Last week we established that money is more than paper being passed between people or organisations. Money is a symbolic energy transaction. Let's pick up from this point and see what this realisation teaches us about dealing with money.

Energy is characterised by movement. In fact energy IS movement. Scientists have discovered that everything in our world, whether it seems solid or not, is, is moving all the time. Matter is merely slowed down energy and if you go to the right atomic levels, what seems to be solid, is dancing around as energetic as can be.

In this way money is doing it's own magic little dance both at a micro level (the paper) and at a macro level. - the environment beyond the paper.Just think about how much money is flowing in and out of bank accounts all around the world each day, how much money is passing hands in food stores, clothes shops and restaurants. It's mind boggling. Money is flowing and dancing.

But lets look further at energy. Energy affects and responds to the world around it and we all have experienced first hand how this works. Take the example of having coffee with a friend who is depressed or very negative or fearful. You might have arrived at the coffee date feeling on top of the world, full of energy and vigour, but after an hour with this needy person, you feel drained. Certain people even drain you on sight! What happens is that start to avoid contact with them simply because you cannot cope with the strain and drain.

The exact same thing happens with money. If you are feeling depressed or desperate, negative or fearful you are like that draining person in the coffee shop. In the same way that people avoid him or her, money will avoid you. Your inner state either attracts or repels money!

The irony of the situation is those who most need money, are those who worry the most, and therefore are most repellent of the very thing they so dearly desire. It's like a person who is lonely and is desperately looking for a relationship. They start giving out needy vibes and every single person in the vicinity runs a mile.

This tells us that if we wish to attract anything in our lives, we need to overrule our natural feelings of neediness, and deliberately radiate out the opposite. When you do this you suddenly switch the pulse over to the setting 'wonderfully magnetic'.

This doesn't mean you should take your credit card and go out on a spending spree. No way. Do your level best to contain your costs. Spend wisely, deliberately choosing a positive consciousness about why you are spending carefully. In other words instead of saying to yourself I better not by this because I won't have enough, rather say I choose to contain my energy and build abundance. In essence it's results in the same action, but with a completely different spin on it ø and it's the spin that attracts not repels.

Today we continue on the series the magic of money. In the last two articles we have learnt that money is symbolic of a value transaction. Furthermore it is energy and operates under the laws of physics in so far as that, being energy, it is dynamic and that it is attracted or repelled. Let's continue.

Many of you will have tried to make more money and when you do, suddenly you have a huge and unexpected expense which steals all your hard work away. When this happens it seems like the magic of money is better described as the monster of money, and this can lead to a love-hate relationship with money.

In order to understand what might be at work here, we need to consider not only our conscious desires of getting more money to pay the bills, but also the deep belief systems held in our unconscious as well.

Think of your belief system about money as a plant in the garden of your life. In the same way that the roots of the plant give rise to the stem and leaves we see above the ground, your unconscious beliefs about money sit underground, out of sight, but always are directly responsible how much money you can or cannot see in your bank.

As lily roots give rise to lily leaves and lily flowers, nothing more, nothing less - good money beliefs give rise to monetary abundance and bad money beliefs give rise to bad money situations. Accept this - if you are growing a money monster, you must have a monstrous belief system. (Ouch!)

Too many of these underlying beliefs about money and our relationship with it, have been given us without our conscious choice - since we were introduced to them in our early childhood years. They are mirrored in such sayings as "filthy lucre", "money is the root of all evil", "he is stinking rich" ø and these represent only a few of the extremely negative associations we hold unconsciously, and collectively, about money.

Now will these beliefs attract or repel I ask you? How attracted would you be to someone who thought you were filthy, or the root of all evil? ø you'd avoid them like the plague!

Being aware of the words you frequently use when thinking or speaking about money will give you clues to your belief system about money. If you wish to grow a magic money experience in your life, you need to root out the old and repellent ideas and plant new attractive ideas about money.

Sometimes this is easier said than done, especially if the belief has been imprinted in the presence of strong emotion. Money, and our relationship to it, has been coloured to a large extent by ideas that we will not make it through the gates of heaven if we have money. The deep fear this evokes will make the rooting out of this belief a 'good strong challenge' for you ø trust me I know!

If this describes you, then you have two choices. First, if you're not prepared to change the association of hell and money, know you're going to be living with the money monster. Accept it, and stop worrying or trying to change it because you're wasting your time. Second, set about to diligently change age old beliefs through persistent and hard work - over time and next week we'll explore some ideas around how to do this.

This is Part 4 of the series and for those of you have decided to root out unconscious beliefs that are causing monetary problems in your life, today I will be giving you some tools to start your project. First let's recap on what we have covered so far.

Firstly money is symbolic of a value transaction. Secondly it is a dynamic energy, infinitely responsive. As such it can be attracted or repelled. Thirdly our beliefs, often held unconsciously, are instrumental in creating that attraction or rejection of money.

The traditional techniques put forward to reprogram the unconscious mind are twofold ø visualisation and affirmation. I used both these techniques to death, but in spite of this, the money monster remained steadfastly at my side. I am therefore of the opinion that those people with on-going money problems cannot merely start programming in abundance beliefs, but first need to identify the cause of the problem.

In order to do this you need to use the "ask tool" that I have referred to on so many occasions*. Using the ask tool is merely asking yourself a question, at the same time as letting go of preconceptions.

I remember using this technique to find the main root system of my money problems. I was waiting for a friend who was visiting the doctor. I sat in the car under a shady tree and closed my eyes. I asked myself "what is the cause of all my money shortage?" I imagined myself walking in a lush garden. I walked to a still pond which I always used to symbolise the unconscious in my usual mental exercises. But something different happened at this point - my conscious direction of the scenario stopped, and images flowed into my mind of their own accord ø my unconscious mind was showing me the problem.

I allowed the images to flow and suddenly saw a waterfall running into the pool that I hadn't seen before. I saw myself surprisingly walking behind the waterfall into a dark musty cave. I saw myself pulling out dusty old scrolls and looking at them.

I had a profound realisation that I was looking for a memory of something that lay deep in my forgotten past. As I thought this, I remembered driving along with my Dad. I recalled the smell of apples he often had in his car. And then I remembered his voice saying "enough is as good as a feast".

This is an old saying, given me innocently by an authority figure in my life. My child's interpretation of the event was most probably completely different to my father's intent - what was being revealed was not my Dad's mind and how it worked, but rather how my unconscious had used what I had heard all those years ago. I realised how my behaviour paralleled this notion since, irrespective of how much or how little I had earned, I always spent all my money - to a point where I always just had enough. Bingo! The lights went onÉ.

Armed with this insight I set out to directly overturn one of the root beliefs holding me back by affirming to myself over and over "much, much more than enough".

Catherine Glennie is a motivational speaker and author. She has also developed motivational training courses which she runs for organisations. Her web site details to be announced soon.

*3 Articles published on from March 21 2001 on ø buy back copies of the Job Shop at Argus offices or look on IOL web site.

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From now on when you consider receiving money, actively welcome it into your life. Thank it for coming your way and for acknowledging your value. Start to build a better self esteem by repeating empowering words to yourself. Statements like 'I am worthy of life, love and luxury', 'I am valuable and worthwhile just because I'm human', 'I open my arms and am nourished by money' are great options.

So this week be aware of your deepest feelings about yourself. Don't accept anything but the best. You DO have value, it's time for you to claim it!

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In previous articles we saw that money was energy, and that energy was in circulation at an enormous scale in our lives and in our world. This principle is an important one to work consciously in your financial life.

Energy wishes to flow, that is it's nature. When you resist the flow of money by avoiding payment of bills, hoarding money away for a rainy day or just being plain stingy, what you're in fact doing is preventing money from behaving according to it's natural behaviour. In the same way that blood only keeps the body alive when it's moving, money will only keep you alive when it's moving too.

Now I am not suggesting that you go and give your money away! Please don't. But what I am saying is that money movement is part of the great scheme of things and by collaborating with the concept, you get more money flowing to you, whilst turning a tedious task into a significant act.

I'll give you an example ø buying groceries. This is an expense that no one can avoid whether you're single or running a household of 10 kids. Instead of getting all tense when you see the final till slip - and then paying reluctantly, moaning about the cost of living - get the process to work for you by thinking about the immense good your money will do for those who work at the store. Contemplate how many families will earn a living as a result of your purchase. Think on the rentals that will get paid, school shoes that will be purchased and food that will fill tiny tummies.

In buying groceries you are contributing to the natural flow of money. Thinking this way doesn't make your bills go away. It does something much more important. It activates in you a positive and attractive energy, an energy that will radiate out to the universe, saying 'I'm part of the flow. Let money flow my way!'

Instead of thinking that paying bills is like pouring money down the drain, choose to imagine that the very act of paying is an act that turns the money flow switch to the ON position - and that as you give out, you soon get back. Paying bills then becomes a positive act of giving.

As I end of this last article in the magic of money series, here are some more great tips taken from the minds of money guru's:

Give 10% of what you receive each month to charity, and save another 10% to build a money reserve. Remember that people get rich because they save, not necessarily because they earn more.

Keep your financial affairs in neat order ø it shows a respect for the energy of money. Don't stuff notes haphazardly into your wallet. When you receive the notes, straighten them and put them into your wallet in an orderly way. Like your home, your wallet should be a nice place to visit.

Try to keep money in your wallet at all times, it creates a sense of abundance. If you're really down and out, put some monopoly money there instead, so that you still get a sense of having money. Every time you open your wallet say 'real money fills my wallet now'.

You are an extremely creative and powerful being. Always remember that money doesn't have power over you, you have power over money.

I have often mentioned the importance of being able to visualise those things you wish to achieve in your life. Seeing your goal in your mind's eye is the first step toward creating, attracting and manifesting that very goal. Not only does a unique and explicit image work wonders to keep you motivated as you move toward achieving the task, but it helps you believe in your vision.

Let's take money beliefs as an example. In last week's article I explained how the act of giving activates the flow of money back to you. Let's use this idea to build an example of a mental image that creates some money magic.

Imagine that you are enclosed by a capsule or cocoon, and that the capsule holds your current circulation of money - keeping it confined to your own private world. Your salary for example would be part of the monetary circulation in this image. Now imagine that you decide to activate a greater flow of money to you by using the principle of giving 10% of your earnings.

See yourself in your enclosed money world deciding to take from your current money supply and give it to the outer environment beyond your capsule. In order to do that you need to break open a hole in wall of your cocoon. Visualise yourself doing that and giving your 10% to some good cause beyond your world. Now see that the hole thus created to give, also allows new money streams from outside to flow in to you. Your private money system is being revitalised with new money flows. Through giving your money supply has become part of the great streams of universal abundance.

Imagine every time you give your 10%, you break of another bit of your restricting capsule, making the hole bigger and bigger, until, over time, you are part of, and have full access to the full flow of our global monetary system. Billions of Rands, Dollars, Pounds and Yen flowing to billions of people and organisations each and every day, and this is now part of your world! What a powerful picture!

The exercise illustrates how to take intellectual concepts and turn them into personal mind maps. In doing this we start to imprint our unconscious with these ideas where they influence your unconscious behaviours accordingly. Deliberately visualising the image each day also keeps the beliefs and goals top of mind - influencing your daily choices as well.

But the most beneficial aspect is that the imagery is so exciting and positive, that it makes you feel excited and positive about your ability to have abundance. This positive feeling makes you a powerful force in your life.

You can use this positive mental imagery in any area of your life. Weight loss, getting a new job, improving your relationships and good health all can be powerfully and positively affected by this approach. But remember, in the same way that you brush your teeth daily, you need to visualise your goals daily ø over and over ø starting today. As Goethe says "whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."