2 Answers

We have all heard the admonition, ''It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'' From a Biblical point of view, money — or at least love of money — is the root of all evil. But why?

From a spiritual point of view, money and materialism are illusions that hide the true nature and meaning of life. If our true purpose involves remembering and living a sacred journey that leads to the continual awareness of the presence of God, then an obsession with wealth and possessions can lead us astray.

That said, we can notice that a few of the most spiritually advanced beings who have ever walked the Earth have also been among the wealthiest individuals of their cultures (St. Germaine and Joseph of Arimathea come to mind). So I feel that the concept of money is clarified if we can begin to perceive money as energy. When put in that context, money is a ''flow of energy'' similar to Life Force energy — prana, or chi — not spiritually different from kinetic or atomic energy, electricity, heat, or any other natural force.

As with all forms of energy, the flow of money follows the Laws of Creation. And as with all energy flows, balance is the key. Electrical devices function only with the proper flow of current. Too much, and the wires and equipment burn up; too little, and nothing works. It is the same with the heat that keeps us warm and comfortable. Too much, and we burn; too little, and we freeze.

But what is ''too much'' for a human being? As with all other forms of energy, the answer to this is an individual matter, depending on their function and purpose in Life. The appropriate amount of heat to make our homes comfortable would be woefully inadequate for making horseshoes. The amount of electricity that a digital camera uses would be a drop in the bucket for running a refrigerator. The amount of money that is appropriate for another is something we cannot judge. We can only determine this for ourselves.

But there is a criterion we can apply to money, as with all forms of energy, and that is that it must flow. Just as we experience insufficient chi in the body as sickness, we experience an insufficient flow of money as dis-ease. In our modern culture, a lack of financial energy flow often becomes a form of stress that can divert us from our path. But the reverse situation is equally dis-easeful. Too much chi, blocked and concentrated, leads to illness in the body. And money that is hoarded in fear that we will not have enough also leads to a condition of spiritual dis-ease.

When we have balance with money, we have total faith that whatever we need will be provided. We are not afraid to spend money on ourselves or use it to help others. The money itself is not an issue. We do whatever we are here to do, knowing that the resources will flow to us and through us.

So the key seems to be the realization that abundance, like love, exists in appropriate measure as soon as we release our fears concerning it. Like love, money simply flows to us as we need it, and flows from us as we seek to create peace and beauty around us, for ourselves and others. With the ease and understanding born of faith in ourselves and the Creator, our financial life can become a manifestation of all that is good.

So in this month's Spirit of Ma'at we explore the ideas of many men and women on what money means, how it relates to a healthy spiritual life, and how we can manifest in our own lives the abundance that is at the heart of Creation.

In love and service,

Drunvalo

Out of my pocket as quickly as it entered. No, faster.......