As far as money and “survival” are concerned, I have chosen to work out this challenge by never accepting any money for myself — ever.  I simply go about offering to DO Good for others, and then refuse any payment for my services.  People are so shocked by this (and so innately Good-Hearted) that I am regularly offered shelter and food thereafter.  And if shelter does not come, I sleep under the stars.  And if food does not come, I breathe deeply and take in energies from communing with my environment.

One thing seems clear after five+ years of this practice (and this is true whether you adopt a Peace Pilgrim lifestyle or not):  when you dedicate any moment to selflessly serving another, your body “switches gears” and somehow needs almost no food or water or sleep to function very well indeed.  It also seems clear that sentient beings are innately Good, and yearn for ways to help another.  As such, once they know about my Way of Living, they will be supra-consciously driven (by their conscience) to help in some way.  And because it is the giver in such situations who receives the greater benefit, receiving in this way actually becomes a Gift.

Of course, there is even more good news than this — in the winter of 08/09, I chose to experiment with selflessness in a more typical economic setting; where I had my own apartment and at times worked four jobs to pay my very expensive rent.  I rediscovered that as long as I worked in order to pay rent and eat that I might then serve others, I was at completely at Peace!  Just enough money always flowed in and I was able to smoothly combine my mundane “survival” with my selfless thriving.

When Love flows, the fear goes — and when the fear goes, the chi flows!  This doesn’t mean that money always filled my pockets when I “needed” it, but rather that I chose to cease needing it and simply let it flow to me of its own accord.  It was this mentality that allowed it to do so — whether I “worked hard” for it or not.

I realize that this is a very subtle point (though an all-powerful one):  that it is not what we do or how we are living that is important, but rather why we are choosing to do so.  In those moments when we choose to exist merely to survive, we ultimately suffer.  In those moments when we choose to exist to serve others, we experience an Abundance of Power & Peace.  It really is that simple …

Filed under: simple Answers to tough Questions by Scaughdt