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Beware This Great Trap

 

The article that gave birth to this book was called "The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History," which was a shorter version of chapter one.

That article became so popular that it was distributed to thousands of people across the Internet. Ezine publishers reproduced and distributed it. Content websites stored the article on their sites. And dozens of people wrote me, most thanking me and praising the article.

But a few of the emails I received were curious. They were from people asking me for money.

Apparently they read my article and concluded that I was someone who would give money to anyone who asked for it. So they wrote and asked for it.

The problem is, that's not what the article describes as the great secret for attracting wealth. I never wrote, "Ask for money and you'll get wealthy." Instead I conveyed the message, "Give money to wherever you received spiritual nourishment and you'll activate the money-attracting law."

I wrote to every person who had written to me asking for money. I explained the concept.

None of them wrote back.

I'm bringing this experience up for you to consider for two reasons:

  1. Don't beg for money and expect to get wealthy. Just look at the beggars on the streets. They are not living prosperous life styles. They are just getting by, if that. Or look at the people who do fund-raising. Most of them are begging, though they would never call it that, and they never seem to have enough. Is that a clue or what?
  2. Don't give money to beggars and expect to get wealthy. I didn't say don't help the poor, though it's questionable how much it helps them to hand them things. Instead, I'm saying don't give money to people just because they ask for it and expect to turn on the universe's cornucopia. I see giving money out of a sense of obligation or duty as a trap.

That was always the problem I had with ministers who asked people to give money because either (a) they needed it or (b) the Bible decreed it.

Either may be true. But if you or anyone gives money without a feeling of joy in your heart, it is highly unlikely that the money you gave will come back to you multiplied.

The best way to determine where to give money is to ask yourself one simple question:

Where did you receive the most joy?

And if you want further clarity, or more questions to assist you in knowing where to give money, try these on for size:

Where were you reminded of your divinity?

Where were you encouraged to go for your dreams?

Who made you feel glad to be alive?

Whatever your answer, that's where to give your money.

"Many people have had a psychological block against tithing (giving), because so many theologians have stressed what tithing would do for the church rather than what it could do for the individual."

-- Catherine Ponder, Open Your Mind to Prosperity

 

警惕：大陷阱

　

催生这部书的那篇文章题为《历史上最伟大的赚钱秘决》，也就是本书第一章的一个较短一些的版本。

这篇文章变得如此流行以至于它在Internet上被传给成千的人阅读。电子报（Ezine）的发布者们将它放到电子报上发送给他们的订阅者；网站站长们把这篇文章放到 自己的网站上；数十个读者写信给我，称赞这篇文章和我的工作。

但也有一些来信比较奇怪——他们是向我要钱的。

很显然，他们也读了我的文章，然后推论出我是一个有钱人，并乐于向任何问我要钱的人布施。于是他们就写信向我要钱。

问题在于，这并不是那篇文章所说的“吸引财富的伟大秘密”；我 也从来没有这样写过，“向别人要钱，你就会富裕”。相反的，我传达的是这样一个信息：“在你心灵得到滋养的地方布施金钱，你就会激活吸引金钱的宇宙公理”。

我回信给每一个要钱的人，向他们解释这个概念。

他们之中没有任何一个人再回信。

我把这段故事写出来，是基于如下两个理由：

  1. 不要乞求金钱。乞求不能带来富裕。看看路边的乞丐就知道了。他们的生活并不是你向往的富足的生活。在最好的情形下，他们的生活也只能说是“过得去”而已。你也可以观察一下那些募款的人，他们实际上也是在“乞求”，虽然他们从来不承认这一点；而且他们也从来不象是已经 很“富足”了的样子。难道这些还不足以给你一些提示吗？
  2. 不要为了得到富足而施给乞丐金钱。注意：我没有说“不要帮助那些贫穷的人”，虽然你能帮他们多少也很成问题；我要说的是，不要因为有人向你乞求，而同时你希望把你的布施行为变成打开宇宙丰饶宝库的钥匙，然后怀着这样的心去布施。我认为：基于“义务”或“责任感”的布施，是一个大陷阱。

这也是我质疑为教会募捐人员的一个主要问题，因为他们在向公众募集资金的时候，理由无外乎两个：（a）教会需要这些钱；（b）圣经上要求这样做。

这两个理由可能都是真实的。但是，如果一个人在布施的时候，没有带着一颗喜悦幸福的心，那么很可能并不能获得我们在这里所说的“多倍回报”。

因此，想要判断是否应该捐献金钱，可以问自己已如下的简单问题：

你主要是从哪里获得你的喜悦？

如果你还想得到更清晰的界定，或者想使用更多的问题来帮助你判断应在何处布施金钱，可以再试试下列问题：

在什么地方可以提醒你意识到你自己的神性？

什么地方会激励你追求自己的梦想？

是谁让你感到活着是一种幸福？

不管你的答案具体是什么，那就是你应该布施金钱的地方。

“很多人心理上抵抗‘什一税（布施）’，因为神父们总是强调布施对教堂的作用，而不是对布施者个人的好处”。

-- Catherine Ponder，《打开心灵通向富足》

 
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