Is poverty a state of mind?

you can think all you want that wont fill you belly you will just have very good imagination. lets tell our farmers to imagine that their storage is full of water that they have lots of green grass to feed the starving animals, thet petrol prices are very low. Tell them and wait for it :))))))))) Next time my husband tells me he is hungry I will tell him to imagine beef roast.

For one thing poverty, financial security, wealth and abundance do not have the same association for everyone. In the circumstances you describe the sudden change in lifestyle can create an inability to cope unless given the tools to do so. Any radical shift in anyone's lifestyle creates an un-grounding effect and it is not surprising that the figures you cite as a direct result of social and economic disaster. The idea that positive thinking and working to change your life by changing your beliefs is something that doesn't happen instantly. It is a process of inner development where people decide what inner abundance represents to them. As we all know there are those with immense wealth who die shriveled up and alone like Howard Hughs. He had great financial wealth but was spiritually and emotionally impoverished. There are others who are happy, fulfilled and living with what they feel is an abundant life because they have enough supply to keep them and their families feeling comfortable within the means they have. In our 17 years together David and I have learned that wealth is not just what we have..but what we can live without. Who is wealthier...the person who is addicted something and has plenty of money to buy it..or the person who doesn't desire the addictive substance at all? In my view truly wealthy people carry their riches within. They less they need of this physical world, the wealthier they are..whatever they have is fine. Wealth and richness within positive thinking includes joy, balance, equanimity, inner peace..enjoying one's own company and the ability to love and appreciate ourselves...and others. So in this framework I see poverty and wealth in different frameworks than many others do...but it sure works for me! Another good topic...I appreciate yours too! Raia

This is where "The Law Of Attraction" moves to a large scale. First of all, there is a universal law that operates behind the scenes, whether we want it to or not, and affects our lives. It's more complicated than just thinking positive thoughts. It's takes becoming a student and really learning and studying. It basically takes "unlearning" a lot of things. Having said that, when we look at the hardships that many folks face over basic, daily survival, just because they don't have the money to pay rent, utilities, food, medical care, what makes us accept that as natural? This is a true flaw in our thinking. This is a belief that there is scarcity in the world, that poverty is acceptable. I know, without a doubt, there are enough natural resources in this world, right now, that everyone could have a home, food, electricity and medical care, even if they couldn't pay a dime. Shouldn't the basics be a given birthright to every human? There is NO scarcity in this world. There are corrupt institutions that are feeding off of our belief that this is "just the way it is". We all need to change our mindset about this.

'Poverty' is defined as 'scarcity and want 'and we normally associate it with a lack of the basic necessities of life. English is a beautiful language that gives us a great scope and epithets are used appropriately and forcefully to convey different ideas.Figurative usage takes precedence over the literary usage in many cases. I strongly feel that when you refer to the poverty of a person it only indicates the state of being and not the state of mind. Positive thinking can teach you equanimity of mind, a proper motivation and determination to find ways and means of survival,and methods to overcome this poverty . There is a proverb in our language which says that when one person is wailing over his lack of salt for a rice porridge[indicating necessity] another is crying that he does not have enough sugar and flavour for his milk. [This is an age old proverb and here milk signifies luxury-do not interpret it from the current scenario, where milk may just be an affordable necessity.] We are not talking of subjective and figurative interpretations of poverty but stating what it is.I have also seen rural folks and have heard what life was when there was drought. The lady who spoke to me was a very positive thinker and used to state facts as they were-she was a poor vegetable vendor, who was very rich in mind. Due to this right approach of hers she [an illiterate woman , widowed at a very young age with 4 children to support]pulled herself up, used to carry vegetables and deliver them door to door . Now her children are all married and she still carries on with her small business]-I have always admired her for her tenacity and extraordinary contentment. Nevertheless, her poverty could not be denied. It has been a sort of hand-to-mouth existence for her. Coming back to the topic, I stick to what I said earlier-Poverty is undeniably a state of being[whether it is caused by self , by laziness, by squandering , or by natural disaster] and positive thinking can combat it and get you out of it. You speak to a person who had his/her basic necessities unfulfilled and who then came out of it-you will still hear him say that at one point of time he was terribly poor but positive thinking took him out of it. But the bitter truth cannot be denied. Only what happens in real life is we find people like what I had quoted in my 2nd example[regional proverb]and this gives rise to arguments like what you have pointed out.

I do agree that positive thinking helps but you must also apply action to this. You can't just sit around and think positive thoughts. You have to have a plan of action.

I don't think that poverty is just a state of the mind. When your stomach complains of poverty, when you don't have roof over your head to shelter your from rain or the cold of night, when you feel the cold deep in your bones because you don't have enough thick clothes, then that is poverty and it's so real, far from being imaginary.

Poverty is indeed the lack critical thinking to disentangle ones'self from poverty situaton. people who think get what they want inorder to conquer poverty-those who are at the end of their thinking capacity to harness wealth will obviously miss out!

I think poverty is definitely a very real thing, and not something that you can 'think your way out of'. I have, however, met people who insisted things like that there were no poor people in America. Of course, these were people who were on vacation in Europe, so they were definitely not poor. Positive thinking can help, but I think money, new skills, and luck would be more of a solution.

I was just reading a book about the power of positive thinking and I learned about the Law of attraction thing. It worked for me. Well it's not like you just think about it but it is energy we are driving to work towards the things we like to happen. If everything we see around us are made of energy including us. Thought is pure energy. so we actually have what it takes to create anything we want to create.

Thoughts without actions do not work.....Just like faith without works....We have to study and learn so that we can make them work together. There is a way to plan to change things and to make them better. I dont think anyone can expect over night results. Its takes budgeting and becoming a good financial manager to see long term results. You cant have it all now and be saving for the future too, savings has to be established so that more isnt going out the back door then what is coming in the front door.

Maybe yes, because our mind controls our physical condition. It really depends what are your basis of categorizing people as poor. If you base it on money and people don't have any then he or she is poor. If you base it on having a simple, happy and loving family and people have broken families then they are poor. it really depends.