born has learned to breathe in a situation of fear and panic of
death by suffocation.
Dr. Leboyer proposes that the umbilical cord be left intact until
the newborn naturally expels the amniotic fluid and learns to
breathe on its own. He argues that this gentle birth procedure elim-
inates trauma to the spine caused by its rapid straightening, elimi-
nates trauma to the sinuses caused by the amniotic fluid draining
out, and produces an ease about life and breathing not experi-
enced by survivors of so-called normal birth.
Some people may point out that birth happened a long time
ago (it did) and that they do not remember it (most don’t). Some
may even argue that newborns are incapable of experiencing
pain—but they have to be people who haven’t spent any time with
newborns. Breathing we do all the time. Patterns of struggle im-
printed on the breathing mechanism at birth are likely to be a con-
tributing factor to the pervasive belief that life is a struggle. This is
something for you to consider if you are thinking of having a baby.
Similar struggle patterns may be operating for you, especially if you
felt squeamish or uncomfortable while reading the preceding sec-
tion or if you noticed that your breathing stopped.How Unresolved Guilt May Be Affecting Your Financial
Life in Unknown WaysWhy the topic of unresolved guilt? Parental and societal training
unintentionally leads most people to accept the income that is of-
fered from work they tolerate. A significant percentage of the peo-
ple we have worked with have broken free of past conditioning by
successfully dealing with unresolved guilt from various sources.
The definition of guilt that makes the most sense is that guilt is
self-punishment in a universe perceived to be unsafe. If you did
something wrong in an unsafe universe, it would seem a good idea
to punish yourself first in an attempt to beat the much bigger and
stronger universe to the punch. Thus, guilt is truly its own punish-
ment. Additionally, guilt is less selective than you may believe. Guilt
about some issue completely unrelated to money may be limiting
your financial success without your awareness.
Forgiveness (which means giving up the claim of retribution, in-
cluding retribution against yourself) frees you from guilt. There is
also the possibility that failing to resolve guilt for unacceptable be-114 Stop Wasting Your Energy