People tend to make basic assumptions when they think about business, which are not necessarily true, and represent an old paradigm view of how survival and abundance are obtained. Generally we define business as how we earn our living. In this old framework there is a separation between what's necessary to do to survive on the physical level, and what matters to us on a soul level. Most people spend the majority of their day doing unfulfilling things in order to earn a living.

What causes this separation between the physical and the soul level has to do with a division or splitting off within the self, resulting in the creation of a substitute self. The substitute self is formed, on an unconscious level in early life, in the areas in which we made limiting decisions such as: "Who I am is not valuable," "I am bad," "I can't have what I really want," etc. These decisions are always some form of deciding there is some fundamental defect or fault in our self and in the way life works. We then separate our awareness from the part of our self we judged against and whom we decided can't be fulfilled in life, and we bury that part deep in our unconscious, in an effort to get rid of it. And then we begin building a substitute, "more acceptable" and less vulnerable self (the ego self) with which to get by out in the world. This substitute self is focused on goals that symbolize, but are only substitutes for, what we really desire. The substitute self lives in an alternate world, which is generally defined by and limited to what it thinks it can control. That self is disconnected from present-moment experience, which is where real nourishment or fulfillment can be accessed. And it separates us from our God-self -- our higher self, our soul.

The limiting decisions, which cause the division within the self, are what cause us to believe there has to be a separation between what really matters to us on a soul level, and what is necessary in order to physically survive. Many of these limiting decisions are shared by humanity in general. The result of this frequently shows up for people in middle-age, known as "mid-life crisis." It occurs when the person becomes aware that the life they have spent so much time, energy, and resources in building up (particularly in their career) has nothing, or very little, to do with what really matters to them.

In fact, there is no inherent conflict between fulfilling ourselves on a soul level and living a life filled with physical abundance. But in the new paradigm, there are entirely different principles, than in the old one, for how one succeeds in whatever one does or in whatever one desires, including physical abundance. In the new paradigm, the world of spirit leads and the world of the physical follows that spiritual lead. Because the physical world is finite and the world of spirit is infinite, this shifts us from a limited world, with limited possibilities, to a world of infinite possibilities and infinite resources. In the unlimited world of spirit, the foundation is love, and exists outside of the framework of controlling, or winning, or any form of competition.

This type of success is dependent upon the support of the Universe (or, depending upon your belief systems; Life, God, Spirit, the Divine...). The Divine is where the source of our survival and well-being actually lies, and is a larger framework than any immediate, conceived of goal. What is required for abundance in the new paradigm is to be in alignment with the Divine flow. Our immediate goals cannot be reached when their focus is not in alignment with the Divine flow.

The rule of thumb is that the Universe is filled with resources, and what keeps us from connecting to these resources is when we have our channels for receiving them closed because of limiting decisions. In the closed state we can't see the resources right in front of us, and we limit ourselves to a very small frame-of-reference, therefore separating us from the Divine source and flow. The more we work through our unhealed issues, the more likely the channels will be open for our success and fulfillment in all areas of life.


About the Author: Jane Ilene Cohen is a Spiritually-based Intuitive, Transformational Counselor, Teacher and Visionary. She certified as an NLP & TimeLine Therapy(tm) Master Practitioner, and is a long-time student of A Course in Miracles and the Abraham-Hicks work, among other influences. She has a private counseling practice in Encinitas, CA, where she works with couples and individuals, gives TimeLine Therapy(tm) sessions, and facilitates groups. She has had numerous articles published, and is in the process of writing two books.

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