To Sell the Truth, or NOT to Sell the Truth...

And anyway, I ask you, "How in good conscience could I demand payment for what I have freely received?"  How?  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I can't do it.  And I won't.  Whatever I have to share, I will freely happily share with you because it's how I need to do it in order to stay in my center point.  SO, whatever I have to say will always be there for you to consider at your leisure from my site, free of charge.

The only possible question at hand for me would be "What about the matter of specific formats?  What if someone wanted a specific method of delivery?"  Good question. And here is my answer:  What if I DO collect some of my thoughts and write that book some of you have been inquiring about?  What about then?  Well, if you would like to hold the book in your hand, books do cost to produce, and so you would incur a charge for your preferred format of a printed book.  HOWEVER, choosing THAT format would be YOUR CHOICE.  It will always be available online as well, for you to read, at no charge.  So, do you see?  Payment would not be required for access to the Truth, but it might very well be necessary to bring you a specific delivery method that you might prefer, like a book you could hold in your hand.  But the information would also be available online, at no charge.  Always.

And in the same way, what if I collect some of my videos and organize them onto DVD's, as some of you have requested?  Well, DVD's do cost to produce and so if you preferred the format of a dvd to hold in your hand, you might incur a charge in acquiring that format.  Or....OR... you can always go online and watch them for free until you pop.  No charge. :-)

Now, I know that a lot of very popular gurus do not subscribe to my line of thought here.  And I DO want to say that just because they are insisting upon payment before they reveal their hand to you does NOT necessarily invalidate or negate the things they are saying.  It does not.  Some of these people make very, very worthwhile points and insights.  But what it DOES say is that they have a blind spot yet, at least in this area. Maybe even further.  How far that blind spot reaches varies, but it is there.  It has to be, or they could not insist upon payment.  It's that simple.

It is tempting to conform because of the options that you might not be able to enjoy with publishers if you were also giving your content away for free, and that is indeed one way to look at it.  But I personally cannot escape the knowledge that it is YOURS TOO. It is YOURS before you even asked for it.  And in this way, we are all like kidnapped princes and princesses who have no idea what riches we are heir to.  And just because I stumbled across something 10 minutes before you does NOT make it 'mine', nor does it give me right to sell what is already yours back to you just because I had the good fortune to place my hand on it first.  But these are all easy mistakes to make because they are considered acceptable on The Storyboard.  But even in it's brightest and best moment, it is still a sham, a shame, and a scam.  Do not try to sell your brother what is already his.  Do unto another as you would have done unto you.

I also find it deeply ironic how charging to reveal these 'truths' is actually in direct contrast to the supposed 'secrets'.  I mean, on ONE hand, they are trying to sell you  the idea "You make your reality with your thoughts.  You aren't dependent upon external events" but on the OTHER hand, they demand the external event of payment before they will disclose any details. :-O   Am I the only one who sees this conflict?  I mean, doesn't the act of needing payment for something actually have it's roots in LACK?  It does, doesn't it?  Sure does.  And that doesn't sound like a source of abundance to me.  And neither does it sound as though the author believes (or has truly come to know firsthand) the content of their own book.  And that's unfortunate. 

But even so, I don't care WHO they are, we must remember that each of these people are JUST people on their path, just like everyone else.  We shouldn't expect more of them than of ourselves. They are allowed to be mistaken, just like anyone else.  And so, we shouldn't judge them for what they do, or any oversights they may transiently be living.  Then again, the wise man OBSERVES carefully and tests it in his fire, burns away the dross, and deeply considers what is left. That is the way it is done.

And so, long story short, I don't mind at all if you would like to buy my strange watercolors or other merchandise.  In fact, I think it is quite lovely that you might want a small, symbolic piece of me close at hand somewhere on your storyboard.  It's a very, very sweet thought.  Truly.  So feel free if you want to, or don't if you don't. However, if because of the launch of this store you are waiting for me to break down and begin to try and sell you the Truth, well, you might want to pull up a chair because your gonna be waiting a while for that one. A loooooonnnnnnnng while. ;-D.  Because there are OTHER ways to live, both on AND off the Storyboard. No doubt there will be more on that later........For free. :-)

Enjoy the store, buy something if it moves you, or window shop if not.  But most of all, thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share my thoughts with you for your consideration. ♥