The material world has no power in and of itself except the power we give to it
By Jim Hatton
I love my creature comforts. I like and enjoy nice things — not to show off, but to actually enjoy them. I know there are many others who also like to have nice cars, houses, clothes, etc. for the same reasons as mine, and for other reasons too.
The pursuit of wealth and accumulation of material possessions seems to be a dominant characteristic of Western and free economy societies.
A very close friend of mine and I have a standard which we try to live by:
“If nobody ever saw us with this particular material possession, would we still want it?”
We live in an abundant universe. Our very own nature is an abundant one. So, it is natural for us to experience abundance in all aspects of our lives. The enjoyment of the physical is also a natural expression of our human nature.
Why do so many people seem to get lost in their relationship with the material plane if it is meant to be a place of abundance and enjoyment? I believe it is because they make the material plane their God. People tend to worship the material as if the material had power in and of itself. Nothing can be further from the truth. The material world has no power except the power we give to it, and that is only transitory: it does not last very long and will diminish once we stop giving our attention to it. The appearance of the material world having power is only the result of a false belief that the material world has its own power!
The real power lies within us as conscious emanations of the God Source. Unlike the physical, the God Source is unlimited in its power and its sustainability. We are unlimited, too. So, it is our own consciousness (our choice of where we direct our attention) that actually gives the physical its power. It is God Source in action that sustains the physical universe. This is the Law of Attraction, sometimes called the Law of Supply.
It is a misconception that joy, happiness, and fulfillment come from the physical. Yes, the physical can and should be enjoyed, but usually that enjoyment diminishes over time. For example, a physical item would bring less enjoyment as it gets older. It might need to be replaced with a new — or a larger or better — item to stimulate the same level of enjoyment. We tend to want a bigger house, a better car, more clothes, more trips/vacations, and on and on. Consuming can be like a drug which becomes addictive and creates the need to have ever-increasing doses to maintain the same levels of pleasure.
It is our very nature to create specifically to fulfill our human needs for food, housing, well-being, transportation, money, etc. And we are forever creating, just like nature. An apple tree, for example, might be laden with apples before the harvest, but once the apples are picked or fall to the ground or get eaten by animals, the apple tree is bare. The apple tree does not sit around and lament that it has no apples; it starts to grow more apples. It is its very nature to do so. And so it is with us. We are always creating, and even when we are seemingly in lack, the Law of Supply is already busy creating more. But what we humans tend to do is focus on the appearance of lack rather than focusing on how the Law of Supply is already at work within us, bringing forth more of what we need, time and time again. We know that the apple tree will produce an abundance of apples. Can we entertain the same faith for ourselves — that we are always able to produce whatever we need when we need it?
There is nothing wrong with enjoying the many wonderful things that the physical experience brings us. To sustain the enjoyment, we need only turn our attention to the actual source of our pleasure, i.e., our very own consciousness or awareness. We choose what we think about, what we place our attention upon. Here lies our supply. Here lies the true source of creativity.
Here lies our true power.
The World is not broken, Be in Peace…
Jim Hatton is an Author, Spiritual Teacher and Speaker. He makes his home in the Rogue Valley, Southern Oregon. Contact him at jim@jimhatton.com.
Send 600–to–700-word articles on all aspects of inner peace to Richard Carey (rcarey009@gmail.com).
