Some of you have written in to say that “Money is the Root of all evil,” a direct quote from the Bible.  And I want to teach you how to LOVE money…so preposterous, and seemingly so against the Biblical quote.  Yet, I believe the words from the Bible mean that over-accumulation is the root of all evil, not a genuine deep appreciation of what money does for us.  Without it – or we can call it exchange- we would not be able to physically exist.

If you are intrigued by the potential you could have around your relationship to money, sign up for the free online 1/2 hour seminar on Wednesday, September 25 from 5:00-5:30 pm MDT to get a taste of the four session seminar

The four session course will be held Wednesdays, October 9, 16, 23, 30 from 5:00-6:00 MDT. Sign up at this link: https://learnitlive/class/1305/Evolutionary-Money. Deadline: October 7th.  Limit 15.

In the last post I mentioned two of the unbalanced money types – The Righteous Resister and The Parsimonious Saver.  Remember that these are just slightly humorous representations of our human condition.  There are seven unbalanced money types. Two additional ones are the Indolent Dreamer and the Senseless Spender.  The Indolent Dreamer thinks someone or something is causing their money problems, while the Senseless Spender uses money to avoid feelings. As these two types move from the Old Money Reality to the New Money Reality, the Indolent Dreamer begins to take more responsibility for their money situation. The Senseless Spender learns to understand their feelings. What would it mean to be released from an old money reality and begin to see money in a new light? Imagine experiencing money just as it is -a universal matrix of exchange that can be a unifying, empowering, and awe inspiring force in our lives and in our world.  Join the next seminar and discover your authentic desire in relationship to money.  As you change yourself, you change the world. The four session online seminar will be held on Wednesdays, October 9th, 15th, 22nd, and 30th from 5:00-6:00 MDT.  The cost is $40.  Registration details to follow shortly.

As you may already have read in one of my posts, I have named in my book and class seven unbalanced money types.  They are not to be taken too seriously, but are more slightly humorous representations of most of us.  In this post I want to mention the Righteous Resister (that’s me), and the Parsimonious Saver (a good friend of mine).  The Righteous Resister tends to be spiritual, holds money in disdain, and refuses, as much as possible, contact with money.  The Parsimonious Saver feels insecure, needs absolute control over their money, and is afraid of being taken advantage of.  It makes no difference how much money they have. (It must be noted that sometimes our situation calls for us to be extremely cautious with our money.) We call these unbalanced “money types” the Old Money Reality.  Knowing this about ourselves is step one; then we can move to a New Money Reality, where the Righteous Resister learns to enjoy the necessary daily interactions with money, and the Parsimonious Saver learns that they have enough money, and can journey toward more generosity.  Next week I will announce the dates of an online class to be held in October, where these and five other types will explored in more detail.

Let’s begin to think of money as giving and receiving.  Pretty obvious, isn’t it.  We have, or receive, electricity in our homes, and, in turn, we give or pay our electric bill.  And so it goes, we give dollars, or we may barter, to receive what we need and want.  An automatic exchange happens…giving and receiving, giving and receiving.  Other exchanges happen also…hugs, conversation and the giving and receiving of love.  But, for us it is critical to remember that we could not physically exist without exchange.  Our physical beings require food, shelter and clothing, and those needs bind us to thousands of people.  If we really stop to think about it, exchange is an awesome feature of our universe.

It is without a doubt challenging to look at ourselves in relationship to money. And it takes both courage and compassion. If we truly want to create both a new balanced relationship to money, we must first look at the hard truth of the here and now. Money coach and author Deborah Price writes in her book, Money Magic, that

“because of our denial of what money means to us, most of us have unconsciously abandoned our relationship with it . . .Everyone feels vulnerable when it comes to money. . . [By looking deeply at our relationship to money] we are individually and collectively contributing to shifting the money consciousness of humanity.”

We can begin our own internal shift by asking ourselves:” What is my authentic desire in relationship to money?” This question begins the transformation from our discomfort and unbalances with money.

In our last blog we looked at our relational dysfunctions around money.  We call these the Old Money Reality.  In contrast we now have the option to consider a New Money Reality. We can begin to look at this new reality by contrasting the old with the new.  In the Old Money Reality, money connotes scarcity, enables isolation/separation, provides power over/under, pronounces us guilty, makes us feel either good or bad, is a “tool”, and is fundamentally a problem. In the New Money Reality, money connotes enough for all, enables constant connection, provides equality, pronounces us always worthy, makes us feel empowered, is “exchange”, and is fundamentally a blessing.  It is a fascinating journey to go from the current concepts we have around money to deeply understanding how money can be a blessing.  Join me next fall for the Evolutionary Money class if you are intrigued.  Dates will be announced on the Evolutionary Money Facebook page.

Humankind’s relationship to money has always been conditioned by the cultural milieu. If we are drawn to look at a New Money Reality, we first need to examine the cultural soup in which we are all currently immersed. That milieu is the Newtonian/Darwinian Worldview, which tells us that things are separate, that competition is our way of life, and that only linear decisions matter.

Understanding this view of reality illuminates aspects of our own, often uncomfortable personal relationship with money. Bottom line it illuminates where money separates us from others, from ourselves, and sometimes, even from our life purpose. This is not our fault….our families, our culture and our own life experiences have created our discomfort with money.

Jacob Needleman, in Money and the Meaning of Life tells us,

“In no other culture or civilization that we know of has money been such a pervasive and decisive influence. In the world we now live in, money enters into everything human beings do, into every aspect and pocket of life . . . . We cannot study ourselves, as we are, nor can we understand our neighbor, without calmly observing our own selves in the thick of the money game…The study of ourselves in relationship to money is the hidden key to seeing ourselves as we really are.”