Prosperity Consciousness or Bargain Consciousness?

Happiness Just Ahead

A very good question was posted on a Feel Free to Prosper forum...

I thought this was an excellent subject to share with you as I have no doubt that in an economy like the current one, this subject is probably on the minds of many who desire to maintain a prosperity consciousness when outer appearances support the opposite.

The Question:

"I consider myself a good shopper: use coupons, wait for sales, buy generic, etc. But are these smart shopper "actions" sending a bad signal to my subconscious? After all, the message I want to send is "I can afford anything (at any price)." How about it, do we have to be as careful with our actions as we are with our words?"


My Answer:

What a wonderful opportunity to express my views relating to prosperity consciousness vs. bargain consciousness . . .

On the subject of sales and bargains, there is something magical that happens when you acquire a prosperity mindset.

One of the great perks of acquiring a prosperity consciousness is that savings and discounts of all kinds will follow YOU on the path. When we are connected to our Universal Source, suddenly it seems like the Universe becomes your personal shopper whose goal is to provide you with the best for your needs at the very best price. You no longer have to shop to seek the best prices - no comparison shopping, no bargain hunting. Discounts and savings seek you and appear before you spontaneously as if you are the elite member of a private wholesale club. Except that the savings you attract are often far below wholesale!

This is not to be confused with a kind of "bargain" mentality that is based on lack and the fear of not having enough. The spontaneous manifesting of savings — the real bargains — come when we accept prosperity as natural to us and we know that the Universe is providing for all our needs. It's a joyful experience. We attract bargains at the highest possible level. We are intuitively led to the right place at the right time.

Let me share just a few of my numerous experiences of being spontaneously guided in this way to 'Universal' size bargains …

I have always loved beautiful, fine quality handbags.

One year I walked into Nordstrom's department store and found an absolutely gorgeous black leather and leopard print handbag. It was extremely expensive looking, but I didn't recognize the designer name. The attached sales tag showed the price of $135 — not at all unreasonable for such a beautiful bag. It was the only one of its kind in the department. I had to have it. I handed it to the saleswoman but she looked at the tag and told me she couldn't sell it to me. She said this designer's bags sold for at least $500 or $600 and this one must have been mislabeled. Although the label was attached, she believed she was justified in refusing to sell it. The department manager wouldn't be in until the following day. We arranged for the saleswoman to put the handbag on hold and have the manager call me to give me the correct price.

The next day, the department manager called and told me the price of the handbag was $600. But since the attached tag read $135, she told me that by store policy, she had to sell the bag for the labeled price. She invited me to come and purchase my bag for $135!

I have found that expensive handbags stay new looking for years and that one still looks beautiful to this day

Another year I found an elegant Donna Karan Couture clutch handbag in a department store. It was $900 — way beyond the price I chose to spend. But I had a "hunch" to ask the saleswoman if the bag might go on sale in the near future. For some unknown reason, she looked over the bag very carefully and found an imperceptible tiny flaw hidden in a fold that no one would ever see. I certainly would not have found it. But she said that since it had that tiny flaw, she had the authority to sell it to me at half price! I never asked for this. She offered. Another beautiful bag I still use that receives many compliments.

One of my most striking experiences was the purchase of an entire collection of Villory & Boch dinnerware. I didn't set out to buy a collection — I intended to buy a few place settings of the gorgeous Plantation and Tropical Collection, which was on sale in a department store's catalogue. But when I called to place the phone order, the store had none in stock. I discovered that particular pattern had been discontinued by the manufacturer and any remaining items in circulation were selling at up to 80% off retail prices. I jumped on the opportunity and using only the telephone, I was guided to manifest the entire collection from several stores around the nation. The retail cost of the collection: over $7,000. The price I paid for everything: Under $1,500. This included not only ten settings of the dinnerware, but all of the accent pieces, accessories, flatware and bake ware.

Another time I was shopping for a specific item of sleepwear and didn't intend to buy anything else. But I was irresistibly drawn to a sale rack where I found two beautiful Ralph Lauren casual pieces — top and bottom — in my favorite shade of red. They were the only two items of that kind, both in my size and they fit perfectly. They were marked down half price but I loved the outfit so much I would have paid full price. When the items were rung up at the register, the saleswoman informed me that the half-price tag was incorrect. Instead, they scanned at $6.52 each!

A major coup was when the Universe literally handed me a beautiful new car and opened the door for me to purchase it — brand new - for about $10,000 less than retail.

Do I look for bargains? No. Do I love a bargain? Yes!

As a prosperity thinker, expect these surprises to show up in every area of your life and business — for everyday needs as well as luxury items.

The Universe is your personal shopper :-)

by Marilyn Jenett

Detach From All Things

Detach From All Things by Dennis


Detachment from our stuff may be one of the keys to happiness.

Wouldn't it be freeing not to have a care in the world, to let things come and go, to let everything and everybody just slip through your fingers and not hold onto anything? We seem to spend so much of our time and energy desperately acquiring and holding on to what we have, that we find ourselves with very little time left to actually enjoy it. We bust our butt to get stuff; a house, a car, a fridge and stove, the list is long and endless. Then once our goodies are bought and paid for, or maybe not quite paid for (29% interest lets us "have it all and have it now"), we have to insure it just in case we lose it somehow. Paying for this insurance takes still more of our effort. So really, what is the point of acquiring anything? Maybe I'm on my way to a hermitage!

I do like my big TV, my car is useful, and my house is comfortable. I like my bike and my computer etc. But I have to remind myself not to cling to these things and not to identify myself with them. If they were all gone tomorrow would I still be me? Of course I would, I am not represented by my accumulation and I should not be 'proud' of my possessions. I have never understood how someone could be 'proud' of a shiny sports car. Yes it may be an amazing machine, but the owner didn't build it, they didn't create it. It's not like they built a house with their own two hands or composed a symphony! How can one take pride in something that they simply have in their possession? Its strange how much of our self worth and identity can be wrapped up in an object that has no inherent value. In the end everything we have is merely a tool.

Let it come and let it go. We have heard it said before that we cannot really own anything. We are all just passing through life briefly and all that we gather will move along as well. Metal will rust, wood will rot; everything returns to the earth.

Hoarding material goods and money is bad news. It only serves to promote paranoia and the fear of loss. I'm not saying we shouldn't be financially responsible, we all know what that is, even though many of us have a great deal of trouble with it. But to allow the acquirement of goods to consume our thoughts, and the paying for of these goods to consume our working life seems like more effort than its worth.

When I get to the end of my life I do not want to be sitting on a hoard of stuff, most of which will be old and useless and taken to the dump in the weeks following my death. I want to have the hoard in my mind, a hoard of wonderful experiences and happy times.

So I am always working toward a greater detachment from the things in my life. I get the tools that make my life more enjoyable and my daily efforts more efficient and leave it at that; whether that be a good washing machine to do the family laundry, or a good camera to satisfy my creative endeavors.