Religious Laws of Prosperity

1.) We avoid going into personal debt except for

absolute necessities like a home or education.
When we do have personal debt, use restraint
and get out of it as quickly as we can.

2.) We live within our means. In other words, we
live on less than we earn. In other words, our
net income is greater than our expenses.

3.) We save a certain amount to help us through
those inevitable rainy days and to act as seed
corn in providing other sources of income to
help free us to serve in other ways as we get a
little older and wiser.

4.) We pay a steady, honest and grateful tithe.
Positive Psychology Finding: Factors that
significantly correlate with individuals who
live at the highest levels of enduring
happiness:

1.) They are involved in something they believe is
bigger than themselves.

2.) They use signature strengths or personal
strengths and abilities in many areas of their lives.
They tend to see their daily work as a calling
rather than a job or even a career.

3.) They have become more and more selfless
which is defined as willing to be inconvenienced
for the sake of others.








4.) They have many close friendships with people
who they have helped and are being helped by.
The wider and deeper the relationships, the
better (the higher measurement of well being).

5.) They have substituted some of the pleasurable,
more transient pursuits for more enduring,
deeply meaningful pursuits.

6.) They have higher levels of Volunteerism.

7.) They live more virtuously. In other words,
there is very little disconnect between their core
beliefs and how they live.




8.) They are more religious (characterized as a
belief in something greater than self).

9.) Theyve developed an abundance of gratitude
defined by counting blessings for good things
that happen and expressing them.

10.) They generally lead simpler lives. They
understand that quantity influences quality and
have stopped impeding happiness by trying to do
too much. They are not living in the Rat Race.

11.) Theyve given themselves permission to be
human. They accept emotions (fear, sadness,
anxiety, etc) as natural and therefore, easier to
overcome them.









General ways we might make a difference
in our sphere of influence
Feed the Hungry
Clothe the Naked
Heal the Sick
Comfort the Lonely
Liberate the Captive
Educate the Ignorant
Spread Truth
Increase Beauty
Heal or Promote Families
TRUE WEALTH
True Wealth is If you see a need, you will fill
it Why? Because you have it all the means,
the time, and the heart and you know who
gave it to you.
True Wealth is having enough time and money
to be able to Find your voice and inspire others
to find theirs ultimately achieving a life of
greatness.
True Wealth is willingly consecrating everything
God has blessed you with for the betterment of
mankind under His guiding inspiration.
True Wealth is Celebrating life as God
intended.
BECOMING HAPPIER

"Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing
hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be
different...different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction doing your
job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and
fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on
the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a
winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled
by the likes and dislikes of others."
Lowell Bennion
Unfortunately, too many institutions have a vested interest in
making people believe that buying the right car, the right soft
drink, the right watch, the right education will vastly improve their
chances of being happy, even if doing so will mortgage their lives.
In fact, societies are usually structured so that the majority is led
to believe that their well-being depends on being passive and
contented. Whether the leadership is in the hands of a priesthood,
of a warrior caste, of merchants, or of financiers, their interest is
to have the rest of the population depend on whatever rewards
they have to offer -- be it eternal life, security, or material
comfort. But if one puts ones faith in being a passive consumer --
of products, ideas, or mind-altering drugs -- one is likely to be
disappointed. However, materialist propaganda is clever and
convincing. It is not so easy, especially for young people, to tell
what is truly in their interest from what will only harm them in the
long run. This is why John Locke cautioned people not to mistake
imaginary happiness for real happiness and why 25 centuries ago
Plato wrote that the most urgent task for educators is to teach
young people to find pleasure in the right things. Now this task
falls partly on our shoulders. The job description for psychologists
should encompass discovering what promotes happiness, and the
calling of psychologists should include bringing this knowledge to
public awareness.

If We Are So Rich, Why Arent We Happy,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Claremont Graduate University
Material advantages do not readily translate into social and
emotional benefits. In fact, to the extent that most of ones
psychic energy becomes invested in material goals, it is
typical for sensitivity to other rewards to atrophy.
Friendship, art, literature, natural beauty, religion, and
philosophy become less and less interesting. The Swedish
economist Stephen Linder was the first to point out that as
income and therefore the value of ones time increases, it
becomes less and less rational to spend it on anything
besides making moneyor on spending it conspicuously
(Linder, 1970). The opportunity costs of playing with ones
child, reading poetry, or attending a family reunion become
too high, and so one stops doing such irrational things.
Eventually a person who only responds to material rewards
becomes blind to any other kind and loses the ability to
derive happiness from other sources (see also Benedikt,
1999; Scitovsky, 1975). As is true of addiction in general,
material rewards at first enrich the quality of life. Because
of this, we tend to conclude that more must be better. But
life is rarely linear; in most cases, what is good in small
quantities becomes commonplace and then harmful in
larger doses.

If We Are So Rich, Why Arent We Happy,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Claremont Graduate University