“The money is there,” the students say, “but it’s just not administered adequately.” There’s no doubt money and self-value are themes this month. Synchronic events, dreams or visions and the natural / cosmological realities point the finger (so to speak) to particular lessons of learning and healing twice a month during the Full Moon (cosmological influence) and the New Moon (natural influence). Every Moon offers an opportunity to explore a “theme.” With the Moon of Self-Value I’ve been exploring the topic of “money as resources.” Before the Greeks and the Romans came up with the idea of coins for money, leaders of clans or tribes still had to deal with the notion of “managing resources.” Chiefs managed food, water, tools and horses etc… It was all about survival. Certainly people weren’t strangers to the idea of “exchange.” They traded resources; which could vary between blankets, food or skills. Individuals had to dig deep and discover their own worth in order to be useful and indispensable to the collective.
Did you know that money was originally seen as “black magic?” In 600 B.C. the notion of plastering your face on a coin and distributing it to the mass was understood as invoking magical presence; hence, using one’s energy to dominate and influence others. There’s no doubt the Greeks and Romans attempted to overpower society and rather than “manage the resources” they hoped to “control them.” Ironically perhaps, it was this frame of thinking, that shifted humanity away from nature.
Nature teaches us to trust and to take only what we need: The law of bare necessity. Amazingly these days, even the “rich” struggle with poverty consciousness in our modern, Western society. Collective thinking puts focus on wanting and consuming rather than value and contentment. It doesn’t matter whether you have the money or not – individuals today are constantly looking for more and better rather than acquiring exactly what they need and to be satisfied with it. In Nature everything that is born from the Earth reaches appropriate dimensions and eventually stops to grow unlike humanity; which is prone to obsessive growth and obsessive behaviours (psychological, emotional, physical or spiritual).
If we are truly touching or dealing with life energy we should grow to the point of feeling full and abundant. If it isn’t life energy we are working with – then, what is it? Fears, insecurities, issues, burdens, domination, control etc… maybe? Wouldn’t we want to be dealing with life energy? And if so how do we get to do that..
For me, abundance is synonymous with resources. Abundance should be “tools” of sorts; which support, assist, guide, and inspire. We need to change the way we see or understand money. Ironically, we’re still impacted by our ancestor’s original perspective on money. We still see it as something “evil” or something “negative”. How many of us speak of the Government especially during tax season, as thieves? We still see the governing power as an energy; which imposes domination over the mass. From a shamanic point of view – the only way we can reach abundance is by shifting perspective. We need to look at money the same way we look at “a river” – as resource.
Do we look at every drop of rain that goes into the making of a river or do we look at a river as simply a body of running water? It’s there – and Nature takes care of providing it for us. All we need to do is be caregivers and guardians of sorts; making sure the river remains healthy, free flowing, and available to all. We need to let go of fears, worries and stress – and begin to look at money as resource.
Many years ago when my children were in high school they had to do this project; which explored the value of money. Basically, they had to look at the whole process of finding employment, calculating income and then, seeing how to spend this money (housing, food, car payments etc…) I wanted them to get more than a practical understanding of what it means to have resources. I wanted them to empirically feel what it means to be abundant. We talked about “dreams” and setting a plan in order in order to accomplish this dream.
What makes you feel happy? What makes you feel strong? What makes you feel full? And how to you come to accomplish this fullness every day with every breath? It takes perseverance, courage, trust, work and strength. It takes not giving up on your dream and being present when it is provided to you in whatever shape or form. Once you can feel “fullness” you can strategize to feel it all the time in many different ways.
Money needs to be connected to the soul and to “the soul’s journey” in order for “it” to be about abundance. What we give and receive should always relate to “what we value.” Self-discovery, spiritual journeying or psyche development (call it what you want) is crucial to our growth process or to the path; which leads to enlightenment. When we speak of consciousness, abundance, gratitude, learning and healing – we speak of “riches”. I can’t see “money” being a tool that leads to a positive experience unless it’s attached to the soul’s journey and unless it leads ultimately to contentment or fulfillment. Remember riches are meant to make us feel FULL.
I used to tell my son: “It doesn’t matter if you have a two dollar bill or a one hundred dollar bill in your pockets both should make you feel rich.”
One day last year, CT came up to me and said: “I know what you mean now when you talk about feeling FULL no matter how much money you have in your pockets. You shouldn’t feel stress or dread when you look at what you’ve got in your wallet. You should always feel glad… I get it now because I’ve had the experience. For the first time ever I can say “I feel rich” because I know how it feels to be FULL.”
Consciousness is behind the concept of “abundance” and hence, should be behind our understanding or our perception of “money.” Support what you value. Bring change to your life by bringing values to your daily living; to your employment; to your moments of silence. Remember that “cooperation” is the way of Nature. Rather than replay the old ancestral stories of domination and destruction from Greek and Roman times, open yourself up to new stories.
Like we learn with the help of the Medicine Wheel: Step on the stones of renewal, purification and wisdom.
Mother Earth teaches us to “take only what we need and to trust.” It tells us to leave some resources for others; to consider others – hence be communal. It teaches us to collaborate, to cooperate, and to share. We are ONE. The Medicine Wheel philosophy shows us that there are seeds of light and seeds of darkness. We can seed love, patience and generosity like we can seed hatred, violence and despair. We feed our fears by feeding our garden with danger and enemies. As much as the sun and rain feeds the seeds in nature, our focus, our intentions, our actions feed our human seeds.
What do you want in your garden? What fills you? Do we have to continue the story where money is about exploitation and destruction or can we shift our perspective (our attitudes and behaviours)? Personally, I try as best I can to connect my “money” to my soul’s journey: It’s Nature’s way to go! When people tell me that it’s disrespectful or a lack of sacredness to combine money to “spirituality” or to the “Shaman’s path or Shaman’s vocation” I always shake my head in disapproval. I don’t think there is a bigger cause than that of “changing the way we look at money or even work with it.” Money literally controls our society and we need to make a shift in consciousness. The Shaman’s way from my perspective is to bring awareness and balance; learning and healing to all events or experiences that are struggling and suffering. Our society in suffering from a lack of power and a lack of abundance. It takes shifting our perspective to start a healing process – why not impact what controls us and give us access to resources?
Lets give MONEY the color of our SOUL.
Comments
My concern with money is in many ways, money is power, and power can corrupt some people. They become greedy, and are more concerned with having MORE than the suffering of those around them. Blind to all but their own desires. Those people can do a lot of harm, especially to people who are not adequately evolved to SEE and to protect themselves. Sort of a predator/victim scenario. When I catch on to that stuff, I step away. I don't have time or energy to deal with that sort of nonsense.
I like your end comments... awareness & balance, learning and healing, shifting perspective.
Cool!
(Hugs) Miranda
two things that stood out to me were that all old religions spoke of how lending money (especially indiscriminately)was not good for the soul, and now it is what we are expected to depend upon.
The other thing was that the old Islamic economic system would only let a lender make a profit if the person or business they invested in also made a profit. Therefore money could only be put towards abundance. It encouraged people to seek out abundance. The current system only encourages indiscriminate consuming. And lenders often gain from the failure of the person or business to make profit.
I've never liked owing or borrowing money. I do the old fashioned save it up until I have enough. When I have enough then it is the right moment to use it. I can not make promises and commitments with things I do not have. How can I share nothing? I choose patience over debt. I choose abundance.