The Art of Abundance Newsletter - Premiere Issue - 08-15-00

THE ART OF ABUNDANCE
"Your Guide to Creating a Life of Permanent Prosperity"

Volume 1, Number 1 August 15, 2000

~~ PREMIERE ISSUE ~~
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A free newsletter, published the 1st and 15th of every month by Prosperity Books & Seminars 1121 Annapolis Road, Suite 120, Odenton, MD 21113

Edited by Paula Langguth Ryan, Contemporary Prosperity Advisor and Motivational Speaker

Instructions for subscribing or removing your address are at the end of this newsletter. Our subscriber list is confidential. We respect your privacy and will never sell your address.

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In This Issue:

Introduction to Premiere Issue
1: Embracing Your Abundance: Unfolding the Raspberry Mystery
2: Readers' Edge: Answers to Your Prosperity Questions
Creating the Vacation of Your Dreams
3: Prosperity Builder: How and Where to Tithe When You're Too Poor To Tithe
4: Clutter Corner: Lightening the Load: Time to Stop Living With the Past
5: Practical Prosperity Tip: Money Laundering – It's All the Same Energy
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INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF ABUNDANCE

A very hearty welcome to you! While folks at other companies have been coordinating their summer vacation schedules, we here at Prosperity Books & Seminars have been coordinating the launch of this newsletter, which is designed to help you change the way you think and feel about money. Our goal is to help you tap your true potential so that you can live the life of your dreams. We welcome your feedback on how well we accomplish our goal!

Each section of THE ART OF ABUNDANCE is designed to help you become more prosperous in all areas of your life. Each issue, the Embracing Your Abundance section will feature an inspirational/motivational article about prosperity. The Readers' Edge is where we'll answer your questions. Often, others will have solutions that we haven't thought of, so we'll also post an On the Edge question from a reader, for you to think about and respond to, if you like. The Prosperity Builder offers hands-on, how-to advice on an area of prosperity. The Clutter Corner is where you'll find time-, money- and space-saving advice designed to help you free up the trapped prosperity in your life. And finally, the Practical Prosperity Tip offers you quick and easy ideas you can use RIGHT NOW, to incorporate prosperity principles into your life.

This newsletter is designed to help YOU achieve your dreams, so please, speak up for what you want to see covered! Please e-mail me with any suggestions, comments, compliments, questions or complaints at PaulaRyan@artofabundance.com 

I hope you enjoy this premiere issue of THE ART OF ABUNDANCE Newsletter. If someone you know is worried about their finances or wants a better life than they have right now, please send them a copy of THE ART OF ABUNDANCE so they can subscribe. Of course, adding a glowing testimonial like "You MUST subscribe to this e-zine – it's AWESOME!" would be great, but it's not required!

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This newsletter is dedicated to teaching and following metaphysical prosperity principles. The core foundation of prosperity principles is the practice of tithing -- giving back a portion of your income, usually 10% -- to places that feed your soul. If an article in THE ART OF ABUNDANCE feeds your soul, feel free to tithe to the newsletter or to the individual author of a particular article. Doing so will open the flow of money to you and bring you even greater good than that which you send out.

ART OF ABUNDANCE tithes can be sent to:
PCC Prosperity Books and Seminars, 1121 Annapolis Road, Suite 120, Odenton, MD 21113.

Contact information for individual authors is listed following their article.

Peace and Prosperity,
Paula Langguth Ryan
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1: EMBRACING YOUR ABUNDANCE:
Unfolding the Raspberry Mystery by Paula Langguth Ryan

When I was a young girl, I used to spend my summers grandma-sitting my great-grandmother on her farm in northern Indiana. One of my favorite activities every morning was harvesting the raspberries from the raspberry canes. Each morning I'd go out with my little basket, and I'd come back into the farmhouse kitchen with two pints of raspberries. One pint, we'd clean and put in the freezer; and the other pint, I'd sprinkle sugar on and eat for breakfast. I was always amazed that every morning there were always two pints of raspberries waiting to be picked.

One summer, it dawned on me that since there were two pints of raspberries to pick every day, I could save a lot of time and energy if I picked the raspberries once a week. That way, I could harvest all fourteen pints of raspberries at one time. So I let a week go by, then I went to the raspberry patch and started harvesting my raspberries with great joy. But when I finished, all I had was two pints of raspberries. I couldn't understand what had happened. There should
have been seven times as many raspberries, but there weren't!

Many years later, I understood what had happened that summer. As long as I was embracing my abundant supply of raspberries every day, my abundance continued. It was only when I stopped embracing my abundance that the flow of abundance decreased. Because I didn't show up to harvest my raspberries on a daily basis, the abundant flow of raspberries passed me by. Some raspberries ripened and fell to the ground or were eaten by birds. Other raspberries simply didn't develop because there was still an abundant supply on the canes that hadn't been harvested.

Because I hadn't been happy harvesting two pints of raspberries every day, the Universe figured I wouldn't be happy with fourteen pints a week, either. And that was when I realized a universal law of prosperity: UNTIL YOU LEARN TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, YOU WON'T BE HAPPY WITH MORE.

Until we learn to notice and cheerfully embrace the abundance that surrounds us right now, we won't be open and receptive to additional abundance. So how do we learn to embrace the abundance that we do have?

We can start by learning to be open and accepting receivers. Luckily, just as we've been conditioned not to receive, we can recondition ourselves to willingly receive everything that comes into our lives, even things we've designated as bad events.

For instance, I used to live in the boondocks, about forty-five minutes from everything and occasionally, I got stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle. Now, I could choose to spend my time and energy trying to get around the slowpoke. I could try to race past him when we come to a town where the road becomes two lanes. I could fuss and fume and make my blood pressure go up over the fact that I'm going to be late. Or I could choose to assume that this condition, this slow-moving vehicle, has been placed in my path for a reason.

Maybe if I'd been going faster, I would have been involved in the accident whose aftermath I passed on the road a few minutes later. Or maybe I've been running all week in such high gear that this is a gift from the Universe, allowing me to slow down a bit and get centered.

If we change the way we view events such as these and think of them not as good events or bad events, but just as events, then we show the Universe that we're ready to receive more events in our lives. We stop controlling the outcome and we let the Universe—we let God—reveal our abundance to us in the form it's supposed to take.

We each have so much abundance in our lives, but most of us can't see it because it's not taking a form we recognize. We have our sights set on abundance being a specific thing, like a raise or a bigger house or a gold card, so that we don't see the true abundance. And until we see the true abundance and embrace it, the Universe isn't going to believe that we're ready to receive more abundance.

Eventually you begin to notice that all the events in your life are important steps toward your permanent prosperity. And you begin to unconditionally give thanks for those events, without even thinking about it.

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Paula Langguth Ryan is a contemporary Prosperity Advisor and author of BOUNCE BACK FROM BANKRUPTCY: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO GETTING BACK ON YOUR FINANCIAL FEET, available online as an e-book ($9.95)  or paperback ($19.95) at www.ArtOfAbundance.com or via mail from Pellingham Casper Communications, 1121 Annapolis Road, Suite 120, Odenton, MD 21113 for $19.95 (includes s/h). For more information on Paula's books and her groundbreaking seminars, visit her website at www.ArtOfAbundance.com.

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2: READERS' EDGE: Creating the Vacation of Your Dreams

READER QUESTION: I'm saving up money for a fishing vacation in South America this winter, setting aside a set amount from every paycheck. Is there anything else I could be doing to make this dream a reality? – Mike K.

Along with saving for vacation, I also strongly suggest putting what you want in a vacation in a Treasure Map! If you don't already have a full-sized Treasure Map, you can quickly and easily create a Travel Treasure Map. Grab a poster board, or a piece of construction paper
(preferably one that's white or gray). Then start looking for words, phrases and pictures that represent the vacation you want to have.

How well does it work? I had a small headline from a magazine on a previous treasure map that simply said "Free Four Star Travel"…and then a paragraph that described free accomodations, airfare, etc. I was looking to go to Orlando to Disney World again, and didn't want to spend a lot of money on the trip.

A woman who took one of my prosperity seminars gifted me with two "buddy passes" on the airline where she works. Then my partner's sister gifted us with a week at a two-bedroom condominium timeshare in Orlando, a four-star vacation resort, which cost us just $89—for
the entire week. Friends from California decided to fly down for the week and they paid for half the room, gas for the car and all the groceries we bought for the week!

All that because of a little paragraph on a treasure map.

Peace and prosperity,
Paula Langguth Ryan 

For help manifesting what you desire, get your very own copy of my unique Feng Shui Bagua Treasure Mapping Playshop Workbook, Template and Instructions. To order, send $9.95 to: PCC, 1121 Annapolis Road, Suite 120,Odenton, MD 21113 or call 800-507-9244. Now you can also order online at www.artofabundance.com

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READERS ON THE EDGE:
(Here's where we give you a question to ponder…I welcome
your answers at paularyan@artofabundance.com
Growing up, how did your parents' actions shape the way you
think, feel and interact with money today? What childhood
memories do you have of how money was used in your home?

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DON'T MISS OUR UPCOMING ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! FALL
SEMINARS. (And find out how you can attend BOTH
seminars for FREE by scrolling down to the end of the
Clutter Corner section!)

Do you have too much to do and NOT ENOUGH time, money
or space to do it? Then don't miss the ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Fall Seminars series, which kicks off on September 7 at
The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

These seminars are two very unique 3-hour adventures in
prosperity, clutter and time management, designed
exclusively to help you tap your true potential and
achieve better balance in your life.

The first seminar: BECOME A MONEY MAGNET & MAXIMIZE
YOUR TIME – EVEN WHEN YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH –
IN 21 DAYS OR LESS! will be held

*Sept 7* (6pm-9pm) and *Sept. 9* (10am-1pm) at The Show
Place Arena, Upper Marlboro, MD

*Nov. 2* (6pm-9pm) at Fordham University Auditorium,
New York, NY; and

*Nov. 16* (6pm-9pm) and *Nov. 18* (10am-1pm) at the
Southern MD Higher Educational Center, California, MD.

The second seminar: "OVERHALL YOUR LIFE FOR MORE
SPACE, TIME AND MONEY & BREAK THE DEBT
CYCLE – FOR GOOD! will be held

*Oct. 26* (6pm-9pm) and *Oct. 28* (10am-1pm) at The
Show Place Arena, Upper Marlboro, MD;

*Nov. 1* (6pm-9pm) at Fordham University Auditorium,
New York, NY; and

*Oct. 12* (6pm-9pm) and *Oct. 14* (10am-1pm) at the
Southern MD Higher Educational Center, California, MD.

Don't miss your chance to see Professional Organizer
Janet L. Hall and Prosperity Advisor Paula Langguth
Ryan in action. Together, this dynamic duo will help
you harness the energy of money, time and space so that
EVERY decision you make is a GOOD decision that brings
you closer to your lifelong dreams.

For more details: http://www.artofabundance.com
or call 800-507-9244.

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3: PROSPERITY BUILDER:
**Editor's Note: The following article contains references to God. We understand that some readers might be uncomfortable with the word God and we invite you to substitute Universe, Universal Energy, Great Spirit, or whatever else you feel comfortable calling the unexplained energy that swirls among us.

How and Where to Tithe When You're Too Poor To Tithe
By Stretton Smith
Excerpted from "Stretton Smith's 4T Prosperity Program," copyright 1998

Let me say outright that tithing is an absolute requisite for continuing prosperity. True prosperity pertains to the quality of life, rather than to the quantity of things or possessions.

Being prosperous means being at peace within, creatively expressing life; loving God, self and others, being mentally alert and awake; being healthy in mind and body; and lacking in no good thing.

That's a good description of prosperity.

All of these qualities stem from the One Source, which is God. Many say tithing is an act of faith, which it surely is. But I say, essentially, that it's an act of love, which puts the tither in tune with the Oneness of God.

Love is the attracting force that attracts us to whatever we place our attention upon. I'm not speaking about our emotional feelings of love. I'm speaking of the mind power of love. If we place our attention on God as we tithe to God's storehouse, the power of love will attract God's good. It's as simple as that.

Tithing is not giving back to God, but leaving God with a portion of God's good. Thus, you gratefully acknowledge your realization of your Oneness with God, your Oneness with Good. You could think, "I took ninety percent of my good and left ten percent with God." The ten percent could be thought of as seeds for the next harvest. The farmer who consumes one hundred percent of this year's crop has nothing left to sow for next year's crop.

How do you think the farmer feels, knowing that ten percent of his seed is in the bar? I'd imagine that he'd feel pretty good about his future.

If you feel too poor to tithe, be aware that you're building a consciousness of more poverty. The thought "I can't afford to tithe," is a poverty thought, which only begets more poverty. As you think the thought of not being able to afford to tithe, you cut yourself off from receiving the good that you desire. You might even wonder why god is not providing you with your heart's desire.

How can God? You're too poor in consciousness to receive it.

Where your tithe should go is an individual matter between you and God. The spiritual giving should make you feel good. It should be directed to the source of your spiritual nourishment. It's perfectly all right to divide the tithe between various spiritual groups, provided you feel right about giving a proportionate share to each of the sources of your spiritual strength.

If you tithe through any feeling of coercion or fear or guilt or even of habit, then one is missing the point. Tithing is the recognition of the presence of God within as the Source of all of your good. You mentally and outwardly acknowledge God as the Source of your good when you tithe.

While tithing should never be for the purpose of expected financial gain, as the tither, you should expect God's abundance to pour into your life without stint—from unexpected channels as well as expected channels. Nothing is withheld. Tithing should make you feel One with the flow of life, and that very feeling will materialize as unexpected blessings.

When you open your mind and heart to receive God's goodness, every area of your life improves. Once you start looking to the One Source for your good, you will never be disappointed.

The late Stretton Smith's work is being carried on by his daughter, Shannon. The 4T Prosperity Course is a hands-on, 12-week program that is available for spiritual organizations who wish to help their members become more prosperous. For additional information, contact The 4T Publishing Company, P.O. Box 2669, Carmel, CA 93921.

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4: CLUTTER CONTROL
Lightening the Load: Time to Stop Living With the Past
By Janet L. Hall (www.overhall.com) and Paula Langguth Ryan

Someone recently wrote to share how her husband and his siblings banded together to "clean out" her father-in-law's home, which she likened to an indoor junkyard. After they had filled the dumpster, her sister-in-law pointed at the contents and said to her father, "This is what you were loving while we were growing up. These were the children you were spending time with and we grew up with them and hated them and were jealous of them."

He never knew they felt this way. And he certainly wouldn't have chosen to lighten his load this way. Yet it's sometimes a hard fact that the treasures and "stuff" we accumulate during our lifetime have a profound impact on our families, on ourselves and on our ability to have a prosperous life.

Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to free yourself from the clutter of the past and mend fences in your family. Start by asking yourself a few simple questions about the things you are hanging on to:

** Why are you afraid to get rid of these things?

** What do they represent to you?

**How long are you going to carry this "stuff" around with you?

**How have your treasures and "stuff" affected your family?

**Are you hanging on to some stuff just in case?

**Who said you have to hang on to these things?

Take action now to lighten your load before someone else decides to lighten it for you. Here are seven tips to get you started.

1: Invite your children and grandchildren over to come get the things that were theirs during their childhood. Donate, auction off or simply throw away anything that's left. Brenda, a client in her sixties, was holding on to her daughter's childhood dolls, thinking she would one
day want them. When Brenda asked, she discovered her daughter didn't want them after all. She was free to sell them, which brought her some extra income and freed up valuable space.

2: Make a list of the treasures you're ready to part with now. Then write down the names of friends and family members who have admired these items. Write down or record a story for each item, then throw a dinner party for these friends and family members. Share the stories with them as you pass along the gifts. Or give them as holiday or birthday presents.

3: Tap into the flow of giving and receiving by passing along treasures you want people to inherit, so you can see the joy in giving and in receiving while you're still around. Be sure to write down and relate a story about the item.

4: Weigh an item's cost to you in terms of stress and upkeep. If you have a number of valuables -- such as collectibles, antiques, linens or pictures -- the expense of insurance, the worry of possible theft and the time spent on cleaning can be overwhelming. One 77-year old woman, Mary, has so much Depression-era glass on display in her house it takes her three days a week to dust them all. What's your joy-to-stuff ratio on these items in your home? Passing along or selling these items now will cut down on your stress level and save you money on insurance premiums.

5: Avoid any fighting and bickering over who gets what items. Write a letter like the one Janet's mother-in-law wrote, that simply states: "I hope we raised you well enough not to argue over possessions. Your family and dedication are more important than things. So I'm sure you won't argue over who gets what." As you tell your tales, explain why you selected a certain person to receive a certain item. This will go a long way toward alleviating any ill feelings. Remind them that it's the memory that matters, not the item itself. Encourage anyone who isn't the keeper of the item -- but cherishes the item as well -- to get a copy of the story about the item. They can always read the story, and visit the item.

6: Eliminate items that truly don't have value any more. How many button boxes or jars of nails do you really need? Most of what you're saving isn't probably usable anymore anyway. Partially opened tubes of caulk, cans of paint or stain, tape, old twine, old spools of thread and elastic all go bad over the years. Throw out anything that is cluttering up your home and drawing your attention away from your family.

7: Unburden yourself from things that are tying you to the past. Is your basement or attic still packed with things from yesteryear? One man's basement had a six-foot mirror that had been shipped over from Europe, and was still in its shipping crate – nearly fifty years later! Do you have a "shrine" to a late mate or beloved child? Keep one or two "memory items" and release the rest. Otherwise, you'll always be indebted to the past instead of free to face the future.

Above all else, don't make excuses, don't assess blame and don't postpone the need to lighten your load. Too many people today are faced with a limited income and worries about how they will make ends meet. Your clutter is acting as a stopper to your prosperity. You can generate much needed income and free up space for even more money to come to you simply by releasing some of your treasures. You'll spend less time cleaning and dusting, and have more free time to do all the things you want to be doing.

Travel, take up a new hobby, volunteer, play with your children or grandchildren, create a playroom for yourself or your loved ones. After all, what do you want to be remembered for – your possessions or your joy for life?

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Professional Organizer Janet L. Hall and Contemporary Prosperity Advisor Paula Langguth Ryan are the originators of the Enough Is Enough! seminar series. Their unique 3-hour adventures in money, clutter and time management are designed exclusively to help you tap your true potential and achieve better balance in your life. For more information about upcoming local seminars, and their services and products, call 800-507-9244 or visit http://www.artofabundance.com.

Permission is granted to print this article in its entirety or in part, provided attribution is given, in the form of the above paragraph.

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YOUR CHANCE TO WIN FREE TICKETS TO A SEMINAR!!

One quick phone call to 800-507-9244 and you'll be
automatically registered for two free tickets to
Janet and Paula's ENOUGH IS ENOUGH seminars – but you
must be one of the first 50 callers AND you must be
available Saturday August 26!

The cost of attending one of Janet and Paula's ENOUGH IS
ENOUGH seminars is regularly $29.95/seminar. Now,
for one date only, you can attend BOTH seminars for
FREE. in Severna Park (Unity By the Bay, 836 Ritchie
Highway, Suite 18) on Saturday, August 26, 2000
from 10am-5pm.

"OverHall" Your Life For More Space, Time and Money &
Break the Debt Cycle—For Good! runs from 10am-1pm.

Become a Money Magnet & Maximize Your Time—Even
When You Never Have Enough—in 21 Days or Less! runs
from 2pm-5pm. Free pizza will be served from 1pm-2pm.

Register: 800/507-9244 or http://www.ArtOfAbundance.com.

Seating is limited to the first 100 registrations. You
must pre-register to attend. Attendees will be asked
to provide feedback on content and presentation after
each seminar set.

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5: PRACTICAL PROSPERITY TIP
Money Laundering – It's All the Same Energy
By Paula Langguth Ryan, Copyright 2000

Why do so many of us wait until we are in a financial crisis before practicing prosperity principles? Because of the way we do our laundry, or so my friend Judith Light believes. Her philosophy makes perfect sense to me.

How do you do your laundry? Do you have a systematic plan for doing your laundry, or does your "laundry plan" only kick in like Judy's does: when you finally run out of clean underwear?

Do you want to raise your prosperity consciousness and the level of abundance in your life? Then start today to build a systematic plan for the laundry in your life.

There are several ways to set up a laundry plan. Do your laundry when you will save the most money, or systematically wash one load of laundry every day. Or create a combination plan. Whatever system works for you and your family, just do it. The important thing is to create a system, modify it as needed, and stick to it.

How do we do laundry at my house? Our laundry gets done after 11pm or on the weekends, when electricity costs one-eighth of what it costs during the day. It's a system that works really well – and saves money, too!

Take 60 seconds today to sit and figure out what Laundry Plan will work best for your family.

I look forward to hearing whether or not getting serious about your laundry helps raise your prosperity consciousness. Do be sure to empty your pockets first, though, or you'll really be in the money laundering business!

Until next issue!

Peace and Prosperity,

Paula Langguth Ryan
Contemporary Prosperity Advisor

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ABUNDANCE In its entirety as long as this copyright
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is attached. Please contact Paula Langguth Ryan for
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paularyan@artofabundance.com or by phone at:
800-507-9244.

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