Excerpt: next to sex money is the biggest distracting device that the human mental system has created for itself and in the following paragraphs I will explain how and why. I will share some wisdom that I gained, giving one important tip on your way to become abundant and end with a follow-up Q&As.

Credit: Vladimir Kush

Years ago I was offered a job. Through a personal contact I had then, I met with one of the senior managers of a leading investment house in Israel. I didn't have any background in finance or business management, I barely had legal experience, but my friend was fond of me and strongly recommended me to that CEO. I arrived at their luxurious offices in the center of the city of Tel Aviv, showed into the big hall where I met with my potential employer. After a short casual discussion, the kind and the impressive man offered me the job. I told him I needed some time to think. His poker face didn't show how surprised he was and only later my friend explained to me that such a job is a "once in a lifetime opportunity" and that I should accept it: "You will meet the right people, get into the right social circles, find the right woman and in a few years will become financially stable and even rich. Not bad for a man in your age", he said.

I must be honest and say that I didn't need much time to think about that generous and promising offer. It didn't feel the right thing to do, so I phoned him the next day and rejected the kind opportunity. If he was disappointed he didn't show it.

I made my decision based on sheer intuition. I was going against all logic and reason, I was unemployed, short of money, with some debts to the university and that job seemed to be something I would desperately need. Yet, something within drove me to say "no" and I didn't have to contemplate it. The voice was loud. I did not hear it with my ears but did feel t. And so I followed the only guiding compass I have ever had – my inner self. I didn't tell anyone about that job offer, not to my friends or family, because I knew they would not understand or even worse, would try to convince me to refrain from doing what would seem to them as a "big mistake".

Credit: Vladimir Kush

Years passed and I never looked back. Throughout the times I met with that fragment of mine, that aspect who took that job. In my dreams, I had several encounters with him - a young successful man who has made lots of money in the financial industry. Is he happy? I don’t think so. He is still single, never married, and emotionally lost. In our encounters, I tried to convey to him some of the things I have learned on the path that I have taken. I hope he listened.

But that's not the issue. We live in this materialistic reality. Money is sought by almost everyone and most of the time. Your social value is often determined by how much money you have in the bank, what possessions you hold in your house, what brand of a car you drive, who your friends are and how big your investment portfolio is. Wherever you look, wherever you go, you are faced with the call to compare your level of wealth with your neighbors'. More and more people are pulled to invest, to find ways that would increase the amount of money they own.

Little do they know that it's the other way around. Without the right wisdom, it's the money that controls them.

Credit: pinterest

Nothing is wrong with being rich and having lots of money. Don't get me wrong. As the joke says – it's always better to be rich, healthy and happy than poor, sick and sad. But the thing, as always, is keeping it balanced. Being rich is wonderful and one of the soul's basic characters. The problem is the way to become rich and what you do with your wealth. What do I mean? Accumulating money, the pursue after wealth and richness, is a distracting mechanism, created by a huge and powerful aspect of your soul, in order to keep you in the box, out of the reach of your I Am self, away from mastery.

If your mind is constantly preoccupied with thoughts like: "how can I be richer? did I miss today an opportunity in the stock market? how can I win my losses back? where can I find the next financial bonanza?", etc., then you are not allowing enough room for your soul to come in.

The mental activity hums and buzzes all the time, surrounding you with tiny, unseen, strands of tempting darkness. You live in a golden cage and you delude yourself that you are free to do anything you want. The joke is on you.

All this I didn't know back then when I turned down the job offer. But I do now. It seems that our current hectic world has lost its balance. The repeating financial crises in the markets have created ample opportunities to make more money, to become more important in the eyes of other people, to increase status and false value. But all this is a big lie.

The big lie

Most of the people who work in the financial industry don't even realize how deep the hall they are digging for themselves is. But for few exceptions, most investment gurus would never understand that, at least not in this lifetime. It's ironic – despite the huge amount of money they possess, they are still not free to toss it all aside and start afresh. They think they are free but they are not. They are lying to themselves, convincing themselves that they can buy their way to heaven. Alas, the dragon at the gate doesn't care how rich they are.

Why did I write all this? I have no agenda. I don't want to change anything. People make choices and enjoy the experience. At the end we will all get to the same place of mastery; we have to, we are humans. But, if you ever wondered why things have happened in your life the way they did, perhaps my story will enlighten you a bit.

For me, the beauties of life have nothing to do with money. I am not a martyr by all means and not a hermit and money is a great tool that I use. What I am saying is that the most beautiful, inspiring, joyous and purposeful experiences that the physical life can offer are the interactions with other people and nature. There is nothing like spending time with someone you love, a friend or a spouse; Caring for them, basking your mind, heart, and soul in the essence of the moment. There is great beauty in the physical nature around you, if you only step out, physically, to see it. You do not need money to have such experiences!

There is a happy ending to the story, one that involves wisdom and abundance. If I am to come up with one simple tip about allowing abundance, it would be this -

It doesn't matter.

Once you step off the wheel, release attachment and don't really care how much money you have, it will come to you.

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Here's a follow-up discussion I had with some friends regarding the issue of money:

Friend A: I am familiar with your attitude and I actually feel the same about many of the things you wrote. But what would you say to those of us who have families and need to support them? Can we really live with no money?

Answer: The question should not be whether or not we can live without it, but what power do we give it. Look at your life, you have been struggling for so long to gain money, to have more abundance in your life. And it has not helped, has it? You are still experiencing a lack. You are still worried how to pay the mortgage, aren't you? On your path, you are learning that no external force has power over you. You learn to disconnect yourself from what you thought is a necessity in your life – sex, food, love and… money. And that is what I was writing about.

It's great that you feel a responsibility to your family. But what do you teach them? That abundance is something that needs to be fought for? Work hard for? Or rather, you show them the effortless way, one that involves you, mastery, and allowing?

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Credit: imindshift

Friend B: be honest - wouldn't you prefer to be rich than poor? wouldn't anyone?

Answer: there were times in my life when the best thing was not to have money because the money would have been distracting me. Just as much, I am glad that when the money could serve me, I had it. We are considering the financial markets as the new religion and we are focusing on money as if it's our new savior. Let me tell you this - without the appropriate wisdom money would ruin your life. It would distract you from the only true purpose of your life, mastery. So yes, any person would prefer to be rich than poor but more than that, any person should prefer to have the wisdom, first and foremost and above anything else!

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Friend C: I understand what you are saying. But still, a human being needs food, home, company of friends, clothes etc - all those things require money!

Answer: your mind is controlling you when it should be the other way around. A human being needs nothing! Your mind tells you that you have to have a place of your own, friends to make your days and nights less lonely, etc. In reality, the only "possession" you need is your Self, your true Love. You ask, will this Self pay my bills?, and my answer is YES! Together with your human self, you will create the abundance you require.

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You have tried the other way for so long; why don't you try the new attitude? It has worked for so many, and it can work for you too.