Money can be Spiritual?!

In keeping with my goals for NabloPoMo I'm going to post a bit today on the journey I'm taking these days around money. That's right kids, the almighty dollah. But first I'd like to present a link. It's called 10 Questions and is sponsored by The New York Times & MSNBC. Folks post questions to the presidential candidates via video. Viewers then vote on what they feel are the most important questions they want answered. The top 10 questions are then posed to the candidates. So if you have a way to tape yerself & wanna know what they'll do with our health care, why they do or don't support marriage equality, what their policy is on free trade or anything else check out 10 Questions and get to it!

So as I've noted on a few other posts here at QWOC I'm trying to get a little a lot more responsible about my money management. And being that I'm attracted to the greater depth in things (as in always looking for the symbolism, God/dess and such) I realized lately that this also has to apply to my finances.

In recovery the first step is to admit our lives are unmanageable. Then we turn our unmanageable live to to the care of a Higher Power that can restore us to sanity & thus manage our lives. From that we are able to do HP's works great and small to better ourselves & the world around us. I've been able to do that over and over again with many things in my life including alcohol, co-dependence, my family & friends and so on. But not with money. I've been trying to take care of my money on my own quite unsuccessfully.

Rent checks have bounced. Money has been borrowed. I've probably given thousands to banks in overdraft fees. Tried payday advances (which I recommend NEVER doing) and have demeaned myself in a variety of ways which I shan't discuss here. The point is that my way of doing things has sucked to put it mildly & it's high time to change. Not just for my own sake but for the ones I'm close to & my future family.

But can dealing with my money stuff actually help to change the world? I'm learning the answer is yes.

I taped an episode of the Oprah show this week because Suze Orman was on it. She is a popular finance expert & I wanted to see what she had to say. Her words were powerful! She really brought home the idea of the link between how we are financially & it's impact on our emotional and spiritual lives. That when we are in our power, we don't waste time in shame. We don't lie about where we're at and therefore repel people. And it's my experience that this concept is so true. When I feel ashamed of any part of myself I'm not in my truth and therefore not in my power. When I'm not able to let the light of truth and joy shine through me I can't seem attract the people and things I may want/need into my life. Recovery has taught me to be honest about the good & yucky parts of myself. Doing this around money makes sense.

Fear is a common theme here too. Reflecting on the far away & recent past I can see that my lack of attention to my finances has had to do with more than laziness. It's also been fear. A fear of being bored. And what's funny about that is I tend to consider myself a person who is rarely bored. My mom often said "you're only as bored as you make yourself." And I've always thought that statement was true. So why the heck has my attitude around paper work and finances been so crappy? I don't have an exact answer but know that now is the time to change those beliefs.


What makes the world a better place is love. When we love one another and ourselves we empower each other and ourselves. By facing the truth, by getting comfortable with doubt, by making fear a friend that provides guideposts on our next actions rather than something we run from we can generate more love. There is no better place to apply such principals than with our money.


So many are in a world of hurt around money. We get headaches, stomach aches, have stress and other physical & emotional symptoms from our money woes that it's not surprising folks can be so darn cruel to others. It's no wonder folks can have such feelings of failure about themselves too. And these ways of being get passed down to our kids where the cycle repeats. So folks I'm stopping the cycle. I'm letting love in. I'm telling the truth & getting power from HP to take care of my life, future family & heart by focusing on finances. And now is the best time to get down to business!

Peace!
~F