Examining my scary thoughts

I pick up the local paper and I read the headlines:

" rent increases of 40% mean that people will have to move "

Every year rents are increased and this year shockingly high increases are predicted.

Reading things like that make me feel both angry and sad.
Immediately I relate it to me.

What if I can't afford to live here ?

I LOVE my home

I don't want to move.......but what if I have to ?

Fear in the pit of my stomach. I feel sick to my stomach ( it's easy to see how this thought, if not checked can lead to tummy ache or some gastric complaint :roll.)

Nausea.

All these thoughts indicate a POSSIBLE future , not a certain one , but in my mind , the worst has already happened judge and jury have had their say and I am a homeless person out in the cold far away from my comfy cosy home.

B* !!!

Why do I torture myself with these thoughts ?? Scary thoughts like these , thousands of them that pass through my brain HQ daily.
Ridiculous . These thoughts are not necessarily true, after all !!!

Let's EXAMINE this thought.

" I can't afford to live here" is it true ?
It might be
Can I really be sure that it is true ?
No
How do I feel/ react when I have this thought ?
Angry , sad, depressed, helpless , vulnerable .....
Who would I be without this thought ?
I'd be ok ... I'd be at peace .. I would be calm ... I'd be happy ...
Don't drop the thought " I can't afford to live here" , but can I see a reason for dropping it ?

YES

Turn it around :

"I CAN afford to live here" .. "I am living here" .. "I have always been able to pay my rent "I can't afford to be thinking these thoughts"

Are these thoughts equally true ?
Yes.

"What if I can't afford to live here ?"
Well.. I'll deal with that when the time comes IF it comes.

Feeling better now

* Inspired by Byron Katie's , The Work . 

“I need my money to be safe”? is it true ?

Read this excellent article by Byron Katie in this month's newsletter.

I’ve never experienced a work or money problem that wasn't in fact a thinking problem.

Banks fail. Stock markets crash. Currencies deflate. We lie, bend contracts, and break our promises when we are frightened. In this confused, fearful, state of mind, you can make millions of dollars and still remain feraful, insecure and unhappy.

I used to believe that I needed more money to be happy and secure. Even when I had more than I really needed, I was often sick with the fear that something terrible would happen and I would lose what I had. I realize now that no amount of money is worth that kind of stress or can possibly be the cause of any stress. If you live with the uninvestigated thought “I need my money to be safe and secure,” you’re living in a hopeless state of mind, especially in these financially mind-challenging times.

You Need More Money - Is that True?

After I found that no stressful thought was true, I began to notice that I always had the perfect amount of money for me right now, even when I had little or none. Happiness is a clear mind.

A clear and sane mind knows how to live, how to work, what e-mails to send, what phone calls to make, and what to do to create what it wants without fear.

Who would you be without the thought “I need my money to be safe”? You might be a lot easier to be with. You might even begin to notice the laws of generosity, the laws of letting money go out fearlessly and come back fearlessly. I don’t ever need more money than I have, and I invite you to realize the same truth in your life. When you understand this, you begin to realize that you already have all the security you wanted money to give you in the first place. It’s a lot easier to make money from this position.

Those of us who chase after money to find happiness never think we have enough. And in the process we create stress for ourselves and for others around us, as we pass on our unquestioned fears. Sometimes we worry ourselves sick.

Those of us who see money as unspiritual have trouble charging for our services or feel guilty when we do make money. This is the flip side of greed, and it can be just as painful. What illusions we assign to pieces of paper!

Rich or poor, we believe the same stories over and over again. Is it time for you to end your suffering?