Money

Money is a popular topic. Everyday there is talk about who has how much, too much and too little; who has worked, borrowed, won, stolen, or talked their way into getting more.

Money is seen as an essential need for living with many views on how much is needed, how to get it, who deserves it, and how to save, invest and spend it. It often seems that there is more interest in money than in the quality of our lives, and in fact, many believe that money determines the quality of their life. 

Common thoughts about money are that there is a limited supply, never enough and more is always better. With these thoughts, our lives are organized around getting more money.

Some of the mental burden that comes with this thinking is envy about how much others have, and anger about thinking we do not have enough. Money can get us what we want, but it is only temporary satisfaction. Money cannot give us assurance, goodwill, fulfillment or wholeness. It is this confusion about what money can and cannot give us that is the problem, not money itself.

Money buys material things and experiences. Spiritual qualities are not commodities that can be bought. Money can become a counterfeit of spiritual qualities if we attempt to “buy” what we think will provide peace, assurance, wholeness, clarity, joy, and love.

Valuing these qualities is the source of abundant good in our lives. We cannot buy them, lose them and no one can take them from us. We only have to pay attention, not pay money, to benefit from them.

With the Spiritual View, money is a useful tool to meet our needs and is neither the source of good nor bad in our lives.

We are grateful for money, and mindful of spiritual qualities that are expressed with the good that it brings into our lives. When money seems to be a problem in our lives in any way, we can consider that perhaps our thinking has narrowed to the view that money is the only thing of value and the only solution to a problem.

We may not see the value of being interested in spiritual qualities. We may be dwelling on financial experiences in the past or fantasizing about them in the future. When this occurs we can ask ourselves: “What is it I am really looking for?” “What spiritual quality is needed right now?”

Perhaps we might recognize the answers to be “What I am looking for is more money to get what I want to feel better“ and “what I really need right now is peace and clarity in this situation.”

With this Spiritual View we realize that the qualities we express are our true wealth and the good of our life.