How we learn to handle Money

I live in the Philippines and as you know for sure it is a third world country. A 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd world country does not mean the whole of the country is 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd, it means the majority is. Even if you go to a first world county like the US you might find areas which barely have 3^rd world status. And in the capital of the 3^rd work country you will find things, places, gadgets, technology and attitude of a 1^st world place.

One interesting aspect to observe here is the handling of money. Due to my way of living I would not consider myself a financially stable person.

I guess as being self employed you only can be stable by either having a fairly big company or considerable savings.

What I wanted to say is that since I chose to become self-employed money became an issue.

From a spiritual point of view I understand it, because it is the weak aspect for most emerging or small companies and for me.

I currently have a cash flow problem and was sharing it with a local friend. She suggested I ask my friends. My reply was that I will do it if I really need it. She then replayed that they might not have when I need it. Sad but true. I think here and in many other places, parents do not teach their children how to handle money. I observed that most students here every morning get their allowance.

While talking with my friend this morning I realized this is teaching them to spend all what is in your pocket, because the next day it will be replenished. Later in life, if you get your salary spend it.

One or two years back I had a similar talk with another  friend and suggested she give her kids a weekly allowance. Of course she did not. By then I only saw that she was not training her children to handle money well, and now I saw that you train your children to spend or to live hand to mouth -money wise.

You may not agree with me, but I think the thought is worth being considered.

I understand the advantage of a tradition, but times and the world are changing so fast at the moment that the values valid for a rural society no longer fully apply to a melting pot like a modern mega-city. Maybe it is our duty as parents to reconsider our upbringing. We can keep the values but might need to change the techniques, if not for us, then for the sake of our children.

Overcoming doubts and fears

The theme for the Eckankar Worship Service in June 2013 is Overcoming Doubts and Fears. Sri Harold Klemp the spiritual Leader of Eckankar states that we reach points in our life - also in our spiritual life - where we no longer are happy with the situation we are in. It is like an inner force that pressures us to move on, even to leave out comfort zones.
Many of us are looking for a sign of God, but to often we look outside us, but this feeling of no longer being at the right place, this wondering if there is something else out there for us this is a sign of God too.
But to move on also comes along with the feelings we call fear and doubt.
It is funny in a way. The most static and static is not the proper word, the most common force is something we do not like - CHANGE. And the older we get in this bodies, the less we like it. Even if we are in a situation which is not so nice like a bad marriage, prison, sickness, poorness we do not like change. In psychology it is a known fact that many people rather suffer than change. And we also know the circumstance when we really want a betterment in what we are in at the present time.
We want change without changing.
Do you agree, that in a way it is strange. There is God saying "Come to me", but the moment we want to take action to follow ITS command, there is doubt and fear to hold us back. Why would God do this to us?
Is God not serious?
What if God is serious?

Do you know sheeps and goats? Two very similar animals and yet so different. A goat is curious looking around, even climbing trees, whereas a sheep has its head down grazing and basically following the sheep in front.
Let me ask you a question you probably dared to raise yourself.
"Why did God create you?" and "Why does IT put you through all this hardship?"
Eckankar states the we (Soul) exists because God loves us. I can imagine God as a crazy scientist, but in a way that does not fit the picture I like to have of my creator. So lets assume Eckankar is right.
So why does God put fear and doubt in our way if we WANT to follow this inner urge to go home to God.
You agree it holds us back, diba?
Did you ever watch a baby start to walk? Gravity makes is fall on its butt again and again, sometimes it falls on its face and gets hurt. But up to now I never heard of a baby that gave up learning to walk! We are like a baby on our way to God. Fear is the gravity that makes us fall again and again.

Sometimes we try to walk as a Catholic, some times as Buddhist, sometimes as Protestant and other times as Muslim. And again and again we land on our butt. After we tried it for a number of lifetimes as a Christian we may try Islam or Buddhism we reach a state where doubt makes us wonder if it is right to try to walk, but again this inner urge makes us want to stand up.

For me this inner urge in a way is the love of GOD or this force that wants us to be to "go home".
 I am an Eckist, because I follow this inner urge.  And in a way I am a goat looking around and even climbing trees. Am I not afraid,  you may ask?
I am!
But fear has made me so strong that I can win over it, or at least put it aside (for the time being).
What about doubts. Do I have doubts? I have every now and then, at least. But does it hold me back?
NO!
You see the gift of conquering fear is that you stop being rules by fear. Then and only then does fear become a choice!