Soul Over Matter. Zhi Gang Sha

       Introduction by Adam Markel

      IN 2013 I was leading an event in La Jolla, California, when a good friend and respected business leader introduced me to a man named Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha. A medical doctor and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor as well as a grandmaster in tai chi, qi gong, I Ching, and feng shui, Master Sha is now renowned as a spiritual healer, lecturer, and eleven-time New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty books.

      After our introduction, Master Sha surprised me by asking if he might offer a blessing to my students, and I found myself with a decision to make.

      The group that day was no tiny breakout room with a dozen chairs. There were over three hundred attendees there for a three-day event. What’s more, they were people who were experiencing their very first introduction to New Peaks, the company I led. As always, I was obsessed with ensuring that this first experience was one that delivered. We had delivered training programs to over a million people in over a hundred countries, and I knew it was that focus on delivering the highest value to our students that had helped us succeed.

      I’m no skeptic. I may be a former attorney, but I’m very spiritual, and I lead much of my life and teaching from that perspective. Without a doubt, though, I am also practical. It was this practical side of me that immediately spoke up. Was introducing this mysterious soul healer I’d just met really the right way to begin a three-day immersion experience?

      My heart told me, “Go for it.” I knew that everyone who attends one of our sessions is there for a reason. And I also knew from experience, that reason at the deepest level is almost always a desire for healing. Who better to kick off the day, then, than a healer of Master Sha’s background?

      But my head—my inner lawyer, you might say—told me, “Hang on. You don’t even really know this guy.” What if this blessing from a stranger made the wrong impression?

      Thankfully, I went with my heart. Master Sha delivered a blessing that not only was magnificent on its own, but also created an intensely sacred space for us to work in for the next three days.

      That moment of decision was the beginning of my friendship with Master Sha, and it’s also a great example of a duality that is at the heart of this book and, indeed, our world. In trying to make my decision that morning, I was shifting between two states—my rational head and my intuitive heart.

      This head/heart division is a duality we’re all familiar with. We’ve all faced moments when, caught between two states, we can’t seem to decide. It’s a common experience, and when you begin to look around, you’ll see this dichotomy everywhere. You’ll discover that, like yin and yang, left and right brain, head and heart, visible and invisible, there are two sides to everything, as inseparable as north and south or right and left.

      Nowhere is this duality more evident than in the world of money. Money is charged with head and heart conflict. Do we choose the job that pays better over the one we love? Do we save for the future or enjoy our money in the present? Is it wrong to pursue money? Are we penny-wise or pound-foolish? Money is a morass of conflicting emotions, polar opposites, and contradictions. Even our currency has two inseparable sides—the heads and tails of a coin.

      Like metaphorical heads and tails, Master Sha and I began to talk on a regular basis. We exchanged teachings, and I learned more with each conversation about the world of spiritual healing in which he worked.

      When I heard that he had a thirteen-part public television special coming out and was looking for a venue for a small preview party, I immediately offered my home. My wife and I hosted the event, a memorable evening that included Master Sha performing several special healings. It was also a great opportunity for more discussion between us.

      During that party, Master Sha commented that New Peaks did much work to help people create more financial abundance. He, in turn, did healing work for people and companies, specifically by cleansing negative karma, helping many with challenging physical issues heal and recover. Like yin and yang, head and heart, we realized that our own duality might just hold the key to something special: The two of us, with our different but inseparable approaches of mind and spirit, could help guide people through the ever-challenging world of money.

      As a business leader and former attorney, I would teach the “head” side of money—the tools, mind-sets, techniques, and thinking. Master Sha, the spiritual healer and teacher, would delve into the “soul” of money—the invisible realm of karma, spirit, and energy.

      The result of that collaboration is this book—a unique way of creating abundance by learning to understand, attract, and manage your finances through the lenses of both the mind and the soul.

       The Roots Create the Fruits

      In our New Peaks programs, we focus on teaching people that the physical things that show up in their lives—everything from their homes to their health—begin as thoughts.

      There’s good reason for this. Thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to actions, and actions lead to results in life. It’s what we call the process of manifestation, and it’s why one of the first things we want to help people do is to pivot their thinking;