Unleashing the Soul of Money

1. Our Relationship with Money is Often Unconscious and Conflicted

Like Chumpi and the Achuar, we all have an identifiable, though largely unconscious and unexamined, relationship with money that shapes our experience of life and our deepest feelings about ourselves and others.

Money's pervasive influence. Money is a central, linchpin issue in nearly all our lives, influencing everything from daily choices about food and clothing to major decisions about career, family, and future dreams. Despite its importance, our relationship with money is often unexamined, leading to chronic concern, fear, or a feeling of never having enough, regardless of actual wealth. This unconscious relationship governs, dominates, and stresses our lives.

Disconnect from soul. Our behavior around money frequently conflicts with our deepest values and ideals—what the author calls our soul. In the "domain of money," qualities like integrity, generosity, and courage often seem less available, replaced by selfishness, fear, or a drive to accumulate. This creates a deep division within us, preventing wholeness and peace.

Cultural conditioning. We are born into a money culture that shapes our initial relationship with it, whether in poverty or affluence. From a young age, we learn money's place and power, seeing how it influences choices and relationships. This lifetime of seemingly innocuous experiences embeds distortions in our relationship with money, often leading us to prioritize financial gain over human or environmental well-being.

2. Scarcity is the Great Lie Driving Our Money Culture

Scarcity is a lie.

Default setting of "not enough." The pervasive belief in scarcity is an unexamined and false system of assumptions that views the world as a place where needs are constantly unmet. This mind-set is the default setting for thinking about everything, from personal finances to global resources, leading to feelings of inadequacy and fear. It becomes the justification for unfulfilled lives and compromises.

Toxic myths of scarcity:

• There's Not Enough: This myth generates fear and drives competition, making us believe someone will be left out, justifying taking care of "our own" at others' expense.
• More Is Better: A logical response to fearing lack, this myth fuels endless accumulation and acquisition, distracting from the value of what we have and leading to a chase with no end.
• That's Just the Way It Is: This myth fosters resignation, helplessness, and cynicism, making problems seem insurmountable and justifying inaction, greed, and exploitation.

Flawed historical premise. Modern economic principles, rooted in ideas like Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of self-interest, were based on outdated assumptions about limited resources and human nature. Contemporary thinkers argue that greed and fear of scarcity are programmed into the money system, not inherent in nature, and that this system is based on the allocation of scarce resources through individual greed.

3. Sufficiency is the Surprising Truth: Knowing There is Enough

Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.

Beyond quantity. Sufficiency is not about having a specific amount of money or resources; it's an internal state, a consciousness, and an intentional choice of how we perceive our circumstances. It's the knowing that if we look around and within ourselves, we will find what we need. This truth is often most visible in cultures or situations where material resources are scarce, yet people live with dignity and resilience.

Natural prosperity. Indigenous cultures, like the Achuar, who lived without money for centuries, demonstrate natural prosperity rooted in reciprocity and relationship, not accumulation. They treasure and steward what is present, embodying the experience of enough. This contrasts sharply with the fear and lack often felt by those in affluent societies despite having material abundance.

Reclaiming inner resources. Living from sufficiency means stepping back from the scarcity mind-set and recognizing the power and presence of our existing resources, both external and internal. This includes our talents, skills, relationships, and capacity for resilience. When we focus attention on these inner resources, they expand, and we find unimagined treasures and wealth, even in challenging circumstances.

4. Money is Like Water: A Flow That Carries Our Intention

Money is a current, a carrier, a conduit for our intentions.

Flow vs. accumulation. Money, like water, is meant to flow. When it flows, it can purify, cleanse, create growth, and nourish. When it is blocked or hoarded, it can become stagnant and toxic. The scarcity mind-set encourages accumulation and holding on, treating money as a static amount rather than a dynamic current.

Intention matters. Money carries the energy and intention we give it. It can be a carrier of love, commitment, and service, or of control, domination, and guilt. The story of Gertrude, who gave $50 earned from washing clothes, illustrates how money imbued with the intention to "do the most good" feels more valuable and powerful than a large corporate check given out of guilt.

Allocation expresses soul. True wealth is not found in a static balance sheet but in the action of sharing, giving, allocating, and distributing money towards projects, people, and purposes we believe in. This keeps money in flow, circulating in ways that nurture others and ourselves. Consciously directing this flow, whether a river or a trickle, is a powerful practice that aligns our money with our soul.

5. What You Appreciate Appreciates: Attention Creates Value

What you appreciate appreciates.

Attention's power. This simple truth applies universally: focusing our attention on something increases its value and presence in our lives. In the context of sufficiency, appreciation becomes a powerful practice of deliberately attending to the value of what we already have, expanding our experience of prosperity. Conversely, focusing on lack and scarcity amplifies fear and dissatisfaction.

Cultivating inner wealth. By directing our attention to our inner resources—our talents, relationships, resilience, and capacity for contribution—we cultivate a sense of self-worth that is independent of financial net worth. The story of Audrey, who felt worthless after divorce, shows how appreciating her character, relationships, and skills empowered her to build a new, thriving life and business.

Positive change through inquiry. Appreciative inquiry, a formal model for change, suggests shifting focus from problem-solving to identifying and amplifying what is already working well. This positive approach, looking for the "best in people" and "what gives life," fosters discovery, dream, and design, creating a context where growth and success naturally emerge, even in challenging circumstances.

6. Collaboration Creates Prosperity: Sharing Resources Builds Wealth

There are no haves and have-nots. We are all haves and our assets are diverse.

Beyond competition. While competition exists in nature, collaboration and reciprocity are also fundamental forces. In a "you-and-me" world, collaboration is natural, leading to shared resources, mutual support, and a sense of infinite possibility. This contrasts with the self-limiting nature of connections forged in the scarcity mind-set of "you-or-me."

Alchemy of partnership. Collaboration values the diverse gifts, knowledge, creativity, and experience of all partners equally. It allows us to experience ourselves as active participants in a vital, generative process. The story of the women in Senegal, who collaborated to dig a well based on their intuitive knowledge, demonstrates how bringing different resources together (their vision/labor, outside financial support) creates unexpected prosperity.

Solidarity over charity. True partnership is based on solidarity, recognizing our interconnectedness and working together to change unjust systems. This differs from traditional charity, which can perpetuate dependency and a "benevolent savior" dynamic. Committed philanthropy, where people invest their wealth (financial or otherwise) with intention and soul, fosters equal partnerships in service of a shared vision, empowering everyone involved.

7. We Can Change the Dream: Redefining Our Collective Vision

To create a new world, we must first create a new dream.

Dreams shape reality. Indigenous cultures, like the Achuar, understand that the world is as you dream it, and dreams are powerful mediums for communication and creation. The modern world's dominant dream of endless growth, accumulation, and more is becoming a nightmare, causing environmental and social havoc. Changing our actions requires changing this underlying dream.

The Eagle and Condor prophecy. This ancient prophecy speaks of the reunion of the intellectual "Eagle people" (modern world) and the intuitive "Condor people" (indigenous cultures). Neither can survive the current crisis alone; they must share their knowledge and wisdom to create a new, balanced consciousness and a sustainable future. This is a parable for global collaboration.

Redreaming our future. Changing the dream means questioning the cultural narrative of more and creating a new vision based on reverence for life, sufficiency, and collaboration. It involves seeing the world as interconnected, intelligent, and capable of regeneration, with humans as creative, contributing participants. This shift in perception is necessary to move from a scarcity-driven "you-or-me" world to a sufficiency-based "you-and-me" world.

8. Taking a Stand Aligns Money and Soul

When we take a stand, we can move the world—the world of ideas and people who act on them.

Courage to be different. In a culture dominated by financial values, taking a stand for something different requires courage. It means consciously choosing values other than purely financial ones, questioning the status quo, and acting in alignment with our soul. This unlocks new ways of seeing and being, leading to freedom and power.

Breaking the silence. Destructive cultural traditions, whether female infanticide in India or prioritizing profit over integrity in Hollywood, are often maintained by silence and unquestioned assumptions. Taking a stand breaks this silence, bringing hidden issues to light and creating a field of clarity and truth-telling. The women of Dharmapuri, by speaking out against infanticide, catalyzed a movement that changed their region.

Money as a tool for action. Putting money behind our commitments grounds them in reality and amplifies their impact. Whether through conscious spending, ethical investing, or philanthropic contributions, our financial choices become powerful statements of who we are and what we care about. This aligns our money with our soul, making it a currency of love and commitment rather than consumption driven by lack.

9. Conversation Shapes Our Reality: Choose Sufficiency

We live in our conversation about the world and our conversation about the circumstances.

Words create worlds. The language we use, both internally and externally, creates the context of our experience. A conversation dominated by scarcity terms (fear, lack, competition, judgment) creates a world of anxiety and dissatisfaction. A conversation centered on sufficiency (gratitude, fulfillment, collaboration, appreciation) creates a world of possibility and well-being.

Shifting the narrative. The response to 9/11 illustrated this power: an initial conversation of generosity and compassion shifted abruptly to one of fear and consumerism, influencing national behavior. We can consciously choose to generate conversations for sufficiency, even in challenging times, by focusing on existing assets, expressing gratitude, and connecting with others who share this perspective.

Rewriting life sentences. Our beliefs about money are often embedded in "life sentences" absorbed from culture or family. Identifying and challenging these scarcity-based phrases allows us to rewrite them, creating new internal narratives that align with sufficiency. This conscious choice of language and focus empowers us to navigate financial issues with greater clarity and integrity.

10. Our Legacy is How We Live with Money, Not Just What We Leave

The life you live is the legacy you leave.

Beyond material inheritance. Our most lasting legacy is not the money or possessions we accumulate, but the way we live, particularly our relationship with money. We model a legacy of sufficiency or scarcity through our choices about earning, spending, saving, investing, and contributing. This shapes the worldview of those who follow us, especially children.

Modeling sufficiency. Raising children in a consumer culture requires consciously counteracting the "more is better" message. By demonstrating appreciation for what we have, sharing resources, making ethical consumer choices, and involving children in conversations about money and values, we equip them to navigate their own financial lives with integrity and a sense of enough.

Money as an instrument of love. The author's mother, through her lifelong commitment to philanthropy and her final acts of distributing modest funds and expressing deep appreciation to those in her life, demonstrated how money, even in small amounts, can be a powerful instrument of love and connection. Her legacy was not just the money raised or given, but the intention and soul she imbued it with, which continues to yield value.

Last updated: July 15, 2025