A B U N D A N C E !  It's not just FOR the rich & famous anymore ...

He who waters will also be watered. - Proverbs 11:25

French: abondance; Spanish: abundancia; Italian: abbondanza; German: Überfluß; Portuguese: abundância; Latin: abundantia, from abundare

Abundance...

And when you have plenty, even more seems to flow to you easily!  Creating abundance is a lot like that.

Abundance follows certain “laws’” and once you understand these simple truths you can live in abundance whatever your circumstances, which has little to no basis in the amount of money we have, as money is an agreed upon value that we have the collective power to change.

Everything reflects our consciousness, and there is little value in staying in the consciousness of poverty.

Prosperity has had only one connotation for too long -- money. The subject of money has a powerful emotional charge, equivalent to the subject of sex. Yet, we will usually talk about it only like the weather -- in general economic terms. In this age of open discussion on homosexuality, menstruation, and incest, it is interesting that we are still very closed in what we reveal about our money. The subject of our inner feelings concerning money is one of the last things to come out of the closet. Why?

When we think of having money, we think of opportunities for independence, leisure, privacy, time to do and act as we wish. Unfortunately, a lack of money translates into yet another reason to put ourselves down.

We have built a complex of myths and voodoo around the idea of money as an entity -- an end in itself. We have personified it, and attributed characteristics to it as if it were a savior. How many times have we said, "If only I had enough money!" At the same time, we have created a concept of money as an active, negative agent. We have done this through our conscious and unconscious myths which support a negative morality system about what money does to people. We end up both desiring and fearing money.

Many people are uneasy when they must receive, ask for, and speak of money. Fortunately, there are different ways of looking at money what it is and isn't, what it can and can't do. Examining our concepts of money can open up issues concerning giving and taking that are important in all aspects of our lives.

Self-Esteem and Money

The basis for understanding and being comfortable with money is just one more aspect of our self-awareness. From repeated studies in human behavior, we know that one of the factors by which we judge ourselves and others is money -- how much we make, how we make it, and how we spend it. This constitutes part of our market value. To many of us, then, speaking of income is really speaking of our value in society.

When we have a low self-image, we sometimes try to compensate for these feelings both by trying to increase our value and by trying to keep this value hidden. We want to avoid facing a low opinion from others if our value figure is not as high as we think it should be.

An example of wanting to hide our value is deciding not to invite people to dinner because we have only mismatched glasses and china. When we are devaluing ourselves because of a lack of money, we may feel ashamed at gatherings of friends of family who talk about travel, shopping, or prestigious colleges for the kids. We may put ourselves down because we don't have the money to shop or travel, or because our kids are only going to work, instead of college.

The Morality of Money

The self-esteem and money issue is further confused by the rather shaky image of what having that green stuff means. Although everyone wants more money, the idea of having wealth is tainted. On one side of the coin, money is thought to be highly desirable; on the other side, it is considered bad and almost dirty.

Most of the cultural arguments that make prosperity a moral issue are never made out loud. The ideas that we can't or shouldn't be financially prosperous are projected subliminally in the form of myths or beliefs. Whether we live it or not, one of our strong beliefs is that hard work and toil are rewards in and of themselves. It is also part of our tradition that poverty is a virtue. Certain religious teachings from the Bible have even been interpreted as confirming that poverty is somehow holy.

For example, the biblical passage, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," has been frequently quoted to condemn wealth and praise poverty. With better understanding of the old Arabic translations, however, new interpretation among biblical scholars shows that the original intention of this and other passages was positive. 

With new research, we now know the word poor originally meant humble and receptive, not poverty-stricken. To receive is to open oneself to one's vulnerability -- to let go of control. The message seems to have been that the world is full of givers; what we need to learn is to receive -- to open ourselves to our vulnerability.

Other biblical passages, such as, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," have been used to prove that being wealthy is morally wrong. According to modern-day scholars, this passage originally referred not to having money itself but rather to the difficulties inherent when we are controlled by our possessions rather than being in control of them.

Everything reflects our consciousness, and there is little value in staying in the consciousness of poverty. Someone has remarked that the best thing we can do for the poor is not to be one of them. This is not being unloving. It is a statement of not accepting poverty as inevitable.

Other biblical passages point out another, more prosperous attitude toward life:

• Ask and it shall be given you

• Seek and ye shall find

• Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.

Environmental support for the negative attitudes we hold about wealth is found in cliches we often hear repeated:

• Money is the root of all evil. 

• Money won't buy you happiness. 

• Easy come, easy go. 

• I may be poor, but I'm happy.

I'm sure you can recite many more. They imply that not only is there something wrong with money, but, by implication, there may be a lot more wrong with you if you have it!

Purifying Money Consciousness

The mass media show us that in most cases the patterns which people follow in their use of money tend to be old patterns rather than new ones.

• Those who lack money prefer asking it of those who have it, they prefer to beg; this seems to be easier for them than imagining themselves able to produce income.
• Those who learn to make money, but not to make heaps of money, usually spend their lives envying those making more money and yearning for more lavish patterns of consumption.
• Those who learn to make heaps of money conceive themselves as masters of the human jungle and apply themselves, year after year, to a unique project: how to transfer more and more money from anybody else's pockets to their own.

On a planetary scale the working of these three patterns causes poverty, tempts people to focus on their needs, generates frustrations - therefore aggressiveness - and sets up the dominance of egocentric subpersonalities. This situation on the level of mankind looks like the one that is generated in the human being who has not yet realized a right relationship with the forces of his own Higher Consciousness.

There are two possibilities: either she/he is not able to get in touch with it, to identify her/himself with it, to express it, or she/he is overwhelmed by it so that the values of her/his thoughts become the values of his consciousness.

In both events the Will must intervene: through it, the human being can dis-identify her/himself from the psychic structures of the past in order to identify her/himself in new, more evolved patterns, bringing about well-being to her/himself and to other people.

People reach self-realization in the field of money in at least five steps:

1. Freeing themselves from restricting complexes, such as guilt and self-appreciation complexes, from self-punishment impulses, from persecution manias in connection with society and destiny, from self-identification with failure and self-pity.
2. Discovering their own resources and talents.
3. Learning to value, appreciate and love themselves, in the light of their own dignity and their own individual value as big psycho-spiritual human beings; developing trust in themselves, believing in themselves. This is the point of true liberation, because it involves the ability to "sell oneself, " i.e. to increase the money one gets as a return for one's own activity.
4. Developing the ability to meet the needs of people through their own resources, in an increasingly creative way; this means earning as much as one decides.
5. Dis-identifying from the successes achieved, turning toward the inner Self and getting in touch with the part of the Plan destined to them, i.e. revealing their own mission in life: tailoring then to that mission the energy invested in making money. Thus, in this way, someone may happen to see less money circulating in his hands; for someone else on the other hand the circulation of money will increase a great deal, since he will become responsible for projects - related to the planetary transformation - that involve massive financial resources. No doubt that for both the quantity of money kept and used for personal purposes or however connected with the pursuit of their single affairs will decrease. Those who actually accept the mission of their own Self think of themselves as members of one or more groups: therefore the pursuit of their individual affairs suits that of the group: this same phenomenon is bound to invest their financial level as well. As many wise people, first of all Gandhi, have suggested or borne witness to, using money as identified with transpersonal Will means thinking of oneself as a trustee rather than an owner of goods. This is easy to understand if we identify in our Self, in our Soul. Can you imagine a Soul saying: "This is my body, these are my emotions, this is my wealth; they are only mine, nobody else can even touch them, I am bound to them?" It does not make any sense. A Soul thinks in a rather different way:

   "I honor them, I love them, since they are the middles through which I carry out the part of the Plan pertaining to me. I watch them because they are useful to me; this is the sole reason why I have them in my care."

   It is very simple isn't it? It must become very easy as well. But this is only the last of the above five steps: People therefore cannot get to this point if they have not gone through the previous ones. Transpersonal Will only grows after personal Will.

For a long time indeed many thinkers, many women/men of Good Will, Religions themselves, the International Organizations - above all the United Nations - have been sowing the human psyche with patterns reflecting their approaches to the issue of money. Now it is time that Psychosynthesis too may become a walk of life for more and more people through Divine Will. If we accept this assumption, we cannot help advocating that Psychosynthesis may undertake a specific educational effort about the use of money, so that by 2013 this energy can serve the Spirit better than it does at present.

The goal of  A B U N D A N C E !  Conferences is the purification of money, an energy that is at present greatly impure after centuries of misuse.  Among other exercises, participants may be asked:

1. To pull out a bill and, looking at it, to let emerge from the depth of the psyche their shadow, their dark inner parts concerning money; they may be asked to identify, as well, how they intended to consider other people, when identified with the role of wealth owners. Then everyone may be invited to play freely what she/he had previously felt, acting as if she/he was fully identified with her/his dark side.
2. To put their bill then in a basket in the middle of the space, without any further specification, as a witness of a fully conscious trust in the group, which is the main requirement for a right use of money.
3. To sit quietly in meditation, visualizing the impact of the beam of the Universal Will on the streams of money-energy everywhere on the Planet; the effects of such an impact concerned the fluidification of the streams, at present mainly stagnant and poisonous," so that the energy of sharing and of abundance could spread everywhere. To descend to the concrete level of the mind and to produce ideas and projects to develop new attitudes and habits about a better use of money.
4. To use the financial resources of the group located in the basket in order to realize their own project, after an agreement with other participants about the priorities.

Saying YES to Money! 

Did you know that there is enough money on this planet for everyone to have a million dollars? So why is it that some have BILLIONS, others have a million, and others have only a small amount? The answer is simple: consciousness. Each of us has played out the beliefs from childhood about deservability and money to create whatever we have in our lives right at this moment. If all the billions on the planet were redistributed tomorrow and no one changed their consciousness about money, it would all be back to the same people in the same amounts in about six months. Are you willing to change your consciousness RIGHT NOW about what you deserve to receive?

Take a few minutes to sit quietly. Close your eyes and allow your mind to gently drift back in time to some significant experience about money when you were growing up. What happened? What was the belief you developed from that experience? If it was limiting, imagine yourself as that child and begin to tell the child that it’s time to create a new set of ideas about money that are expansive and supportive. Tell the child what those new affirmations are. If the experience you remembered helped you with positive thoughts about money, reinforce those with your inner child.

Ask yourself: who would you betray if you were financially successful? (Normally Mom or Dad)

Somehow, the child part feels guilty going beyond the parents’ limitations. You can close your eyes and talk to Mom or Dad, or anyone else who had a significant influence on your prosperity beliefs, and tell them that it’s OK for both of you to be prosperous and successful.

Go to the mirror and do the same thing. Be willing to go past old limitations. When you accept your prosperity, you also encourage others to do the same. Your life can be an example of willingness to receive from our abundant universe. “Prosperity” is specifically about money and materials things, while “abundance” has to do with a full life in all areas.

As you go about your daily routine for the next few days, be aware of your thoughts about money and material things. Do you tell yourself you can’t have things? Pay attention to your thoughts when you go to spend money. Notice what you think about people that seem to have a lot of money and people that seem to have little money. When you become aware of thoughts that are limiting, create an affirmation for the new belief. If the limiting belief is “I never have enough money to pay my bills,” the new affirmation could be “I always have enough money to pay my bills ahead of time and still have plenty left over for fun.”

CAUTION: Affirmations are not intended to be an excuse so that you can spend money irresponsibly. Running up large credit card bills while affirming that the Universe will take care of them is not good money management. There are three parts to money matters: mental/emotional matters, practical matters, and spiritual matters. First, you need to identify the old beliefs and emotions about money that no longer serve you. Then you want to create affirmations for the new beliefs. Next, you need to be honest with yourself about the practical matters. Are you balancing your checkbook and paying off credit cards each month? Create a plan to handle the practical money matters. Third, you must recognize that the Universe is your Source, not a job and not a person.

It does take faith and trust to believe that you deserve prosperity when you’re looking at your checkbook and there is $100 in your account and the rent that is due is $500.

In a spiritual focus, regular meditation is a key factor in connecting with Inner Wisdom to feel a sense of trust when faced with a challenging situation. In that place of quiet, you can listen for guidance and also send out your affirmations from a powerful place. However, don’t wait for the challenges to start meditating. Start cultivating that nurturing connection with Spirit today!

A B U N D A N C E !

Feeling prosperous has little to do with the actual amount of money you have. A millionaire who is anxious and worried about finances isn’t prosperous, while someone living happily in a campground is prosperous. It’s up to you to decide what you want and how much, without being limited by past beliefs. Begin today by creating the feeling of being prosperous. Stand in front of a mirror and open your arms, look directly into your eyes, and enthusiastically tell yourself, “I am a joyful, prosperous person. I am willing to gratefully receive from the Universe.” Yes!

Is the Gold Standard History?

 In the 19^th century, notes Murray N. Rothbard, debates on monetary issues were highly public and intensely controversial. Do you favor the national bank? The gold standard? Bimetallism? What is your opinion of the free silver movement? What is most important: a highly liquid money stock that can prop up commodity prices, or a sound dollar that promotes thrift and discourages debt accumulation? Should the monetary system reward debtors or creditors?

These were issues debated in the nation’s newspapers, discussed in political meetings, and raged on the streets. Every educated man had an opinion. Part of the reason is that, frankly, people were much better educated in those days. It is astonishing to think of today, but average people had the mental equipment to enable them to understand these complicated issues, if not always to arrive at the right conclusions.

The federal government had long been involved in money precisely because this is one of the first areas a government likes to control when it takes power. The US government was no exception, despite constitutional provisions that would appear to restrict its monetary power.

Matters are radically different today. It is very rare to ever see an article addressing the money question in the nation’s newspapers. Debates and discussions are left to the academic journals or the self-published  – with the major exception of the Austrian economists, who continue to believe that the money issue is both academically important and politically crucial.

This is why, for twenty years, the Mises Institute has been sponsoring research and writing on the gold standard, and promoting an idea that most public intellectuals find absurdly anachronistic: that a gold standard is better than our current monetary system. What's more, they believe that the gold standard had a better record historically, and they believe that we ought to institute a gold standard right now.

Far from being an arcane and anachronistic issue, then, we can see that the gold standard and the issues it raises get right to the heart of the current debate concerning the future of the world economy and its reform. What the critics who denounce gold are really saying is that the government and its friends don't like the idea of the gold standard, so therefore they are not going to favor one.

Why does the government and its partisans dislike the gold standard? It removes the discretionary power of the Fed by placing severe limits on the ability of the central bank to inflate the money supply. Without that discretionary power, the government has far fewer tools of central planning at its disposal. Government can regulate, which is a function of the police power. It can tax, which involves taking people's property. And it can spend, which means redistributing other people's property. But its activities in the financial area are radically curbed.

Think of your local and state governments. They tax and spend. They manipulate and intervene. As with all governments from the beginning of the time, they generally retard social progress and "mandate, control and enforce" as much as possible. What they do not do, however, is run huge deficits, accumulate trillions in debt, reduce the value of money, bail out foreign governments, provide endless credits to failing enterprises, administer hugely expensive and destructive social insurance schemes, or bring about immense swings in business activity.

State and local governments must be relentlessly checked, but they are not anything like the threat of the federal government. Neither are they as arrogant and convinced of their own infallibility and indispensability. They lack the aura of invincibility that the central government enjoys.

Why is this? You might say it is because the federal government already does these things, but no government has ever been troubled by the prospect of providing redundant services. You might say that state-level constitutions restrict their activities, but our experience with the federal government demonstrates that constitutions can’t restrain a government by themselves. The main reason is that the state and local government do not issue their own currencies controlled by central banks.

It is the central bank, and only the central bank, that works as the government's money machine, and this makes all the difference. Now, it is not impossible that a central bank can exist alongside a gold standard, a lender of last resort that avoids the temptation to destroy that which restrains it. In the same way, it is possible for someone with an insatiable appetite to sit at a banquet table of delicious food and not eat.

Let's just say that the existence of a central bank introduces an occasion of temptation for the government. That is why under the best gold standard, there would be no central bank, gold coins would circulate as freely as their substitutes, and rules against fraud and theft would prohibit banks from pyramiding credit on top of demand deposits. So long as we are constructing the perfect system, all coinage would be private. Banks would be treated as businesses, no special privileges, no promises of bailout, no subsidized insurance, and no connection to government at any level.

This is the free-market system of monetary management, which means turning over the institution of money entirely to the market economy. As with any institution in a free society, it is not imposed from above, dictated by a group of experts, but is the de facto result that comes about in a society that consistently respects private-property rights and encourages enterprise.

Money is not something chosen by social managers but the consequence of economic development, as society moves from barter to indirect exchange. One commodity that is widely in demand comes to operate as a medium of exchange, a commodity for which any good or service can be traded with the expectation that this commodity will be demanded by others in future exchanges. Precious metals, gold in particular, have traditionally served as the money of choice.

There will come a time when the current money and banking system, living off credit created by a fiat money system, will be stretched beyond the limit. When it happens, attitudes will turn on a dime. No advocate of the gold standard looks forward to the crisis nor to the human suffering that will come with it. We do, however, look forward to the reassertion of economic law in the field of money and banking. When it becomes incredibly obvious that something drastic must replace the current system, new attention will be paid to the voices that have long cast aspersions on the current system and called for a restoration of sound money.

What is essential for us today is to continue the research, the writing, the advocacy for sound money, for a dollar that is as good as gold, for a monetary system that is separate from the state. It is a beautiful VISION, you may say the Highest VISION indeed, one in which the people and not the government and its connected interest groups maintain control of their money and its safe keeping. 

Prosperity Consciousness

There's nothing quite as satisfying as making a living doing what you love to do. If we are to believe current surveys and polls, not many of us are doing that. But we could be, at least in part.

You can attract more money... or almost anything positive... by tapping into the natural goodness and beauty of Life. It doesn't matter if you call this power God, Goddess, Great Mystery, the Universe, Universal Consciousness, the Source, the Force, the Light. Divinity is everywhere including inside of you and if you make an effort to align yourself with it, things will flow much more smoothly and happily in your life than if you do not. So whatever your belief system, take a little time each day to pray, meditate, visualize, talk with your guides & angels or do whatever makes you feel closer to that powerful Energy.

Everyone has his or her own way of doing this. One thing that works well is visualization... creating a picture in your mind of what you want your life to be like. It helps to be in a meditative or otherwise relaxed state to set this in motion. It also helps to use "props"... anything that helps you focus on what you want. For example... for money you might use green candles and semi precious stones, coins, a check made out to yourself in the amount you need, etc. It's also helpful to include something that you can carry around with you... a piece of jewelry with a green stone, for example.

Creative Visualization for Abundance

 

Money...

Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account. Since the needs arise naturally, societies organically create one or several money objects when none exists. In other cases, a central authority creates a single money object and compels its use; this is more frequently the case in modern societies with paper money.

The value of money emerges in no small part from its utility as a medium of exchange, however its utility as a medium of exchange depends on it having recognised market value. Hence these two aspects of money are interdependent.

Commodity money was the first form of money to emerge. Under a commodity money system, the object used as money has inherent value. It is usually adopted to simplify transactions in a barter economy; thus it functions first as a medium of exchange. It quickly begins functioning as a store of value, since holders of perishable goods can easily convert them into durable money. In modern economies, commodity money has also been used as a unit of account. Gold-backed currency notes are a common form of commodity money.

Fiat money is a relatively modern invention. A central authority (government) creates a new money object that has minimal inherent value. The widespread acceptance of fiat money is most frequently enhanced by the central authority mandating the money's acceptance under penalty of law and demanding this money in payment of taxes or tribute. At various times in history government issued promisory notes have later become fiat currencies (US dollar) and fiat currencies have gone on to become a form of commodity currency (Swiss Dinar).

After the first Gulf War the Iraqi government issued a new currency. The old currency became known as the Swiss dinar because it had been printed using Swiss technology that was no longer available after the economic sanctions following the first Gulf War.

After a change-over period the Iraqi government disendorsed the old currency and it ceased to be legal tender. However, the old currency still circulated in the politically isolated Kurdish regions of Iraq until it was replaced more than a decade later following the second Gulf War. During this period the Swiss dinar retained its market value, while the new replacement Iraqi currency consistently lost value (sometimes at 30% per annum).

During this period the Swiss dinar was endorsed by no central authority or government (in fact it was a disendorsed currency) and was not redeemable by any issueing agent, or backed by any commodity. Its persistent and sustained market value derived purely from its utility as culturally accepted medium of exchange. As such it is often cited in economic discussions about money and the origin of money's value.

Following the second Gulf war the US administration created a new currency for Iraq and the Swiss dinar became redeemable for the new currency.

Our forefathers, representing the thirteen states, decided to act in the mutual interest of all to design the great seal, which we can see on the back of our dollar bill.  This seal is the statement of the ideals that brought together the formation of the United States of America. 

The United States is the first and only nation in the world that was ever established on the basis of 'REASON'  instead of warfare.  Notice on the dollar bill it says 'In God We Trust''.  

These men, knowledgable of the Ancient Teachings, did not believe that the mind of man was cut off from God.  The mind of man, cleansed of secondary and temporal concerns, beholds the mirrored reflection of the rational mind of God. Thus all people in the world are capable of reason.  REASON puts him in touch with God.

In God We Trust ...

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read:

Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances.

One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW.

This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.

To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.

As a result, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861:

Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.

You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.

Fact Sheets: Currency & Coins History of 'In God We Trust' The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read: Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances. One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins. You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW. This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters. To you first I address a subject that must be agitated. As a result, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861: Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition. It was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States. This meant that the mint could make no changes without the enactment of additional legislation by the Congress. In December 1863, the Director of the Mint submitted designs for new one-cent coin, two-cent coin, and three-cent coin to Secretary Chase for approval. He proposed that upon the designs either OUR COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST should appear as a motto on the coins. In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863, Secretary Chase stated: I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST. The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Mint Director was directed to develop the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary. IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin. Another Act of Congress passed on March 3, 1865. It allowed the Mint Director, with the Secretary's approval, to place the motto on all gold and silver coins that "shall admit the inscription thereon." Under the Act, the motto was placed on the gold double-eagle coin, the gold eagle coin, and the gold half-eagle coin. It was also placed on the silver dollar coin, the half-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin, and on the nickel three-cent coin beginning in 1866. Later, Congress passed the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873. It also said that the Secretary "may cause the motto IN GOD WE TRUST to be inscribed on such coins as shall admit of such motto." The use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted. The motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938. Since 1938, all United States coins bear the inscription. Later, the motto was found missing from the new design of the double-eagle gold coin and the eagle gold coin shortly after they appeared in 1907. In response to a general demand, Congress ordered it restored, and the Act of May 18, 1908, made it mandatory on all coins upon which it had previously appeared. IN GOD WE TRUST was not mandatory on the one-cent coin and five-cent coin. It could be placed on them by the Secretary or the Mint Director with the Secretary's approval. The motto has been in continuous use on the one-cent coin since 1909, and on the ten-cent coin since 1916. It also has appeared on all gold coins and silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins struck since July 1, 1908. A law passed by the 84th Congress (P.L. 84-140) and approved by the President on July 30, 1956, the President approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress, declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. IN GOD WE TRUST was first used on paper money in 1957, when it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate. The first paper currency bearing the motto entered circulation on October 1, 1957. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was converting to the dry intaglio printing process. During this conversion, it gradually included IN GOD WE TRUST in the back design of all classes and denominations of currency. As a part of a comprehensive modernization program the BEP successfully developed and installed new high-speed rotary intaglio printing presses in 1957. These allowed BEP to print currency by the dry intaglio process, 32 notes to the sheet. One-dollar silver certificates were the first denomination printed on the new high-speed presses. They included IN GOD WE TRUST as part of the reverse design as BEP adopted new dies according to the law. The motto also appeared on one-dollar silver certificates of the 1957-A and 1957-B series. BEP prints United States paper currency by an intaglio process from engraved plates. It was necessary, therefore, to engrave the motto into the printing plates as a part of the basic engraved design to give it the prominence it deserved. One-dollar silver certificates series 1935, 1935-A, 1935-B, 1935-C, 1935-D, 1935-E, 1935-F, 1935-G, and 1935-H were all printed on the older flat-bed presses by the wet intaglio process. P.L. 84-140 recognized that an enormous expense would be associated with immediately replacing the costly printing plates. The law allowed BEP to gradually convert to the inclusion of IN GOD WE TRUST on the currency. Accordingly, the motto is not found on series 1935-E and 1935-F one-dollar notes. By September 1961, IN GOD WE TRUST had been added to the back design of the Series 1935-G notes. Some early printings of this series do not bear the motto. IN GOD WE TRUST appears on all series 1935-H one-dollar silver certificates.

Conferences ...

Our "Spirituality in Business" Quarterly Conferences are focused on manifesting your soul's  ...

A B U N D A N C E ! 

Spirituality in Business ...

Today people are finding that there’s more to life—and business—than profits alone. Money as the single bottom line is increasingly a thing of the past. In a post-Enron world, values and ethics are an urgent concern. The hottest buzz today is about a “triple bottom line,” a commitment to “people, planet, profit.” Employees and the environment are seen as important as economics. Some people would say it’s all about bringing your spiritual values into your workplace. A recent poll by KRC Research for Spirituality published November 17, 2003 in USA Today found that 6 out of 10 people say workplaces would benefit from having a great sense of spirit in their work environment.

What is spirituality in business? There’s a wide range of important perspectives. Some would say that it’s simply embodying their personal values of honesty, integrity, and good quality work. Others would say it’s treating their co-workers and employees in a responsible, caring way. For others, it’s participating in spiritual study groups or using prayer, meditation, or intuitive guidance at work. And for some, it’s making their business socially responsible in how it impacts the environment, serves the community or helps create a better world.

Some business people are comfortable using the word “spirituality” in the work environment, as it’s more generic and inclusive than “religion.” Instead of emphasizing belief as religion does, the word spirituality emphasizes how values are applied and embodied. Other people aren’t comfortable with the word spiritual and prefer to talk more about values and ethics when describing the same things that others would call spiritual. However, there are some people who will talk about God as their business partner or their CEO.

e-gold® Exchange Provider Guidelines

The e-gold organization itself does not provide exchange services or formally credential third party exchange providers. Any individual or organization may become exchange providers and operate to their own guidelines in accordance with local law. Experience with numerous exchange providers does allow us to offer ideas for starting an Exchange:

• You need Internet access and an e-gold account, enabling you to receive and make e-gold payments via computer or web-enabled phone.
• You need to be able to receive and make payments to/from your exchange customers in local currency. This is the tough part. Be sure each payment you accept is good and final before you click e-gold to your customer!
• Maintain records, for larger cash payments it is prudent and depending upon location it may be required to document identification of your exchange customers.
• Maintain a source of information on current exchange rates for e-gold. This data is available on the e-gold website.
• Maintain sufficient liquidity to fulfill largest offered trades from existing e-gold inventory or local currency.
• Maintain access to an outside market for obtaining or selling e-gold in order to be able to rectify trading balances if either buying or selling becomes dominant.
• The key to maximizing exchange profits is to make a two-way market, buying and selling, replenishing both your e-gold and your supply of local currency via trades with your customers. The more balanced your book of business, the less you will need to resort to an external market where you are the customer paying the spreads or fees.
  
• The exchange provider may sell e-gold at a higher ("ask") exchange rate, and buy at the lower ("bid") exchange rate; or calculate everything at "spot" and simply charge a flat fee or percentage.
• Customers and exchange providers may hold e-gold as a store of value, or as a means for on-line payments. Familiarize yourself with the benefits of e-gold (below) so that you are able to explain and market it effectively.
• Find your competitive niche. Most Internet users worldwide do not have credit cards. By offering over-the-counter exchange for cash, be it rupees, pesos, yuan or your local currency, you can help the unbanked masses benefit more fully from the global market that the Internet represents.
• Ensure a high level of security to prevent fraud or breaches of security.

ISIS "Provider Exchange Services" ... Bringing Back the Gold Standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold and currency issuers guarantee, under specified rules, to redeem notes in that amount of gold.

Nations that employed such a fixed unit of account, and which would redeem their notes to other nations in gold, in principle, shared a fixed currency relationship. The intent was to create a system that was resistant to runaway credit and debt expansion, and to enforce a system where money could not be created through government fiat currency, and will, therefore be safe as an alternative store of value against inflation. This was intended to remove currency uncertainty, keep the credit of the issuing monetary authority sound, and encourage lending.

The use of gold as a monetary standard has a long and varied history, from the period of time when coinage was the primary means for regulating money supply, all the way through the 20th century, where it was used to regulate international trade flows. Despite having advocates, the gold standard is no longer used in any nation, having been replaced completely by fiat currency.

Fiat currency or fiat money is money issued by government fiat i.e. by arbitrary order or decree, by nothing more than law. It is often associated with paper money unbacked by fixed assets, issued without the promise of redemption in some other form, and accepted by tradition or social convention. It can be contrasted with alternative forms of currency such as commodity money and private currency.

Since 1971 most currencies in the world had become fiat money due to the end of the gold standard. However the economics behind major currencies, such as with the United States dollar, euro and Japanese yen, are complex, meaning some fiat currency is termed hard currency. Fiat money is called fiduciary money in many languages.

The widespread acceptance of fiat money is enhanced by a central authority mandating the money's acceptance under penalty of law and demanding this money in payment of taxes or tribute.

The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. The euro is the result of the most significant monetary reform in Europe since the Roman Empire. Although the euro can be seen simply as a mechanism for perfecting the Single European Market, facilitating free trade among the members of the Eurozone, it is also regarded by its founders as a key part of the project of European political integration.

Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City, which formerly used the French franc or the Italian lira as their currency, now use the euro as their currency and are licensed to mint their own euro coins in small amounts, even though they are not EU states. The euro is also used for payment of debt in other European non-EU jurisdictions such as Montenegro, Kosovo and Andorra.

The euro is administered by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), composed of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurozone central banks operating in member states. The ECB (headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) has sole authority to set monetary policy; the other members of the ESCB participate in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins, and the operation of the Eurozone payment system.

Essential characteristics of money

Money has all of the following three characteristics:

1. It must be a medium of exchange

When an object is consistently used as an intermediate object of trade, as opposed to direct barter, then it is regarded as a medium of exchange. The utility of such an object in simplifing the process of trade leads to direct demand for the object.

In order for a single object to become or to remain dominant in this function requires either coercion or faith.

When people are coerced to use or alternatively they trust an object and demand it in order to do their exchanges and trades, then this object is considered to be money.

This characteristic allows money to be a standard of deferred payment, i.e., a tool for the payment of debt.

2. It must be a unit of account

When the value of a good is frequently used to measure or compare the value of other goods or where its value is used to denominate debts then it is functioning as a unit of account.

A debt or an IOU can not serve as a unit of account because its value is specified by comparison to some external reference value, some actual unit of account that may be used for settlement.

For example, if in some culture people are inclined to measure the worth of things with reference to goats then we would regard goats as the dominant unit of account in that culture. For instance we may say that today a horse is worth 10 goats and a good hut is worth 45 goats. We would also say that an IOU denominated in goats would change value at much the same rate as real goats.

3. It must be a store of value

When an object is purchased primarily to store value for future trade then it is being used as a store of value. For example, a sawmill might maintain an inventory of lumber that has market value. Likewise it might keep a cash box that has some currency that holds market value. Both would represent a store of value because through trade they can be reliably converted to other goods at some future date. Most non-perishable goods have this quality.

Many goods or tokens have some of the characteristics outlined above. However no good or token is money unless it can satisfy all three criteria.

better money

e-gold.com

e-gold is...

world wide money

The world wide web needs world wide money.  e-gold was created in response to this need.

e-gold is accounted by weight of metal, not US$ or any other national currency unit.  Weight units have a precise, invariable, internationally recognized definition.  Additionally, precious metals, gold in particular, enjoy a long history of monetary use around the world.  Thus, e-gold is ideally suited for international transactions.

Although e-gold is accounted by weight, the e-gold payment system allows Spends to be expressed in terms of eight major national currencies (as of this writing).  For example, it's possible to:

• Spend 10 troy oz worth of e-gold

• Spend 5.3 grams worth of e-gold

• Spend US $100.00 worth of e-gold

• Spend CHF 685.88 worth of e-gold

This means (for example) that a Canadian can pay a German or a Japanese can pay an Australian the correct weight of gold (e-gold) for a good or service as easily as if the price had been quoted in his own national currency.  

    The power of the e-gold Spend...

All financial value will migrate to cyberspace over the next few years.  e-gold is ready so that you can be too.

e-gold is borderless -

e-gold may be Spent to any other e-gold account anywhere in the world via the e-gold shopping cart interface (SCI), the e-gold Account Manager, or web enabled mobile phone.

e-gold is quick -

e-gold payments clear instantaneously (with no chargeback risk), no matter how large the payment, no matter how far apart the Spender and Recipient.

e-gold is cost effective  -

• Spending e-gold is free, even if your recipient is on the other side of the world.
  
  

• Recipient transaction fees range from substantially smaller to orders of magnitude smaller than those of credit cards and bank wire transfers, no matter how large (or small) the payment.
  
  

• The e-gold Agio fee, which recovers bullion storage costs, passes on economies of scale normally only enjoyed by very large holders of bullion.

 

benefits all users of money

The target market for e-gold is simply people who use money.  How do you presently use money?  Chances are any of these activities would benefit from the increased soundness, security, efficiency, and lower cost of e-gold.  Here are some examples of how e-gold is presently used:

• e-commerce

• Business-to-business payments

• Point of service sales

• Person-to-person payments

• Payroll

• Bill payments

• Charitable donations

• Monetary base of the AUG* economy

* AUG is an abbreviation for the currency unit "grams of gold".

    Evolving Exchange Market

The e-gold system is designed to be absolutely free of any financial risk.  There can be no debt or contingent liabilities associated with e-gold.  For this reason, e-gold Ltd. does not possess any national currency of any nation and has no bank accounts.  Thus, e-gold Ltd. is not able to offer currency exchange services.

Instead, a growing number of independent exchange services around the world support exchange between national currencies and e-gold, accepting various remittance methods, including credit cards, bank wires, checks, and money orders.

Financial risk vs. exchange risk e-gold is entirely backed by a physical commodity rather than debt or other financial instruments; therefore, e-gold is the only currency in the world free of financial risk.  However, absence of financial risk does not mean absence of exchange rate risk.  As with any currency, the value of e-gold relative to other currencies continually fluctuates.

 

No barriers to entry

It costs nothing to open an e-gold account.  There is no credit check.  There is no minimum balance requirement.  There is no concept of a "merchant account" in that all e-gold accounts may Spend e-gold or receive e-gold payments.

In short, you are minutes away from opening your first e-gold account at:

e-gold.com

better money

e-gold® An Alternative Internet Payment System

The market for goods and services sold across the Internet is large and growing. Receiving or making payment, however, can be a problem. e-gold solves the problem. 100% backed by gold bullion e-gold is truly global, minimizes exchange risk, and meets the demands of Internet payments:

• Immediate settlement worldwide, 24/7
• Finality of payment, no chargebacks.
• Payments are bi-directional allowing interactive service payment
• The system is robust, efficient, and secure
• Merchant interfaces are easy to implement
• Transaction costs are low

e-gold, operational since 1996, has users in over 165 countries and has settled over 45 million payments. There is over $30 million worth of e-gold in circulation supporting an annual transaction volume exceeding $1 billion (USD-equivalent).

Who should use e-gold

Any business or individual who wants to make or receive convenient, secure, cost effective, and final payments across the internet. Whether your market is:

• On-line retail trade or services
• International remittances
• Micro-payments, such as music downloads
• Paid content websites
• Internet gaming
• On-line auctions

If you can not or do not want to use a credit card, e-gold is your answer.

Like Buying Gold

e-gold being backed 100% by gold bullion makes buying e-gold like buying gold, but easier. Hold it as an investment or a hedge on currency exchange and never worry about the physical gold.

It's Easy

All function are online; create and maintain accounts, access your account to make payments and review transaction history, check exchange rates, e-gold circulation and usage statistics. e-gold also provides a Shopping Cart Interface to facilitate customers buying on your site.

Extraordinary Governance and Security

• e-gold is 100% backed by gold bullion held in recognized repositories
• All transactions are on-line with access requiring account number, passphrase, Turing number, and IP address confirmation
• Transactions are settled immediately, records are maintained on dedicated servers, data integrity is highly controlled, and all hardware and software has a strong back-up and continuity program

And You Can Make Money Using e-gold

With the following Account Referral Incentive Program any merchant who enlists a new e-gold account receives 10% of the transaction fee for any transactions that customer has with anyone in the e-gold system. The more customers you have spending with e-gold, and the more they spend; the more you make.

FOL Member Incentive Program

(See FOL Members/Membership Benefits from  Home Page)

e-gold® Account Referral Incentive Program
(Updated: 1-Jan-2004)

Troy Ounces Grams e-gold XAU AUG e-silver XAG AGG e-platinum XPT PTG e-palladium XPD PDG

1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams

For every e-metal Spend greater than XAU 0.003215 worth of e-gold,  XAG 0.003215 worth of e-silver, XPT 0.003215 worth of e-platinum, or XPD 0.003215 worth of e-palladium, the payment processing fee is automatically split three ways:

• 10% of the fee is credited to the account of the person or company who originally referred the payer, i.e., you, our church or other church member
• 10% of the fee is credited to the account of the person or company who originally referred the payee, i.e., you, our church or other church member
• 80% of the fee remains with e-gold Ltd.
  

---

Terms and Conditions

1. Definitions
   For simplicity we will refer to participants in this FOL Membership e-gold incentive program as Originators, and Progeny.

Note:  In this instance, the church is the Originator and you as a new FOL Member is the Progeny.  After three months, FOL members are eligible to invite other members, and they then become the Originator and their invited member becomes the Progeny.

1. Mechanism of Referral
   Post a link (in an image, or in text) to the e-gold site similar to one of the church:
   
   http://www.e-gold.com/e-gold.asp?cid={your account number}
   https://www.e-gold.com/newacct/newaccount.asp?cid={your account number}
   
   For example, our church account number 2802246 makes ours:
   
   https://www.e-gold.com/newacct/newaccount.asp?cid=(2802246)
   
   All e-gold account holders are Originators. When you direct a new user, i.e., FOL Member, to the e-gold system using these links, they become your Progeny. You will be the beneficiary of incentive payments generated by the Progeny account. You will receive an email notifying you as each of your Progeny are "born".  When an FOL Member user clicks any of the links, a cookie, with a one week expiration, is set on the prospect's browser (assuming the prospect has browser cookies enabled - the default setting). If they create an account anytime within one week, the new account is awarded to the Originator. In the event that the prospect clicks links to e-gold from several sources, the last one clicked is awarded the Progeny account.

Note to FOL Members:  This is the reason why we enroll new members through your referral by invitation only.

Fully Automatic
The Originator system is totally automatic. Please do not contact e-gold to attempt to change your Originator after your account has been created.

1. Intended Duration of Incentive Program
   This is intended to be an ongoing, even permanent, arrangement. E-gold reserves the right, however, to discontinue it, or alter the split, or to change payment processing fees (or eliminate them altogether), at any time, without notice other than a statement on the e-gold.com web site.
   
   
2. Eligibility
   An Originator must have an e-gold account [incentive payments are automatically credited to the designated Originator's account].  E-gold prefers an Originator to have a web site, for reasons discussed below, but they reserve the right to make exceptions. The Originator must bide by the restrictions detailed below.
   
   
3. Disqualification
   E-gold reserves the right to de-activate any Originator's Origination privileges for any reason (or without cause). In the event of de-activation, Progeny that were created prior to de-activation are not taken away. The (former) Originator simply loses the ability to benefit from new Progeny. An example action that will result in loss of Originator privilege is sending mass unsolicited email (so called "spamming") promoting e-gold or containing your originator link.
   
   
4. Restrictions
   Graphics (and incidental graphic contest) Please submit graphics for approval. We prefer graphics to incorporate our e-gold logo. Text within graphics should comply with the restrictions in text, below. Some sample banners are also attached below. If you come up with a graphical design that is better than the ones we currently use, we will abstain from pirating it, rather we will offer a bid for its use.
   
   
5. Text
   Words have meanings, and there is a tendency for people, in explaining e-gold in their own words, to employ terms which are imprecise and which engender confusion. Please do not refer to a bailment as a deposit, or the e-gold system as a bank. An e-gold payment order is not a check. The e-gold monetary/payments system is not a financial system (though it will certainly be used as a foundation for financial activity). Redemption is not the same as currency exchange. Redemption means to exchange your e-gold for bullion coins or bars [the reverse of bailment]. Currency exchange is to exchange national currencies to or from e-metal (or one e-metal for another). An e-metal balance is accounted by weight, so please do not make reference to withdrawing dollars or some other national currency. We do not hold national currencies on account for anyone.
   
   
6. Cheating Your Own Originator
   Cheating your own Originator disqualifies you for further participation as an Originator.

GOLD  THROUGH  THE  AGES

The history of gold begins in remote antiquity. But without hard archaeological evidence to pinpoint the time and place of man's first happy encounter with the yellow metal, we can only conjecture about those persons, who at various places and at different times first came upon native gold. Experts of fossil study have observed that bits of natural gold were found in Spanish caves used by the Paleolithic Man about 40,000 B.C. Consequently, it is not surprising that historical sources cannot agree on the precise date that gold was first used. One states that gold's recorded discovery occurred circa 6000 B.C. Another mentions that the pharaohs and temple priests used the relic metal for adornment in ancient Egypt circa 3000 B.C. However, it is curious to note that the early Egyptian's medium of exchange was not gold but barley. The first use of gold as money in 700 B.C. is claimed by the citizens of the Kingdom of Lydia (western Turkey). Surely, you remember the kingdom of the famous fortune seeking King Croesus - circa 550 B.C.

MORE  RECENT  HISTORY

In 1792 the U.S. Congress adopted a bimetallic standard (gold and silver) for the new nation's currency - with gold valued at $19.30 per troy ounce. This remained essentially unchanged until 1834, when the price of gold was raised to the $20.67 level which held for the next 100 years. It was not until 1934 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt devalued the dollar by raising the price of gold to $35 per ounce.

Relative to today's world economic conditions, it is imperative to remember that F.D.R.'s stated purpose for dramatically increasing the value of gold was to boost commodity prices (especially farm products) and create more employment for the millions who were suffering the devastating effects of the Great Depression.

In December 1971 representatives of the ten most industrialized nations met in Washington D.C. It was their express purpose to take whatever measures in order to improve international economic conditions. The now famous Smithsonian Agreement accorded an immediate hike in the value of gold from $35 to $38 per ounce. President Richard Nixon hailed it as "the most significant monetary agreement in the history of the world." Unfortunately, it resulted in a measure too little and too late. International economic conditions continued to deteriorate, forcing the U.S. Government in 1973 to devalue the dollar a second time by raising the official price of gold to $42.22 per ounce. Finally, all international currencies were allowed to "float" freely against gold. By June of that year the London Gold Fixing had risen to an unprecedented $120 per ounce. Exploding demand during the following months set the stage for the creation of gold futures trading on the COMEX in January 1975.

A worldwide feeding frenzy for gold cannonballed its price to an all-time high of $850 per ounce on January 21, 1980. Obviously, speculative excess had carried too far. Since that date the price of gold has been in a downtrend for more than 13 years. Naturally, there have been periods of respite, when prices rebounded slightly. However, on balance the long-term bear market remained intact until April 23, 1993. On that date the June 1993 COMEX Gold futures contract closed at $347.50 - which, in our opinion, heralded a reversal of the 13 year downtrend, and thus the return of Virgil's echo: "Auri Sacra Fames"

L U R E,  L O R E  O F  G O L D

GOLD is the oldest precious metal known to man. Therefore, it is a timely subject for several reasons. It is the opinion of the more objective market experts that the traditional investment vehicles of stocks and bonds are in the areas of their all-time highs and may be due for a severe correction. In fact the traditional indicators of valuation are far past the excessive readings of 1987 and worst than even 1929! In warning recognition of current market mania, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan poignantly admonished that current market excesses display "IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE WHICH MAY LEAD TO A FINANCIAL ASSET BUBBLE!"

Therefore, astute and prudent investors are seeking alternative investments. Their strategy is to seek risk diversification away from stocks and bonds, currently near all-time highs - in order to take positions in hard assets, which are presently near multi-year lows, and hold promise for reasonable good returns in the future.

WHY  IS  GOLD  CONSIDERED  SO  PRECIOUS?

To fully appreciate why 8,000 years of experience say gold is forever, we should review why the world reveres what England's most famous economist, John Maynard Keynes, cynically called the "barbarous relic."

Why gold is "good as gold" is an intriguing question. Dr. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, suggested that "our fascination with gold is related to the erotic fantasies of early childhood." However, we think that the more pragmatic ancient Egyptians were perhaps more accurate in observing that gold's value was a function of its pleasing physical characteristics and its scarcity.

PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS

There are many physical aspects of the yellow metal which are truly amazing. Gold is the most malleable (able to be hammered into very thin sheets) and ductile (able to be drawn into a fine wire) of all metals. It is so malleable that a goldsmith can hammer one ounce of gold into a thin translucent wafer covering more than 100 square feet only five millionths of an inch thick. It would be so thin that 1,000 sheets would be needed to make up the thickness of one newspaper page. Its ductility is equally amazing. One ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire 50 miles long! Furthermore, ONLY one ounce of this marvelous metal is required to plate a thread of copper 1,000 miles long. That's really stretching it, wouldn't you say?

Since time immemorial the noble metal's resplendent luster allows it to be designed into the world's most coveted and exquisite jewelry -- fit for queens or kings.

Gold is also one of the heaviest metals known. It has a specific gravity of 19.3, which means it weighs 19.3 times as much as an equal volume of water. Therefore, one cubic foot of gold weighs 1,206 pounds. More than half a ton! This probably explains why there has NEVER been any large armed robberies of gold bullion throughout history. Who the hell could carry it?!

S C A R C I T Y

More unbelievable than its physical characteristics is its scarcity. It is well documented that the world's holdings accumulated during all recorded history to the present is only about 120,000 metric tons. Understandably, it is rather difficult for the average person to relate to this measurement. Suffice it to say that the total world's hoard of the shiny metal will occupy a single cube 60 feet by 60 feet by 60 feet - which is equivalent to the approximate volume of three 12-room homes. This is indeed a small volume of matter to have influenced the toil and destiny of so many people since biblical days. In fact the total world's holdings of the rare metal could be transported by a single solitary oil tanker - that's if Lloyds of London would ever accept the insurance risk on this priceless cargo. The value of this priceless cargo would be approximately $1.4 TRILLION!

Another way to appreciate its scarcity is to compare it to the annual steel production in the United States. According to the Iron and Steel Institute in Washington D.C., the American industry poured an average of 10,500 tons of steel per hour during all of 1995! Please appreciate that's 24 hours per day and 365 days per year - indeed, a lot of steel. In sharp contrast the world's annual gold mine production increases the total holdings by only 2.0% per year. That's an average increase in the world's gold supply of a mere 2,000 tons per year - versus 10,500 tons of American steel per hour. Gold is indeed very, very rare.

THE EXTREME DIFFICULT TASK OF PREDICTING GOLD PRICES

Baron von Rothschild, creator of one of the most famous financial dynasties of modern times, was once heard to have said that: "He only knows of two men who really understand the true value of gold - an obscure clerk in the basement vault of the Banque de Paris, and one of the directors of the Bank of England. Unfortunately, they disagree!"

"He only knows of two men who really    understand the true value of gold....    unfortunately, they disagree."                         Baron von Rothschild

Most serious students of international finance share his sense of frustration on the subject. In fact if you were to ask five different monetary analysts to explain why the price of gold moves the way it does, you would most likely get seven distinct answers.

Accurate predictions for the future price of gold are at best an exercise in speculation. Nevertheless, one may establish reasonable and logical criteria for forecasting price expectations -- based upon fundamental, technical and intermarket analysis.

"Seek the wisdom of the most expert minds in your field."

                                                               - Ralph Waldo Emerson