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"In all the writings of Wallace D. Wattles, there's one point I always had trouble accepting and thus, it's holding me back from seriously applying his entire philosophy."
"It's about 'increasing life'..."
"In Chapter 5 of 'The Science of Getting Rich' (Increasing Life), Wallace D. Wattles wrote:"
"In order to know more, do more, and be more we must have more; we must have things to use, for we learn, and do, and become, only by using things. We must get rich, so that we can live more."
"Now, to explain my dilemma..."
"It's because I know that in his other writings Wallace D. Wattles shows a deep spiritual philosophy, that I imagine there must be a right way to interpret those words."
"Otherwise, it sounds materialistic to me, shopping-orientated to encourage consumerism and competition, in a society where it's already a problem."
"I agree that in the process of becoming rich we have to be careful not to mix spiritual readings, or we'll likely get confused and out of focus."
"However, still this repeating that we need things, to buy things, and that we *must* get rich to live more, well, doesn't match my belief that we should become free from attachments and not relay too much upon material things as it may lead to slavery and weakness in our inner power, promoting desire after desire, in an endless run for happiness and never being satisfied."
"So, please, I'd love a good explanation to be able to practice Wallace D. Wattle's writings and feel that they're meaningful and in line with my belief that we can create our own abundance and in the mean time pursue a complete spiritual growth with a feeling of freedom within. Thank you heaps."
The answer to this dilemma lies in Wallace D. Wattles' use of the word "rich" and how he defines it.
In Chapter 1 of "The Science of Getting Rich" (The Right to Be Rich), Wallace D. Wattles wrote:
"The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich..."
There you have it...
"The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich..."
Now...
Notice carefully...
If you will...
Wallace D. Wattles *didn't* write:
The man who owns all he wants for the living of *more* life than he's capable of living is rich...
He wrote:
"The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich..."
In other words...
"Rich", according to Wallace D. Wattles, is...
Owning all you want for the living of all the life you're capable of living...
Not *more* life than you're capable of living...
*All* the life you're capable of living...
There's a *huge* difference!
If, for example, *all* the life you're capable of living, right now anyway (your "needs" for living *all* the life you're capable of living will change as you continue to grow and develop), requires a seven room home in a nice neighborhood, a thirty-two room mansion on a hill would be pure, unadulterated waste.
Nowhere in his writings did Wallace D. Wattles talk about piling things up around you just to pile things up around you, the disastrous consequences of which can be easily evidenced in the news on almost any given day of the week, without regard to your ability to use them to live a fuller and more complete life... *all* the life your capable of living.
As a matter of fact...
He said quite the opposite...
In Chapter 18 of "The Science of Being Great" (Jesus' Idea of Greatness), for example, quoting Robert G. Ingersoll, Wallace D. Wattles wrote:
"Suppose a man had fifty thousand pairs of pants, seventy-five thousand vests, one hundred thousand coats, and one hundred and fifty thousand neckties, what would you think of him if he arose in the morning before light and worked until after it was dark every day, rain or shine, in all kinds of weather, merely to get another necktie?"
Great question, isn't it?
What would you think?
Although it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, sadly, this is *exactly* what many people spend their entire lives doing...
Don't you be one of them. :-)
Remember...
"Rich" is...
Owning all you want for the living of all the life you're capable of living...
Not *more* life than you're capable of living...
*All* the life you're capable of living!
