Money, lack, and a world made of Love
Here's a little story for you...
Once there was a very successful bestselling author of spiritual wellness books. He also ran a very posh and popular retreat center and spa. But his appeal went far beyond just those who could afford his attentions; thanks to his regular appearances on daytime TV, his work was known and beloved by people from all walks of life.
He himself lived simply, even humbly. But over time his teachings and spa treatments gathered a devoted following of the super wealthy. And he thought: With all this success and influence I have, I want to use it to make a difference in this world.
So he brought together his super rich followers, and proposed an annual symposium held in exotic locales. Each year he would invite the very brightest and best to come and speak (at $10,000 per day, plus first class airfare), and together they would chew over the world’s most pressing problems. He especially wanted to brainstorm ways to lift up humanity. To end world poverty and inequality once and for all.
The rich elites were happy to give generously to make it happen. They, too, were sincere in their desire to live spiritually fulfilling lives, and they wanted their teacher to be happy. If this noble thing was what he wanted, he should have it.
But funny thing. They were, of course, accustomed to extreme privilege. They weren’t about to pony up all that money and then find themselves being treated like the average ticket holder at one of these events. They wanted to know their largesse was deeply appreciated...not with words but with luxury. With specialness.
Private hotel floors. Different food and amenities from the paying folk. And perks at every turn: Private coaches whisking them away to the evening events, while the rest of the yahoos patiently waited their turn to board the ordinary buses.
The most glaring example came during one big evening event. All attendees had been instructed to wear traditional evening wear; elegant dresses for the women, coat and tie for the men. Upon arrival at the outdoor courtyard where the event was to be held, the elites were quickly shown to their seats directly in front of the stage, and handed translation headsets to wear.
Everyone else was herded to the back and left to stand on the concrete in their strappy high heels, in varying states of foot agony. With no translation devices.
The president of that country eventually showed up and took the stage, to deliver a speech to the gathering. He droned on, and on...and on. And on. In Spanish. Which most of the group did not speak.
Did I mention the foot agony?
And so it went, with the grand symposium to eliminate inequality.
Bottom line: You can say, and even do, all the right things to try and make the world a better place...but if the energetic alignment underpinning the whole enterprise doesn’t match your efforts, you’ll just end up with business as usual. And incredibly sore feet.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the financial spectrum…
...there’s a slightly different energetic alignment issue.
In recent decades, spirituality has become big business, collectively generating billions. Books, CDs, blogs, podcasts, seminars, coaching, workshops, retreats. Reiki. Gong baths. Angel cards. Whatever. You name it.
All meant to serve the ache, the hunger, for relief from inner and outer pain. For a fee, of course. Or in some cases, there’s no tangible fee, but you have to consent to be marketed at relentlessly in exchange for signing up. (That’s still a fee, by the way. Money changes hands somewhere down the line, it just doesn’t seem to come directly from you.)
I’m really not pointing fingers at anyone, by the way. I myself am one of the spiritual careerists in question.
But in the spiritual populace at large, there’s been a growing feeling over the last few decades that something about all this isn’t quite right. A growing feeling that all spiritual offerings really ought to be freely available to all.
Despite the fact that this isn’t realistically how the world currently works (and perhaps has never worked), we’re touching on a surprisingly large nugget of truth here: Yes, there should ideally be no barrier whatsoever, financial or otherwise, to spiritual upliftment. True self knowledge is your birthright. And a birthright is something that’s already yours. You should never have to pay for it.
But even beyond that, payment for your own true beingness is the opposite of how the universe actually works. It’s the opposite of how the divine YOU works. And this is where the energetic misalignment comes in, not only for the givers of spiritual content, but also for the getters. Because left to its own devices, the universe operates purely in the spirit of gift.
The spirit of gift
What’s that? It means everything that’s given, is given freely and completely. No strings attached. And everything that’s received is done so in open-hearted gratitude, with the pure desire to give back. Together, these two actions set up a powerful energetic flow, where giving and receiving become one unbroken movement.
This flow has a magnetism all its own: It starts to pull in opportunities, connections, synchronicities, and yes, even money. All of which then flows back out freely, in open-hearted giving to others. Most importantly, when you’re operating in this flow, your mind, body and energetic field become aligned with who and what you really are. It’s a seriously awesome, if rather temporary, feeling.
I invite you to go back and watch the first lesson of the True Natural Abundance course, which is titled, yes, The Spirit of Gift. It very clearly outlines what is, and isn’t, the true spirit of gift. (The lesson is, quite naturally, offered to you in the spirit of gift: No strings. No signup. I don’t even get notified that someone has watched it.)
The spirit of gift in these times
I bring all this up now, because the ability to get yourself into universal flow will come in very handy, going forward.
Your divine beingness is coming on line, more and more strongly all the time (even if you can’t feel it quite yet), as the planet’s frequency goes up and up. And this abundant, open-hearted flow that we’re talking about, is one natural aspect of your own true divine identity.
However. Those who profit from the world made of fear will do everything in their power to keep you from noticing your own divine birthright of beingness. Because the last thing they want is a world full of people who know who they are, and who can effortlessly allow divine universal flow to meet all their needs.
Understand that we ourselves willingly buy into the distractions they send our way. Nobody but you has the power to make you turn away from your own true identity, and focus your attention instead on the jangly, noisy carnival of horrors that is the current world situation. That agenda of misdirection requires your active or passive participation.
Small wonder (as the natural flow of your own divine identity exponentially increases) that you would constantly be warned of impending shortages, and ever increasing threat of lack.
Small wonder that our societies are trained to believe that unchanging stagnancy equals safety. When in truth, unchanging stagnancy is the characteristic of a dead thing. And by contrast, endlessly moving flow is the very identity of life, and love, itself. Which, as we know, is where the only true safety lies. Right?
So I would urge you to start dipping your toe into the true spirit of gift. Maybe just a little to start with, because it’s pretty damn scary to jump in and try to stay there full time. But dip a toe. Give a stranger something with your whole heart, expecting nothing back. And notice how that action brings you something unexpected in return (although possibly not from the same person you gave to.)
Give a stranger something with your whole heart, expecting nothing back. And notice how that action brings you something unexpected in return.
Get a feel for the profound trust that’s required in this way of being. But also notice how, in your own experience, the true spirit of giving automatically brings the receiving of gifts back to you, because they’re two halves of the same one action.
And then the next time the world is shouting at you to be VERY VERY AFRAID of all the shortages and lack...maybe you’ll remember your little toe-dip experience into universal flow, and you’ll simply decide to turn away from the noise, and turn back toward your own divine identity instead.
It’s the most powerful action you could ever take.
As for me, I’ve been contemplating for quite a long time now, how to transition my spiritual offerings to an entirely donation-based model. So I can invite everyone who likes to buy my products, to enter into the spirit of gift with me instead.
It’s a bit complicated, but I’m actively working on it. Because it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. It’s time to try my best to live in the spirit of gift, and to hopefully stand as an example to others, of how it’s done.
Somewhat fucking scary, because I have bills to pay like everybody else. But my own true identity is calling...and it’s time for me to answer the phone.