Abundance and Unconditionality

Context. What is the purpose of the human experience?

Before moving on to the next topic, it is helpful to place ourselves within a context that offers a new way of looking at life, a new paradigm, one that allows us to be happier and to understand human beings. You don't have to agree with everything that follows, or believe any of it, because we are not talking about beliefs. All you need to do is verify in your own life the results of applying this information, to see whether they hold true for you.

If these inner results are happiness, peace, and harmony, then we will know that this information is true. If our external experiences in relationships, health, resources, and adaptation to our environment improve, then we will confirm that this information is wisdom.

The purpose of the human experience is to evolve, to develop our consciousness so that we may be filled with wisdom and love. All human beings, without exception, have come into the world to work on our spiritual development, sharing and participating in experiences with other human beings. Life is a remarkable educational process of the Universe; planet Earth is a “spiritual school,” and every experience we live through can be compared to an academic year.

Spiritual development is inner work, absolutely individual and personal. No one can do it for another person, but neither can it be done “without others.” In other words, we need interaction and experience with other people in order to build our own development, to get to know ourselves. Sometimes, instead of taking charge of our own development, we try to interfere with that of others; in those cases, instead of learning from others, we want to change them. All this accomplishes is to distort the educational process, or to try to distort it, and in doing so we complicate our own lives.

Only by understanding this can we effectively ask ourselves, “What does life want to teach us in each situation?”, since every situation is a lesson. Ultimately, it is about learning to transmute ignorance into wisdom.

When we notice that suffering is disappearing, that inner peace is becoming unshakable, and that our capacity to create, act, love, and serve is expressed without any condition or restriction, it means we have attained wisdom.

In order to lay the foundation for a new civilization that brings a greater level of satisfaction to all people, we must begin by bringing harmony to ourselves. To do so, it is essential to study the universal laws and apply the principles that lead to wisdom. We must bear in mind that we will truly reach wisdom only through constant practice and by discarding the theories and concepts that prove to be wrong. In this way, it will be possible to develop peace and harmony right where we are, through the lessons of daily life, since life is the best school and nature the best teacher.

All it takes to achieve efficiency is to stop resisting the perfect order of the Universe; mental inefficiency is necessary to discover, through saturation, that the Laws of the Universe exist. Once we have suffered enough, we are ready to understand the Laws. For the external struggle to cease, the internal one must cease first, and for that we must have accepted that everything that exists and everything that happens is perfect and necessary, because it has a purpose of love.

Studying and understanding why the things that exist and happen do so can lead us to recognize the Laws, which in turn make it possible to create a better future for humanity.

There are seven Laws of the Universe that govern all of its processes of creation, administration, and evolution. Of these seven, four are fundamental, since they control the development and evolution of the consciousness of the human species anywhere in the Universe. These four Laws form the lower triangle, while the Law of Evolution is the upper one, governing the lower triangle, also called the triangle of hell because it is the lowest part of the universal laws.

We will be within the Law when we love, enjoy, and value what we have. Everything that is within the Law works and flows on its own.

Everything that brings suffering, anguish, pain, or illness does so because we are going against the Laws, and through that we come to recognize them. The results we experience when we step outside the Laws allow us to recognize their existence. It is necessary to make mistakes in order to discover the Law. Mistakes are not the problem; the problem is not learning from them.

The Law is designed so that we ourselves make a change, not so that we try to change others.

As you can see in the following tables, the human experience is governed by four specific Laws.

In the tables above, on the right-hand side we see the effects of violating the Law. In the topic on the Laws of the Universe, we will also find an explanation of the benefits of not violating the Law.

It is important not to confuse the universal laws with human laws or with rules. The former are immutable and cannot be repealed; they originate in the wisdom of the Absolute or Divinity and are therefore absolute. They cannot be modified or negotiated, and disobeying them has a negative result, in the sense of being unpleasant, and also a positive one, in the sense of the learning it involves. That is why it is said that human beings do not actually create laws but rather establish rules; we call them human laws, but they are rules, because they can be repealed, are temporary, and are useful for a given moment.

We have come to planet Earth to develop the three inner virtues: Happiness, Inner Peace, and Love or Service to Others. This development brings excellent results in four areas: Relationships, Resources, Health, and Adaptation to the Environment:

The idea is to use these virtues to relate to the external world. Learning to be happy, to have peace, and to love is the true purpose that brought us human beings into the physical world of matter.

Happiness, peace, and love are principles of the divine essence; they have no polarity; they are immutable.

Learning to be happy:

• To learn to be happy, you only have to face everything you believe takes your happiness away.
• To be happy, you don't need anything external, only understanding and a particular mindset.
• Non-acceptance is the only cause of suffering; we must stop resisting reality.
• It is essential to stop working on others and to work solely and exclusively on yourself, changing within yourself whatever bothers you (the ego) so that it stops doing so.
• If there is suffering, only one question needs to be asked: “What am I not accepting?” The answer lies there.
• Everyone, without exception, has what they need to be happy; however, very few know how to be happy with what they have. Learning to have peace:
• Nothing and no one provides peace.
• Inner peace is the result of one's own spiritual development, not a gift.
• Managing peace requires several elements: clear and accurate information to understand that life is a process of love and that evil does not exist; the ability to manage one's own life energy; and training.
• If you lose your peace, ask yourself: “What am I resisting? What do I want to change? Who am I blaming?” Learning to love your neighbor as yourself:
• To do this, all you have to do is take part in activities or spend time with people whose behavior is very different from your own, so that you learn to love and respect them just as they are.
• Love cannot be offended; it is invulnerable, immutable, universal, and neutral.
• Love implies a total understanding of the Universe; it is a way of being and does not need an “object” onto which to project itself.
• Love is not a force, but a tool.
• Love is not a feeling.
• To love is to always give the best of yourself.
• If you’re feeling unmotivated, it’s best to ask yourself why you’re allowing this specific situation to limit your ability to serve, which in reality shouldn’t depend on external events. By developing the three inner virtues, you’ll achieve excellent external results in all four areas:
• In relationships.
• In resources.
• In health.
• In adapting to our environment. Five elements are present in the life experience of every human being: purpose, destiny, mission, function, and intention.

1. The Purpose

There is a purpose of Love that brought us into the material world; it is the perfect goal of learning two things:

a) Being happy by yourself, that is, not depending on anything or anyone to enjoy inner peace and happiness.

b) Loving your neighbor as yourself, that is, respecting the rights of all beings in the Universe.

And how is this learned? Here we can see the perfection of the Absolute’s pedagogical design. To practice learning to be happy by oneself, we need to live in a certain place, with certain people and in circumstances in which everything happening around us is more or less aggressive. In this way we’ll realize that our problem isn’t caused by what happens around us, but by the way we relate to it, and by the rejection and resistance we set in motion.

As for the second part, loving your neighbor as yourself, it means respecting others just as they are, not trying to change them, and not resisting them. It is necessary to live in a place where the people around you think differently, have varied customs, and believe in different things. In this way, we learn to love them as they are, without judging or condemning them. This fulfills the purpose of Love; it is the true reason why we human beings are on planet Earth.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Master Jesus taught us this when he said, “Love your enemies”—who are not our enemies, but simply people who think differently.

Being happy means experiencing zero suffering in the face of what happens, and loving means offering zero resistance to others. Wisdom equals love, not sentiment. Someone who has love cares a great deal about others but does not suffer. By contrast, a person who lacks wisdom but does have kindness cares a great deal about others and suffers enormously. The one who doesn't care, the callous and indifferent, has neither wisdom nor kindness.

2. Destiny

This is what we have come to learn from the material world: how to use the seven tools of Love in order to have invulnerable peace. It is a great opportunity to learn what we are missing.

We all bring into the world an unavoidable destiny, one of enormous value. Our culture teaches us to try to evade destiny instead of showing us how to make the most of it. The key to making the most of destiny is: "You have the ability to enjoy anything you do, because that ability is within you.".. However, if someone tells their child: "You always have to do what you like.", it will create an enormous block in them.

Destiny is a pedagogical design whose purpose is to allow human beings to verify and discover information that governs the Universe and its perfect order. It is therefore the best opportunity to transcend all of our human limitations. Instead of complaining about the difficulties life presents, we should take advantage of them as a great opportunity to transcend them; then they will disappear forever. If we don’t learn from difficulties, far from disappearing, they will become more complicated, persist, and become permanent.

3. The Mission

It consists of what we can teach in the material world. We should enjoy our mission intensely, whether or not it is part of our own function.

Mission allows us to recover a great deal of the vital energy invested in the exercise of learning to be happy. Mission is what has already been understood, what is already known; therefore, it can be used to serve others while enjoying ourselves intensely.

Both mission and destiny are represented in the personality: the latter through the belief system, and the former through understanding. As we transmute our ignorance into understanding and wisdom, we will have more and more mission and, therefore, more satisfaction.

4. The Function

It is what each person does to earn their livelihood; it consists of putting as much enthusiasm, joy, and love as possible into what you do, even if it isn't part of your mission.

We know that all living beings have a function within the order of the Universe. It takes wisdom to take it on with joy, with enthusiasm, with a full capacity for action and service. Function is not about “earning a living”; life is not “earned,” because it is a divine gift. What we earn is the sustenance of this biological entity, this body.

Thus, our sustenance is guaranteed as a result of our function. Those who are happy and enjoy what they do will always have an abundance of resources.

5. The Intention

It is what we want for ourselves or for others. Intention should be directed in such a way that it does not interfere with the destinies of others or try to evade our own destiny.

Intention is the most complex element for human beings today, because sentiment, the idea of goodness, and the other ideas that culture mistakenly passed on to us constantly lead us to try to interfere with the destinies of others. If we accepted that destiny is something extraordinary and not “bad,” that it is the best opportunity we have to fulfill what we came to do in the world, we would stop trying to change other people’s destinies.

When a child wants to become independent and the parents oppose it, how can we act so as not to interfere? We always want things to work our way. In this case, the parents feel it isn’t the right time because their child doesn’t have a stable job, for example, and they don’t want them to leave home. Our “I wants” are the cause of suffering. The “I want” is also called unconscious selfishness, because we want others to be happy doing what we want them to do.

What would be the wise and loving thing to do in this case? To tell the child: “For us, the most important thing is that you are happy and that you find your own path, so we respect your decision. Know that if you want to come back, the door will always be open.”

Ultimately, wisdom means having a clear sense of purpose, making the most of destiny, enjoying your mission, taking on your function, and managing the intention not to interfere with other people’s destinies, and it requires that all of this be practiced in thought, word, and deed.

Chapter 1. What Are Abundance and Unconditionality?

1.1. Abundance

By nature, we all have access to abundance, but the limitations of the ego usually prevent this quality from becoming a reality. These limitations involve a lack of commitment, based on the false idea that commitment restricts a person’s independence or freedom. This, in turn, leads us to isolate ourselves and not share, and so we cancel out the possibility of setting the flow of universal wealth in motion through our actions.

Abundance is the natural state of the Universe. It is as natural as the sun always being “up there”; sometimes we can’t see it because clouds cover it, but as soon as they part, it appears again; it was always there.

In one sentence of his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle explains the great mistake we make when we confuse abundance with the possession of material things: “Once we obtain material things, we realize that the emptiness is still there, that it has no bottom.”

For her part, Mabel Katz, in her book The Easiest Way, tells the following enriching story:

“A woman went out of her house and saw three elderly men with long beards sitting in front of her garden. Since she didn’t know them, she said: ‘I don’t think I know you, but perhaps you are hungry. Please come into my house and have something to eat.’ They asked: ‘Is the man of the house in?’ ‘No,’ she replied, ‘he isn’t.’ ‘Then we cannot come in,’ they said. At dusk, when her husband came home, the woman told him what had happened, and he said: ‘Tell them I’m home and invite them in!’ The woman went out again to invite the men into her home. ‘We cannot all three go in together,’ the old men explained. ‘Why not?’ she asked. At that moment, one of the men pointed to the other two and said: ‘His name is Wealth, and his is Success. My name is Love. Go in and decide with your husband which one of the three of us you both wish to invite.’ The woman went back inside and repeated the story to her husband. The man was happy. ‘How wonderful! Since that’s the case, let’s invite Wealth. Let him come in and fill our home with abundance.’ His wife disagreed: ‘Dear, why don’t we invite Success?’ Their daughter, who had been listening to the conversation from the other side of the house, came running in with an idea: ‘Wouldn’t it be better to invite Love? Then our home would be filled with love.’ ‘Let’s listen to our daughter,’ the husband said to his wife. ‘Go and invite Love to be our guest.’ The wife went out and asked the old men: ‘Which of you is Love? We would like him to be our guest.’ Love stood up and began walking toward the house. The other two old men got up and followed him. Surprised, the woman said to them: ‘I only invited Love. Why are you coming too?’ The old men answered in unison: ‘If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two would have stayed outside. But you invited Love, and wherever Love goes, we go with him.’”

Abundance and prosperity have to do with our consciousness. When we know who we are, we already have everything we need. At that moment, we are rich. By opening our hearts and trusting, we give permission for everything to manifest in our lives.

Where there is love, there is wealth and success.

Love can also be defined as the ability to have excellent relationships that benefit everyone involved. For those who know how to love and be happy, everything else will be given as a bonus. By contrast, those who place conditions on their love and on the expression of their values cannot open the doors to abundance.

Abundance does not consist of a specific amount, but of the relationship between the resources you use and the needs you have to meet. Being in abundance means being in harmony, in balance. Prosperity, for its part, is a curve of expanding service that increases resources. Finally, scarcity occurs when expenses exceed income, no matter how large the volume of resources being handled.

Having the capacity to enjoy without limit everything that is available to us in the Universe is the greatest wealth there is. A “rich” person is someone who enjoys their role and does not have to earn anything, because the mere fact of delighting in what they do puts them in tune with the resources and elements of abundance.

Those who are happy and enjoy everything they do will always have an abundance of resources.

In other words, those who enjoy what they do are meant to receive everything in abundance. But those who struggle to earn a living are left to suffer over the little they receive.

Abundance is guaranteed for anyone who is able to enjoy any line of work.

As long as we don’t enjoy what we do, we are not looking at life with love but suffering through it; as a result, we will find ourselves full of limitations rather than peace.

How can you connect with abundance? By using the values of wisdom, which are:

• Trust, that is, being trustworthy in every way.
• Commitment to everything we do.
• Loyalty to our own commitments.
• A constant readiness to serve.
• Respect for the rights of all beings.
• Openness to learning.
• Appreciation of everything we have, everything that exists, and everything that happens. Every aspect related to the process of spiritual development is abundant, prosperous, and satisfying, and it generates happiness in every area of life. The ideas we have been given, that spirituality means poverty, misery, or a misunderstood kind of humility, are false beliefs; something as beautiful as the development of the spirit could never be matched with something miserable. If a person holds a mental concept, one they were taught, according to which spirituality means living in misery, then they will live that way, believing it to be right. And this will go on until the person has had enough of that situation. But such a concept is mistaken, because nothing is more abundant and wonderful than the entire Universe. If that mental concept results in a life of little satisfaction, all that is needed is to change it, because that is the origin of what happens in life. Once we understand that our own situations and the results we each obtain come from our mental concepts, we immediately have a powerful tool: to stop blaming others or life for what happens to us.

1.2 Unconditionality

Unconditionality is the ability to always be ready to serve anyone, with joy and enthusiasm, in any circumstance.

The values that make up unconditionality are present in all human beings, without exception, but few people know how to use them. Unconditionality is an absolute quality that involves giving and sharing the best values a person possesses, without restriction and without any condition.

The virtue of unconditionality is expressed through the universal principle of sowing and reaping: it is not up to the sower to decide where the seed will fall. In other words, if a person first considers who deserves to receive an expression of love, they are already placing a restrictive condition on their inner values. As a result, their mental limitation in giving and sharing their potential for inner wealth immediately becomes apparent. Thus, that person will profoundly limit their capacity to receive and will close the doors to the flow of the Universe’s abundance. This is because anyone who limits their inner potential is not committed to their values, has not recognized them, and cannot benefit from them; ultimately, such a person is neither trustworthy nor capable of service.

Enthusiasm, joy, and the desire to do things are essential to unconditionality. These are qualities that lie within us. Within us reside:

Feeling. It is a very powerful tool for self-knowledge and action. But for that action to be positive, it is necessary to direct feeling voluntarily, just as we do with thought. We need to use it to feel enjoyment, pleasure, admiration, affection… Managing feeling is an art in itself; if it is not done with wisdom, it turns against us.

Desire—that is, the urge to do something. It is associated with enthusiasm. If you lack that urge, if you fall into apathy, depression, or any state that saps your enthusiasm, you won’t be able to use unconditionality either. This is deep, inner work, because the urge isn’t found outside of us, but within us. It is the desire to use our own values no matter what happens on the outside.

Knowing that you can. Knowing, not believing—this distinction is important. “We can” because the values and the ability have resided within us from the very beginning. It is essential to know that you can respect all living beings, be 100% trustworthy, serve unconditionally, become an expert at whatever you set out to practice, and have the ability to commit deeply… A lack of commitment is one of the aspects of failure. And if you believe that you don’t have what it takes, that you’re not worth it, or that you can’t, you’re destined to fail.

Values and virtues are innate, permanent, and constant characteristics, and they develop over time; in contrast, limitations—which we also call “brakes”—are cultural, learned characteristics. This means that these limitations and restrictions are temporary: they are not born with us, nor do they come from the line of creation of our essence; rather, they are acquired along the way for the purpose of developing an extraordinary virtue, the virtue of purity, of invulnerability. We acquire limitations in order to learn to let go of them and become invulnerable. However, even though they are temporary, when they arise they suppress the expression of the values that already reside within us. That is the problem we must solve in order to gain access to a life that is truly fulfilling in every way. And that is what we are learning.

The only way to attain the virtue of unconditionality, then, is for each person to let go of the limitations that prevent them from expressing their virtues.

Limitations are also linked to feeling and desire, to wanting to do things; but not to knowing, rather to believing, because wisdom has no polarity—it is the essence of love. A negative situation can arise from a false belief.

There are different types of limitations, depending on what they are associated with:

Linked to feeling: they consist of feeling rejection, displeasure, disappointment, hatred, bitterness, guilt, resentment, jealousy, etc. These kinds of feelings completely block the expression of values. Why do we feel these unfortunate things? We do so because of the belief system that our culture mistakenly passed on to us. Therefore, unless you work on clearing your mind, unconditionality is not possible. We need to practice “alchemy”—that is, to voluntarily direct our thoughts from an understanding that connects with feelings of love. The way you think determines the inner states you connect with.

To have a thought of love, you must first have enough information for understanding; this will give you a tool through which to direct that thought. In accordance with the Law of Compensation, we need to offer things that are supremely positive and loving, so that what comes back to us will be just as satisfying.

Linked to desire: when you feel like criticizing, attacking, oppressing, or judging others, complaining constantly, changing everyone else… This completely nullifies any chance of success in life because it blocks the expression of your own values. In other words, a person who wants to do these things is placing absolutely restrictive conditions on the use of their virtues. The Master Jesus called this the temptations of thought.

Linked to believing (not knowing): the person who believes they are worthless, that they can’t, that if they commit to something they will lose their freedom; the person who believes that others don’t deserve what they do for them, that someone has to pay for what happened…; anyone who believes all that is expressing a vast number of limitations and has completely blocked the possibility of reaching a fulfilling life.

We need to do some inner work to reverse this process that our culture instilled in us; that is what our spiritual development consists of. And the three tools or elements that allow us to awaken the principle of unconditionality—that is, the expression of our original values without any conditions or restrictions—are:

Understanding the order of the Universe: understanding that evil does not exist, that the only thing in the Universe is a process guided by Love toward evolution and spiritual development. On this basis, everything that happens around us or that we personally experience is perfect and necessary, because it holds significant value for each of us and for our learning.

Thus, the first “tool” is based on having information about the truth of the Universe. This, in turn, leads us to understand that evil does not exist; nor does good even exist—they are polarities from whose interaction an understanding arises. So what does exist, if there is neither good nor evil? There is something very beautiful: the purpose of Love, which originates at the very center of the Universe’s creation.

The purpose of Love leads us to enjoy the experiences necessary to gain an understanding of the very order of the Universe and to discover the truth by observing the results we obtain.

With this wisdom-based information, we now have the foundation to direct our thoughts toward everything that is happening around us.

The thought of love connects feelings, and these, in turn, connect the ability and desire to act with the positive feeling that originates from love. In this way, you can begin to express your own values unconditionally, and because of the Law of Compensation, everything the Universe has set aside for each person begins to return.

Let’s banish the word “no” and think: “I am worthy; I can. I will never lose my freedom, because it depends on an inner decision and has nothing to do with what happens on the outside. Others always deserve the best of me, and I have no reason to offer anything less than that. Whether others receive it and value it or not has nothing to do with me; it’s their problem. I have no reason to place conditions on my values just because others have a mental restriction. It is not an issue I need to resolve; my duty is to express my values without condition or restriction. Others will decide what to do with them; that is no longer up to me.”

In every situation, there is a learning opportunity for each person. Everything that happens in the three-dimensional physical world—that is, what takes place around us and the experiences we go through—originates from a non-physical world within us, which is the spiritual world. If we believe otherwise, we make the mistake of trying to change what happens on the outside in order to find a satisfaction that we will never find. That is what we have been doing for thousands of years without results.

Our approach is completely different: it’s about letting go of what’s happening on the outside and starting to work on what’s happening inside us. That’s something that should be entirely under our personal control. It’s what we can direct and manage, if we learn how. In contrast, what happens outside is completely beyond our control. We can’t direct, command, or organize it, because it doesn’t depend on us, but on other people.

Below are some examples of the conditions and limitations we typically place on life:

"With all this uncertainty, how can I be at peace?" This is a restriction; it's placing a condition on inner peace.

"But how can I trust others? If there is a high level of

corruption, you never know when someone might rob you." This is a condition placed on trust.

"I can't serve more efficiently because I'm paid so little; with

such terrible wages, how can anyone work with enthusiasm?" This is a condition placed on one's own values.

"Other people don't deserve what I do or what I give." This means placing a condition on our service.

And so on. Unconsciously, we place a series of restrictions and blocks on the use of our own values. This has to do with our own mental limitations. Of course, the consequence is very easy to deduce: what can come back to a person who offers so little to life? Almost nothing. And, of course, the Law of Cause and Effect kicks in: if you are full of limitations, and you express them as well, those same limitations come back to you.

What we propose is to let go of all limitations and restrictions. We are not concerned with what happens outside, nor with what others do, nor with their evolutionary stage, nor with the processes they are going through, nor with their destiny, because none of that depends on us. Instead, we care about just one thing that does depend on us: offering every being, person, or circumstance we relate to 100% of the best that lies within us.

One of the major restrictive conditions we impose on our values is goals and objectives. When we set goals and objectives in our lives, we divert our energy flow, because we don’t know whether or not we’ll be able to achieve those goals, or whether such objectives are right for us. This situation creates anxiety, which, in turn, reduces our capacity for action. Of course, this is a restriction. We shouldn’t place restrictions on life; we can, however, have purposes.

You shouldn’t place conditions on the Universe just because you made a mistake. You simply have to be open to receiving whatever comes your way, whatever life has in store for you, but without conditions, whether regarding who your service is directed toward or how much you’ll receive in return. You just have to give your best and never close yourself off from receiving. In other words, you should never think, “Life is giving me a lot.” Nor should you think that life gives very little; it gives each person what corresponds to their capacity for service. If that capacity expands, many more resources will come your way. That is the secret, and it’s called unconditionality. And it applies to everything: relationships, business, health, anything.

Success isn't about accumulating a lot of things, but about being happy with what we have.

1.3. Service

The first aspect of service has to do with sharing information. Service consists of providing information to those who need it to improve their lives; thus, it is a profound act of love.

The second part of service means that, in whatever activity a person engages in, they should put all their enthusiasm, energy, and expertise into it, in order to do their work as well as possible, without worrying at all about who they are doing it for or how much they will be paid for it.

Actions within the realm of matter are governed by the Law of Compensation, which the Masters also call rights. Rights do not exist by nature; rather, they are generated through the capacity for service.

Jesus said, “Seek the kingdom of God within yourselves, and the rest will be given to you as well.” In other words, you must first be willing to give in order to be able to receive later.

Culture has convinced us that we must give without receiving anything in return, and that is a mistake, because what capacity for service can a person develop if they receive nothing? Very little, almost nothing, none at all, because the Universe works differently.

An “abundant” person is someone who has learned to give and receive in balance.

Chapter 2. Trust

Trust = Zero aggression

A trustworthy person, that is, someone worthy of trust, possesses one of the most valuable inner values there is, since trust has the power to open other people’s hearts and give access to the universal doors of abundance and prosperity. This, in turn, makes it possible to have success and fulfillment in all areas of life.

Trust means flowing with the Law of Compensation, the law of giving and receiving.

There is no door that trust cannot open.

In general, a trustworthy person has developed at least five qualities:

• The ability to let life flow without resisting anything or anyone. If you don’t give up everything that causes suffering, you will be resisting.
• Being at just the right point, that is, always behaving normally with others, so that it isn’t obvious that you are at a higher level of understanding. We need to “match ourselves” to others in order to be acceptable and trustworthy; this is a technique of mastery.
• The ability to serve without suffering. If you suffer because of it, you won't be trustworthy. It is essential to serve others with all the love and enthusiasm you are capable of, if the opportunity arises, but without suffering.
• The ability to never take offense at the attitudes of others. If a person takes offense and expresses it, others will stop trusting them because they will become someone who attacks, criticizes, judges… and that does not build trust, but rather leads to isolation and distance.
• That of fully respecting the rights of others, without criticizing, judging, or punishing. On the other hand, trust has three fundamental aspects or dimensions:

Trust in yourself, or self-worth. The most important person in the Universe for each of us is ourselves. To be able to offer values, we must first have them. It should never occur to us to believe that thinking of ourselves is selfishness; if people do not value themselves, they will not be able to do anything else.

If a person doesn't trust themselves, to what extent can others trust them? We need to start accepting ourselves without conditions or restrictions. A person who is unable to be happy on their own is a danger to others.

Any one of us can say that we are God’s perfect creation and that we have the capacity to be happy on our own. That is self-esteem, self-love. But if someone claims to be better than others, they are implying that others are of lesser value, and that idea comes from the ego. A person needs the acceptance of others only when they do not accept themselves.

Being trustworthy to others. To do this, it is necessary to use the seven tools of Love, which are at once seven renunciations of the ego and seven new values that must be installed in the mind:

• Acting: This means proceeding with complete effectiveness and composure in any circumstance that arises, giving one’s best in the tasks one is responsible for performing. It also means refusing to harm others in thought, word, or deed. And it means being absolutely steadfast and loyal to the agreements and commitments that have been freely established. In short, “doing” is the key to “having.”
• Adapting: This means wholeheartedly adjusting to the place where one is meant to fulfill one’s role, in order to live a life full of satisfaction there. Likewise, adapting means giving up the urge to flee from the places and situations where one is meant to live. Believing that happiness lies somewhere other than within oneself is a false illusion.
• Giving thanks: This means being grateful for everything we have, as well as for the difficult and painful situations we have experienced, because they are opportunities that life gives us to learn and to contribute to our spiritual development. It therefore means giving up suffering in the face of difficulties and understanding instead that they have a profound purpose of Love. In this way, it becomes possible to recognize the Law and free oneself from limitations, dependencies, and suffering.
• Take responsibility: that is, accept the results of your own decisions and life experience. You must recognize that you generate your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions, not what happens around you, and much less what others think, say, do, or fail to do. You need to stop blaming others for what does or does not happen to you. There is no one to blame.
• Respect: this means honoring everyone's ideas, customs, beliefs, and behavior, as well as their right to make their own decisions. It also means refraining from criticizing, disparaging, judging, condemning, or punishing anyone for any reason, because everyone does the best they can with the best they know, and it is not our place to judge them. Information from wisdom is shared only with those who expressly ask for it or who accept a subtle, respectful offer.
• Appreciate: this also means intensely enjoying everything you have and everything you do. When we recognize that we always have everything we need, and appreciate it, we develop the ability to enjoy new experiences and relationships. It also means giving up complaining about what we have and what happens to us, because complaining makes us poor. Prosperity, on the other hand, is the result of appreciation; those who do not appreciate what they have are on the path to losing what they need.
• Accept: acknowledge that the purpose of the Absolute is perfect and that everything that happens is perfect and necessary. Give up trying to change others and, instead, work on yourself. Stop trying to alter the perfect order of the Universe and its necessary processes and, above all, stop trying to interfere with other people's life experiences. It helps to repeat to yourself: “From today on, I think only the best, I say what is appropriate, and I do what is necessary!” Mental programming and daily practice are recommended until it becomes automatic.

Earning the trust of others by showing your own values.

To achieve this, it is not enough to be trustworthy; others must also know it and be able to verify it. Only then can an effective interaction of love and service be established.

To know whether others trust us, we need to observe the results of our relationships. What results can show us that we are trustworthy to others? The answer is: those in which other people open up to us completely, without any restriction. In this way they show that we are worthy of their trust and that they recognize our capacity for respect.

To be successful in life, it is very important to rid our minds of the enemies of trust. Let's see what they are and how to recognize them.

Let's now take a closer look at each of these “enemies”:

Temperament is behavior of genetic, instinctive, traumatic, and unconscious origin. Let's change our temperament so that we can be active, calm, and peaceful.

A strong character is behavior of rational, learned, and conscious origin. Both temperament and character can be changed voluntarily through understanding. Let's change our character so that we can be open, fair, and firm.

As for worries, we can say there is no need to have them, since everything in the Universe has a solution, and if we have made a mistake, we can always learn from it. A person who is anguished and worried is no longer a source of support, guidance, or counsel, nor a confidant for others.

As for possessiveness, we need to understand that we do not own anything or anyone; we are merely stewards of the material things entrusted to us, which we share with others. If someone does not trust themselves, they will not feel good or be able to understand the value of solitude or of relationships; therefore, they will want to hold on to others in order to feel secure.

Overprotectiveness is deep selfishness disguised as love. It happens when a person limits the experiences of others because they are the one who fears something might happen to them, and if it does, they will suffer. Since they do not want to suffer, they prefer to sacrifice others before that can happen.

Sentimentality means that a person cries or suffers over any difficulty others have. This leads to two mistakes that make that person untrustworthy: first, others do not tell them anything so as not to see them suffer; and second, whenever someone wants to avoid an experience that is theirs to live, they will go to that person to have the problem solved. This has two consequences: first, that person will not be trustworthy to others or to the Universe; second, they will be interfering with the destinies of others. That person's resources will be blocked, because they are using them to harm the experiences of others.

Feelings are not reliable: if we feel sorry for someone, we may well act out of sentiment rather than love. It is something else entirely to understand that every experience is necessary and valuable for the person living it, and that for someone to stop living through something unpleasant, they need new information; so if you have it and can give it, you will act in a trustworthy and loving way. But pity is a socially restrictive condition of feeling and a failure to understand the order of the Universe, so sentiment is never reliable.

Touchiness means that others stop relating to you because you take offense.

Finally, aggressiveness means that if you react with hostility or violence, others will “keep their distance.”

If you are not trustworthy, you close the doors to abundance, so afterward you have no reason to complain about scarcity.

We need to learn from and enjoy every circumstance that life presents to us, without worrying or suffering over anything or anyone, since each of us lives only and exclusively the circumstances that are ours to live, which we ourselves generate and which are perfect for us.

Therefore, we must stop interfering with the learning experiences of others and set out to be happy by ourselves. With these thoughts, you can reprogram your mind to stop worrying needlessly. What is needed is to take concrete actions of wisdom in the face of life.

All the satisfaction we can obtain will be the result of conscious, voluntary work on ourselves. So let's stop asking and learn to do more.

Chapter 3. Commitment

Commitment = Zero obligation

Trust opens the door to abundance, but it is commitment that makes what lies “behind the door” flow. For this to happen, we need to learn what commitment means.

Commitment is the ability to share your values without any restriction or condition.

The aim is to complete your own life with the values of others and to acquire rights, but for this process to work, our thoughts, words, and actions must be directed simultaneously toward a single purpose; otherwise, there will be no chance of success in any field.

Commitment is an inner decision, taken on by each person; a free decision with a mandatory result, since you reap what you sow. If a person felt obligated to do it, there is no longer any commitment. Obligation does not really exist; it is only an attitude of blaming others for the results you get. As long as you blame others for anything, you are not taking responsibility. No one can be forced to do anything.

A lack of commitment limits access to abundance, prosperity, health, and happiness for the person who suffers from it. It is also generally based on a false notion of freedom: the belief that if you make commitments, you will lose freedom of action and independence.

It is important to understand that freedom exists only within each person, as the ability to make their own decisions and accept their results. We cannot speak of freedom in the realm of relationships; we speak of agreements, commitments, peaceful coexistence, respect for others, sharing, the Law of Compensation… Free will is the capacity to make mistakes, even though we have confused it with freedom.

On the other hand, independence is the ability to remain invulnerable in your own feelings, regardless of what anyone else does or says. The Masters call those whose peace, happiness, and inner harmony depend on nothing other than themselves spiritually independent people.

When a person’s results show them scarcity and loneliness, it is because they freely chose not to commit to anything or anyone; if, on the other hand, their results show them abundance and highly satisfying relationships, it is because they freely chose to commit to their roles and relationships and to be completely trustworthy to others.

Those who commit to what they do succeed.

No one has the right to enjoy what they have not done, nor to receive if they have not given. In the Universe, there are no rights unless an action takes place that creates them. An action without consistency is an action without commitment. Everything one receives corresponds to what one does. A right, therefore, is the result of a commitment to action.

Rights do not simply exist; they are acquired through action.

The Law of Compensation is what ensures that rights are fulfilled. If this does not happen, we deplete the source of abundance. Conversely, if rights are demanded without having been earned, major conflicts arise, because this amounts to claiming something that has not been earned and is not rightfully ours. At the same time, we must never refuse to receive what life or other people offer us, because if someone gives it to us, or it comes to us in some other way, it is because we had already earned it; it is rightfully ours.

It is also extremely important not to restrict your own capacity to serve and not to refuse to receive what you need in order to serve more. We call this abundance.

Commitment drives a person toward the true meaning of consistency; this, in turn, creates the stability needed to give the seeds of prosperity time to sprout and yield abundance. Thus, commitment allows the universal rights related to prosperity to expand:

"The more I give, the more I receive; the more I do, the more I need; the more I need, the more comes to me;

"because the more I have, the more I can serve others."

In short: commitment generates stability; stability, consistency; consistency, action—but constant action, not stubborn action; and action, ultimately, gives us the right to enjoy the abundance of the Universe.

To earn the right to abundance, we will draw on three qualities:

• Commitment to agreements.
• Stability in relationships.
• Consistency in action. Those who complain about what they have do not value it; they are not committed to what they possess. A person is committed to what they have to the extent that they never complain about it, and is committed to what they do to the extent that they never feel obligated to do anything, but rather act from the center of love. These are two extremely powerful tools for success. Commitments can be modified; the important thing is not to break them. You always need to take a liking to what you do: your boss, your coworkers, the place and the country where you live; if you are unable to do so and do not commit to it, it is very difficult to succeed in life. Through the following example, we can see how the Law of Correspondence and commitment work. It shows a willingness to serve and other aspects that attract abundance; like any example, it is limited and does not take into account other factors, such as each person’s suitability for a particular service: “A father with two adult sons asked them what kind of business they wanted to start. One of them (let’s call him A) loved sports and wanted to open a gym; his brother (let’s call him B) didn’t know what he wanted, so, imitating his brother, he also asked their father to open a gym for him. The father set up two gyms in different parts of the city, but A prospered while B went bankrupt and complained that his location was worse than his brother’s. So they swapped positions: A went to run the gym that B had, and vice versa. Before long, B failed again, and A was very successful. B ended up working for his brother, simply following the orders he was given and earning a salary.” What’s going on here? It’s obvious: A was fully committed to his work, while B was not; it wasn’t his role. This isn’t good or bad—it’s simply that this line of work wasn’t meant for him.

Chapter 4. Loyalty

Loyalty = Not running away from commitments

Loyalty is a spiritual state of understanding linked to a deep commitment of love. Regardless of time, distance, or difficulties, a loyal person never fails to fulfill the commitments they have freely and mutually agreed upon with others.

Loyalty can only exist when clear agreements have been established.

Agreements are not rules that one feels compelled to obey, or that one decides to obey at a given moment because one considers it necessary. It is clear that rules do not generate commitment, nor can the principle of loyalty be applied to them. This is because rules are unilateral, and the decision to obey them or not is also unilateral.

As long as we are unable to handle agreements, we will be governed by rules. When faced with a rule, each person can decide, unilaterally and individually, to do one of the following:

• Obeying it out of wisdom: if that is the case, one adapts and accepts it, learning what the rule teaches; that is, one obeys out of understanding.
• Disobeying it, which is the result of ignorance.
• Rebelling against it by confronting or attacking. On the other hand, when it comes to an agreement, we can decide on one of the following:
• Respecting it.
• Rethinking it.
• Yielding. Loyalty arises from the agreements we commit to honoring. These are bilateral and, therefore, involve negotiation. And in order to negotiate, you need mental flexibility and must learn to yield. Being loyal means never unilaterally ending a commitment. It is legitimate to modify a commitment (to rethink it), but never to break it unilaterally, because that would be disloyal. A loyal person is of incalculable value and has one of the most powerful tools for achieving:
• Self-confidence.
• Stability in their work.
• Happiness in their relationships.
• Sufficient resources to carry out their roles.
• Satisfaction in everything they do. Loyalty should not be confused with fidelity. In our culture, fidelity is basically limited to sexuality and the agreements established between couples; loyalty, on the other hand, encompasses all the commitments and agreements that human beings make, including those in the sexual sphere. That is why, when we speak of loyalty, we are referring to the wonderful principle that governs all human relationships. There is also a substantial difference between agreement and commitment: the agreement establishes the parameters within which the commitment applies, while the commitment is what upholds the agreement. In other words, an agreement without commitment is not valid. For example, the agreement is to go out to dinner with someone today at 9:00 p.m., but actually showing up is the commitment; you can agree and then not go or arrive late, and in that case, there was an agreement but no commitment.

Chapter 5. The Capacity to Serve

Willingness to serve = Zero resistance

Learning to serve is a complete technique of wisdom, a true tool of Love that will bring us extraordinary and satisfying results in every aspect of our lives.

Service is the ability to always give one's best in thought, word, and deed, and to be open to receiving what rightfully corresponds to you.

Correct Information + Action = Abundance

Service is a generator of wealth; two specific characteristics define it:

Service as information requires wisdom; it is a pedagogical technique and is governed by the Law of Sharing, which, through information, links together all levels of creation. Sharing information that helps us understand the order of the Universe is a service of love.

The Universe is information in a dense state, in the form of matter. The interaction of energy and information gives rise to everything that exists.

Providing information is a service of love, since appropriate and relevant information enables each individual to create their own life experience and carry out their function properly, learning from it what is necessary to reach ever-greater levels of personal satisfaction.

The purpose of every experience is to gain information so that we can be happy on our own and be able to love.

To be able to handle any human situation—whether it involves relationships, health, finances, or location—wisely, we need to have the right information. The three tools required to attain wisdom are: providing information (knowledge), allowing the person to gain experience by applying that information—even if it means making mistakes (experiences)—and, finally, allowing them to verify and take ownership of the outcome of their experience (results). If there are no good results, it is because we do not know how to serve wisely—that is, to create something satisfying. This is what we must learn.

To provide information wisely, it is necessary to keep three principles in mind:

• That the information is true—that is, that we have verified the information we intend to convey.
• That someone has asked for it or accepted our offer—that is, that we make sure the person who will receive it is open to it.
• That we speak with only as much information as the other person can handle. Service as an action requires training to develop mental flexibility, and it is governed by the Law of Compensation. The laws of success do not respond to inertia; therefore, to succeed in life, it is necessary to commit to action, seeing it as a mission of service.

We define success as the ability to have everything necessary to be happy, as well as to be happy with what one has.

Therefore, it is essential to always put as much work capacity, quality, enthusiasm, energy, enjoyment, efficiency, and joy as possible into everything we do.

Action as a mission requires always giving your best in any circumstance.

In order to serve, it is necessary to break free from the limitations learned from culture and education, which restrict the potential for service that exists within every human being. “I don’t like it; it’s not my thing; I’m not going to work for less; the atmosphere isn’t right; they don’t motivate me; they don’t value me; etc.” These are typical expressions of someone who has not recognized the true meaning of service and is therefore limiting their ability to access prosperity, abundance, and new levels of personal fulfillment.

The ability to adapt allows us to make use of our full inner potential. Mental flexibility is the ability to voluntarily modify the concepts we have learned about certain activities that most people consider undignified or believe to be synonymous with ignorance, degradation, humiliation, dishonor, or servility. But in reality, from a clear understanding of service, all work is dignifying.

On the contrary, mental rigidity is the inability to accept anything different from what one believes, or from one’s own tastes or customs. It leads to total failure. One of its characteristics is the difficulty it causes in reaching agreements.

We now know scientifically what the cause of suffering is: what we are unable to accept. Suffering is mental rigidity, which in turn is associated with levels of ignorance—a trait that involves a great deal of rigidity. Pride, for its part, is supremely rigid. We do not accept something because we do not understand it, and we do not understand it due to a lack of wisdom; in turn, we lack wisdom because our beliefs are false.

To develop mental flexibility and create the habit of service, we suggest that you constantly practice the following games, whenever the opportunity arises:

• “Me first”: This involves asking to go first when it’s time to sweep, wash, cook, or do any other task that might not seem appealing at first.
• “Willingness to serve”: This means giving up complaining about any task and, instead, enjoying it.
• “The one who yields wins”: This means pleasing the other person and giving up the need to be right. The two Laws that govern the interactions of service—in their respective characteristics of sufficient, efficient, and timely information, and action—are the Law of Sharing and the Law of Compensation.

5.1 Law of Sharing: Managing the Interaction of Information and Service

The Law of Sharing is what unites matter with spirit. There are two interests in service: giving and receiving. The point of maximum efficiency is one where there is harmony and balance. If the energy invested is not recovered, the source runs dry. Thus, for service—always within that point of maximum efficiency—to be valid, it must not be subject to restrictions or conditions.

If we continually expand our capacity to serve, we will receive much more, and in this way we will also be able to serve more and have abundance. Those who do nothing and are of no use need nothing. Now let’s look at it the other way around: Who is the being who might need the most? The one who does the most, the one who knows the most, and the one who serves the most. Our needs expand through our capacity to serve.

5.2. Law of Compensation: Managing the Interaction of Material Things and Help

Helping means doing something for someone else that they cannot do for themselves. That help must be compensated so that it can continue to be received; otherwise, the source runs dry.

In other words: if there is no compensation, the inexhaustible generating sources of the Universe’s wealth cannot be replenished, because the flow of energy is cut off. That is why wisdom consists of giving the best of oneself and opening up to receive what corresponds to one as a result. There is no such thing as “selfless” service; there is nothing wrong with interest, since there is nothing in the Universe that lacks an interest. On the contrary, it is healthy. The problem does not lie in interest, but in rights—in that people sometimes try to demand a right without having first generated it. Interest, in reality, is well-being and satisfaction.

When a person provides a service, they have two main interests:

• That the service is excellent for whoever receives it. When it comes to information, the best compensation one can receive for a service is for the person receiving the information to find it useful and to be happy.
• And, in order to keep serving, to replenish and compensate the source of energy. If the person who is going to get a job or provide a service thinks about the money they will earn, they lose focus on their capacity to serve; and the fact is, as we have already said, the purpose of service is to give the best of oneself in any situation where the opportunity arises. Compensation is merely the result of service, but one should never refuse to receive that result, whatever it may be.

5.3. The Solution to the Four Main Human Problems

The four main human problems have to do with relationships, health, resources, and adaptation. The information needed to solve them comes from the seven tools of Love, which we saw in Chapter 2, which dealt with trust. That is all a person with wisdom needs to know. The seven tools transcend human destinies, but if one does not use them, they are of no use.

A resource problem that a person in Australia has and one that someone in Colombia has, for example, arise in completely different situations, since the cultures and customs are different; but the problem is the same—it has to do with resources. The tools for solving it, therefore, are identical.

5.4. Why Do We Resist Everything?

If we don't resist anything, everything can come to us.

If you want to change anything in the external world, it means you’re putting up resistance because you don’t accept it as it is. Within us lies the ego, which is what seeks those changes—the part of us that isn’t satisfied with what happens in the Universe. Our culture taught us that this was normal.

Suffering is a consequence of resistance, because we suffer when we do not accept the situations that unfold around us. Our advice in this regard is as follows: if someone does something unpleasant, instead of reproaching them, you should thank them; it is the same as turning the other cheek. As long as you resist, the ego will grow stronger and stronger, and the results will become increasingly disastrous.

Chapter 6. Respect, Appreciation, and Wisdom

6.1 Respect and Appreciation

Another key value for connecting with abundance is respect. Respect means accepting others without trying to change them.

If you train yourself in respect, your peace will grow. Respect is practiced with techniques of mastery. For example, you should not give information to someone who cannot understand it, because this will harm them; and you should respect people’s ideas, customs, beliefs, and behaviors, as well as their right to make decisions.

Respect, then, means refraining from criticizing, disparaging, judging, condemning, and punishing anyone for any reason, because we understand that everyone does the best they can with the best they know, and it is not our place to judge them. We should share information of wisdom only with those who expressly ask for it, or with those who accept our subtle and respectful offer.

Appreciate = Enjoy without complaining

Let's value and enjoy everything we have and do, fully. Let's recognize that we always have everything we need, and by valuing it, we will develop the capacity to enjoy new possessions and relationships.

Let’s stop complaining about what we have. Complaining makes us poor. Prosperity is the result of appreciation. Thus, those who do not appreciate what they have are on the path to losing what they need.

6.2 Wisdom

When we hear the word wisdom, we might imagine something very difficult to attain, something that perhaps only elderly Masters with long white beards achieve after living through many experiences. But the truth is that wisdom is really quite simple, and it can be summed up as knowing how to make the most of what life offers in order to be happy and prosperous.

That said, wisdom requires a minimum level of understanding from a person, as well as the ability to flow with the order of the Universe, wisely making the most of the present moment and the five elements that make up the life experience of every human being: purpose, destiny, mission, function, and intention.

Ultimately, human beings will use wisdom to:

• Fulfill the purpose of Love that brought them into the world.
• Take advantage of the opportunity found in their destiny.
• Enjoy the mission they carry in their consciousness.
• Take on the function that is theirs to fulfill.
• Not interfere with the destinies of others. Wisdom requires us to practice three aspects, which we will look at next, in thought, word, and deed.

6.2.1 Thinking Wisely

We need to “remove” the “good/bad” duality from the mind and simply think that:

1. Everything that exists and happens is necessary within the perfect order of the Universe.
2. Every person always does and says the best they know, even when they may be mistaken.
3. Everything that happens to us is necessary for the evolution of our consciousness, until we become happy, loving, and invulnerable. Nothing is negative; the only negative thing can be the mind that evaluates a situation that is actually neutral. On the contrary, a situation is positive to the extent that it is an opportunity to learn. Every person faces only situations that are necessary for their spiritual development, even though they are sometimes difficult. For that reason, the Masters do not solve our problems; if they did, far from doing us a favor, they would cause us great harm.

6.2.2 Expressing Yourself Wisely

We should always speak lovingly about every person or living being, as well as about every event. Otherwise, if we have nothing loving to say, we should respectfully remain silent.

This is where the wisdom of communication lies, since everything that happens has a purpose of Love, and there is no being who is not full of virtues, even if at a given moment they do not use them. Criticizing or judging the behavior of others is characteristic of the ego, which does not accept it.

6.2.3 Acting Wisely

We must always do with love and enthusiasm whatever is ours to do, and let others do what is theirs. We must also remain calm and maintain inner peace in the face of the roles and experiences of others, give them the necessary information, and respect them in silence when we see that they are acting out of their “best” ignorance.

To know whether you have attained wisdom, you need to evaluate your own inner results—happiness, peace, and love—as well as your outer results in terms of relationships, health, resources, and adaptation to your environment.

6.2.4 Who Can Attain Wisdom?

Anyone who is willing to learn from their mistakes and evaluate their results—and who is prepared to obtain new results by changing their behavior and methods—is on the path to wisdom. The same is true if they have the will to bring about an inner change. On the other hand, if you try to force others to change, you will be on the path to ignorance.

As we have already said, we can all attain wisdom. The first principle of wisdom is to recognize that we can be happy with what we have and where we are, and that we don’t need more. The results are very simple; there are only two kinds: satisfactory or undesirable. If the result is satisfactory, perfect, we will keep doing it that way. If it isn’t, what do we need to change? Never other people, but rather the method, the idea; we must evaluate our own behaviors and be willing to change them. That is how wisdom is attained.

6.2.5 How can you make the abundance and wisdom of the Universe

flow toward you?

If a person possesses wisdom, they will also have abundance to carry out any activity. For wisdom to come to us, our mind needs to become very feminine; we call our receptive capacity “feminine.”

6.2.6 How can you give the mind a feminine quality?

First of all, we need to transcend the ego. This doesn’t mean using typically “masculine” terms, such as fighting or dominating the ego, or even seeing it as an enemy. In reality, nothing is our “enemy,” because everything is necessary in the Universe; we simply need to regard the ego as something we will no longer need. It has been our “friend” because it was necessary to allow us to discover the Law and wisdom; but now it is time to invite it to leave, and to achieve this we must do some inner work that leads us to our “feminine” side, to give our mind the capacity to hold, to be filled, to contain…

6.3 The Law of Affinity

According to this Law, the best is always associated with the best, and the worst with the worst. That is why the simplest phrases contain the greatest wisdom.

We generate affinity ourselves according to what we decide, and it can be positive or negative.

If we think about solutions, we will attract solutions; if we think about problems, we will attract problems.

It may sound strange, but the more problems a person has, the happier they need to be in order to generate affinity with happiness; they most need to feel prosperous when they have the least; the more health difficulties they have, the greater their need to think of themselves as a perfect creation of God. If this is not done, affinity with the original genetic pattern, which is perfect, will not be generated.

To create the feminine condition within yourself in each of the previous fourteen points, you need only think, express, and act with wisdom in relation to each one. The feminine is a receiver and a container, which is why it is associated with abundance; you only need to open yourself completely to receiving from the universal sources of abundance.

6.4 Some Words of Wisdom

Let’s be happy with what we have. Let our wisdom never depend on what we don’t have, because then we would become obsessed with getting what we don’t need. Happiness depends on ourselves, and what we have will always be enough to achieve it. If that is not the case, then our mind—our affinity—is mistaken, and we will not attain happiness.

Let us love our neighbor as ourselves. We must always wish for others, and give them, the same things we hope to receive. Let us refuse to hold any desire for revenge, bitterness, or resentment against anyone, for any reason, no matter how much that person may have erred. If we become aligned with that desire, the law of retaliation—the “same measure” rule—would take effect, and a fatal affinity would be created. No matter what others do, we must always wish them the best, in order to create an affinity with that. And we must keep in mind that when we speak of giving, we don’t mean only material things, but also the spiritual aspect: virtues and qualities.

Let us not wish upon others what we would not want for ourselves. Live and let live; let go, and let others go—this is the wise principle of freedom in relationships. Let us not try to hold anyone back, nor feel held back by anyone; let us not seek to force others, nor feel forced by them; let us not impose anything, so that no one imposes anything on us. This is enough to achieve liberation.

Chapter 7. Being Willing to Learn

In the Universe, nothing operates by inertia. For this reason, absolutely everything we hope to receive from it—whether material or spiritual—requires wisely directed action.

Guiding all our actions with wisdom is simply a matter of always staying willing to do things with love—whatever it may be, wherever it may be, and whenever it may be. This “doing” opens the doors to information and to all resources.

Every intention to do attracts the information, resources, and conditions needed for action.

Abundance and prosperity are the result of knowing, doing, and serving. Poverty and misery, on the other hand—which are not only material (since poverty is a state of mind)—are the result of inertia. If we fall into inertia, we lose everything.

Every intention to ask cancels out the ability to create, do, and serve.

When the Laws that govern the Universe are unknown, certain situations associated with fate may lead us to believe that injustice exists. And if a person assumes that injustice exists, they think the best way to “solve” socioeconomic imbalances is for “those who have” to give to “those who have not.” So, is the idea to ask those who “do” to give to those who “do not do”? Attitudes like these make us all poor.

Life always gives us what we need to learn to do and to serve.

It is essential to give up asking and to accept your own ability to do. In this way, you come into correspondence with abundance and prosperity. Let’s look at some reflections on doing and asking:

• The only thing worth asking for is information in order to do.
• Doing is the master key to accessing information.
• Thinking about doing is the same as asking for information.
• Asking for information without having thought about doing is useless.
• Asking for information in order to do what you have in mind is useful and necessary. Therefore, you only need to think about doing, and the information and resources needed to do what you had in mind will arrive—as long as what you intended to do falls within the Law of Correspondence. And how can this be verified? To do so, it is essential to observe that things flow, and that intention, thought, word, and action are rooted in love.

If that is not the case, it means that this is not that person’s function, that it is not what they are meant to do; this is life’s way of showing it. You have to try at least three times—enough to show perseverance—and at most seven, because more than that would be stubbornness.

It falls outside the Law of Correspondence for those who have to give to those who do not have, because in this way the former lose their tool for work, and the latter cannot keep that tool because they do not know how to use it; then everyone becomes poor.

When the one who has gives to the one who has not, both lose what they have. When the one who knows teaches the one who does not know, both gain wisdom to have more.

Teaching those who do not know, then, generates wealth. There are a vast number of schools and universities in the world where knowledge is imparted, but education is something else. Education is practically the same as wisdom: it consists of knowing how to make the most of what life has given us in order to be prosperous and happy, by learning to serve. This is not taught in any school or university, and in hardly any home.

Abundance can only be used by those who know how to generate it.

The one who knows is a person who can obtain these five results voluntarily, wherever they are and whenever they wish:

1. Inner peace and happiness; in other words, they do not suffer over anything.
2. Good relationships with all beings, not only with humans.
3. Enough resources to do what they do; in other words, abundance.
4. An improvement in their health, or a permanent state of good health.
5. The ability to make the most of things and be happy wherever you are: ease of adaptation. To stop being poor, you need to learn to generate abundance, and to do that you need to learn to do and serve better every day. The first purpose, then, is to learn, and the second is to serve, that is, to teach. But what can someone who knows nothing teach? And what can someone who has nothing give? To be able to do something positive for others, you first have to have done something for yourself. Whoever does not know how to generate abundance does not know how to use it and cannot hold on to anything they receive. As long as there are people who give what others have not earned for themselves, as long as we have the habit of asking, poverty will never disappear. One can ask for information, but if it is not backed up by doing, as we mentioned earlier, it is not valid. The abilities to create, do, and serve exist in us from the very moment we are born. Why, then, don't we use them? It's simple: because we were taught to ask, and we stopped using them. The right point is extraordinary because it is the point of harmony, of balance, the point of the Law of the Universe. From the perspective of the right point, let's ask the following questions:

• Is it fair to ask for what we have not earned? No.
• Is it fair to receive the result of what we do? Yes.
• What is the fair result? Everything we have is exactly what is fairly due to us, which does not mean it is satisfying. If a person’s “doing” is carried out from ignorance, they will have an abundance of conflicts, problems, and difficulties. If, on the other hand, it springs from wisdom, they will enjoy an abundance of satisfying things; because doing always generates abundance, whatever its sign. Those who know how to generate abundance each day will have more resources at their disposal.

What would life be like for a person who completely and permanently gave up asking for anything they can do themselves? The answer is: absolutely productive, fulfilling, and abundant.

Whenever we run into a human difficulty of any kind, the first thing that occurs to us is to think: let’s hold a fundraiser, say a prayer, ask, protest, demand… But few people say: What needs to be done? Because we haven’t been taught to think that way. Those who have problems band together to make demands of the government, to protest against injustice, and to do all kinds of things that amount to nothing more than asking someone to come and solve their problems. This is because we truly believe the problem belongs to others: to those who govern, to other people, to the Absolute… But that is not the solution, because acting this way means we do not take on what we ourselves need to do. Does anyone realize how powerful it can be to stop asking? The natural state of the Universe is abundance—until human ignorance intervenes and breaks the processes that keep energy flowing.

Acting is doing, whatever it may be, with serenity, rationally rather than automatically, with consciousness, and with a purpose of service; in an educational way in order to teach something, or in an efficient way in order to accomplish something. Such actions stop being actions and become reactions if they are carried out in a state of agitation, or as a process of dispute or non-acceptance.

Ceasing to act, however, implies a total lack of wisdom. We must not fall into inaction, because that way the tool of service is lost completely and any chance of success comes to an end.

Ultimately, today's society does not have a problem with resources, but rather with its attitude toward life and relationships; this prevents us from making balanced and rational use of the enormous abundance of human, technical, and natural resources at our disposal.

The difficulty we have in relating harmoniously to one another also limits our ability to make use of the immeasurable abundance of universal resources. Harmony in our relationships with all living beings and the development of an unconditional capacity for service are an art in themselves, a science that we must constantly study and practice if we aspire to a life with a high level of satisfaction.

Within the Laws of the Universe, there are eight golden rules, or basic principles, that have to do with social harmony. We call them the Master’s golden rules, and it is a good idea to keep them in mind at all times in any process of human and social training. We must recognize that all people, to some extent, are simultaneously teachers and students, since throughout life we are always learning something new from our circumstances and our relationships with other people, which gives us the opportunity to teach others what we are coming to understand about how life works.

When we teach out of ignorance, we interfere and become part of the other person’s destiny. To teach with wisdom, we must apply the golden rules of social organization, which fall into two basic groups: the four rules that harmonize the inner world, associated with the need to learn, and the four that harmonize relationships with the outer world, associated with the need to teach.

Let's now look at these eight golden rules of the Master:

1. Taking life as it comes. This means being willing to enjoy every circumstance that life presents without trying to change it, seeing it instead as an opportunity to learn and to accept reality, which allows us to work on inner change, maintain serenity, and create a match with new circumstances of an ever-higher level of satisfaction. This, in turn, makes it easier to use our own energy to harmonize our personal state of mind. Taking life as it comes means making positive and effective use of everything it provides, without worrying about what it does not give or what one does not have. This is the first exercise for managing vital energy internally. Love is associated solely with that which we can enjoy, that which brings us peace, harmony, and improvement; nothing associated with suffering, anguish, nostalgia, pain, or anything else that is not harmonious. For these latter characteristics are associated solely and exclusively with the human ego and have nothing to do with love. There is a simple phrase that helps us recognize love: enjoying the company of others is love; suffering when they are not there is selfishness. The process of anguish and suffering is merely part of that selfishness. To follow a path of inner peace, we must be willing to accept life as it comes, to remove the conditions we place on its circumstances. Let’s recall a saying of the Masters: “Life never works the way you want it to; it always works the way it is, and as it is, it is perfect.” That understanding and the willingness to enjoy every event can lead us to a state of absolute peace, which will mean a great development of consciousness.
2. Accepting people as they are. Trying to change people is a futile waste of time and inner energy. This is so because the mission of love consists solely of teaching, offering information of wisdom, and being a point of reference and guidance for others, and also because each person changes themselves. As long as you want to change someone, it means you don’t accept them; this is evident because you criticize, judge, condemn, and attack them. Let’s recall the principles of “the mirror” and “the fruit”: the first says, “Don’t try to comb the mirror; comb yourself”; the second, “Don’t eat the damaged parts of the fruit,” that is, don’t focus on the flaws, but on the positive qualities. All human beings are perfect, but never the same, because we have different personalities, beliefs, and tastes; this is what enriches us and allows us to develop acceptance of others. The greatest challenge of love is total acceptance, loving our enemies; although in reality we have no enemies, only people with whom we have disagreements, who hold opinions and behave differently from us.
3. Being yourself. This means not identifying with external events or allowing them to determine our inner states. Being yourself means voluntarily maintaining harmony, happiness, and inner peace, and never losing the capacity for unconditional service, no matter how difficult the external circumstances may be.
4. Following the order of the Universe. This means understanding that our lives have a purpose of Love. It implies having the certainty that the best thing for our learning always happens to us and that, even in very difficult circumstances, there will always be a solution, if we understand the Laws of the Universe and use the right tools, to transcend the human limitation that keeps us from recognizing and following the perfect order of the Universe. Knowing that the Universe has an order and that everyone can learn to recognize and follow it in order to enjoy a life with a high level of satisfaction provides the inner strength to face existence with joy and enthusiasm. On the other hand, although faith is based on belief, it gives us inner strength to face life. Faith can be replaced by acceptance once we have understood what the Universe is all about; in the meantime, it is extremely important, because it represents trust in life. Following the order of the Universe means enjoying everything one has and being grateful for everything one learns, understanding that what is best for oneself always happens, even when facing a challenge. It’s like a child who goes to school and is given a math problem; that is the best thing for the child, since it represents a challenge. In reality, we shouldn’t call them “problems,” but exercises. Developing a muscle, the mind, or consciousness requires exercise, and this in turn requires willpower, but always while enjoying the process. Ultimately, learning to be happy, to have inner peace, and to serve without any conditions or restrictions will lead us to peaceful coexistence with the entire Universe.
5. Not creating resistance. Anyone who tries to teach or help other people must take special care not to generate resistance toward the knowledge they share or the behaviors they hope to teach because, even if the Master is correct and entirely right in their approach, they will achieve no results if the students, or disciples, or children, have built up resistance and reject everything as if they were facing an impenetrable shield. Resistance develops as a result of poor communication; any form of aggression or attempt at imposition, humiliation, or punishment, as well as impatience, anger, bad manners, excessive repetition, making scenes, constant quarrels, and the dramatization of mistakes, stimulates the instinct’s defense mechanisms, and in this way resistance and rebellion arise. These develop rapidly, to the point where the student feels annoyance toward the information and hatred toward the Master. At that point, you have completely failed as a Master and have seriously harmed the student. In short, to avoid creating resistance, it is necessary not to impose, forbid, attack, punish, invalidate, or disparage. Let’s try the following experiment: when we have a conflict, let’s start speaking very gently; the person we are talking to will soon begin to calm down. All it takes is training and practice. These guidelines apply to thought, word, and deed. If one does not speak with love, the other person will reject what is said. A simple technique that is very useful in these situations is “smile therapy”: it involves always wearing a big smile on your face, even if it’s just a grimace; it’s a good idea to practice every morning in front of the mirror.
6. Earning Trust. Teachers who earn the trust of their disciples will have taken a giant step toward fulfilling their teaching mission, as well as toward developing harmony in their relationships. The elements that generate trust are, fundamentally, understanding and patience. Teachers must also completely refrain from scolding, criticizing, or mocking their students, since such actions destroy trust, encourage lying, and lead disciples to hide and disguise their own mistakes, problems, doubts, and shortcomings. Therefore, such practices have no pedagogical value; the only thing a "Teacher" can achieve with that approach is to become disoriented and lose touch with the true level of harmony and state of understanding of his or her disciples. Under these conditions, of course, such a Teacher will fail in the work. Trust appears when students know they can always find in their Teacher a friend, a companion, a caring and understanding counselor who meets them at their level and understands their problems, however simple they may be, and who is, moreover, ready to offer all the support they expect. In this way, students will never turn to anyone else, because they know they can count on their Teacher's discretion: a Teacher who always listens calmly, advises without criticizing, corrects without scolding, and helps without humiliating. As we saw in the chapter on trust, there are three levels of trust: that one be trustworthy to oneself—that is, that one value oneself, have peace, and speak kindly to oneself—; that one be 100% respectful toward others—that is, not attacking, invalidating, or trying to change the other person, but only showing them the way, giving them the information they lack, showing them options, and guiding them lovingly—; and that people know one is trustworthy.
7. Earning Love. When disciples come to love their Teacher, they accept and understand the teachings much more easily, and they take real pleasure in attending the teaching sessions. The relationship of love arises as a result of the Teacher's wisdom, respect, trust, and competence. Such a Teacher takes an interest in other aspects of the students' personal lives and is always ready to help them solve any problem that arises, even if it is not directly related to the subjects usually taught. These details contribute effectively to the Teacher's success in guiding the disciples. Love does not arise spontaneously; it has to be earned, and it is linked to respect and trust. When we accept someone just as they are and are willing to serve them 100%, love is truly expressed. And once we have done this, the other person will be able to love us, because we will be the best option for him or her.
8. Earning Respect. Severity and rigidity may succeed in generating fear in students, but true and positive respect can only be achieved through respect itself. Thus, it is important that Teachers never lose their authority, understood as knowing how to teach and knowing what they teach. This requires developing the ability to always maintain impeccable composure, accompanied by calm behavior, excellent manners, very good communication, serenity, and patience in the face of the disciples' mistakes. It is also essential to be very firm about the agreements that have been established, always setting an example of kindness and punctuality. All of this awakens the disciples' admiration, and the behavior is, in itself, a great teaching, from which respect arises—so necessary for maintaining harmony in the process of teaching relationships. If we are authoritarian, we will impose our authority on others, but when we expect respect, we will need to earn it by example, so that others come to have a tool for both respect and guidance. In order to teach, we must first learn and develop our inner virtues.

Conclusions

To achieve abundance, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Work on ourselves. In this way, we will become aligned with it. What we do on the outside is a reflection of what we are doing within ourselves. Abundance is an inner state.
• Clear your mind of preconceived ideas. In other words, don't set goals, only intentions.
• Be generous; don't want everything for yourself.
• Be grateful for something before you have it.
• Let go of control over small things and focus on what matters.
• The root of conflicts always has to do with our level of consciousness and understanding of life.
• If we perform our function with 100% of our abilities and our energy, we will have abundance.
• Success, growth, and abundance begin at the end of our comfort zone.
• When carrying out a function, you should focus on the process without trying to control the outcome.
• Enjoy everything you do; that will renew all your resources.
• Do not place conditions or restrictions on your own capacity to serve.
• The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least. You don't have to believe anything, and you don't have to take anything as certain or as a given; you have to practice and verify in your own life whether this information works and produces satisfying results. With this information, we have three alternative courses of action:

1. Store it in our library.
2. Carry it with us and teach it to everyone.
3. Make the information a part of ourselves, so that it becomes the way we act. Only in this last case will we achieve satisfactory results.

Training Exercises

Exercise for practicing three games in specific situations in your life

• The one who yields wins. It means pleasing the other person out of an understanding of Love, not out of resignation. Playing the game of service creates the habit of prosperity. Give up needing to be right.
• Give up complaining (I enjoy everything I do).
• When someone says something negative, replace the phrase and say it in a positive way.

Exercise to develop the values or qualities of abundance in

your daily life: trust, commitment, loyalty, willingness to serve, respect, openness to learning, and appreciation.

Exercise to renew your mental field with information of Love (in the

specific situation you choose each day).

Feel as you think, and don't think as you feel. Remember: "I think the best, I say what is appropriate, and I do what is necessary."

Repeat the following phrases often

"I am able to give the best of myself in any circumstance."

"I am totally open and willing to receive the abundance of the Universe and all the wonderful things life has for me."

"I am happiness, peace, and love."

If you always do the same thing with the same attitude, you'll always get the same results. Therefore, change the information, change your attitude, and your results will change.

The purpose is to move from fear to curiosity, and from curiosity to understanding and happiness.