Money
By Stephen Thomson
“Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around...”
Cabaret
Perhaps now, more than at any time other time in recorded history, questions and concerns about money is occupying a lot of time and space in our consciousness. For most of us, these days are about working hard to remain calm, at a time when it feels like there is a big hole in the bucket and no one can find a patch. However, there is a gift for all of us during this time. On a personal level, what it represents and how we respond to our own issues surrounding money is one of the most important steps of our path. This is where we can discover some of the most awesome opportunities for spiritual growth and personal self-discovery. On one hand, money can be the single issue that creates confusion and robs us of our peace and harmony. Yet, at the same time, there are incredible things money can do for us and we can do for others. We have an opportunity to do deeper work on our personal and spiritual issues surrounding money in these days.
Money was invented in various forms by humankind, to represent and communicate the value of goods, services or the "gifts" of another. A loaf of bread costs the baker x amount of money to cover supplies, labor and other parts of their overhead. In exchange, we recognize the value of all of these elements by paying the set purchase price. We all get this. In the amount we pay for the bread, there is also a far more important element. That is the unspoken, intrinsic value of the Baker. So over the years, as humankind has evolved, money has also taken on the form of expressing the value or worth of a person. Furthermore, the amount of money we earn and the way we use that money becomes a significant expression of our personal value and worth. We also use money as an active expression for what we think is the value or worth of something. There are certain things we choose not to spend money on, even though the resources are available. This represents in our value structure, the sense that the price is too high for our perceived value of the object. For example, we may spend more money at the grocery store and skip going out for dinner.
How do issues of money in the material world translate to our spiritual path? There has always been and will always continue to be a lot of questions about money and the role it plays in our spiritual quest. One source of confusion comes from traditional religion. The teachings hold that in order to know God we must give up all worldly concerns and attachments. And that is our goal in this lifetime and many to come. Yet, we continue to have other issues in this lifetime that keeps us from these higher aspirations. Here’s something we can be certain of as we observe our lives at this time. Karmic indicators clearly points to personal, as well as a worldwide path of spiritual growth on the earth at this time being solidly rooted in money. The basis for our current worldwide financial issues has been clearly laid out for us. The short version is that on a global level, we found ourselves stuck in the need to make and spend more money. It is nearly impossible to be unaware of the issues that money creates. Life is bigger, newer, more flashy and about power. Money is a tasty morsel that’s hard not to take a quick lick of or maybe even a big bite. If our consciousness is so occupied on this issue, it stands to reason that this is our path. That translates to tests and trails. It’s also a sure path for our own growth and the single issue that inhibits our connection to the Divine. There’s also the question of how to place a value on our spiritual worth and the money we spend in support our journey. We live in a world where money is the basis for every evaluating life. What does it cost? This may also be the underlying issue in realizing the value of spiritual teachers, practioners, and pilgrimages to sacred places or retreats with a spiritual focus. We want some sort of tangible proof for the money we spend. Yet, our goal as spiritual people and the work we do in advancing the soul happens beyond the physical world. For the most part, there is very little tangible proof for our work, as in comparison to bright new shiny car in the driveway. It’s hard to make the jump from the visible to the invisible world and try to use the same methods of measuring success, as well as value. Where we have to look in order to satisfy this need for some kind of proof can be seen in what we know has changed in our hearts and minds.
There’s also the question of how to place a value on our spiritual worth and the money we spend in support our journey. We live in a world where money is the basis for every evaluating life. What does it cost? This may also be the underlying issue in realizing the value of spiritual teachers, practioners, and pilgrimages to sacred places or retreats with a spiritual focus. We want some sort of tangible proof for the money we spend. Yet, our goal as spiritual people and the work we do in advancing the soul happens beyond the physical world. For the most part, there is very little tangible proof for our work, as in comparison to bright new shiny car in the driveway. It’s hard to make the jump from the visible to the invisible world and try to use the same methods of measuring success, as well as value. Where we have to look in order to satisfy this need for some kind of proof can be seen in what we know has changed in our hearts and minds.
The path is an unending process of objectively analyzing who we are in this incarnation. Armed with this knowledge, we are then equipped to understand the ways in which our personal behavior impacts our spiritual aspirations. In this process and along the way, we continuously find ourselves face-to-face with the real human drama inside and the world it creates for us. Money is one of the greatest drama inducing issues of life. In this place lies our truth and is made up of the energy we create and results in the separation we feel between the Divine and us. Somewhere on the road, we come to some level of self-realization, of the contrary energy at play for which we are sole creators. The watch we keep over our actions and reactions insures our growth and reminds us to be ever mindful of what we are creating. This is especially true with regard to money and our attachments to all it represents.
Money does become an attachment in our lives. As we accumulate more and more, we can find ourselves building an equal amount of fear energy that we will loose what we have accumulated. Living in that fear robs us of the necessary peace needed to continue our deepening relationship with God. There is also the added element of disbelief. Do we believe our Universe to be bountiful? Isn’t there a contradiction in believing we own something, in contrast with seeing everything as energy? As something that is on loan to us for the length of our lifetime? So we have to look at our own fears around money. That there will not be enough or what we have will be lost or what we have will be taken from us. It’s not that money is bad. Money is the energetic currency of the spiritual way. What is most important is our attitude and attachment to money.
Our path is about self-realization. Therefore, any issue we have with money is in part personal. Money represents status, value and worth in the world. And we have become a world that judges a person to a greater extent based upon material considerations. Knowing this and with this mindset, comes a whole list of human emotions we must endure, as we judge or compare ourselves to others. In these moments we can find ourselves with fear, envy or anger that someone has more than us. And in that single moment we affect our health and release a whole slew of negative energy all over the planet and on ourselves. Intense emotions such as envy and jealousy are guides for what we are here to transmute and arts of our nature.
It takes a lot of thinking, meditation and prayer to even begin to develop a personal understanding of what money means to us. This search can begin with thoughts about our upbringing and what we were taught about money as children. As we grew into maturity, our early experiences mixed with our own blend of attitudes about money. The next step is the questions about how important the pursuit of money is in relationship to our unfolding nature as spiritual people. And how much time and energy we are willing to give to insure a certain level of prosperity? On one hand, we are all citizens of a material world, one in which we clearly need money to provide support for our everyday needs.
No matter what our path, there is great value in coming to terms with our personal issues around money. Based upon the current nature of the world in which we live, there will always be someone who has more or less than us. The content of our life and our relationship to money started lifetimes and lifetimes ago. Therefore, our personal power is only part of what we need to transcend our karma with the end result being financial wealth. So there is confusion for most of us around what is appropriate for us with money.
The old cliché, there are no free lunches, represents a deep spiritual concept conveyed in simple language. Paramahansa Yogananda wrote that with every material addition to our lives comes with a hook. A new car may come with a monthly payment. The payment means we have to be concerned about whether we will be able to make the payment. There are budget restraints that come with a new car depending on where we live, including insurance, taxes and maintenance. The boil continues. So money may seem to be the answer to the problems in life, but in truth can create the biggest distraction to our quest.
The fundamental decision we have to make is what we hold as most important in our lives. This is the stuff of our goals. Asking ourselves again and again what it is we wish to achieve as spiritual people, and then going about accomplishing that, is what the path is about. If it seems we want a deeper connection with the energy of the Universe in which we live that requires certain action. On the other hand, if it feels in our hearts that our lives are meant to be devoted to the quickening of our soul, another set of circumstance is called into action in our lives. For each of us, the decision is whether we want to start each day counting our money or thinking of this incredible Universe in which we live. Do we want to be in any emotions of fear that we are lacking and will not be able to make it?
Probably one of the single biggest steps we can take is to have faith and enter into a consciousness of the bounty of our world. Not for a bigger car or a more lavish home. But certainly that our needs will be taken care of and we will be able to continue our journey of Spirit, if we see that as our top priority. This is putting action behind our beliefs and living our truth. After all, that is exactly what we are doing now. The truth of who we are is in front of us and expressed in every detail of our life. It’s there for us to see. And there is nothing like the issue of money to bring it into focus.
The obvious question is whether or not we can be wealthy individuals and spiritual people at the same time? The answer is a qualified yes. If we overcome the ego needs, emotions and behavior that are so much a part of the human experience. There have been many wealthy, spiritual people who have used the resources entrusted in them by the Divine, to do great works on behalf of humankind. They had the money, but not the attachment. The dividing factor between money and spirit comes about in how we feel about money.
When the discussion of money and spirituality is done, there is one thing for certain. We cannot use money to bargain for an advanced soul. Whether or not we have money, the only path to being a more spiritual person is within and through our faith in a better day and a better world in which to live. Money just can’t buy that.
I welcome you questions and comments. Write me at steve@stephenthomson.net
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