Money and Spirituality in the New Paradigm

This is a great article from this month's issue of OM Times Magazine. There is a link to the October issue at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!

Blessings,
Sharon.


By Jenny Griffin
So, ‘The Shift’ has come and gone, right? And yet money still exists and the world hasn’t come to an end. So what exactly has happened, and how do we make sense of working with old, existing structures in the new paradigm?

Too often lately I’ve heard people lament that they have to pay for services that they believe should be free – such as spiritual guidance from those who have chosen that as a career.  There’s some huge anger and resistance around the idea of paying when you feel as if your world is falling apart around you, and you ‘just want help, NOW!’ The other side of this equation is that too many people who’ve taken personal and financial risks to provide services and value that just cannot be found elsewhere are uncertain about charging for their work. This is very much tied into old paradigm thinking.

Money is not going to disappear, not in the way that some may have hoped or imagined. The energetic imprint of money, however, is changing constantly so that the old ideas of money as a means to freedom, success or power are being replaced with new understandings. The old structures were based on the distorted Masculine energy that stresses power over, competition and exploitation of those less powerful than yourself. The new energy is rooted in the Feminine, which stresses collaboration, receptivity and abundance for all. These energies were, under the old regime, disdained and made to be seen as weaknesses or failures.

(This is not to suggest that one is preferable to another, just that there are two opposing energies at play. Masculine energy in its right power is the perfect complement to Feminine energy. The distortion that has taken place over millennia has caused us to stray far from the original and beautiful energy behind the Masculine.)

The shift is not only a transition into new physical structures, but also into new thought patterns, new belief systems. So the resistance and anger that arises around the idea of charging for spiritual services comes from the discordance between money as tied to the old structures and money as connected to a divine exchange of energy. Money in and of itself is inert – it has no energetic connection to good, bad or anything in between.

If you remain tied to the understanding of it as something that controls your destiny, or your energy (as in, ‘the bank owns me, my house and everything in it, so I have to work 700 hours a week to make sure I don’t lose my stuff’), you will find that it keeps you tied to the old distorted Masculine (something outside of yourself has authority). If, on the other hand you see money as a way to maintain your own energy flow – it comes in and it supports the creative work you do to provide more value to those you serve, and then it goes out – you are working in a more Feminine energy.

The original intent behind money was to serve as a common understanding of exchange – if I took three sheep to the market, I could be more or less guaranteed the same exchange my neighbour received yesterday. Before money was the medium of exchange, horses, pigs, pebbles, or turnips may have been the currency of choice. So if we return to that concept, the one that existed before the distortion of the Masculine set in, we can see that it is simply a tool in the process of exchange – I have something you’re seeking, you give me something I can use in exchange.

So why is spiritual work so often viewed as something outside of this means of exchange? It may be that it’s often relegated to the ‘last resort’ category, when people are hurting so badly that they see it as their only option, perhaps depleted (energetically or otherwise) by their long journey to where they are. It’s a need for soul guidance, for emotional nurturing, both of which have fallen under the realm of the (weak) Feminine for so long that they have become de-valued. Characteristics that are viewed as inherently Feminine in nature (intuition, creativity, nurturing, healing, compassion, emotions) have been deemed value-less in terms of monetary exchange for so long that people have shifted their views of the world to incorporate that as the truth.

It is also related to old structures connected to those who took vows of poverty in order to follow a path that led to God. Somewhere along the line God/Spirit/Source became disconnected from the pursuit of wealth, which accordingly, was seen as the ‘opposite’ path. In the case of religious orders whose members gave up their livelihoods to serve, they were taken care of in every other way – food, shelter, medical care, education. In the case of modern spiritual practitioners, that is not the case. It is not possible to divorce the ideas of money and spirit unless you are willing to be destitute or live off the charity of others forever.

The Shift we’ve all been waiting for, in terms of monetary system changes, lies within each of us. If someone has something that you seek out, something you value, then you must be willing to offer an exchange for that. If the person is willing to exchange something other than money, that’s between you and them, but be upfront about it and be very clear before you begin.

If you’re not willing to offer an exchange, examine your motives – are you looking for a quick fix but not really prepared to do the work you need to do to heal? Do you want someone else to do the hard work for you (i.e. does being a victim serve you in some way)? Do you not believe you are worth making a commitment to (financially or otherwise), to advance your own life in some way? Would you, for instance, walk into a restaurant and expect food for free, knowing that their business runs on the production and delivery of food?

Many healers and spiritual people have been through the depths of their darkness to get to where they are today, which makes them embodied experts in their fields. You have sought them out for the unique gifts and value that they provide, and in order to honour that gift, an exchange is required. If they were to continue giving until they were depleted, they would not be available for you or others who come seeking their guidance. If you were to receive their assistance for nothing, the energetic value you assign to that help is also nothing. With that in your energetic memory banks, you proceed into the exchange with less impetus to honour and respect what you are receiving than if you had paid for it.

If you stand firmly in the knowledge that your life is priceless, you will understand that to make whatever exchange is necessary to protect and nurture that life is a gift to you. Recognize also that the person whose guidance you seek holds their life in the same esteem, knowing that their gift is to be honoured and valued as they deserve for their own protection and nurturing.

 You can find Jenny at: The Power of Change

Click Here to read this issue

The Dance of Life

Below is a recent posting by Jennifer McLean, host of "Healing With The Masters". It speaks very well about what many of us are experiencing these days in our relationships, and what those relationships are showing us about ourselves. Remember, if someone is triggering us, it is ONLY about us. It has nothing to do with the other person. They are only our messenger so we can identify emotional wounding and beliefs that are driving our life experience. I have said many times that, with the new energies on the planet, these buried emotions will no longer be ignored. We came here this time to "finally" deal with them and transmute and transcend them. Resistance to doing so will cause them to continually re-surface, with increasing intensity, begging for our attention. This is not to be feared, but celebrated! Recognizing and dealing with our "triggers" is the only route to true freedom. So, let's get on with it!

Until next time,

Sharon.

"I want to remind you of something very powerful today... Each of us is a perfect piece of thread in this Divine tapestry of life, expressing the Divine part of us. This means that, yes, even the "adversaries" or "attackers" in our lives are a perfect piece of thread in this Divine tapestry of life, too. There is always a beautiful expansion through whatever is happening with these individuals. There is a perfect, divine frequency for all.

Even though it may be dim or hidden, take a moment to focus your intention and attention on noticing the light of your adversaries and appreciate and acknowledge their individual expressions of the Divine.

As you observe their light from your powerful, Divine stance of knowing, allowing, compassion and acceptance, you share your light with them, understanding from your soul place that they are doing the best they can - even if it doesn't appear so. The more you observe their light, the more it expands, as does yours.

You see, the dance of life uses dissonance to move us back into the place of love. Dissonance creates within us new ideas, actions, decisions. Allowing dissonance stirs up within it the uncomfortable emotions and lower vibrating energies that are ready to be transmuted and transmogrified. It shows up, we are triggered, and, when we allow and embrace, we get to the other side of love and freedom then back to the sacred place of knowing, compassion, and acceptance on a higher level.

When we acknowledge occurrences with appreciation, essences of freedom and peace await us.

So, allow what's happening to be fully experienced. Even things that appear uncomfortable - or not fun - are all part of the tapestry and threads of you...

All events are light showing up in various forms and frequencies. No one is misbehaving, nor betraying, nothing is broken and there's no such thing as "obstacle" or "stuck." Those are only coping expressions. There's really only light as life unfolding.

Allow all of it to be as is. Look for and observe the light. It's all good."

With Blessings & Gratitude,

Jennifer McLean

CEO McLean MasterWorks

Host, Healing With The Masters

Author, Healer, Speaker, Entrepreneur

support@mcleanmasterworks.com

Celebrate What's Right With the World!

This is a great video forwarded by a Group Coaching client. Well worth the 22 minutes. It's a message we have been waiting to hear.  Enjoy, integrate, and celebrate!

Dewitt Jones is one of America’s top professional photographers. Twenty years with National Geographic photographing stories around the globe has earned him the reputation as a world-class photojournalist. As a motion picture director, two of Dewitt’s films were nominated for Academy Awards. Visit his website at dewittjones.com

The Unseen Trap of Self Development

We have been programmed to believe that there is something lacking in us, or there is some information or knowledge that we need to obtain before we can live a happy, fulfilled life. That, to be whole, we have to obtain something (craving), or get rid of something (aversion). Craving and aversion are the two components that make up the false sense of self. This drives and perpetuates a sense of lack, separation, and suffering.

Two programs that feed this perpetuation are called Self Development and Law of Attraction. If these programs actually worked for the good of our well being, why is there so much chaos, despair, hate, frustration and hopelessness?

Self development has failed because it has convinced us that we are lacking, we don’t understand, we don’t get it. This is a massive declaration to the universe that we somehow need fixing. Furthermore, these teachings, for the most part, focus on the brain and mind, keeping us locked in the mental plane. This is a form of resistance to what is within us because we are much, much more than our intellect.

When we come from a place where we believe we have to change something because we need healing or we need fixing, all the action we take gives more support to this false premise and the problems we perceive actually become worse.  This is why depression and feelings of suicide are so prevalent throughout society today.

The result of most Law of Attraction teachings are that we become convinced that we need stuff in order to be happy and that has taught us to look outside of ourselves, into the external world, for what we want.

The L of A teachings also focus on the mind and the brain and lead us to believe that our mind has the answers, but the conscious mind doesn’t know how to create.  The universe does not respond to our thoughts or our words. It responds ONLY to the vibration that those thoughts and words create. Science has shown that, at the quantum level, everything is oneness and that like vibration attracts like vibration.

It doesn’t matter how good our Law of Attraction techniques are because the underlying premise is false – that we are lacking in something, and that something is external to us. That is the seed we keep planting (awareness of lack), and that is the fruit we keep reaping (more awareness of lack). We are using the power of the mind to focus on lack, which creates a vibration of lack, which must, therefore, manifest. As a result, we are now experiencing the largest global economic distress since the great depression. Not a coincidence.

So trying to attract, achieve, manifest, etc. is all a form of resistance that is sending a message of I don’t have, I’m not enough, something is missing, something is lacking, something is broken, something is wrong.  So I need to do some more self development work, and I pick up another book, or listen to another presentation, or attend another seminar and the merry go round continues with little lasting change.

What if all of these teachings of Self Development and Law of Attraction we have followed so closely were not true after all, or only partly true? What if there isn’t anything about us that needs to be healed, fixed, or improved? What if we finally understood what it really means that “you create your own experience”?

Science has shown, at the quantum level, that there is just a oneness, a singularity, an undivided whole, a perfect pattern, a perfect beingness that is radiating only pure infinite wholeness.

We need to wake up to that part of us that comes from that perspective. That part of us that has never been damaged or betrayed, abandoned, rejected, diminished, or hurt in any way. That part of us that doesn’t need to be healed, fixed or improved and which, in fact, can’t be improved because each of us is already a masterpiece.

We need to understand we are perfect and have no limitations. This is not a metaphysical trick, but a mystical truth.

We don't need stuff to experience happiness. In actual fact, we need to get happy first to allow all of the stuff to enter our experience. That is what is meant by being in the world but not OF it. When we paint the pictures of our desires on the world, from the heart rather than the head, and do it from a place that "I am already whole and complete", then the "stuff" can appear for our enjoyment and comfort, rather than to fulfill us at some level.

So most conventional L of A teachings are fundamentally incomplete because at the quantum level we are, already, everything we desire. Contrary to what we have been taught, it is not up to us to make it happen by attracting it to us, we can only make it welcome which allows it to emerge through us into this reality.

Until next time,

Sharon.

Lower, Middle, and Higher Self

Thanks to a Group Coaching subscriber for this very insightful response after the August 5 call:

"I did listen to the call last night on my phone.  I was particularly interested in the discussion of the subconscious (lower self), middle, and higher self parts of our consciousness.  I am guessing that the lower self is another way of looking at the reptilian part of our brain.  After giving it some thought after the call, I connected any kind of addictive or compulsive behavior to the Lower Self.  What I didn't understand until now is that by focusing on the fact of "where" the compulsiveness comes from and how to "shut it down" is something that IS controllable by just giving it a moment's focus (or more, if necessary :-) ) and elevating those thoughts to the Higher Self.  I will experiment with that for the next few days and report on my findings.  I am guilty of some personal habits that could stand a bit of re-vision.

Another way for me to look at it would be to say to myself that those behaviors exist in 3-D only, and shift my perception to the 5-D.  But I like Sharon's idea and I'm going to try it, too.

Til next week.  Big thanks to you and Sharon!"

Sharon's response:

Thanks so much for your comments, they are brilliant. I am really excited you will be a part of our call. 

Addictions, compulsive behaviors and habits are anchored in the lower self consciousness and are usually responses to underlying feelings of anxiety. Our brain is a processor of information and stores the data of what we experience. The reptilian part of the brain is what processes our basic survival needs and body function. The limbic brain records experiences and memories so is connected to emotions. Our lower self consciousness is what gives the experiences meaning or perception which determines the relationship between the experiences and emotion. This information is then stored in the brain to be recalled when necessary.

One of the first steps in dealing with these types of issues is to not feel guilt or have any resistance to the behaviors. Guilt comes from believing you are doing something wrong and that is a societal judgment. You may choose to change the habit but first just perceive it as a neutral experience. In most cases it is guilt from, what appears to be unrelated past experiences, that is causing the unwanted behavior. Rather than trying to shut down the behavior, we embrace it for what it is communicating to us, and allow it to release. All thoughts, feelings, emotions, behaviors and habits are a road map to discovering why the lower self is acting out in this way. That part of our consciousness is what drives almost 100% of our decisions. It is very rigid because it is responsible for survival and so will do anything to protect us from feeling anxiety or being wounded again. So when we try to push it away or resist what it is doing, it will become even more powerful.

When you are connecting with your Higher Self include how you are feeling with the thoughts. Consciousness only responds to the language of vibration so we must connect beyond just the mental plane. The feelings that come up when you focus on your habits should connect to the experiences your lower self is responding to, and it will communicate those to your middle self consciousness. These will be the core issues behind why the habits were formed. Releasing the emotional trigger from those past experiences is what allows us to have control over our choices and decisions. This isn't always as easy as it sounds as we are inside the lower self "box" and that part of us does not reason and typically doesn't want to let go of being the protector. My private practice is based on connecting the dots and releasing the triggers to past trauma. Also, even though the behaviors are driven by the lower self, all levels of our consciousness are multi dimensional. So communicating with the lower self can open the door to allowing that part of our consciousness to connect to our higher self, which brings all levels of our consciousness into alignment with 5D vibrational frequencies.

I am very excited to hear your experiences.
Much love and many blessings,

Sharon