Self Effulgence, The True Prosperity by Sherrie Wade (Shree), MA Certified Meditation Instructor Most people who do not have the amount of money or resources that they think they need feel a sense of lack or worry about the future. Others, who have a lot of money and personal possessions, are used to having certain comforts and to living a certain lifestyle of luxury so they may worry that one day they will lose it all. They may worry that one day they will be too old to earn or that they have lost so much in the stock market and that their money will never be regained again in their lifetime. This is the everyday thinking of most people. Either they do not have so they feel lack or they have and fear future lack or loss of what they have. So from this, you can see that true prosperity can never be gained from having money and resources or from not having money and resources. So then, what is true prosperity or the highest prosperity? Imagine if you woke up in a shambled house with just a one burner stove and barely enough clothes to wear and you want to have more but you have no ability to do this. You cry each day wanting for a better life. You work hard in the fields everyday with chronic pain in your body but you have to continue in order to feed your family. Now imagine that you live in a mansion, with everything that you need and more, but every morning when you wake up you are worried about the stock market going down and all of your relations and employees that depend on you for their livelihood. This gives you constant strain and headaches. You fear not only lack for yourself but also having to devastate so many others if you lose what you have. Now, imagine if you knew that you were whole and complete as you are. If you never believed that you lacked anything or that you needed anything more. That no matter what your bank balance is or was or whether you have a good job or inheritance coming your way, it doesn't trouble you as inside your own Being you know that you have everything you need and will need in the future. Imagine for a moment that you feel totally fulfilled and complete as you are. That you don't need anything outside of yourself to fulfill you. That you are completely self-contained. That you wake up in the morning and your mind is absorbed in peace and no worries, tensions or fears touch you. That, whether you only have a roof over your head and a very basic life-style with only a small one burner stove and rice and beans to eat or if you live in a mansion with all the domestic help and amenities, you wake up established in a state of peace and freedom within your own head. As you now see that with your imagination you can imagine just about anything you choose, so then, why choose to imagine that you are lacking, that you are peaceless and that you are an individual in a world that is separate and scary? Why not imagine that you are forever pure, free and needless? To continually imagine that you are self-effulgent, free and needless may seem like a difficult task. Or, even if you can imagine this for a few minutes or days, your mind will come in and tell you that this is not true and you will again think you are lacking and feel unfulfilled and worried. Therefore, in order to unfold a state of peace, fulfillment and self effulgence, whereby no matter what your situation is as a human being living in a separate world you will only experience ease and freedom, you need a means. You need to know how to unfold the state of highest consciousness that is self-effulgent and self-sustaining. You need to know how you can reach this state while living as a human being in the modern world. This is why the practice of meditation and self-inquiry is essential. If you could, right now, just know that the person that you were in deep sleep, where you had no bank balance, worries or concerns or pain, is the same you, then you could also wake up with this awareness. You would no longer believe that you are limited to your mind and thoughts and that whatever you are thinking is the truth. Such as when you are feeling or thinking you are lacking or will lose in the future then you think that these thoughts are the truth, so you feel you are lacking. Most people would say that they do not on their own think they are pure, free and forever by imagining or thinking this to be true, therefore a technique or practice is essential. For this we introduce the practice of meditation. Through meditating on your own source, which is forever peaceful, you come to know the self-effulgent space that all is. Then you will come to know that the highest prosperity is when you are self-contained and not troubled by the fears and worries and doubts of the mind. From this you come to know that the mind is illusory and your true Being is the reality of all that there is. This Self-realized one will never feel a sense of lack as he or she is tuned into the natural flow of the universe which is completely abundant and free. This Self-realized person will attract all that is needed for himself or herself and have a surplus of energy as the energy is not lost or wasted in worrying. This abundance of life-supporting energy can then be shared with all those who come in their contact. Many people would want to be around this person and learn from him or her. He or she would know that this self-effulgent peace and ease was already there so then all else is a bonus. Whatever this person needs and more would come to him or her as others would want to help and support this person so that they could learn from him or her and reach their ideal. Many would even want to give to this person just to be in his or her company and receive the teachings. So now imagine the truth of who you are, totally content and free, and the true prosperity will be yours––as it is already You! This Self-realized person is You. You have always been that and will always be that. Through meditation you will come to know who you already are at the source of your mind and your thoughts and then this Self-effulgent Oneness, the highest and truest prosperity of all, will be known to you. To receive a Free Doubt Free Meditation MP3 and to review our online home study meditation courses, teacher training, books and CDs please go to transformedu.com. Sherrie Wade, M.A., (Shree) has come to realize that the peaceful meditative state is our true nature. She speaks and writes with clarity and wisdom as to how one can unfold this awareness and transform one’s life. She is a certified meditation instructor from the International Meditation Institute, Himalayas, India, where she has spent over ten years in self-inquiry and study. Shree has been teaching meditation since 1985 and is now known as a teacher of teachers. View Shree's