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