did I manage to do it all on a relatively modest income?
My only answer was that I used spiritual principles I had acquired over 25 years of searching and trying – and persisting, despite failing repeatedly.
I also had a lot of help! Forces and energies both seen and unseen, have been intervening in my life – at just the right time in just the right way – to help me move in a new direction, always in the direction of my highest good.
Inherently their question was asking me to look at the process and the spiritual tools and powers at work in my life and to share them. I told my friend that I could write something up and we could study it together.
So, I began writing. I jotted down concepts that I had gathered in my “spiritual toolkit. I related significant stories from my life that illustrated how these powerful spiritual tools worked in my life.
I noted that these spiritual methods needed to put into action. When they are applied, they will move us in profound and meaningful ways. They can and will shift our inner landscape (consciousness) and thus our outer life. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, a life that may be stuck, dull, difficult, problematic or in crises will be transformed into the “life of our dreams.”
I met with my friend to share what I had written that week, and then wrote some more for the next week. The 12-Steps of recovery became a clear structural framework for the program. I wrote to Alcoholics Anonymous for permission to use and modify the 12-Steps and they granted me permission.
Besides 12-Step recovery, Prosperity Now! draws on the wisdom of the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, A Course of Miracles, the 4T Prosperity Program – Tithing of Time, Talent and Treasure for Prosperity and the Fullness of Life, Mary Morrisey’s Prosperity Plus and other teachings and the generous and profound teachers who have made an impact on my journey.
The inspiring quote from Henry David Thoreau found in the Preface really sums up the hopeful outcome if one “advances confidently in the direction of [their] dreams.” The “success unexpected in common hours” that Thoreau refers to is beautifully poetic. What follows is that virtual guarantee:
He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.
In other words, as one begins to apply the spiritual principles of living, the Universe shifts in your favor. Life becomes easier, freer and simpler. A person who sincerely and mindfully strives to live by spiritual laws will find that “all things work for good for those who love God.” (Romans 8:28)
Briefly, in the 19th century, huge strides were being made in science, engineering, mathematics and other disciplines. Pioneering inventions were popping up everywhere. The old laws were falling, and new laws were being discovered and applied in the natural sciences like physics, biology, chemistry, etc., and in other fields like electro-magnetism, aerodynamics, architecture, agronomy, and astronomy.
For example, the Law of Gravity is pretty clear and rules a lot of what goes on in the physical realm on this planet, with our bodies and in the Universe. However, if one discerns a higher law then the Law of Gravity can be superseded by the Laws of Aerodynamics. And miracle of miracles, heavier than air objects can fly free of gravity’s pull.
Philosophers and other seekers of knowledge in the theoretical and spiritual realms looked at these modern advances and reasoned: If the Universe had knowable, discernable physical laws that worked logically and consistently, laws that could be applied practically, then there must be spiritual laws that also could be discovered (or re-discovered) and applied to practical effect.
In Prosperity Now! a student can apply the wonderful spiritual laws that the make up the Universe and see the results of their efforts. In this way, the old “problems” cease to be problems and become gateways to freedom. (aka – solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.)
There are many examples in the book and in many other sources of wisdom. I will endeavor to give one:
On Page 73, we discuss, “The Law of Giving and Receiving” which can also be called “The Law of Circulation.” It relates in a deeply spiritual way to the “Law of Cause and Effect.” Some say, “What goes around, comes around,” which gets us into a whole discussion of karma, which we’ll save for another time.
From Prosperity Now!
Anyone in twelve-step recovery knows this concept well: we can only keep what we have by giving it away. In the physical world, giving means losing. I have less; you have more. But in Spirit, what we give away strengthens both giver and receiver.
Because no matter what, what we give is, at its core, an idea. Ideas always increase and are strengthened when shared.
By being given the gift of my friend’s question, I was the recipient of an idea: to share what I had that helped make my life the life of my dreams. By writing and sharing each week the ideas, tools, concepts and spiritual laws that had helped me, this pattern of my life grew into a book that is helping many people manifest the life of their dreams.
I am forever grateful for what I have been given, and I hope to share it with everyone who is open to what I have to offer. Obviously, there are many paths up the mountain to a life of perfect happiness and peace and many teachers and many students and many discoveries that have already been revealed and many more still to come.
I know that you will find the path that is right for you, and if I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to ask: How did you do it?
Bon Dimanche
John
I am available to do Prosperity Now! individual or group sessions or general life-coaching, I Ching readings, dream interpretation or join us for our weekly Wednesday Course in Miracles group.
Please contact me at prosperitynowlifeofdreams@yahoo.com or sign up on my website: http://www.johnafrederick.com
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