Harmonic Wealth: Beyond the Law of Attraction
Find out how Harmonic Wealth can help you achieve success in the key areas of your life
James Arthur Ray is one of the contributors to the International Bestseller The Secret. But, unlike The Secret which mainly focuses on the Law of Attraction and its application, his book: Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want gives a more detailed and holistic approach on how to create abundance in all areas of your life, not just material abundance as what its title might imply.
James divided one’s life into five key areas called the Five Pillars of Wealth: Financial, Relational, Mental, Physical and Spiritual. This way of looking at life makes sense since life as we know it is not just about making money.
Life is also about the quality of our relationships with other people, the mastery over our emotions, the state of our body, as well as the connection with our Higher Self. By achieving harmony in all the five interdependent pillars, not balance as James would tell you, you will attain the true wealth described in this book.
However, the author is also keenly aware of the impact of money and how it can distract you from the other key areas. Thus, he has devoted almost one-third of the book to how you can make enough money so that you no longer have to worry about it.
Let’s look deeper into this book and uncover the other interesting messages James has to share.
The importance of action
If your idea of fulfilling your dreams is just to sit back, visualize and live in your make-believe world all day, then you won’t be happy to hear what James has to say.
Other than creative visualization, he also stresses the importance of taking action to achieve what you want in life even if that means, sometimes, you have to do work that you dislike. You have to pay the price to get the prize is his mantra. But he clarifies that it’s not the action that creates your results. By taking action, you are merely confirming and harmonizing yourself with the results that are coming your way. Looking at it from another angle, ask yourself this question when you are at a loss about what to do next: If you have already achieved your dreams, how would you think, feel and act now?
There is more than one law in this universe
James emphasizes that there are a number of other laws that govern our universe besides the Law of Attraction. Such as the Law of Gender, which dictates that everything has an incubation period before it can manifest, the Law of Polarity, which declares that there’s an opposite for everything that exists in this universe, and the Law of Cause and Effect, which is essentially ‘reap what you have sown’. Pretending that these other universal laws don’t exist is not going to serve your purpose.
Tips on how to take care of your body
In this book, James also shares how he feeds and takes care of his body in order to meet the daily demands of his work. You’ll find out some of his meditation techniques, yoga poses, gym routines, types of food he eats (check out the ritual he performs before every meal), and more. I always enjoy reading how other people keep themselves in good form because it speaks volumes about a person. If his words are anything to go by, James definitely walks his talk, although his lifestyle may not be feasible for everyone due to the time and money it requires. But no doubt these tips will serve to inspire you to aim for a similar, if not better, life.
It is also heartening to know that James is not fanatical about the health tips that he espouses. You should be willing to adjust and adapt according to the different life situations you are in, he says. Let’s say you are in the company of a group of good friends barbecuing at the beach. Although you normally avoid greasy and barbecued food, you still chow them down heartily. Why? Simply because you value the friendships between you and your friends. Besides, it’s the consistent things that we do and eat everyday that matter, not the once-in-a-blue-moon serving of barbecued food.
Spirituality and material abundance
One interesting message that appears a few times in this book is that you can achieve spiritual and financial abundance at the same time. In the Eastern as well as the Western societies, spirituality and the material world are almost always mutually exclusive. Many people feel that to achieve some level of connectedness to God, our Higher Self or whatever you may call it, one should not let the quest for money or physical luxury taints the soul.
But, James strongly disagrees with this view as he feels that there’s no reason why you can’t have both — a rich and fulfilling spiritual life and a sizable bank account. Quoting a number of scientific findings to prove the convergence between science and religion, James cites a number of Quantum Physics theories and jargons, like Zero Point Field and vertical time, to emphasize that there’s no distinction, and thus no conflict between spirituality and the material world.
All things, living or otherwise, come from one and only one source, and the only difference between them is the form that each takes. Taking this a step further, since everything comes from the same source, then all goals must also be spiritual goals: from buying a bungalow with a sea view to having a great sex under the moonlight. There’s as much spirituality in man-made creations as it is in Nature’s works of art, he declares.
To grow spiritually, as well as to achieve abundance in the other four pillars in our current society, James argues that you need to have certain amount of money. He quotes Gandhi to sum up this point neatly, ‘There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.’
While I agree that one can be spiritual and rich at the same time, it is important to emphasize that one should always strive to maintain the delicate balance between extreme asceticism and materialism. On one end, all material things are deemed bad and corruptible and hence should be renounced at the expense of the body and the mind. On the other end, the pursuit of worldly possessions and pleasures is placed above all things, even God, which is reduced to an all-season Santa Claus. Either end will lead us nowhere near to the state of intimacy we’d like to have with our Higher Self. Only a path that meets the needs of the body without overindulging it can help us find a way.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to achieve better things in life, but our intentions and how we go about achieving them reveal where we really are in our spiritual journey. At some point, I believe, if we are really progressing in this path, we will come to the stage when it is enough — when we feel contented with what we have, and yet we do not avoid the pleasures in life that come our way. That’s when you are ready to let your spirit ascends to higher levels.
Conclusion
Overall, the writing in this book is eloquent and fun to read. You’ll feel as if James is talking to you face-to-face — sometimes barking you to clean up your act, while other times inspiring you to soar to greater heights.
This is not a book to chuck aside after reading once through. To get the most out of it, you should re-read the chapters on the pillar that you are working on to improve, especially during trying times when you need that extra dose of encouragement to get by.
Those who practice the Law of Attraction shouldn’t miss this book either, especially if you have read The Secret. For people who want to achieve greater success in life but has yet to make the first move, Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want could be your first step to getting started because it is complete in itself and is filled with many usable tips and words of advice. Borrowing a line from the book, ‘You are the one the world’s been waiting for.’ Why not begin today?
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