Money and Spirituality is a complicated topic, to say the least. Historically, Spirituality was all about renouncing all material objects and desires. Over the last few decades, there has been a tremendous shift in how we think about Money and Spirituality.
I don’t know when this shift happened precisely, yet, these days, spiritual gurus are millionaires and advocate for earning at least six figures. If you check out several spiritual teachers’ offerings, it is all about Manifestation and having more.
Monday last week, I did an Instagram Live where I spoke to Viveka about Money and Spirituality, which is an incredibly challenging topic.
If you missed it, I have uploaded the recording on YouTube.
Here are some of my thoughts on Money and Spirituality:
- We have to live, so there is no point in feeling guilty about earning money doing Spiritual Work or any other work for that matter. Your time is precious. All of us have to pay our bills.
- Much of Spirituality has been co-opted by capitalism, materialism and consumerism. No objects, clothing or food choice will make you more spiritual than the next. You cannot buy any forms of spiritual enlightenment – that can only come from a rigorous meditation practice and inwardness.
- Having money gives us a (false) sense of security in a world primarily based on money and its transactional value. Most of the time, it comes down to your attitude of mind.
- I think we have to consider what we need all of this money for? Holidays? Eating out all the time? Buying the next gadget? So much research shows that having and doing less gives us so much more wellbeing than the other way around. I recommend checking out The High Price of Materialism, Happiness and Healthy Money.
- I believe that if we can let go of the societal expectations of relentless striving to earn more money and FOMO, we will find more peace, ease and harmony because then we can slow down.
- I want to say again: I am not against earning money, earn as much as you like; we all have to cover our basic expenses. Yet, also understand that it is not all there is, nor will it bring you more life satisfaction when you have covered the necessities.
- Your worth is not dependent upon how much money you have.
Money and Spirituality, what comes next?
For me, everything is about balance. I don’t think Spirituality is about renouncing all material objects and desires, nor is it about being the wealthiest person on earth. Spirituality is an attitude of mind.
All lives are Spiritual because we are all moving through our Spiritual Lesson in whatever shape or form that takes.
We must consider what is healthy for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. That is a very different topic from “Spiritual Enlightenment” altogether.
For our overall wellbeing, we must learn to slow down and give ourselves space to rest, recover and rejuvenate. No one needs to fill every moment of their life with various activities because most of that need for “busyness” is rooted in not being able to cope well with silence and being alone.
So much of how we live our life is social conditioning, manipulation from smart marketing and habits inherited from the people we spend time with.
I am not asking you to adopt any of these ideas; you may think my relationship with money is wrong. All I am asking is that you consider how you live your life and whether consuming more all the time is actually giving you more life satisfaction or if it is all just shallow?
As I write this piece, the world faces a very challenging financial situation. I think this is the perfect moment to consider our relationship with Money and Spirituality and how we create purpose in our life.
When I work with clients in a Spiritual Healing setting, we certainly consider Money and Spirituality and the client’s relationship with it.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Money and Spirituality in the comments below.
I am sending lots of healing and strength.