7.27.2012

building a fortune

There's this idea out there in the world, especially prevalent in the spiritual community, that to suffer is noble and to desire is profane.  The most profane thing to desire, of course, is money...  why would anyone ever want any of that?  I mean, it's only the single most powerful communication tool we have in this culture...  eesh.  I ain't saying I'm in favor of that power dynamic, I'm just saying... Well, I'm just sayin'.

So, there's this idea that to want and have money is somehow less righteous than to be poor.  That to be pious one must forgo all worldly pleasures, possessions, and comforts...  I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on that one.  I'm not the first, none of this is original, it's just my version.

Let's play it out this way...

If the world's currency was hugs do you think arm length would have as much stigma associated with it as money does?  I'm going to go with "doubtful" but I have really long arms so maybe I'm just being an opportunist here. It doesn't really matter how much money someone has or how long their arms are... There is no direct connection to integrity.

If we choose to participate in a capitalist society (which we don't have to, by the way... plenty of people find ways around it), which is what I choose because I suspect this is where I will make the most impact, we will be exchanging energy in the form of money.  Because of the lifestyle I choose for myself and my son I need money.  I need money to pay my rent.  I need money to buy food and clothing.  I need money to access certain learning opportunities.  I need money to provide care for spiderman so I can care for myself.  I need money for a lot of things.  I also want money for a lot of things.  I like the way I feel when I wear beautiful clothes and cheek stain.  I like to try new foods at independent restaurants.  I like to go to shows and watch people practice their art.

When I have the money to meet my needs (and even more so when I have enough to address the wants too) my life has significantly less tension, and the absence of tension allows the reality of love to shine through... and if that's not noble I don't know what is (but please don't tell me... I'm liking where this is going).

To build a fortune for myself (in this case, by the way... extra=fortune.  fortune is enough for needs and some for wants.  simple as that) I will have been practicing the following this "month."  In order to teach myself to  am keeping a Book of Fortune* and in it I record the following daily:

  1. On a sheet of paper with a vertically line dividing it through the middle: on the left side I record my financial reality (example: "I always end up with less money than I think I have") and then on the right I record the opposite belief (example: "I always know how much money I have and it is enough"), and then I cross off the belief on the left.  
  2. Money Flow: A daily total of the amount I've received (flow in), and a daily total of the amount I've spent (flow out), and then the difference (positive/negative) between the two.  We're looking for "extra."  Remember, "extra" is the fortune and you are allowed to have a fortune.
  3. Cash on Hand: (the collecting part of this takes place in a purple velvet box in my life... you choose your own container).  I will take what I always have on hand ($10) and multiply that by 10 to determine the next goal of what I will always have on hand ($100).  Then I will put money (and record the amount in the book of fortune) into the box every day like so: a dime for each day and then the same amount as the day before plus another dime (Day 1: 10cents Total: 10cents, Day 2: 20cents Total: 30cents, Day 3: 30 cents Total: 60 cents, Day 4: 40 cents Total: 1 dollar) until I have reached that goal of cash on hand... and then start over again (with 10cents a day) until I hit the next goal ($1000).
And all of these exercises are going to change my energy about/around money.  They have simple and practical elements like awareness and saving and they have energetic elements like openness to receiving, belief reprogramming, and attraction.

So, that's what's happening behind the scenes.  I don't expect to have too much more to say about it until reporting about it at the end... but if I am surprised you know I'll tell you!  That's what I do!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming of me talking about my feelings. 


*If this all sounds kind of witchy--that's because it is.  If that bothers you, let's talk about why...