“Many people, are overly desirous of praise and approval from others.”. Perhaps you also find it very interesting that Bernard would put this on the list of serious obstacles on the path to abundance as he did in Lesson 6.
Nowadays that desire for praise and approval may take the form of wanting fame, as programs such as the X Factor, et al, make plain. “What is wrong with that, or of what is wrong with wanting approval?” you may wonder.
There isn’t anything necessarily “wrong” with it except in the sense that it does not work to help us experience abundance. Hunting for approval is a distraction from what we most need to do. What we most need to do is become masters of our own life.
If someone is heavily dependent on other’s approval then who is the master of their life? The answer is of course other people are the master of that person’s life. Such a one would be “giving their power away” to the fancies, thoughts and notions of others. By so doing they would be denying their own centre of power and their own connection to the divine which is within themselves.
Approval needs to come form within. Then we become a generator of approval, kindliness and friendliness and are not dependent on others for these things.
Bernard’s other comments about “I had no time” and about making promises which we don’t keep are different sides of the same issue. Whereas one is about breaking promises we made to others; “I had not time” is about breaking promises, or commitments, which we made to ourselves. Those who get into that unfortunate habit become a “leaky bucket” as their integrity gets holes in it and their inner power drains away.
We must show the primal formative forces at work in the world, and our own subconscious mind, that we mean what we say, and that we keep our commitments. Otherwise when we say an affirmation there will not be much power in it – as our words don’t mean much. How can our words mean anything unless we make them mean something? We give our words power and meaning by following through on what we say – whether it is what we say to ourselves or what we say to others. If we are in the habit of meaning what we say and following up on it – then our affirmations will have a lot more power to them. Therefore, Bernard’s comments are not a form of “moralising” they are very practical truths based on an awareness of what actually works. They are very practical advice about how to become better at creating the life you want.
None of this means we must always keep a promise no matter what it costs us. Not at all. We can always re-negotiate if circumstances change as long we do this consciously and show respect for the other person and respect for ourselves. Example: “I know I promised to take you to the movies on Friday, but something has come up. Would another evening also work for you? If not, how can I make this up to you?” This would be much better than just “accidentally forgetting” a promise or going along, when you would rather be somewhere else, and resenting it.
Too much needing approval from others and not keeping our word are examples of not honoring or respecting the Divine Life within ourselves. The more you awaken to the Divine Spirit within you the more such unhelpful habits fall away; and the more you let yourself become aware of such unhelpful habits, and let them fall away, the more you will awaken to to the Divine Spirit within you.
William
—ooOoo—